A recording of a live virtual presentation by the Hampton Roads Naval Museum as they hosted Dr. Anna Gibson Holloway, who presented “The Remains of the Celebrated Ironclad: Gosport and the Fate of CSS Virginia.” The presentation includes an introduction by Museum Director, John Pentangelo, followed by a historical presentation that coincides with the scuttling of the Confederate Navy’s CSS Virginia during the Civil War on May 11, 1862 just off the waters of Craney Island off Portsmouth, Virginia. (US Navy Video by Max Lonzanida/Released).

Transcript

Yeah, my name is john Pentangelo, director of the Hampton Roads Naval Museum. Were an official department of the Navy Museum administered by the Naval History and Heritage Command and we’re located in Norfolk Virginia. Welcome to tonight’s program. A virtual lecture about the confederate ironclad CSS Virginia with our special guest Dr. Anna Holloway. Many of you know, the Battle of Hampton Roads which occurred from March 8th to March 9th in 1862. Just 11 months into the American civil war, it was the world’s first battle between ironclad warships and forever changed naval history. Technological advancements in iron armor, exploding ordinance and steam propulsion ensured that naval warfare, which had remained fairly consistent over the last 350 years, was about to change forever to combat the larger, more powerful Union Navy. The confederacy employed commerce Raiders on the open water and a small number of iron clad on its coasts and rivers. The first of these armored warships, the C. S. S. Virginia was converted from the scuttled steam frigate Merrimack just across the Elizabeth River at what is now known as the Norfolk Naval shipyard. The reports of her conversion caused a panic throughout the north. As many in Washington feared Virginia with steam right up the Potomac river and shelled the nation’s capital. This fear prompted the Union Navy to build its own ironclad. The first completed was the Revolutionary USs Monitor. Before Monitor arrived on the scene, the C. S. S. Virginia steamed into Hampton roads to destroy the ships of the north. Atlantic blockading squadron vessels that had stood as sentinels. At the gates of this vital harbor, armed with an iron ram on her bow, Virginia crashed into the wooden soup of war Uss Cumberland, leaving a gaping hole in her starboard bow. The ship fired at Virginia’s practically Impenetrable iron case mate, even as water poured into the lower decks. Ultimately 121 members of her crew perished. As the ship sank to the bottom of Hampton Roads, her color’s still flying from the upper masts, piercing the water’s surface. Virginia’s guns then set the frigate USs Congress ablaze and she to sank. The frigate Minnesota ran aground and seemed doomed to the same fate but was saved when darkness and falling tides forced an end to the attack, The us Navy’s worst defeat until December 7 1941. That night the monitor arrived and the next day saw the famous duel between the Iron Clouds. Mhm. Before we begin tonight’s lecture, let’s take a look at the museum’s collections related to the Battle of Hampton roads. Shown here is a stunning scale model of CSS Virginia along with a piece of the warships iron plate. The tredegar iron works in Richmond took iron from railroad tracks, melted them down and fashion them into the pieces to create Virginia’s iron case mate. Also on exhibit are Virginias Bell, as well as one of her nine shells. The museum is the official repository for artifacts salvaged from USs Cumberland’s wreck just off Newport News Underwater archeologists brought up many of these items in the early 1980s and ultimately transfer them to the museum. Unfortunately, Waterman illegally excavated the wreck site in the years after this legitimate recovery, some of the looted copper was even melted down and refashioned into Civil War style belt buckles for sale to collectors. When federal agents recovered these artifacts, they too came to the museum to be preserved and shared with the public. Here’s Cumberland’s ship’s Bell, which signaled the watch changes and mark the time that managed all shipboard routines. Other items, such as this plate actually helped identify the wreck due to the maker’s mark imprint on the back. This pipe used by a sailor has an oyster shell embedded in the bowl, reminder that a naval vessel is more than iron, wood and canvas. It is the home of hundreds of sailors, each with their own tales of where they’re going and where they’ve been no doubt discussed many nights after the watch over a plug of tobacco, Please visit the museum or go to our website, blog or social media pages to learn more about the incredible naval history of Hampton roads. Our mission is to interpret this rich history, to benefit a sailor’s education and to bring the american people closer to their navy. Thank you for joining us tonight and I hope you enjoy the program. Pleasure to introduce tonight’s speaker. DR Anna Gibson Holloway. Dr Holloway is the fleet history team lead within the histories branch of the Naval History and Heritage Command in Washington, D. C. They actually is