In the first years of the Civil War, two ships later called ironclads, battled it out in the waters of Hampton Roads, Virginia. The USS Monitor and the CSS Merrimack (which was actually named the CSS ...

On March 8, 1862, a large, slow-moving and unwieldy Confederate ship steamed toward the blockading Union vessels posted at Hampton Roads, outside of Virginia’s James River. The rebels made a beeline ...

The CSS Virginia and other artifacts are exposed under this barn behind the National Civil War Naval Museum at Port Columbus. Ben Wright [email protected] The National Civil War Naval Museum at ...

Let’s start by clarifying the whole “Merrimack” (alternate spelling “Merrimac,” sans the “k”) vs. “Virginia” nomenclature/semantics. This vessel ...