Dates:

March 8-9, 1862

Other Names:

Monitor vs. Virginia (Merrimack), Battle of the Ironclads

Location:

Hampton Roads, Virginia

Key Individuals Involved in the Battle of Hampton Roads:

Union[/b Lieutenant John Worden 

Confederate: Captian Franklin Buchanan and Lieutenant Catesby R. Jones

Outcome:

Inconclusive. 433casualties of which 409 were Union soldiers.

Overview of the Battle :

On March 8, 1862, from her berth at Norfolk, the Confederate ironclad Virginia steamed into Hampton Roads where she sank Cumberland and ran Congress aground. On March 9, the Union ironclad Monitor having fortuitously arrived to do battle, initiated the first engagement of ironclads in history. The two ships fought each other to a standstill, but Virginia retired.