Battle of Hampton Roads

USA / Virginia / Hampton /
 military, battlefield, interesting place, historical layer / disappeared object, American Civil War 1861-1865
Attempt by the Confederacy to lift the union blockade of the Chesapeake Bay using their new ironclad warship CSS Virginia.

The Union blockade squadron consisted of five of the best wooden warships in the fleet, including the USS Cumberland, USS Congress and the steam frigates USS Minnesota and USS Roanoke. Ironically the last two were sister ships of the USS Merrimack, the sunken ship the Confederates raised and converted into the Virginia.

The battle began when the large and somewhat unwieldy Virginia,commanded by Captain Franklin Buchanan, steamed into Hampton Roads from Norfolk on the morning of March 8, 1862.

She opened the engagement when less than a mile distant from USS Cumberland. She then rammed Cumberland below the waterline and the Union warship sank rapidly. Buchanan next turned the Virginia on USS Congress. After an hour, the badly-damaged Congress, burning out of control, surrendered. Buchanan had handed the United States Navy the worst defeat it would take until Pearl Harbor.261 were killed and 108 wounded.

The next morning, on March 9, 1862, Virginia returned to finish off the grounded Minnesota and lift the blockade. The way was blocked by the newly arrived USS Monitor. After fighting for hours, mostly at close range, neither could overcome the other. Finally, Virginia retreated, leaving Monitor and the rest of the Union fleet.

Both sides claimed victory, but the Union blockade remained in place. The later fall of Norfolk to Union forces left the Virginia without a homeport, and she was blown up by her crew in the Elizabeth River rather than risk grounding in the Upper James and being captured.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Ironclads
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   36°58'22"N   76°21'35"W

Comments

  • The MMMBT is named after this battle
This article was last modified 13 years ago