Battle of Hampton Roads The Battle of Hampton Roads , often referred to as either the Battle of the " Monitor " and " Merrimack " ( or " Virginia " ) or the Battle of Ironclads , was the most noted and arguably most important naval battle of the American Civil War from the standpoint of the development of navies . It was fought over two days , March 8 – 9 , 1862 , in Hampton Roads , a roadstead in Virginia where the Elizabeth and Nansemond Rivers meet the James River just before it enters Chesapeake Bay . The battle was a part of the effort of the Confederacy to break the Union blockade , which had cut off Virginia ' s largest cities , Norfolk and Richmond , from international trade . The major significance of the battle is that it was the first meeting in combat of ironclad warships . The Confederate fleet consisted of the ironclad ram CSS " Virginia " ( built from the remnants of the USS " Merrimack " ) and several supporting vessels . On the first day of battle , they were opposed by several conventional , wooden - hulled ships of the Union Navy . On that day , " Virginia " was able to destroy two ships of the Federal flotilla , and , and was about to attack a third , , which had run aground . However , the action was halted by darkness and falling tide , so " Virginia " retired to take care of her few wounded — which included her captain , Flag Officer Franklin Buchanan — and repair her minimal battle damage . Determined to complete the destruction of the " Minnesota " , Catesby ap Roger Jones , acting as captain in Buchanan ' s absence , returned the ship to the fray the next morning , March 9 . During the night , however , the ironclad had arrived and had taken a position to defend " Minnesota " . When " Virginia " approached , " Monitor " intercepted her . The two ironclads fought for about three hours , with neither being able to inflict significant damage on the other . The duel ended indecisively , " Virginia " returning to her home at the Gosport Navy Yard for repairs and strengthening , and " Monitor " to her station defending " Minnesota . " The ships did not fight again , and the blockade remained in place . The battle received worldwide attention , and it had immediate effects on navies around the world . The preeminent naval powers , Great Britain and France , halted further construction of wooden - hulled ships , and others followed suit . A new type of warship was produced , the monitor , based on the principle of the original . The use of a small number of very heavy guns , mounted so that they could fire in all directions was first demonstrated by " Monitor " but soon became standard in warships of all types . Shipbuilders also incorporated rams into the designs of warship hulls for the rest of the century . The blockade at Norfolk . On April 19 , 1861 , shortly after the outbreak of hostilities at Charleston Harbor , US President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a blockade of ports in the seceded states . On April 27 , after Virginia and North Carolina had also passed ordinances of secession , the blockade was extended to include their ports also . Even before the extension , local troops seized the Norfolk area and threatened the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth . The commandant there , Captain Charles S . McCauley , though loyal to the Union , was immobilized by advice he received from his subordinate officers , most of whom were in favor of secession . Although he had orders from ( Union ) Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles to move his ships to Northern ports , he refused to act until April 20 , when he gave orders to scuttle the ships in the yard and destroy its facilities . Nine ships were burned , among them the screw frigate . One ( the old frigate ) was towed away successfully . " Merrimack " burned only to the waterline , however , and her engines were more or less intact . The destruction of the navy yard was mostly ineffective ; in particular , the large drydock there was relatively undamaged and soon could be restored . Without firing a shot , the advocates of secession had gained for the South its largest navy yard , as well as the hull and engines of what would be in time its most famous warship . They had also seized more than a thousand heavy guns , plus gun carriages and large quantities of gunpowder . With Norfolk and its navy yard in Portsmouth , the Confederacy controlled the southern side of Hampton Roads . To prevent Union warships from attacking the yard , the Confederates set up batteries at Sewell ' s Point and Craney Island , at the juncture of the Elizabeth River with the James . ( See map . ) The Union retained possession of Fort Monroe , at Old Point Comfort on the Virginia Peninsula . They also held a small man - made island known as the Rip Raps , on the far side of the channel opposite Fort Monroe , and on this island they completed another fort , named Fort Wool . With Fort Monroe