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Civil War - Monitor Vs. Merrimack - School Essays

Civil War - Monitor Vs. Merrimack

The battle on March 9, 1862, between the USS Monitor and the CSS Merrimack, officially the CSS Virginia, is one of the most revolutionary naval battles in world history. Up until that point, all battles had been waged between wooden ships. This was the first battle in maritime history that two ironclad ships waged war.
The USS Merrimack was a Union frigate throughout most of its existence, up until the Union Navy abandoned the Norfolk Naval Yard. To prevent the Confederate Navy from using her against them, the Union Navy scuttled her. The Confederates, however, raised the ship from the shallow floor of the ocean and began making some major modifications. Confederate engineers cut ...

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bottom. The ship was so slow and long, that it required a turning radius of about one mile. Likened to a "floating barn roof (DesJardien 2)" and not predicted to float, the only individual willing to take command of the ship was Captain Franklin Buchanan. After all the modifications were complete, the ship was rechristened the CSS Virginia, but the original name the CSS Merrimack is the preferred name.
The USS Monitor was the creation of Swedish-American engineer, John Ericsson. The ship was considered small for a warship, only 172 feet long and 42 feet wide. Confederate sailors were baffled by the ship. One was quoted describing her as ". . . a craft such as the eyes of a seaman never looked upon before, an immense shingle floating on the water with a giant cheese box rising from its center" (Ward 101). The "cheese box" was a nine by twenty foot revolving turret with two massive guns inside. "The USS Monitor used two of the eleven inch Dahlgran guns . . ." (Lavy 2). ...

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Civil War - Monitor Vs. Merrimack. (2008, November 14). Retrieved January 11, 2026, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Civil-War-Monitor-Vs-Merrimack/93063

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PAPER DETAILS

Added: 11/14/2008 01:44:18 PM
Category: American History
Type: Premium Paper
Words: 1212
Pages: 5

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