THE BATTLE OF DESTINY

BETWEEN THE VIRGINIA AND THE MONITOR

by, TIM WILLIAMS

OUTLINE

The battle between the Virginia " Merrimack " and the Monitor was the most decisive factor to date in determining the direction of modern naval warfare. The first battle between ironclads, however, only came about through a series of chances, and that elusive element, destiny.

I Outbreak of Civil War

A Evacuation of Norfolk

1 Merrimack source of constant problems

2 Merrimack unable to leave

B Burning of Naval Yards

1 Vessels sink

2 Confederacy takes over

II Confederate Ironclad

A Stephan Mallory proposes ironclad

B Merrimack raised

1 Cost of refitting

2 Cost of case-mating

C Remarkable men of Confederate Navy

D Virginia's Construction

1 Problems

2 Case-mating

E	Floating of Virginia

1 Grievous error

2 Finding of Crew

III	Union Ironclad

A Spy network in South

B Gideon Welles proposes ironclad

C C. S. Bushnell & Co. contracted

1 Bushnell visits Ericsson

a Ericsson shows his design

b Ericsson goes to Washington

2 Committee and President convinced

D Contract signed

1 Contract requirements

2 Ericsson's involvement in construction

E Monitor turned over to Navy

1 Sailing of Monitor

2 Problems with Monitor

IV Final preparations of Virginia & the Monitor

A Virginia's shortages

B Monitor's trip to Virginia

1 Severe storm hits

2 Monitor almost sinks

V Battle of Hampton Roads

A Virginia steams out of Norfolk

B Virginia rams Cumberland

C Virginia destroys Congress

D Minnesota and Roanoke grounded

E Virginia retires to Sewell 's Point

D Monitor arrives in Hampton Roads

VI Duel Between Ironclads

A Monitor and Virginia engaged in battle

1 Virginia having problems

2 Monitor having problems

B Hours of Ineffectual fighting

1 Virginia attempts to ram Monitor

a Captain orders full reverse before hitting Monitor

b Monitor undamaged

2 Monitor attempts to ram Virginia

a Heads for vulnerable stern of Virginia

b Steering mechanism fails

c Misses Virginia

3 Virginia hits Monitor's pilot house

a Captain aboard Monitor injured in explosion

b Monitor withdraws to shallows

c Virginia cannot follow

C Mutual feeling of Victory

1 Virginia think Monitor has retreated

a Virginia is leaking

b Low tide is coming

c Crew decides to return to Norfolk

2 Monitor returns to fight

a Monitor sees Virginia retreating

b Crew think they've won

3 If fight continued one would have won.

VII Ironclads reign supreme

A Naval warfare changes

1 Major world powers begin building ironclads

2 Reporter says Iron will rule the seas

3 Soldier says battle was greatest in world history

B Ironclads rule in Hampton Roads

1 Union strategy is frustrated by Virginia

2 Confederacy tries to capture Monitor

a Virginia steams out to lure Monitor in

b Both sides want to fight on their side

c Neither take bait

d Virginia returns to Norfolk

VIII Virginia is destroyed

A Union troops move on Norfolk

B Virginia needs to retreat

1 Crew lightens ballast

2 No longer ironclad

3 Still not enough clearance

C Virginia is destroyed by crew

D Crew retreat with Army

E Virginia blows up

IX Monitor is lost

A Monitor sails to Washington

B Great tourist attraction

C Monitor leaves to enforce blockade

1 Caught in ferocious storm

2 Ship founders

3 Crew rescued

4 Monitor sinks

X Contributions of Ironclads

A Neither Virginia or Monitor reach first anniversary

B Contributions of Ironclads

1 Virginia proves iron ship is stronger

2 Monitor proves iron ship can stop another iron ship

C Ironclads made throughout war

D Both Ironclads basically same

E Monitor makes lasting impression

1 Her design is copied throughout the Century

2 Turret is used on almost all vessels into 20th Century

XI Conclusion

The Battle of Destiny

Between the Virginia and the Monitor

The battle between the Virginia " Merrimack " and the Monitor was the most decisive factor to date in determining the direction of modern naval warfare. The first battle between ironclads, however, only came about through a series of chances, and that elusive element, destiny. Yet only after the engagement did the world glimpse a new era of naval warfare emerging.

