UnionConfederate
8 March, 12:30 p.m.
Smoke over Craney Island
The ironclad Virginia, rebuilt from the burned frigate Merrimack, comes down the Elizabeth River on her first voyage. Off Newport News the frigates Congress and Cumberland lie at anchor.
The battle
On 8 March 1862 the Confederate ironclad Virginia, rebuilt on the burned hull of the frigate Merrimack, steamed out of Norfolk into Hampton Roads, where a Union squadron lay at anchor. In one afternoon she rammed and sank the sloop Cumberland, drove the frigate Congress aground and set her on fire, and left the steam frigate Minnesota stranded on a shoal.
That night the Union’s own ironclad, Monitor, came in past Fort Monroe. On the morning of 9 March she placed herself between Virginia and the grounded Minnesota, and the two ironclads fought at close range for more than three hours. Neither could disable the other. Virginia withdrew to Norfolk, and Minnesota was saved.
It was the first fight between ironclad warships. The Union lost two warships and more than 240 men on the first day. A French warship, Gassendi, watched from the anchorage, and her captain’s report is among the best accounts of both days.
Reading the chart
- Positions are a reconstruction from the officers’ reports and ships’ logs. They are placed relative to the landmarks the reports name, and Cumberland at her wreck.
- Where accounts differ on a time, often by 10 to 30 minutes, the chart follows the time most of them agree on.
- On 9 March the reports give the order of Virginia’s grounding, her ram on Monitor and the shell into Dragon but not the clock time; the chart puts each in the gap the timed events leave.
- The courses of the James River gunboats, Beaufort and St. Lawrence are inferred from where the reports place them.
- Ships are drawn far larger than life so they can be seen, but in proportion to one another. Stars are shore batteries. Rates of fire are representative, not counted.
- The coastline is today’s. Newport News, Craney Island and Sewell’s Point have been built out since 1862, and the shoals have moved.
The ships
- CumberlandUnionSailing sloop of war, twenty-two 9-inch Dahlgrens, a 10-inch and a 70-pdr rifle on pivotsLt. George U. Morris, in the absence of Cdr. William RadfordRammed by Virginia and sunk at her anchorage, firing to the last. 121 of 376 aboard killed or drowned.
- CongressUnionSailing frigate, ten 8-inch and forty 32-pdrsLt. Joseph B. Smith (killed)Ran aground, struck her colours and was set on fire with hot shot. Her magazine blew up after midnight. About 120 of 434 aboard killed or missing.
- MinnesotaUnionScrew steam frigate, one 10-inch, twenty-six 9-inch and fourteen 8-inchCapt. Gershom J. Van BruntRan aground on 8 March and was saved by Monitor on the 9th. Floated off at 2 a.m. on the 10th. 3 killed and 16 wounded aboard.
- RoanokeUnionScrew steam frigate, her shaft broken, under tow, two 10-inch, twenty-eight 9-inch and fourteen 8-inchCapt. John Marston, senior officer presentTowed toward the fight by the tugs Dragon and Young America, grounded briefly and turned back. Little damage.
- St. LawrenceUnionSailing frigate, towed by the steamer Cambridge, about fifty 8-inch and 32-pdr gunsCapt. Hugh Y. PurvianceGrounded near Minnesota and was hit by one shell that did not burst. Got off and withdrew.
- MonitorUnionTurret ironclad, two 11-inch Dahlgrens in a revolving turretLt. John L. Worden (wounded), then Lt. Samuel Dana GreeneFought Virginia to a standstill on 9 March. Struck 22 times; no one aboard killed. Foundered off Cape Hatteras on 31 December 1862.
- DragonUnionScrew tug, a 30-pdr rifle and a 24-pdrActing Master William WatsonWorked through the night to haul Minnesota off. A shell from Virginia burst her boiler on 9 March, wounding three.
- Newport News batteriesUnionArmy shore batteries, four columbiads, a 42-pdr James rifle, three 8-inch siege howitzers and rifled field gunsBrig. Gen. Joseph K. F. MansfieldFired on Virginia and the Confederate gunboats all afternoon. No one killed.
- VirginiaConfederateCasemate ironclad ram, rebuilt from the frigate Merrimack, two 7-inch and two 6-inch rifles, six 9-inch DahlgrensFlag Officer Franklin Buchanan (wounded 8 March), then Lt. Catesby ap R. JonesLost her ram in Cumberland, had two gun muzzles shot off and was leaking. Fought Monitor to a draw. Blown up by her crew off Craney Island on 11 May 1862.
- Patrick HenryConfederateSide-wheel steamer, ten to twelve guns (accounts differ)Cdr. John R. TuckerA shot through her boiler stopped her engine and scalded four or more men to death. Towed clear by Jamestown, she came back into action on one boiler.
- JamestownConfederateSide-wheel steamer, two gunsLt. J. N. BarneyEngaged Congress and Minnesota, and towed the disabled Patrick Henry out of action.
- TeaserConfederateScrew tug, one or two guns (accounts differ)Lt. W. A. WebbCovered Lt. Minor’s boat when he tried to burn Congress.
- BeaufortConfederateIron screw tug, one gunLt. W. H. ParkerReceived the surrender of Congress and carried her prisoners to Norfolk.
- Sewell’s Point batteryConfederateShore batteryFired on Minnesota and Roanoke as they came up the Roads.
Sources
- Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies, Ser. I Vol. 7 (1898): reports and logs of both sides
- Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies, Ser. II Vol. 1 (1921): ship statistics
- Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. I (1887): accounts by Wood, Greene, Reaney, Colston and Phillips, and the map of Hampton Roads
- Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Cumberland
- Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Congress
- Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Minnesota
- Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Roanoke
- Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: St. Lawrence
- Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Monitor
- Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships: Dragon
- Naval History and Heritage Command: CSS Virginia
- Naval History and Heritage Command: Patrick Henry
- Naval History and Heritage Command: Jamestown
- Naval History and Heritage Command: Teaser
- Naval History and Heritage Command: Beaufort
- Naval History and Heritage Command: the wreck of USS Cumberland