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Tag Archives: CSS Virginia
Under Fire — Feeling Something Warm: A Gunner on USS Congress in the Battle of Hampton Roads
The fearsome Rebel ironclad CSS Virginia (ex USS Merrimack, aka Merrimac) materialized in Hampton Roads, Virginia, that calm and clear Saturday morning, March 8, 1862. “The ‘Merrimac’ was steaming slowly towards us,” recalled Seaman Frederick H. Curtis of the wooden … Continue reading
Recruiting the Crew: Iron Men for Iron Ships
Both Civil War navies faced severe recruiting shortages in that first war year and indeed throughout the conflict. The U. S. Navy expanded tenfold, competing for enlistees not only against the army but also alongside the burgeoning, more lucrative, and … Continue reading
The Paradox of the Lost Cause: Part I
Emerging Civil War is pleased to welcome guest contributor Adam Burke… Tucked into the nook of a large brick building in historic Harpers Ferry is a conspicuous granite monolith. It stands along Potomac Street, a lesser traveled street one block … Continue reading
The ECW Series Gets Naval: Prepare for the clash of the ironclads!
The clash of the Monitor vs. the Merrimack—the alliterative “M’s” made for a catchy hook for many of us as kids!—is one of the best-known stories of the Civil War: two iron sea beasts trading explosive blows, battling to a … Continue reading
First Battle of Ironclads: Myths, Facts, What Ifs
Today is the 159th anniversary of the battle and my new Emerging Civil War Series book, Unlike Anything That Ever Floated: The Monitor and Virginia and the Battle Hampton Roads, March 8-9, 1862 is just hitting the shelves. Time for … Continue reading
What’s In a (Confederate) Name?
Visitors to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis are engulfed in history. The magnificent grounds on the Severn River (known officially as “the yard”) abound in monuments, plaques, halls, and displays memorializing the nation’s naval heritage. Names of heroes … Continue reading
The Emergency Ironclads
In late summer 1861, the United States Navy initiated a crash program to build their first ironclad warships, leading directly to the titanic clash between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia (ex USS Merrimack) in Hampton Roads on March … Continue reading
Posted in Navies
Tagged Civil War Strategy, CSS Virginia, Gideon Welles, International affairs, ironclads, naval strategy, USS Monitor
6 Comments
An Ancient and Fearsome Weapon: The Ram
The ram—the main armament of sleek and swift Greek triremes powered by 180 rowers—turned back a Persian invasion at the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC and launched Western Civilization. Rowing galleys ruled the Mediterranean for two more millennia, the … Continue reading
Posted in Battles, Navies, Weapons
Tagged Battle of Hampton Roads, Catesby ap R. Jones, CSS Virginia, Franklin Buchanan, USS COngress, USS Cumberland
2 Comments
Sink Before Surrender: The CSS Virginia Gets Underway
In the dawn of that fateful Saturday, March 8, 1862, the CSS Virginia lay alongside the Gosport Shipyard quay on the west bank of the Elizabeth River across from Norfolk, Virginia, and just upriver from Hampton Roads. The storm passed … Continue reading
ECW Weekender: View from the Ramparts – Fortress Monroe, Virginia
In the gathering dusk of Saturday, March 8, 1862, a young Union telegrapher, John Emmet O’Brien, stood on the ramparts of Fortress Monroe on Old Point Comfort dominating the entrance to Hampton Roads, Virginia. He looked to the right and … Continue reading