Much has been written on the subject of the battle itself, and the events leading up to it. This essay won't focus on those, but rather on the peculiar events which formed to make the engagement possible.

At the outbreak of the War Between the States, the Union attempted to evacuate and then destroy anything that couldn't be taken from the Norfolk Naval Yards. Since it's launching four years previous, the U.S.S Merrimack had been a source of constant problems. When the Union withdrew from Norfolk, the Merrimack was not in any condition to leave due to engine problems which were not being repaired for fear of "provoking Virginia into secession."( Scharf , 129) This, and the fact that the destruction carried out on April 20th, 1861 did only minor damage to the yards, and only deck damage to the slew of vessels set afire including the Merrimack , which simply sunk in the shallow docks, left the Confederacy with a choice selection of vessels to choose from.

A broad-minded man, Stephan R. Mallory , the Secretary of the Confederate Navy realized that the Confederacy being out-gunned by the Union had only one chance for their navy to survive. As he emphatically declared, "I regard the possession of an iron- armored ship as a matter of the first necessity."( Scharf , 43) The Merrimack after having been raised at the cost $6,000 was now ready to be refitted. Despite the damage to her, her value was still estimated around $250.000; however, the estimated cost of refitting the frigate to it's former condition was around $450,000 or more. But as an ironclad she was estimated to take only $172,523 to complete.( Scharf , 43) She could be case-mated with wrought-iron sheets to withstand shot, and thereby render her impenetrable. The fact that men with such insight were present in the Confederate Navy was remarkable. The South was not a maritime society, so any allegiances to the Confederacy came because of a commitment to the South. John L. Porter, for example, was the only Navy constructor to transfer allegiance to the Confederacy, and was an invaluable asset to the construction of the Virginia, and to the Confederacy as a whole.

Throughout the construction of the Virginia, production problems, shortages in resources, and bureaucracy almost kept the Virginia from ever being finished. In testing the case-mate for the Virginia, several tests were conducted using setups of different configurations of iron. The most effective by far was the four, one inch plates, backed by two feet of wood. The incline of the Virginia's case-mate first set at 45 degrees, then 40, was eventually lowered to 36 degrees which helped to reduce the impact of a hit. (See Picture Porfolio , #1)

When she was finally floated, a grievous error was discovered. Instead of the case- mate extending two feet below the water, the decks were barely awash. To help alleviate this potentially deadly mistake, hundreds of tons of pig iron was stowed in unused storerooms. This, plus the 150 tons of coal and all the other supplies only brought her eaves down six inches below the water. "At this point, no more ballast could be added either, for fear of over straining her bottom."(Davis, 38) Yet another obstacle to the Virginia's completion was finding a suitable crew. As was said earlier, the South was not a maritime society, so finding men took a great deal of time.

At the outset, the Union was being regularly informed of the Confederacy's plans to make a ironclad vessel. During this war, considering the cultural and language similarities, spies were as common as cotton in the South. Most officials considered the ironclad's threat to the Union minimal, except one man Gideon Welles, Lincoln's farsighted Secretary of the Navy who had been keeping up on the current events throughout the world on ironclad technology. Lincoln and Congress being convinced of the necessity to counter this new threat commissioned C. S. Bushnell and Company to submit a plan for the construction of a Union ironclad. Bushnell worked for three months to design a suitable vessel, and upon doing so set out to see John Ericsson, an inventor who had been designing ships for the Navy for years. When approached by Bushnell with the designs of an ironclad, Ericsson "asked Bushnell a question. As he later recalled it, "Captain Ericsson asked if I had time just then to examine the plan of a floating battery absolutely impregnable to the heaviest shot and shell."(Davis, 15) Ericsson presented his plan that he had been designing for 10 years, collecting information and improvements tested from foreign work on ironclads. The most novel part of Ericsson's design was the cupola or turret which rested squarely in the middle of the ship, and would rotate two cannon. Needless to say, Bushnell was deeply impressed, and persuaded the wary Ericsson to go to Washington and make his presentation to the Secretary of The Navy. All were quite impressed by the novelty of the design, and even President Lincoln remarked, "All I have to say is what the girl said when she stuck her foot into the stocking. It strikes me there's something in it."(Davis, 20) However, only through a bit of deceit and much double-dealing did Bushnell manage to get both parties, which greatly distrusted each other, into going forward with the plan.

