A NATION DIVIDED It was the spring of 1862 The CSS Virginia left Norfolk Virginia It searched for Union ships just a few miles off the coastline The Virginia looked unlike other ships of the American Civil War 1861 1865 Its angular iron sides rose above the water Ten cannons poked out from its thick armor Confederate officer Franklin Buchanan steamed the Virginia toward the USS Cumberland The wooden Union ship was no match for the Confederate ironclad The Virginia had a 1,500-pound 680-kg battering ram It smashed through the The Virginia right looked vastly different from earlier ships
The Monitor right was able to put up a fight against the Virginia Cumberland’s sides The ship began to take on water The Virginia got tangled up in the wreckage and it looked as though both ships might go down But then the iron ram broke off The Virginia escaped Buchanan next set his sights on the USS Congress The Congress attempted to escape But the Southern
sailors fired upon it It seemed the Congress would surrender Buchanan appeared on the deck of the Virginia Just then a musket ball fired from the Congress struck him The Virginia retreated The end of the battle would have to wait until the next day