responsible for the team that produces the dictionary of american naval fighting ships as well as other projects dealing with sailor stories, Fleet history and Fleet support. Prior to joining the Naval History and Heritage Command in 2020, she was museum services director of search, incorporated a global archaeological and cultural resources management firm. From 2014 to 2017 she served as the maritime historian of the National Park Service, also in Washington, D. C., where she provided expertise relating to american maritime history. From 2000 to 2014, Anna served in a number of roles at the Mariner’s Museum in Newport news Virginia, culminating as the vice president of Museum Collections and programs. As curator of the award winning USS Monitor Center. She led a multidisciplinary team in the creation of the 20,000 square foot award winning exhibition and assisted in the development of the center’s State of the Art Conservation facility. She has lectured internationally on a variety of maritime topics, published articles in naval history, Civil War times and american heritage, among others. She’s curated numerous exhibitions and programs, appeared on national television, most recently in National Geographics, during the oceans And is the co author along with Jonathan White of Our Little Monitor. Published in 2018, The Winston Salem native graduated from the University of north Carolina at Greensboro with baccalaureate degrees in english literature and classical medieval civilization. She received her master’s degree in early modern history and her PhD in american history from the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg Virginia dr Holloway. Thank you for joining us tonight. Thank you so much. Thanks for having me here. I’ve been looking forward to this for for quite some time now and well today is the perfect day for this presentation. Um Being 159th anniversary of the first time C. S. S. Virginia got blown up. Um There’s gonna be several more times over the course of this particular um presentation that she’ll get blown up again and again. Um But can you have the next slide please? Mhm. Just um as as john pointed out, um I am currently with the Naval History and Heritage come in but the work that I’m gonna present here tonight really comes out of the years that I worked at the Mariner’s Museum um putting together USs monitor center with an incredible team. Um And um it’s time that we look at the other chefs in politics battles, Hampton roads and um I hope you’re gonna have some fun um with what we’ll be talking about tonight. Now, while the battle of Hampton roads between monitoring Virginia was important, Another lesser known battle is what I’m going to be focusing on for part of this presentation and that’s the battle with the water. The battle to salvage the vessels that were the victims of war and we’re obstructions to both war and peace. Next slide, please. Yeah. Now will focus much of my presentation today on Uss Merrimac and her later incarnation of C. S. S. Virginia. But a quick note on the name, Merrimack, old habits died hard and the overwhelming favorite game for the ironclad ships throughout the 19th century was Merrimack. No matter what side you were on. Um So because of the sources, you’ll find me tonight actually using both names interchangeably throughout. But yes, the ironclad Virginia was her name in Virginia of Virginia, iron and wood and by virginians was she built and in Virginia’s waters now made classic by her exploits, she made a record which shall live forever. These are the words of confederate, colonel Charles, Norris writing in the 19th century and of course, judging by how many decades it took to substantially salvage her post war, it probably felt that she would lie in her watery grave forever as well. Next slide, please Now to set the stage for her first demise. Let’s look at the state of the US. Navy in early 1861. Um at that time the US. Navy had 90 shift, But only 52 were considered serviceable. Of those, only four were in northern waters where they could be easily deployed against the rebellion. four vessels were in Pensacola, one was in the Great Lakes, And 24 were spread out around the world, in the Mediterranean Pacific, off the coast of Africa Brazil in the Caribbean. The rest were laid up in ordinary, which basically meant they were undergoing repairs of some sort or simply mothballs. The Merrimack was one of those. She was in ordinary at Gaza Port Navy Yard in Hampton Roads. She was a relatively young vessel at this point, having been commissioned in February of 1856. Um, she spent her early time in the Caribbean and Europe before Kneading her first repairs and 18 57 she had notoriously difficult as they called it then deranged engines, She didn’t spend time as flagship in the Pacific Squadron, but her engines always unreliable, landed her in the Norfolk in Norfolk at Davenport Navy Yard in February of 1860, and she was still there in April of 1861. Now, as you all know at that time, virginians were split both politically and ideologically over the idea of secession. But when President Lincoln