page_title: USS Monitor
section_title: Battle of Hampton Roads
hierarchical_section_title: USS Monitor / Service / Battle of Hampton Roads
caption_attribution_description: English: "The Monitor and Merrimac: The First Fight Between Ironclads", a chromolithograph of the Battle of Hampton Roads, produced by Louis Prang &amp; Co., Boston
context_page_description: USS Monitor was an iron-hulled steam-powered ironclad warship built for the Union Navy during the American Civil War, the first such ship commissioned by the Navy. Monitor played a central role in the Battle of Hampton Roads on 9 March 1862, where, under the command of Lieutenant John L. Worden, she fought the casemate ironclad CSS Virginia to a standstill. The unique design of the ship, distinguished by its revolving turret which was designed by American inventor Theodore Timby, was quickly duplicated and established the monitor class and type of armored steam-powered warship built for the American Navy in the next several decades.
  The remainder of the ship was designed by the Swedish-born engineer and inventor John Ericsson, and hurriedly built in Brooklyn, New York on the East River beginning in late 1861 in only 101 days. Monitor presented a new concept in ship design and employed a variety of new inventions and innovations in ship building that caught the attention of the world.
context_section_description: On 8 March 1862, Virginia, commanded by Commander Franklin Buchanan, was ready to engage the Union flotilla blockading the James River. Virginia was powered by Merrimack's original engines, which had been condemned by the US Navy before her capture. The ship's chief engineer, H. Ashton Ramsay, served in Merrimack before the Civil War broke out and knew of the engines' unreliability, but Buchanan pushed forward undaunted.
  The slow-moving Virginia attacked the Union blockading squadron in Hampton Roads, Virginia, destroying the sail frigates Cumberland and Congress. Early in the battle, the steam frigate USS Minnesota ran aground while attempting to engage Virginia, and remained stranded throughout the battle. Virginia, however, was unable to attack Minnesota before daylight faded. That day Buchanan was severely wounded in the leg and was relieved of command by Catesby ap Roger Jones.
  Days before the battle a telegraph cable was laid between Fortress Monroe, which overlooked Hampton Roads, and Washington. Washington was immediately informed of the dire situation after the initial battle. Many were now concerned Virginia would put to sea and begin bombarding cities such as New York while others feared she would ascend the Potomac River and attack Washington. In an emergency meeting among President Lincoln, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary Welles and other senior naval officers, inquiries were made about Monitor's ability to stop Virginia's prospect of further destruction. When the temperamental Stanton learned that Monitor had only two guns he expressed contempt and rage as he paced back and forth, further increasing the anxiety and despair among members of the meeting. Assurances from Admiral Dahlgren and other officers that Virginia was too massive to effectively approach Washington and that Monitor was capable of the challenge offered him no consolation. After further deliberations Lincoln was finally assured but Stanton remained almost in a state of terror and sent telegrams to various governors and mayors of the coastal states warning them of the danger. Subsequently, Stanton approved a plan to load some sixty canal boats with stone and gravel and sink them in the Potomac, but Welles was able to convince Lincoln at the last moment that such a plan would only prevent Monitor and other Union ships from reaching Washington and that the barges should only be sunk if and when Virginia was able to make her way up the Potomac.
  About 9:00 pm, Monitor finally arrived on the scene only to discover the destruction that Virginia had already wrought on the Union fleet. Worden was ordered upon reaching Hampton Roads to anchor alongside USS Roanoke and report to Captain John Marston where Worden was briefed of the situation and received further orders to protect the grounded Minnesota. By midnight, under the cover of darkness, Monitor quietly pulled up alongside and behind the Minnesota and waited.
caption: USS Monitor engaging CSS Virginia, 9 March 1862
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