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
IRONCLAD SHIPS The North had a major naval advantage The South did not have its own navy at the start of the war It did not try to match the Union’s navy Instead it focused on defending its harbors Ironclad ships were one way to do this The first battle between ironclads was between the Virginia and the Monitor Neither side won the battle Still it marked the beginning of a new way to fight on water A new day brought a new Confederate commander The Virginia’s Catesby Jones continued the fight He attacked the USS Minnesota But this time the Union was ready The USS Monitor joined the Minnesota Like the Virginia the Monitor was an ironclad ship Rather than angled sides it had a mostly flat top Only a circular turret with a pair of cannons rose above the water The ironclads traded cannon fire for hours Most shots simply dented their thick armor The battle ended in a draw Both ships finally retreated It would go down in history as the first-ever battle between ironclad ships
The Virginia and the Monitor became famous examples of Civil War technology POLITICS AND WEAPONS By 1860 the issue of slavery had deeply divided the United States Northern states had outlawed the practice They did not want it spreading to new states Southern states still enslaved people Eleven Southern states decided to secede to keep slavery They called themselves the Confederate States of America The Northern states were known as the Union They did not accept the South’s secession Led by President Abraham Lincoln the Union went to war to PERSPECTIVES A NORTHERN ADVANTAGE Many technologies became available during the Civil War The Confederacy often did not have the same access to them that the Union did Most weapons factories were located in the North The Union also had more railroad lines This made it easier to transport high-tech weapons to the front lines