called for volunteers to fight their southern Brethren, many in Virginia felt they had to take a stand and so on. April 17 1861, Virginia legislature voted for secession. Now, this has been anticipated by Gideon Welles, who was secretary of the U. S. Navy and he had plans already underway to remove valuable ships and more material from Southport Navy Yard in Portsmouth, Virginia. But mixed messaging that was reaching the commandant, Charles Stuart Macaulay resulted in very little um shipped more material, anything being removed By the time that Virginia Governor john Letcher ordered Major General William Booth Oliver of the Virginia Militia, the notebook to occupy the Navy Yard. Now, citizens in Norfolk and Portsmouth quickly um um went to work and they began placing disruptions to navigation off of Sewell’s point so that it would be hard to get either in or out of the God Sport Navy Yard where the U. S. Navy was still ensconced. Other citizens decided to create a ruse to make the commandant. Macaulay believed that huge numbers of troops were arriving by train, running the same train back and forth with the same men on board. They would arrive noisily to great fanfare and then sneak off and then arrive again, Making the Cali think that that vast numbers of armed men were massing outside of the yard. The work had been at a fevered pitch on trying to get the Merrimac ready because for Gideon Welles, it was so important to get the Merrimac out and up to philadelphia. Um even though she was nearly ready, Macaulay panicked and ordered the abandonment of God Sport Navy Yard by U. S. Navy personnel which culminated in the burning of the yard as you see here and the ships there on april 20th. Um Only the flip of war Cumberland was successfully removed by U. S. Navy personnel that night though she was hampered by those very obstructions placed by the virginians with Cumberland, actually briefly dragging one of the sunken wrecks as she made her successful escape. Now while Union forces attempted thorough destruction, they left much of the are damaged but still usable for the Virginia State Navy. So both the Union and confederacy at this point it contributed to the chaos left behind in the Elizabeth River. Um the ruins of german town, Plymouth, pennsylvania, Rarotonga, Colombia, Delaware dolphin, the United States and Merrimack. We’re obstructions to navigation to be sure, But they also were or they contained valuable war materials. Now the immediate problem for the virginians was to solve how um to raise them and not just the large vessels, but also the smaller obstructions to navigation. And who was going to do it? Next slide, please. All right, joseph pierce. Not actually pictured here, but he was a diver um at the Navy Yard. Um He was formerly the master ship’s carpenter at the yard and had resigned his commission to remain with the Virginia Navy and he used whatever means he had available at the yard to begin the work. So he had diving bells, he had some um surface supplied um, pumps for uh diving suits as you see here. Um and he did get the United States pumped out and began raising guns and shot and some gunpowder from some of the sunken vessels. But it was clear that it was, he’s going to take a larger effort overall. Now, fortunately for pierce as well as the nascent Virginia State Navy, a local firm had the resources and expertise to raise all of the muscles and ordinance in the yard. That firm was B and J baker and Company then located baker’s Worf in Portsmouth Virginia, right next to the Navy Yard. Now, books about the early days of the war occasionally mentioned this firm, though just as often the firmer names. Nameless. Most modern books on C. S. S. Virginia, the Battle of Hampton Roads give the bakers a sentence of anything at all, in part because primary sources are really so devoid of description. Um but there is 1/19 century volume by john Wh Porter, his record of events in Norfolk County. That’s a little more descriptive, he says, quote the sunken vessels, Merrimack, Lemonis Germantown Dalton. Which, relying alongside the War of the Navy Yard, were gotten up by the baker wrecking company under direction of the confederate authorities. To get them out of the way. He mentions that these authorities thought that some of the vessels were salvageable, and thus some work was commenced on the last three. With a view to fitting them out. The Merrimac, he says, was burned down to her waterline, and it was not thought any use could be made of her beyond taking her machinery out of her. But subsequent events proved the fallacy of human predictions for the stone, which the builders rejected, became the keystone of the Temple. The bakers would be the ones who delivered the keystones to the confederate navy. Next slide, please. So who were the skillful artisans? How did that were touted in um confederate leaning papers of the celebrated records. The bakers who expeditiously and faithfully raised the ships that God sport Well, These were the baker brothers um joseph and Barnabas. Um On the left is an image of joseph baker. Um There are no accident