The Monitor And The Merrimac Essay Research free essay sample

The Monitor And The Merrimac Essay, Research Paper The Monitor and the Virginia The U.S.S Monitor and the C. S. S. Virginia were the first ironclads to decorate the Waterss of the American Civil War. Their conflict in 1862 at Newport News Point is still considered one of the best and most exciting naval battles of all times. The ground people think of it as the conflict of the # 8220 ; Monitor and the Merrimack # 8221 ; is because the Merrimack had been the Virginia # 8217 ; s name when she was still a brotherhood ship. Since the Union won the war, they wrote the history with their name for her. When Rebel forces were about to occupy the port at Norfolk, the U.S.S. Merrimack along with every other ship in the pace was set afire so non to be captured by the enemy. But merely her deck was destroyed. Her lower hull was left integral. The Confederates took her and fitted her with an Fe deck. Each side carried 5 guns and one on the bow and on the after part. She was besides fitted with an Fe random-access memory submerged at the bow for pounding wooden brotherhood ships. Now named the Virginia, she ran amuk in Chesapeake Bay disposing of Union war vessels. Her Fe hull was about imperviable to cannon balls and her random-access memory made short work of the elephantine wooden marks. The Union knew they had to construct an ironclad of their ain if they wanted to win the war, and so the Monitor was born. The Monitor rode about wholly submerged, with the bare lower limit of wood required, but with absolutly none of it demoing. Unlike the Virginia, the Monitors hull was merely a pes or two above the surface of the ocean. Centered on her hull was a two gun turret, complete with the ability to turn a complete circle. The guns in the turret were known as # 8220 ; Soda-Bottle guns # 8221 ; due to their alone form, they were at that clip the largest guns of all time to be placed on a active ship. When the Monitor was foremost launched the turret had yet to be added to the hull, but it was still a expansive event. Her dual armour, 8 and a half inches midst, made her about inpeitrable. Although she had a failing, the elevated pilot house at the bow of the boat made a deathly mark for the Virgin # 8217 ; s cannon-balls. The Union military personnels stationed at Hampton Rhodes, the finish of the Monitor and the celebrated battlefield, thought really small of their ironclad. They wrote, # 8220 ; we all expect the Virginia to destruct her, merely like all the others. # 8221 ; On March 10th intelligence came that two yearss before the two ironclads had battled at Newport News Point and that the Monitor had made it through the yearss contending without any major harm and was ready for another onslaught. But the Virginia had taken her toll in the hours before the Proctors arrival she had destroyed two ships and crippled the U.S.S. Minnesota. To the crew aboard the run-aground Minnesota the visible radiations signaling the Proctors reaching on the dark of March 7th was a true gift from God. After three yearss of ferocious combat, hull grinding and cannon shootings the Virginia was taken out of the action by a fire on-board. She was able to do it to shore and off-load her crew but the burnt out wreckage proved unsalvageable. After sing Washington the Monitor was steaming her manner back along the coastline when she was over taken by a storm, fortunately her crew was placed safely aboard a vas near by, but she sunk clear to the underside and was neer recovered. Both the Monitor # 8217 ; s and the Virgin # 8217 ; s design was kept throughout the Civil War, but non without betterments, another turret was added to the Monitor # 8217 ; s hull and more guns to the Virginia.