The contract was set at $275,000. It required the delivery of the vessel on time, and it was to be a complete success, or all money advanced would have to be paid back. The contract was signed in October 1861 and the vessel was turned over to the Navy in February that next year. The construction constraints were so rigid and the contractors, sub-contractors, etc so numerous in number that it was indeed a feat of accomplishment to deliver the vessel in less than four months. Ericsson's genius and specifications were so exact that components manufactured simultaneously hundreds of miles apart fit together with little or no alteration needed. The fact that the Monitor sailed at all was a tribute to extreme care and precision. (See Picture Portfolio #2)

The Monitor being turned over to the Union Navy on February 19, 1862 was immediately sailed to the Brooklyn Naval Yard. Almost immediately after it's getting under way countless problems came up. These problems, including one dealing with steering which could have, without Ericsson's genius, caused a month delay, ate up precious days, and allowed the Virginia to arrive on the stage before the Monitor.

The Virginia having been completed, and still short of powder, was planned to leave Norfolk March 6, 1862; however, storms delayed her departure. Had she left then, she would have had three days to ravage the Union fleet instead of only one before the Monitor arrived.

The night before the engagement the Virginia's officers were still trying desperately to secure enough powder for her guns. "If it did not come, she could still meet her appointment well enough, but her guns would be mute. In the greatest naval drama of the century, in the test for which she was destined from birth, without that powder she would be silent."(Davis, 2)

While the Virginia was having inventory problems on the night before that dreadful day of March 8, 1862, the Monitor was on the verge of sinking in the ocean while making her way down the Maryland coast in a heavy storm.(Davis, 2) A little over half way on it's trip to Virginia, at about 12 o'clock at night the Monitor encountered a fierce storm which threatened to either scuttle the ship or asphyxiate her crew because of wet belts on circulation fans which slipped and kept the air from flowing, and thereby trapping the smoke trying to move up the stacks. When these fans stopped, the furnace not being properly drafted began pouring out odorless, deadly Carbon Dioxide. In a last ditch effort the crew managed to restart one of the fans, allowing the Monitor to continue on to it's date with destiny.

On the Morning of March 8th, the weather was one of spectacular beauty. This beautiful Saturday would prove a monumentous victory for the Confederacy, and a tidal wave of change for the world. (See Picture Portfolio, #3)

The flow of constant reports of the Virginia's coming had lulled the federal fleet into an half-caring watchfulness. As she steamed her way out of Norfolk and toward the Cumberland, the firing between the two became quite brisk. The tension aboard the Virginia was quite tense until shells began bouncing off her case-mate. As the Virginia approached, the plan was to ram the Cumberland. When the Virginia did use her ram on the Cumberland, she immediately began to sink. As the Virginia backed away, the crew noticed the ram had broken off. This prevented further effective use of a ram on other unsuspecting Union vessels.

The Virginia continued on to the Congress, and totally destroyed her. Several other vessels including the Roanoke and Minnesota were well under way to intercept the Virginia when they ran aground. Both of these ships, although receiving severe damage during the fighting, were spared being sunk because they were quite out of range for all but the best of the Virginia's guns, since she could not venture into such shallow waters herself. By the time all this was done it was dark, and the Virginia removed herself to anchor off Sewell 's Point.

