The first ironclad to be created at Mallory's urging was . The burned and scuttled had been raised at Gosport (Norfolk) Navy Yard, and an armored casemate built on her hull. For armament, she carried 12 guns. She was also fitted with an iron ram. On March 8, 1862, she attacked the Union fleet enforcing the blockade at Hampton Roads, on the James River near Norfolk. She sank two major Union warships ( and ), and menaced a third (), which had grounded in the attempt to get into action. The damages she suffered were negligible. In that first day of the battle, she had demonstrated the basic validity of Mallory's belief that armored warships could destroy the best wooden ships and were almost impervious to damage in return. As is well known, when "Virginia" returned to battle the next day intending to finish off "Minnesota", she encountered the Union's . The two armored vessels fought inconclusively, demonstrating the flaw in Mallory's argument: an ultimate weapon is truly decisive only if one side does not have it.