images of his older brother Barnabas, but the young man next to them there. Um Ebeneezer morgan stoddard um was one of their salwar Ortmann um both before the war and after. So the bakers were the first professional wrecking firm to open a salvage business in the technique bay region. Um They moved there in the 18 forties to work in the lucrative guano trade. Um and so they were there to salvage the vessels for insurance firms for a time. They were the only professional wrecking business south of new york and north of the florida keys. The bakers and their associates were instrumental in helping the confederacy transformed the destruction of God Sport Navy Yard into a growing naval threat to the union. And so the assumption of most people would be that either they tacitly o or overtly um were loyal confederates and that there are a lot of compelling reasons to think that, I mean, they raised the Merrimac, um and in the days following the secession of Virginia and the burning of God’s board, many within the Union considered all citizens of Norfolk Virginia and its environment to be suspect. And the bakers and their associates were no exception. But deeper analysis shows that the bakers were by no means confederate sympathizers. In fact, the bakers and most of their closest associates were all from New England and were staunchly pro union of the raising of the ships that God for. It was known locally that these Cape Codman were forced to accept the work and perform it using for it. They’re wrecking apparatus. They were unable to leave Hampton roads because of their value to the confederacy. So they found themselves faced with some very difficult choices situated as they were next to the Navy Yard, as well as in possession of the means to raise everything there. They were quickly pressed into service by the Virginia State Navy, but Virginia State Navy made it worth their while french forests. Now in command of the yard, issued a contract to the bakers for raising the bustles. So not sympathetic. Had the baker’s not signed this contract, they would have likely found that all doors in town were shot to them, including access to basics like food and life sustaining supplies. Others who had refused found themselves starving. The Bakers would receive $5,000 to raise the two sloops of war. The German town and plummet the Merrimac, though, was considerably larger and commanded a larger price contract for raising her halt stated in the eighties 18 61 guaranteed the bakers $10,000 for a successful list. That was done on May 30 1861. Richmond newspapers triumphantly reported. The following, he said yesterday morning. At five o’clock, four steam pumps were put in motion, the whole baton and leaks having been previously stopped, and indeed every preparation made preparatory to the operation of pumping. The four pumps discharged 160 barrels of water each minute or 40 barrels eat, and at six o’clock yesterday afternoon I went on board the raised steamer. She was alongside the wharf at the Navy Yard. They had then, as baker told me, discharge 12.5 ft of water, They’re on the six ft in the hold. She was up nine or 10 ft out of the surface of the water, and her water pipe had been cut in. The magazine was found turned so as to let in the stream of water. The baker turned so as the shut off the influx. The damage to the engine is not a serious character. I learned that it is not improbable that Merrimack may be taken into the dry dock today. Well, it wasn’t improbable french forest reported robert E lee that same day. We have the Merrimac up here in the dry dot. Now, the occasion was momentous for the confederacy. Raising the Merrimac as well as other vessels of God’s port, was not an unusual passed for the bakers and it was also not the only job they had. Now other members of their crew worked wreck new Hampton roads. They did so contriving, captured by the U. S. Navy to affect their escape north and one by one, several of the younger men of the company did just that very thing. One such was Evan stoddard again pictured here on the right, but next slide please. Evan um managed to get captured, was sent north, went back to his hometown of leisured Connecticut and promptly volunteered with the Union Navy and served as acting master on tier sarge. So one of the men who helped raise the Miramax helped take down the Alabama. But that’s a story for another day. Now confederate Navy Secretary Stephen Russell Mallory knew that no ordinary vessel would be able to break the Union blockade. Um Mallory had studied european ironclad technology, all these things and he urged jefferson Davis to adopt the class of vessel to their to unknown to naval service. Time was short. So, so Mallory thought, I can, I can buy them or I can build them. Perhaps I’ll do both. But they needed a design if they’re going to build it. And in the meeting with Mallory in late june in 18 61 ordinance expert, Senate john Mercer Brooke presented an idea for an ironclad with submerged ends and a slope case mate housing a battery of powerful rifles, guns. At the same meeting, naval constructor john luke Porter