went control of the lower Peninsula as far as Newport News . Forts Monroe and Wool gave the Union forces control of the entrance to Hampton Roads . The blockade , initiated on April 30 , 1861 , cut off Norfolk and Richmond from the sea almost completely . To further the blockade , the Union Navy stationed some of its most powerful warships in the roadstead . There , they were under the shelter of the shore - based guns of Fort Monroe and the batteries at Hampton and Newport News and out of the range of the guns at Sewell ' s Point and Craney Island . For most of the first year of the war , the Confederacy could do little to oppose or dislodge them . Birth of the ironclads . When steam propulsion began to be applied to warships , naval constructors renewed their interest in armor for their vessels . Experiments had been tried with armor during the Crimean War , just prior to the American Civil War , and the British and French navies had each built armored ships and were planning to build others . In 1860 , the French Navy commissioned , the world ' s first ocean - going ironclad warship . Great Britain followed a year later with . The use of armor remained controversial , however , and the United States Navy was generally reluctant to embrace the new technology . CSS " Virginia " . When the Civil War broke out , Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen R . Mallory was an early enthusiast for the advantages of armor . As he looked upon it , the Confederacy could not match the industrial North in numbers of ships at sea , so they would have to compete by building vessels that would be individually superior to those of the Union . The edge would be provided by armor . Mallory gathered about himself a group of men who were able to put his vision into practice , among them John M . Brooke , John L . Porter , and William P . Williamson . When Mallory ' s men searched the South for factories that could build engines to drive the heavy ships that he wanted , they found no place to do it immediately . At the best facility , the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond , building engines from scratch would take at least a year . Upon learning this , Williamson suggested taking the engines from the hulk of " Merrimack , " recently raised from the bed of the Elizabeth River . His colleagues promptly accepted his suggestion and expanded it , proposing that the design of their projected ironclad be adapted to the hull . Porter produced the revised plans , which were submitted to Mallory for approval . On July 11 , 1861 , the new design was accepted , and work began almost immediately . The burned - out hull was towed into the graving dock that the Union Navy had failed to destroy . During the subsequent conversion process , the plans were further modified to incorporate an iron ram fitted to the prow . Her offense in addition to the ram consisted of 10 guns : six smooth - bore Dahlgrens , two and two Brooke rifles . Trials showed that these rifles firing solid shot would pierce up to eight inches of armor plating . The Tredagar Iron works could produce both solid shot and shell , and since it was believed that " Virginia " would face only wooden ships , she was given only the shell . Had solid shot been used against the " Monitor " , the result of the battle might have been different . The armor plating , originally meant to be thick , was replaced by double plates , each thick , backed by of iron and pine . The armor was pierced for 14 gunports : four on each broadside , three forward , and three aft . The revisions , together with the usual problems associated with the transportation system of the South , resulted in delays that pushed out the launch date until February 3 , 1862 , and she was not commissioned until February 17 , bearing the name CSS " Virginia " . USS " Monitor " . Intelligence that the Confederates were working to develop an ironclad caused consternation for the Union , but Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles waited for Congress to meet to request permission to consider building armored vessels ; Congress gave this permission on August 3 , 1861 . Welles appointed a commission , which came to be known as the Ironclad Board , of three senior naval officers to choose among the designs that were submitted for consideration . The three men were Captains Joseph Smith and Hiram Paulding , and Commander Charles Henry Davis . The board considered seventeen designs , and chose to support three . First of the three to be completed , even though she was by far the most radical in design , was Swedish engineer and inventor John Ericsson ' s . Ericsson ' s " Monitor " , which was built at Ericsson ' s yard on the East River in Greenpoint , Brooklyn , incorporated new and striking design features , the most significant of which were her armor and armament . Instead of the large numbers of guns of rather small bore that had characterized warships in the past , Ericsson opted for only two guns of large caliber ; he wanted to use guns , but had to settle for Dahlgren guns when the larger size were unavailable . These were mounted in a cylindrical turret , in diameter , high , covered with iron thick . The whole rotated on a central spindle , and was moved by a steam engine that could be controlled by one man . Ericsson was afraid that using the full 30 pounds of black powder to fire the huge cannon would raise the risk of an explosion in the turret . He demanded that a charge of 15 pounds be used to lessen this possibility . As with Virginia , it was found that the full charge would pierce armor plate , a finding that would have affected the outcome of the battle . A serious flaw in the design was the pilot house from which the ship would be conned , a small structure forward of the turret on the main deck . Its presence meant that the guns could not fire directly forward , and it was isolated from other activities on the ship . Despite the late start and the novelty of construction , " Monitor " was actually completed a few days before her counterpart " Virginia " , but " Virginia " was activated first . Battle . Command . The Confederate chain of command was anomalous . Lieutenant Catesby ap Roger Jones had directed much of the conversion of " Merrimack " to " Virginia , " and he was disappointed when he was not named her captain . Jones was retained aboard " Virginia " , but only as her executive officer . Ordinarily , the ship would have been led by a captain of the Confederate States Navy , to be determined by the rigid seniority system that was in place . Secretary Mallory wanted the aggressive Franklin Buchanan , but at least two other captains had greater seniority and had applied for the post . Mallory evaded the issue by appointing Franklin , head of the Office of Orders and Detail , flag officer in charge of the defenses of Norfolk and the James River . As such , he could control the movements of " Virginia " . Technically , therefore , the ship went into the battle without a captain . On the Union side , command of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron was held by Flag Officer Louis M . Goldsborough . He had devised a plan for his frigates to engage " Virginia " , hoping to trap her in their crossfire . In the event , his plan broke down completely when four of the ships ran aground ( one of them intentionally ) in the confined waters of the roadstead . On the day of battle , Goldsborough was absent with the ships cooperating with the Burnside Expedition in North Carolina . In his absence , leadership fell to his second in command , Captain John Marston of . As " Roanoke " was one of the ships that ran aground , Marston was unable to materially influence the battle , and his participation is often disregarded . Most accounts emphasize the contribution of the captain of " Monitor " , John L . Worden , to the neglect of others . March 8 : " Virginia " wreaks havoc on wooden Union warships . The battle began when the large and unwieldy CSS " Virginia " steamed into Hampton Roads on the morning of March 8 , 1862 . Captain Buchanan intended to attack as soon as possible . " Virginia " was accompanied from her moorings on the Elizabeth River by " Raleigh " and " Beaufort " , and was joined at Hampton Roads by the James River Squadron , " Patrick Henry " , " Jamestown " , and " Teaser " . When they were passing the Union batteries at Newport News , " Patrick Henry " was temporarily disabled by a shot in her boiler that killed four of her crew . After repairs , she returned and rejoined the others . At this time , the Union Navy had five warships in the roadstead , in addition to several support vessels . The sloop - of - war and frigate were anchored in the channel near Newport News . Frigate and the steam frigates " Roanoke " and were near Fort Monroe , along with the storeship . The latter three got under way as soon as they saw " Virginia " approaching , but all soon ran aground . " St . Lawrence " and " Roanoke " took no further important part in the battle . " Virginia " headed directly for the Union squadron . The battle opened when Union tug " Zouave " fired on the advancing enemy , and " Beaufort " replied . This preliminary skirmishing had no effect . " Virginia " did not open fire until she was within easy range of " Cumberland " . Return fire from " Cumberland " and " Congress " bounced off the iron plates without penetrating . " Virginia " rammed " Cumberland " below the waterline and she sank rapidly , " gallantly fighting her guns as long as they were above water , " according to Buchanan . She took 121 seamen down with her ; those wounded brought the casualty total to nearly 150 . Ramming " Cumberland " nearly resulted in the sinking of " Virginia " as well . " Virginia ' s " bow ram got stuck in the enemy ship ' s hull , and as " Cumberland " listed and began to go down , she almost pulled " Virginia " under with