The Monitor and the Merrimac

The Battle of Hampton Roads pitted two ships that either were or had been in the United States Navy against each other. Both of these ships, the Monitor and the Merrimac, were ironclads, technological wonders of their time. This confrontation, with the Monitor on the side of the Union and the Merrimac, which went under the name CSS Virginia, on the Confederate side, was a result of the Union naval blockade of the Southern cities of Norfolk and Richmond. The Monitor was absent from the first day of fighting, so the Merrimac was only opposed by traditional wooden hulled vessels of the Union Navy. After destroying two ships, the Merrimac was set to destroy the USS Minnesota, but her captain, Franklin Buchanan, decided to wait until morning for more favorable tides, as the Minnesota had run aground, and wasn't going anywhere. In the morning, however, the crew of the Virginia discovered that, in the night, the ironclad Monitor had taken up a defensive position of the Minnesota. Both ironclads engaged in a naval battle, though neither was able to cripple the opposing ships. After three hours, both ships returned to their respective ports. This could be considered a Union victory, for the blockade remained in effect.