presented a plan for a floating steam battery, which also featured a case made design. Only one problem. The confederacy had no quick way to produce a suitable engine to power an ironclad of any design, but it did have the engine from the Merrimack though it was designed for a different type of vessel and not on floating battery of what porter and and Brooke had suggested naval engineer William Price, Williamson suggested maybe they could use the Merrimac herself be converted into an ironclad. Next slide, please. Is it moving? Try hitting it one more time. Ah there she is, returning to Portsmouth john luke. Porter said about adapting brooks design to the Merrimac. And Williamson surveyed the engine. This lovely little image here is in john luke Porter’s own hand to send his diary held at east Carolina University By July of 1861. The Ironclad project was officially underway. Mallory issued orders the french forests to build equip and system merrimack and all respects according to the designs and plans, The proposed launch date for the converted vessel with November 1861. Now, first they had to remove all the burned portions and stuff, the overall condition, but they found the whole sound and so workmen began uh work um cutting the things down. Um the bakers were again um brought into service to assist with this. Um and Williamson was overhauling the engine and he did make it serviceable. They also had to determine how sick the iron on her case mate needed to be. And so john mercer Brooke ordered tough, since he was relatively sure that the one inch thick plates that trigger arm works in Richmond was capable of rolling at that time, weren’t going to be the ticket. So um he actually conducted, conducted tests at Jamestown island in early October 1861 and just determined that he was going to need. Um He used shot from an eight inch gun and it shattered the one inch plate. Um so he realized that he was going to need two inch 6 to 2 inch six um Layers of iron backed by nearly two ft of wood. And that would make the vessel nearly impregnable trigger, had to overhaul their rolling machines and they were able to produce The two thick pieces of iron. But there were so many delays because my daughter was in Richmond and there was um, oh, I don’t know, a Union Army in between. Um, so transportation had to be very circuitous. Um, so the material went from Richmond down to north Carolina and then back up to God Sport, um, which delayed things. And then the confederate army didn’t make things any easier because sometimes they would comment, dear, the railcars dumped the iron over the side and then put their troops on board. Next slide please. But slowly the Virginia took shape. Um there in dry dock, number one at Fort Navy Yard. I love this little postcard, It’s uh, variation of the flint is in the collection of the Chrysler Museum. If memory serves, um, she was to be a modern vessel, but you can see here she had a very ancient secret weapon below the waterline, a ram or a prow um, the long obsolete as a naval weapon when steam propulsion replaced wind power, naval engineers thought they’d give it another go. Um Mallory knew that ramming could be devastating, and especially against the wooden walls of the Union Fleet, now blockading Hampton roads, given the gunpowder shortage in the south. This was really an inspired move because the ¬£1500 ram could easily punch through the sides of those ships. Next slide please. Now, her engines may have been weak, but her guns were not. In fact, the confederates kept some of the Merrimac original nine inch Dahlgren guns as part of Virginia’s battery, but supplemented it with other dolphins that had been catholic tredegar and were on hand to cardboard. So they were already powerful but Brooke made them even more devastating by modifying two of them to fire hot shots. There was a special furnace installed inside the engine room to heat solid shot that Cherry red around 1500¬∞F.. Um and this would be very devastating tool against the wooden walls. The Union sleep former guns rounded out the battery, the bow and the stern were a seven inch Brooke rifle which we believe was actually abandoned and sleeves nine inch Dahlgren. These are on pivot mounts and the broad side there were 26.4 inch Brooke rifles that were modified 32 pounders. So you can kind of see how, how the battery here shakes out. Next slide please. Here’s another view. The Merrimac continued to evolve. The slope case, mate would become a feature that would define several confederate ironclad um and we already talked about the thickness of the iron and the wood. Um the still unfinished confederate ironclad so was christened, launched and commissioned as the C. S. S. Virginia on february 17 18 62. Now, intelligence received by Gideon Welles of the U. S. Navy led them to pursue their own iron clouds. Next slide please, what do you do when you need an ironclad? You put an ad in the newspaper. Um These ads were in newspapers all the way from boston down to Baltimore Maryland. Um advertising for ironclad steam bustles. Um So basically the confederacy knew exactly what the