her . At the time the vessels were locked , one of " Cumberland ' s " anchors was hanging directly above the foredeck of " Virginia " . Had it come loose , the two ships might have gone down together . " Virginia " broke free , however , her ram breaking off as she backed away . Buchanan next turned " Virginia " on " Congress " . Seeing what had happened to " Cumberland " , Lieutenant Joseph B . Smith , captain of " Congress " , ordered his ship grounded in shallow water . By this time , the James River Squadron , commanded by John Randolph Tucker , had arrived and joined " Virginia " in the attack on " Congress " . After an hour of unequal combat , the badly damaged " Congress " surrendered . While the surviving crewmen of " Congress " were being ferried off the ship , a Union battery on the north shore opened fire on " Virginia " . In retaliation , Buchanan ordered " Congress " fired upon with hot shot , cannonballs heated red - hot . " Congress " caught fire and burned throughout the rest of the day . Near midnight , the flames reached her magazine and she exploded and sank , stern first . Personnel losses included 110 killed or missing and presumed drowned . Another 26 were wounded , of whom ten died within days . Although she had not suffered anything like the damage she had inflicted , " Virginia " was not completely unscathed . Shots from " Cumberland " , " Congress " , and Union troops ashore had riddled her smokestack , reducing her already low speed . Two of her guns were disabled and several armor plates had been loosened . Two of her crew were killed , and more were wounded . One of the wounded was Captain Buchanan , whose left thigh was pierced by a rifle shot . Meanwhile , the James River Squadron had turned its attention to " Minnesota " , which had left Fort Monroe to join in the battle and had run aground . After " Virginia " had dealt with the surrender of " Congress " , she joined the James River Squadron despite her damage . Because of her deep draft and the falling tide , however , " Virginia " was unable to get close enough to be effective , and darkness prevented the rest of the squadron from aiming their guns to any effect . The attack was therefore suspended . " Virginia " left with the expectation of returning the next day and completing the task . She retreated into the safety of Confederate - controlled waters off Sewell ' s Point for the night , but had killed 400 enemy sailors and had lost two . The Union had lost two ships and three were aground . The United States Navy ' s greatest defeat until World War II caused panic in Washington . As Lincoln ' s Cabinet met to discuss the disaster , the frightened Secretary of War Edwin Stanton told the others that the " Virginia " might attack East coast cities , and even shell the White House before the meeting ended . Welles assured his colleagues that they were safe as the ship could not traverse the Potomac river . He added that the Union also had an ironclad , and that it was heading to meet the " Virginia " . March 9 : " Monitor " engages " Virginia " . Both sides used the respite to prepare for the next day . " Virginia " put her wounded ashore and underwent temporary repairs . Captain Buchanan was among the wounded , so command on the second day fell to his executive officer , Lieutenant Catesby ap Roger Jones . Jones proved to be no less aggressive than the man he replaced . While " Virginia " was being prepared for renewal of the battle , and while " Congress " was still ablaze , " Monitor " , commanded by Lieutenant John L . Worden , arrived in Hampton Roads . The Union ironclad had been rushed to Hampton Roads in hopes of protecting the Union fleet and preventing " Virginia " from threatening Union cities . Captain Worden was informed that his primary task was to protect " Minnesota " , so " Monitor " took up a position near the grounded " Minnesota " and waited . “ All on board felt we had a friend that would stand by us in our hour of trial , ” wrote Captain Gershom Jacques Van Brunt , the vessel ’ s commander , in his official report the day after the engagement . The next morning , at dawn on March 9 , 1862 , " Virginia " left her anchorage at Sewell ' s Point and moved to attack " Minnesota " , still aground . She was followed by the three ships of the James River Squadron . They found their course blocked , however , by the newly arrived " Monitor " . At first , Jones believed the strange craft — which one Confederate sailor mocked as " a cheese on a raft " — to be a boiler being towed from the " Minnesota " , not realizing the nature of his opponent . Soon , however , it was apparent that he had no choice but to fight her . The first shot of the engagement was fired at " Monitor " by " Virginia " . The shot flew past " Monitor " and struck " Minnesota " , which answered with a broadside ; this began what would be a lengthy engagement . “ Again , all hands were called to quarters , and when she approached within