Just as the Virginia retired, the Monitor arrived on the scene. The crew was totally shocked at the carnage of the scene. The Cumberland was sunk, the Congress's magazines were exploding with terrible force, and Union moral was at a terrible low. Interestingly enough, no one believed that the " Cheesebox on a shingle" as the Monitor was named could do anything to improve the Union's position. The Virginia was also jeered by spectators who felt it to be a floating coffin as it steamed out to meet the federal fleet. Besides, how could such a small ship as the Virginia take on the Union Navy; and how could such a small ironclad like the Monitor take on the Virginia. (See Picture Portfolio, #4)

At about 9 a.m. the Virginia and the Monitor steamed out to begin the duel. The Monitor, the smaller and more maneuverable ship, moved about at will peppering the Virginia's sides. The Virginia, however, was having difficulties hitting the Monitor's turret because it was so small. The Monitor's cannon could not be hit at all since they only came into view a second before they fired, then revolved around back out of sight. Throughout the battle the Virginia was leaking due to the breaking off of the ram, which made her steer miserably. Also, the smokestacks were so perforated that it was difficult to get the draft needed to keep up steam. The Monitor's chain turning the turret was becoming more and more difficult to control, and finally was left running, while the cannon were fired "on the fly".(Davis, 124)

After hours of ineffectual fighting the Virginia attempted to ram the Monitor. It took almost an hour to get into position, and then the captain, fearing a situation like that of the Cumberland where the Virginia almost went down with it, the captain ordered a full reverse seconds before they hit. The effect was a half-hearted undamaging ram of the Monitor.

This time it was the Monitor's turn to ram the Virginia, and the Monitor's captain knew just where to strike, at the Virginia's stern. If he could disable her unprotected rudder and propeller, she would be left helplessly adrift. Bringing the Monitor around she headed strait for the Virginia. And then, "just before reaching the Confederate ironclad, the Monitor's steering apparatus somehow malfunctioned, causing her to sheer off, just missing the Virginia by a few feet."(Davis, 131)

The advantage now turned again to the Confederates who had been trying to hit the Monitor's pilothouse. As the Monitor slid by the Virginia, she gave the Monitor a direct shot at the pilothouse, hitting it squarely. The captain who was in the pilothouse was blinded by shrapnel, and carried below. The whole ship was now in chaos. The Monitor drifted into shallow shoals for over a half an hour before the second in command ordered her back into action.

During this time the Virginia, unable to follow into shallow water, and thinking that the Monitor was giving up the fight, began to move a bit closer to the Minnesota. As she moved closer, the Virginia's officers deliberated about returning to Norfolk before the tide fell to the point where the Virginia couldn't return. The decision was made to return, and as she continued on to Norfolk, the Monitor was just then coming back off the shoals to resume the fight. The Monitor's crew seeing the Virginia steaming off to Norfolk thought that they had won the fight. "It was one of history's curious cases of mutual misapprehension. Both ironclads felt that they had won the day."(Davis, 134) Had the Monitor immediately turned back around and resumed the fight, eventually one of the ironclads would have won the battle. Either the Monitor would have successfully crippled the Virginia, or the Virginia would have taken advantage of the cracked pilothouse and eventually disabled the Monitor. Fate, however, had another idea, and so both, thinking they had won the day, retired into history.

All the major nations of the world looked to the battle with awe. In fact "two days after the news arrived, the British Admiralty declared that no more wooden ships would be built, that England must have an ironclad navy."(Davis, 140) Far sighted people like a reporter for the Norfolk Day Book wrote, "This successful and terrible work will create a revolution in naval warfare, and henceforth iron will be the king of the seas." A soldier at Fort Monroe wrote, "The Merrimack and Ericsson Battery...fought like tigers for four hours, in one of the greatest Naval Engagements that has ever occurred since the Beginning of the world."(Davis, 135)

Throughout the next almost two months, the ironclads exercised complete control in Hampton Roads. A Union strategy to land in the Roads and fight their way up to Richmond was now entirely cancelled due to the Virginia's influence.

Several measures were taken to capture the Monitor. On April 11 the Virginia and several of her consorts undertook a plan to capture their foe. As they steamed out into the Roads, they attempted to lure the Monitor into their territory. The Federals thinking the same tried to lure the Virginia onto their turf. Both ships circled and looked threatening for hours until they decided to go home.