U. S. Navy was up to. Um As a result of this ad 16 designs came in with a final won by john ericsson coming in over the transom three designs were chosen. Um Some were obviously not going to be chosen because people didn’t read what was in the ad and what was required. One fellow even created a design uh with a rubber clad, so the balls would bounce off the size presumably. Another one just sent in an idea um, with no pictures, no plans And it costs $1.5 million dollars so that one was discarded. But three were chosen including Ericsson’s monitor or what would become monitor. She was built in a little over 100 days next slide please and quickly launched january 30th 18 62 and rushed in the service because um, every day um, they believed that the Merrimac would come out um, and wreak havoc in Hampton roads and so as soon as it was practical, um, monitor was to head to Hampton roads to think the converted Merrimack at her morning. Next one please. Well, while imperfect the erstwhile Merrimack would prove a deadly concern when she finally reached Hampton Roads on her maiden voyage, which was planned for the sixth of March 18 62. But a storm kept the Virginia at her birth. The same storm nearly sank monitor rushing her way down the east Coast to Hampton Roads. And so it wasn’t until March eight that um Virginia could make her maiden voyage. Now it was workmen still aboard the commanding officer, Flag officer Franklin Buchanan ordered the crew to ready the ship for a cruise, and most of the crew believed this would be a shakedown cruise or test cruise, but the cannon had let his officers know he intended to take the ironclad directly into battle. So as the crew cast off the mooring lines, the workmen who had been installing or trying to install the import short of that gun port shutters fore and aft had to leap from the moving ironclad to the dock and the Virginia was underway. Now, those observing her departure kept eerily silent, recalling some of the crew years later and as the Virginia near Cranie island, Commander Buchanan reportedly said sailors in a few minutes, you will have the long look for opportunity of showing your devotion to our cause. Sorry, my cat is singing along with me here remember that you are about to strike for your company and your homes and in a nod to Horatio nelson. He said the confederacy expects every man to do his duty, beat to quarters. Many reminded them the whole world is watching you today and in fact that was true in in a kind of meta way. Now as the Virginia stand down the Elizabeth River, both things were crowded with people and many were just curious to see what this thing, you know, could it float? Um, some believed in her um, refused to believe that she could and say, go on with your old metal coffin. Some laugh, but the Virginia steamed in Hampton Roads. Next slide, please now, saturday March 8 18 62 was laundry day for the crews of the Union’s North atlantic Blockading squadron in Hampton roads. Um, the rigging of the wooden vessels was festooned with blue and white sailors clothing drying in the late winter’s sun. Shortly after noon, the quartermaster of Congress, which was anchored off Newport News Point, saw something strange through his telescope and he turned to the ship’s surgeon and said, I wish you’d take the glass and have a look over there, sir. I believe that thing is coming down at last and that thing was C. S. S. Virginia. The men of the North Atlantic blockading squadron had grown weary of waiting for the Virginia to come out. Now scrambled to prepare for battle and in the panic of the moment, with the tied up several vessels in Hampton roads ran aground, including the Congress and Minnesota. But the Cumberland was Buchanan’s first target. She had rifled guns that he thought could pose a threat to his iron club with his guns firing at the wooden ship, the cannon ran the Cumberland on her starboard side. The whole beneath her waterline was large large enough to drive a horse and carriage through with some set. The ship immediately began to sink, nearly taking the Virginia down with her. You see Virginia’s ran, that ancient weapon was trapped inside. Now, according to an officer from the Virginia, um uh one or according to one uh eyewitness. An officer from the Virginia asked Lieutenant Georgia Morris of the Cumberland to surrender. But Morris apparently, retorted dan you, you coward! You’ve made a slaughterhouse of my ship, we will think with our colors first, I think it is, replied the rebels. Sailor scores of Union sailors in the Cumberland died at their guns or went down. Whether ship guns still firing and flags still defiantly, that’s flying evidence of Cumberland’s wreckage would remain in Hampton roads for months and soldiers gathered souvenirs from among the items that washed up on the shore, but the Virginia broke free and steamed slowly into the James River. Now think about this moment. Here you’ve got stranded Union ship. They see the Virginia going up the James River and they begin to cheer, especially the men on the stranded Congress, thinking they’ve been spared the same fate. But the