"On This Day" March 9, 1862 The first battle of ironclad ships takes place in the waterways of Hampton Roads when the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia (Merrimac) engage in a five-hour fight that ends in a draw. | Virginia Museum of History & Culture

The Confederate ironclad CSS Atlanta was built from the hull of the blockade runner SS Fingal, which ran weapons into Savannah, Georgia, in 1861. After its blockade-running career ended due to Union control of the river, the ship was converted to an ironclad, but its deep draft limited its operations. The CSS Atlanta was captured by Union monitors USS Weehawken and USS Nahant in June 1863 during the Battle of Wassaw Sound. Renamed the USS Atlanta, it was recommissioned into the Union Navy and se

The ironclad Virginia, formerly known as the USS Merrimack, was a Confederate warship that emerged as a crucial naval innovation during the American Civil War. Commissioned in early 1861, it was salvaged and reconfigured by the Confederates to combat the Union blockade. The Virginia's ironclad design, featuring a sloped armor and a steam-powered engine, allowed it to withstand traditional naval artillery. On March 8, 1862, the Virginia demonstrated its might by destroying several wooden Union sh