In May as the Union troops advanced on Norfolk, the Virginia was placed in a position of either retreat or capture. Her pilots were sure that if she was sufficiently lightened of her ballast, she could steam up the Jamestown River to Richmond. When this was completed though, the expected draft of 18 feet was only at 20. This was insufficient to clear the sand bars along the way, and on top of that, now two feet of unprotected hull was showing. She was no longer an ironclad, so her captain did the only thing he could. Disembarking the ship on the night of May 10, 1862, the crew set her afire and retreated with the rest of the Confederate army. About 5:00 a.m. there was an enormous explosions shaking houses for miles around as the fire reached the Virginia's magazines.

The Monitor, now unnecessary as a defense in the Hampton Roads area returned up the York River to Washington D.C. where the crew received a hero's welcome. During repairs she was quite the tourist attraction where everyone gathered to see the legendary Monitor. On December 29, 1862 the Monitor left under orders to proceed to North Carolina to assist in the Union Blockade. Then on the second night out a storm arose ferociously sending the Monitor bobbing up and down in the ocean. This bobbing caused the iron top to separate slightly from the hull allowing water to come rushing in. The crew tried desperately to keep ahead of the water, but all efforts were in vain. In the rescue attempt to abandon the ship several men drowned trying to get into the lifeboats. Finally at about 1:00 a.m. on December 31, 1862 the Monitor's deck lights disappeared from the view of the lookouts aboard the rescue vessel Rhode Island.

What is interesting is that neither the Virginia nor the Monitor ever saw their first anniversary. Neither one of them went down in battle. Yet both proved something for the world to learn from. The Virginia proved that no wooden ship, no matter her strength, could stand against an iron ship. The Monitor went further by showing that only an iron ship could stop an iron ship; that maneuverability, speed, and low profile could make up for sheer size and number of guns.(Davis, 165)

Throughout the war ironclads were made by both countries. It is quite remarkable that despite both vessels being originally designed by the Union Navy, they still arrived at virtually the same innovation of a submerged hull, machinery, and overall protection of the guns, with "...the difference being only in the round turret of the Monitor and roof-shaped case-mate of the Virginia."( Sharf , 153) Both ships influenced their countries navy throughout the war; however, after the war it was the Monitor that made the most lasting impression on shipbuilding. "The principal novelty of this vessel is the cylindrical revolving turret, in which the guns are placed...Balls weighing 180 pounds--nearly three times heavier than the most destructive shot ever tried...were fired at exceedingly short range, some of them said to be at only forty feet distance,

and thirty-seven struck the turret of the Monitor, without inflicting the slightest injury...The turret is a splendid structure."( Beschke , 6-7) This turret would be seen on ships far into the 20th century.

Most of these innovations came about by pure chance and genius. All these "...machinations of Chance often serve only to heighten the drama, to punctuate the inescapability of an event that would not be denied its place in time."(Davis, 1) Truly the battle between the Merrimack (Virginia) and the Monitor was the most decisive battle between two vessels to serve as a point of revolution for modern Navies.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Basler , Roy P.; Pratt, Marion Dolores; Dunlap , Lloyd A. The Collected Works Of Abraham Lincoln. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press, 1953. Vol V, pp. 541 & 547. Vol VII, pp. 154 & 457.

Baxtor , James Phinney . The Introduction Of The Ironclad Warship. Cambridge: Harvard Univerity Press, 1933. 398 pp.

Beschke , William. Memorial To The Congress, Government And People Of The United States: Concerning several great Inventions of National Importance, And The Infringements Of A U.S. Patent In Building Iron-Clad Vessels And Iron Turrets. Most respectfully submitted by William Beschke , of Philadelphia. In January, 1865. Philadelphia: s.n., 1865. [Provo: Harold B. Lee Library, Microfiche V903 . B5 1865]

Davis, William C. Duel Between The First Ironclads. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1975. 201 pp.

Mokin , Arthur. Ironclad: The Monitor & The Merrimack . Novata : Presidio Press, 1991. 274 pp.

Sharf , John Thomas. History Of The Confederate States Navy, from Its Organization to the Surrender of Its Last Vessel. New York: Rogers & Sherwood, 1887. pp. 128-238.

Trexler , Harrison Anthony. The Confederate Ironclad "Virginia" (" Merrimac "). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1938. 95 pp.

Woodward, C. Vann . Mary Chesnut 's Civil War. Binghamton: Vail- Ballou Press, 1981. 886 pp.