cheer after the course of about a half an hour was cut short when they saw all Virginia was doing was turning around. Yeah, her withering firepower then tore into Congress for nearly two hours. Was most of the crew on Congress, dead or wounded, including the commanding officer. The next in command was lieutenant commander off some Pendergraph. He surrenders the Congress, but union batteries on the shore did not um no this or they decided to um ignore it and continued to fire on the confederates who were trying to take surrender from Pendergraph. They were firing on a white flag. You can in seeing this from the Virginia runs up onto the hurricane deck, exposing himself to this fire. He has a rifle and he is shooting at the shore and yelling. You can imagine what happens. He quickly becomes a target on the exposed top deck, wounded pretty gravely. He turns command over to the executive officers and in that case the app roger jones. He returned to Virginia to our mooring that evening, falling darkness and receding tide and saved the uh steam frigate Minnesota from the same state as Congress and Cumberland. But there was another day coming By the Lurid Light of the Burning Congress Monitor arrived in Hampton Roads on the evening of March eight and eventually stationed herself by the stranded Minnesota. They could hear the Virginias cruise celebrating across the water. They’re celebrating their victory and all watched in horror as fires reached Congresses powder magazine after midnight, sending pieces of the wounded vessel flying through the air raining down around them Just after dawn on March nine, The men of the Virginia tucked into a hearty breakfast, which included two Jiggers, a whiskey for each man. In contrast, the monitors, exhausted crews sat together on the birthday, eating hard tack and canned roast beef, washing it down with coffee. They hadn’t slept for days. Next slide, please. Now folks had seen what had happened the day before, and we were rushing to the shore lines to watch the Virginia finished the fight as the fog lifted, the dark bulk of Virginia appeared to be moving towards the Minnesota. Yeah, Lieutenant john Lorimer warden of Monitor, inquired of the captain of the Minnesota. What his intentions were? Captain Van brunt replied. If I cannot lighten my ship, I shall destroy her warden, assured van brunt that the Monitor would stand up to your last if I can help you. But stand front currently replied, No, sure you cannot help me. The exchange between the office of the crew of the Minnesota and the Crew of Monitor was apparently a little less civilised. In fact, a paymaster William keeler wrote that we always slowly steamed on the shadow of our towering friend. No ways daunted by her rather ungracious replies. Now, as I said, fog delayed the virginias assault on the stranded Minnesota, but it wasn’t until um eight a.m. That the men on the Virginia could make out the hull of the bulk of the Minnesota. But they also saw what they thought was a single floating in the water with a giant cheese box Um rising from its center, sitting alongside the frigate. What could it be? Well, the Virginia fired the first shot, a warning of sorts through the Minnesota’s rigging. Shortly for 8.30. The Minnesota returned fire, as did the cheese box confederates who had been following the northern newspapers knew then that the cheese box was none other than the anticipated. Ericsson’s battery, also known as Monitor. Lieutenant Warden took his place in the pilothouse of monitor, along with the pilot and quartermaster who steered the vessel throughout the battle And in the Turret. Executive officer Samuel Dana. Green assembled his gun crew eight men per gun to guns. Yes, they had nagging questions about the vessels capabilities because they hadn’t fully trained at the guns. The turret mechanism was rusty from the storm. They had gone through the speaking tube between the pilothouse and the turret had stopped working already and to make matters worse, they could only get one gun port open at a time, fix that a few weeks later. But during the battle there was no time to fix it to the astonishment of Captain Van brunt and all the men on the Minnesota monitor moved directly towards the Virginia, placing herself between the ironclad and her prey. Now by putting his vessel, his position warden was risking being hit by both combatants as they were firing ricochet shots. The men in the turret waited in suspense for the you had broadside screaming over them and when the first broadside hit it made a dent. Now it could have been friendly fire from the Minnesota but they kind of grinned because all it was was a dent. Sure monitor was being tested finally under enemy fire just as the contract for had specified. Um and the officers and crew were forced to improvise given um this the broken speaking to all of these things going wrong. They found they couldn’t precisely uh start and stop the turret. So what they ended up doing was firing on the fly. Now all of your stationary positions meant nothing. Port and starboard meant nothing. And so they were just have the turret