a mile of us I opened upon her with my stern guns and made a signal to the Monitor to attack the enemy , ” Van Brunt added . After fighting for hours , mostly at close range , neither could overcome the other . The armor of both ships proved adequate . In part , this was because each was handicapped in her offensive capabilities . Buchanan , in " Virginia " , had not expected to fight another armored vessel , so his guns were supplied only with shell rather than armor - piercing shot . " Monitor " s guns were used with the standard service charge of only of powder , which did not give the projectile sufficient momentum to penetrate her opponent ' s armor . Tests conducted after the battle showed that the Dahlgren gun s could be operated safely and efficiently with charges of as much as . The battle finally ceased when a chance shell from " Virginia " struck the pilot house of " Monitor " and exploded , driving fragments of paint and iron through the viewing slits into Worden ' s eyes and temporarily blinding him . As no one else could see to conn the ship , " Monitor " was forced to draw off . The executive officer , Lieutenant Samuel Dana Greene , took over , and " Monitor " returned to the fight . In the period of command confusion , however , the crew of " Virginia " believed that their opponent had withdrawn . Although " Minnesota " was still aground , the falling tide meant that she was out of reach . Furthermore , " Virginia " had suffered enough damage to require extensive repair . Convinced that his ship had won the day , Jones ordered her back to Norfolk . At about this time , " Monitor " returned , only to discover her opponent apparently giving up the fight . Convinced that " Virginia " was quitting , with orders only to protect " Minnesota " and not to risk his ship unnecessarily , Greene did not pursue . Thus , each side misinterpreted the moves of the other , and as a result each claimed victory . Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory wrote to Confederate President Davis of the action : The conduct of the Officers and men of the squadron … reflects unfading honor upon themselves and upon the Navy . The report will be read with deep interest , and its details will not fail to rouse the ardor and nerve the arms of our gallant seamen . It will be remembered that the " Virginia " was a novelty in naval architecture , wholly unlike any ship that ever floated ; that her heaviest guns were equal novelties in ordnance ; that her motive power and obedience to her helm were untried , and her officers and crew strangers , comparatively , to the ship and to each other ; and yet , under all these disadvantages , the dashing courage and consummate professional ability of Flag Officer Buchanan and his associates achieved the most remarkable victory which naval annals record . In Washington , belief that " Monitor " had vanquished " Virginia " was so strong that Worden and his men were awarded the Thanks of Congress : During the two - day engagement , the U . S . S . Minnesota shot off 78 rounds of 10 - inch solid shot ; 67 rounds of 10 - inch solid shot with 15 - second fuse ; 169 rounds of 9 - inch solid shot ; 180 9 - inch shells with 15 - second fuse ; 35 8 - inch shells with 15 - second fuse and 5 , 567 . 5 pounds of service powder . Three crew members , Alexander Winslow , Henry Smith and Dennis Harrington were killed during the battle and 16 were wounded . Spring 1862 — a standoff at Hampton Roads . " Virginia " remained in drydock for almost a month , getting repairs for battle damage as well as minor modifications to improve her performance . On April 4 , she was able to leave drydock . Buchanan , still recovering from his wound , had hoped that Catesby Jones would be picked to succeed him , and most observers believed that Jones ' s performance during the battle was outstanding . The seniority system for promotion in the Navy scuttled his chances , however , and the post went to the 67 - year - old Commodore Josiah Tattnall . " Monitor " , not severely damaged , remained on duty . Like his antagonist Jones , Greene was deemed too young to remain as captain ; the day after the battle , he was replaced with Lieutenant Thomas O . Selfridge . Two days later , Selfridge was in turn relieved by Lieutenant William Nicholson Jeffers . By late March , the Union blockade fleet had been augmented by hastily refitted civilian ships , including the powerful SS " Vanderbilt " , SS " Arago " , SS " Illinois " , and SS " Ericsson " . These had been outfitted with rams and some iron plating . By late April , the new ironclads USS Naugatuck / USRC E . A . Stevens and USS Galena and had also joined the blockade . Each side considered how best to eliminate the threat posed by its opponent , and after " Virginia " returned each side tried to goad the other into attacking under unfavorable circumstances . Both captains declined the opportunity to fight in water not of their own choosing ; Jeffers in particular was under positive orders not to risk his ship . Consequently , each vessel spent the next month in what amounted to posturing . Not only did the two ships not fight each other , neither ship ever fought again after March 9 . Destruction of the combatants . The end came first for " Virginia " . Because the blockade was unbroken , Norfolk was of little strategic use to the Confederacy , and preliminary plans were laid to move the ship up the James River to the vicinity of Richmond . Before adequate preparations could be made , the Confederate Army under Major General Benjamin Huger abandoned the city on May 9 , without consulting anyone from the Navy . " Virginia " s draft was too great to permit her to pass up the river , which had a depth of only , and then only under favorable circumstances . She was trapped and could only be captured or sunk by the Union Navy . Rather than allow either , Tatnall decided to destroy his own ship . He had her towed down to Craney Island in Portsmouth , where the gang were taken ashore , and then she was set afire . She burned through the rest of the day and most of the following night ; shortly before dawn , the flames reached her magazine , and she blew up . " Monitor " likewise did not survive the year . She was ordered to Beaufort , North Carolina , on Christmas Day , to take part in the blockade there . While she was being towed down the coast ( under command of her fourth captain , Commander John P . Bankhead ) , the wind increased and with it the waves ; with no high sides , the " Monitor " took on water . Soon the water in the hold gained on the pumps , and then put out the fires in her engines . The order was given to abandon ship ; most men were rescued by , but 16 went down with her when she sank in the early hours of December 31 , 1862 . Who won ? The victory claims that were made by each side in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Hampton Roads , based as both were on misinterpretations of the opponent ' s behavior , have been dismissed by present - day historians . They agree that the result of the " Monitor – Merrimack " encounter was victory for neither . As the combat between ironclads was the primary significance of the battle , the general verdict is that the overall result was a draw . All would acknowledge that the Southern fleet inflicted far more damage than it received , which would ordinarily imply that they had gained a tactical victory . Compared to other Civil War battles , the loss of men and ships for the Union Navy would be considered a clear defeat . On the other hand , the blockade was not seriously threatened , so the entire battle can be regarded as an assault that ultimately failed . However , initially after the Battle of Hampton Roads , both the Confederates and the Unions used media to claim victory for their own sides . The headline a Boston newspaper the day after the battle read " The Merrimac Driven back by the Steamer ! " , implying a Union victory , while Confederate media focused on their original success against wooden Union ships . Despite the battle ending in a stalemate , it was seen by both sides as an opportunity to raise war - time morale , especially since the ironclad ships were an exciting naval innovation that intrigued citizens . Evaluation of the strategic results is likewise disputed . The blockade was maintained , even strengthened , and " Virginia " was bottled up in Hampton Roads . Because a decisive Confederate weapon was negated , some have concluded that the Union could claim a strategic victory . Confederate advocates can counter , however , by arguing that " Virginia " had a military significance larger than the blockade , which was only a small part of the war in Tidewater Virginia . Her mere presence was sufficient to close the James River to Federal incursions . She also imposed other constraints on the Peninsula Campaign then being mounted by the Union Army under General George B . McClellan , who worried that she could interfere with his positions on the York River . Although his fears were baseless , they continued to affect the movements of his army until " Virginia " was destroyed . Impact upon naval warfare . Both days of the battle attracted attention from almost all the world ' s navies . The USS " Monitor " became the prototype for the monitor warship type . She thus became one of two ships whose names were applied to entire classes of their successors . The other was . Many more were built , including river monitor s , and they played key roles in Civil War battles on the Mississippi and James rivers . The US immediately started the construction of ten more monitors based on Ericsson ' s original larger plan , known as the " Passaic " - class monitors . However , while the design proved exceptionally well - suited for river combat , the low profile and heavy turret caused poor seaworthiness in rough waters . Russia , fearing that the American Civil