Commissioned on February 17, 1862, the C.S.S. No, not like Daniel’s…how far ahead could they see? The Merrimack flows south across New Hampshire, then eastward across northeastern Massachusetts before finally emptying in the Atlantic at Newburyport, Massachusetts. Against the far bulkhead was a high-backed chair, and in it sat a weathered old Negro, lanky as Lincoln, snowy hair crowned with a top hat. 1 p. Date approximated. The steam frigate USS Merrimack sank in shallow water before she completely burned. “I know why, sir. As the Virginia fired its cannons at the USS Congress, the Union ship fired a … This is the first fight between the ironclads. Daniel was standing, in a sweat now. . Water streamed around his feet, soaked through his shoes, his feet icy cold. When the Commonwealth of Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861, one of the important federal military bases threatened was Gosport Navy Yard (now Norfolk Naval Shipyard) in Portsmouth, Virginia. Digital reproduction of blueprint drawing. CSS Virginia was the first steam-powered ironclad warship built by the Confederate States Navy during the first year of the American Civil War; she was constructed as a casemate ironclad using the raised and cut down original lower hull and engines of the scuttled steam frigate USS Merrimack. On April 11, the Confederate Navy sent Lieutenant Joseph Nicholson Barney, in command of the paddle side-wheeler CSS Jamestown, along with Virginia and five other ships in full view of the Union squadron, enticing them to fight. The Virginia and the Monitor were not the first ironclad warships. It being late in the day, Virginia retired from the conflict with the expectation of returning the next day and completing the destruction of the remaining Union blockaders. On May 8, 1862, Virginia and the James River Squadron ventured out when the Union ships began shelling the Confederate fortifications near Norfolk, but the Union ships retired under the shore batteries on the north side of the James River and on Rip Raps island. The mermaids, noticeably smaller, lacked the forearm-fins and displayed small, nippled breasts. It’s just sitting, don’t look like they plan on taking it anywhere.”. “No. The steam-powered, ironclad Virginia drove its 1,500 pound iron ram into the wooden side of the Cumberland, delivering a mortal blow. [8] Virginia retired to the Gosport Naval Yard at Portsmouth, Virginia, and remained in drydock for repairs until April 4, 1862. There were four gun ports on each broadside; their protective iron shutters remained uninstalled during both days of the Battle of Hampton Roads. “What about our friends?” Williamson played on. ... To date, the wreck of Monitor's opponent, the Virginia, has not been rediscovered. Digital reproduction of blueprint drawing. “Men, get below.” Crewmen scrambled to comply. The merman fell backwards, thrown as if by a catapult, and hit the water with a splash like a cannonball. After discovering the Confederate Navy was constructing an impenetrable ironclad in Hampton Roads, Va., President Lincoln called for a naval board to propose construction of an ironclad vessel to lead the Union Navy. The Captain looked up. For the third time since hauling bottles and books and violin onto his two masted-schooner and setting out, he took a deep breath and reminded himself: this is an opportunity. In no time it would scramble up the side again. Most had gotten away safely, at least. Weight: 1.0 lbs: Dimensions: 12 x 24 x 3 in: Reviews. Digital reproduction of blueprint drawing. Christopher Columbus had called them that—”sea people”—when he sighted them in 1496 some forty leagues off Gilbraltar. Why do it at all? The Captain, violin in his lap, was calculating how long the journey would take if he manipulated the western Atlantic winds to gust full force into his sails, how much liquor he would have to boil and pipe up topside in order to do this, and if what remained Buchanan’s undershirt would suffice to lead him to the wreck’s exact location. The slave held up two bottles. To this he added another few shreds from a wool undershirt worn by (so his widow had said) Flag Officer Franklin Buchanan, the Virginia’s commander. On the afternoon of 17 April, the day Virginia seceded, Engineer in Chief B. F. Isherwood managed to get the frigate's engines lit. Virginia Civil War Naval Battle", Roads to the Future – I-664 Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge Tunnel, List of ships of the Confederate States Navy, Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1862, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=CSS_Virginia&oldid=996526306, Ironclad warships of the Confederate States Navy, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, In 1907, an armor plate from the ship was melted down and used in the casting of the, Starting around 1883, numerous souvenirs, made from recently salvaged iron and wood raised from, Thomas, Campbell R., and Flanders, Alan B., (2001), This page was last edited on 27 December 2020, at 03:22. Her upside-down turret was raised from beneath her deep, capsized wreck years later with the remains of two of her crew still aboard; they were later buried with full military honors on March 8, 2013, at Arlington National Cemetery in Washington, D.C. Gun Deck for the CSS Virginia (formerly USS Merrimac), RG 19, DASH 76-2-45. Virginia II went into action on June 21, 1864 as the flagship of Commodore John K. Mitchell, CSN, during the engagement between the Confederate James River Squadron and Federal ships in Trent's Reach. The Monitor’s steam engine and turret are being carefully cleaned and restored. Outraged at such a breach of war protocol, in retaliation Virginia's now angry captain, Commodore Franklin Buchanan, gave the order to open fire with hot-shot on the surrendered Congress as he rushed to Virginia's exposed upper casemate deck, where he was injured by enemy rifle fire. When she was first commissioned into the United States Navy in 1856, her name was Merrimack, with the K; the name was derived from the Merrimack River near where she was built. 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