Introduction
A Painting of The Battle of Hampton Roads. The USS Monitor and The CSS Virginia.
The Battle of Hampton Roads

On March 9, 1862, the Civil War battle of Hampton Roads between the ironclads USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (formerly the USS Merrimack) heralded the beginning of a new era in naval warfare. Though indecisive, the battle marked the change from wood and sail to iron and steam.

Today, the remains of the Monitor rest on the ocean floor off North Carolina's Outer Banks, where the ship sank in a storm on December 31, 1862. Discovered in 1973, the Monitor wreck site was designated the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary and is managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The purpose of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary is to preserve the historic record of this significant vessel and to interpret her role in shaping US naval history. Over the past several years NOAA has made extensive surveys of the wreck site and recovered a number of artifacts from the Monitor.

This section of the site offers an overview of the development and career of the USS Monitor from her conception by John Ericsson, through her short career as a warship of the United States Navy, and her loss off Cape Hatteras in December 1862.

Tips on navigating History...

There are two ways to get around in the History section - using the navigation on the left side or simply use the ‘NEXT’ and 'PREVIOUS' buttons at the top and bottom of each page to proceed through the storyline. Keep in mind that if you are primarily using the left side navigation that The CSS Virginia, The USS Monitor and Chronology each consist of several pages.

Table Of Contents:

 
Naval Strategy of the Civil War: The Anaconda Plan - At the onset of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln met with his generals to devise a strategy...
Development of Ironclad Warships Before the Civil War - Neither the Monitor nor the Virginia was the first ironclad war vessel...
Early Development of Confederate Naval Technology: The CSS Virginia - On the eve of the Civil War Gosport was the largest naval station...
The Development, Design, and Construction of the CSS Virginia - The Confederate Naval Department was created by the Provisional Congress...
The Revolutionary Union Ironclad Monitor - The efforts by the Confederates to construct an ironclad in Hampton Roads...
Development, Design, and Construction of the Monitor - To meet the deadline set by the government, Ericsson subcontracted...
What Circumstances Dictated the Monitor's Size and Peculiar Construction?
From Inception to Sinking
Chronology of the USS Monitor: 1854 - 1861
From Inception to Sinking
Chronology of the USS Monitor: 1862