War would spill into Russian Alaska , launched ten sister ships , as soon as Ericsson ' s plans reached St . Petersburg . What followed has been described as " " Monitor mania " " . The revolving turret later inspired similar designs for future warships , which eventually became the modern battleship . The vulnerability of wooden hulls to armored ships was noted particularly in Britain and France , where the wisdom of the planned conversion of the battle fleet to armor was given a powerful demonstration . Another feature that was emulated was not so successful . Impressed by the ease with which the " Virginia " had sunk the " Cumberland , " naval architects began to incorporate rams into their hull designs . The first purpose - built ram in the modern era was the French armored ram " Taureau " ( 1863 ) , whose guns were said to have " the sole function of preparing the way for the ram . " The inclusion of rams in warship hull design persisted almost to the outbreak of World War I , despite improvements in naval gunnery that quickly made close action between warships almost suicidal , if not impossible . Commemorating the battle : " Virginia " . The name of the warship that served the Confederacy in the Battle of Hampton Roads has been a continuing source of confusion and some contention . She was originally a screw frigate in the United States Navy carrying the name USS " Merrimack " . All parties continued to use the name after her capture by secessionists while she was being rebuilt as an ironclad . When her conversion was almost complete , her name was officially changed to " Virginia " . Despite the official name change , Union accounts persisted in calling the " Merrimack " by her original name , while Confederate sources used either " Virginia " or " Merrimac ( k ) " . The alliteration of " Monitor " and " Merrimack " has persuaded most popular accounts to adopt the familiar name , even when it is acknowledged to be technically incorrect . A CSS " Merrimac " did actually exist . She was a paddle wheel steamer named for the victor ( as most Southerners saw it ) at Hampton Roads . She was used for running the blockade until she was captured and taken into Federal service , still named " Merrimac . " Her name was a spelling variant of the river , namesake of USS " Merrimack " . Both spellings are still in use around the Hampton Roads area . A small community in Montgomery County , Virginia near the location where the iron for the Confederate ironclad was forged is now known as Merrimac . Some of the iron mined there and used in the plating on the Confederate ironclad is displayed at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth . The anchor of the " Virginia " sits on the lawn in front of the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond . Commemorating the battle : " Monitor " . After resting undetected on the ocean floor for 111 years , the wreck of " Monitor " was located by a team of scientists in 1973 . The remains of the ship were found upside down off Cape Hatteras , on a relatively flat , sandy bottom at a depth of about . In 1987 , the site was declared a National Marine Sanctuary , the first shipwreck to receive this distinction . Because of " Monitor " s advanced state of deterioration , timely recovery of remaining significant artifacts and ship components became critical . Numerous fragile artifacts , including the innovative turret and its two Dahlgren guns , an anchor , steam engine , and propeller , have been recovered . They were transported back to Hampton Roads to the Mariners ' Museum in Newport News , Virginia , where they were treated in special tanks to stabilize the metal . The new USS " Monitor " Center at the Mariners ' Museum officially opened on March 9 , 2007 , and a full - scale replica of USS " Monitor " , the original recovered turret , and artifacts and related items are now on display . Some artifacts from CSS " Virginia " are also on display . Commemorating the Battle of Hampton Roads . The Battle of Hampton Roads was a significant event in both Naval and Civil War history that has been detailed in many books , televised Civil War documentaries , and in film , to include TNT ' s 1991 " Ironclads " . In New York City , where the designer of the Monitor , John Ericsson , died in March 1889 , a statue was commissioned by the state to commemorate the battle between the Ironclads . The statue features a stylized male nude allegorical figure on water between two iron cleats . It is located in Msgr McGolrick Park . In Virginia , the state dedicated the Monitor - Merrimack Overlook at Anderson Park on a jetty that overlooks the site of the battle . The park contains several historical markers commemorating both ships . Also , in 1992 , Virginia dedicated the $ 400 million , 4 . 6 mile - long Monitor - Merrimac Memorial Bridge - Tunnel , which is located less than 1 mile from the site of the battle . c : Notes . Abbreviations used in these notes :