turn at two and a quarter revolutions um per minute. And then they would just fire when the enemy Hovan site. So what the people on the shore and what people from the other vessel saw was a machine with its little head twirling and its eyes blinking as those two gun ports and the two guns um moved seemingly independently. Now this was frustrating to the Virginias men because it’s an entirely new thing. Um They were firing in broadside. Here you have this whirling turret. So they began targeting the gun ports of the monitor’s turret and then seen in photographs and in the turret itself do show amassing of dense um by those gun ports. Now, after a point in the battle, so many of the men on the Virginia were frustrated and gunpowder was precious that they stopped firing. When asked why are you not firing? Um One crew member said was frustration. Why are powder is precious sir? And after two hours incessant firing I find I can do her just as much damage by snapping my some at her every two minutes and a half. After about two hours of battle, it became necessary to replenish the ammunition and the turret. Now to do this, you had to align the turret hatches with the deck hatches. So Gordon? Takes the monitor off into the flat to accomplish this. Um Casey jones on board Virginia. Uh seize this opportunity and head straight for the Minnesota, not heating any information his pilot was giving him Virginia runs aground. This becomes very, very frightening because, unbeknownst to the crew on the monitor or even the Minnesota, um Virginia had a vulnerable wooden hull and her load was lightning as she was. Expending more shot and gunpowder. Um so jones knew he had to take all the chances he could to get back out of the mud flat. Um otherwise they would be a sitting duck and they would be torn apart below the water line, so they lashed down the safety valves on the engine, keep quick burning combustibles into the raging fires and then brought the boilers to a pressure that probably was unsafe under any other conditions, piling on anything that would burn the massive ship finally pulled free her boilers impact. So after finding his safe, assessing the situation, um Jones decides he’s going to use his ram, not realizing that the ram had broken off in Cumberland the day before, who’s going to ram Monitor. Um, so he gets, he gets into position with, takes a half an hour and gets up to ramming speed, which or not try it sometime and um comes at the monitor, but Monitor being more nimble, was able to get out of the way quickly and um circle back around for her own ramming maneuver. Um, warden targets the fantail um, of Virginia and um he’s heading towards it but he realizes he may be boarded. Um And in fact Casey jones was considering um boarding monitor and instead of using guns, they would use t coats and grenades. The peacoat would blind the pilot house, um grenades could wreak havoc being thrown down inside the ironclad um and they could um also poison everyone um with the gases from the engine borden realizes this and quickly makes another maneuver um and head back towards the fantail where there were no men um stationed. And as he does so one of the rifles turn guns fires directly into the monitors pilothouse at a range of time yards and the blast tears open the structure, cracking one of the huge iron logs and lifting the top off warden, though protected a little bit, um took the full force of the explosion to his face um, stunned, temporarily blinded. He says, Gentlemen, I leave it to you. Do what you think is best. I cannot see but do not mind me, Save the Minnesota if you can. And so, um, he hey command turns it over to lieutenant Green and um, Green determines that there’s so much space between him and Virginia and the Virginia appears to be heading back to school, point in defeat. And so Green does not pursue Virginia in turn on board the Virginia, they see Monitor scurrying off towards uh, Fort Monroe. And so both sides claim victory. Now neither would truly meet one another in battle again. They would spend most of the rest of their time glaring at each other across Hampton roads. Monitor being um ordered not to engage with the Virginia again unless it was absolutely necessary. Let’s turn to May of 1862. Following battle, Hampton roads, President Lincoln becomes anxious for General McLelland to do something really anything but McClelland. The original Virginia Creeper had still not executed his Peninsular plan by the beginning of May. So Lincoln traveled personally into Hampton Roads on May 6 2/4 McLellan’s hand and break the stalemate between the army and the navy. That was hampering all this action, Lincoln visited monitor on seven May, but cries of there’s the Merrimac cut short his visit. Um, but he was able to see some of the technological marvels on what was called Lincoln’s secret weapons. Now on the morning of May 10, Union forces landed on the shore of ocean view in Norfolk and began moving inland By five p. M., they had reached downtown office and a principal objective for the confederates in advance of this was to destroy the navy yard. So, in an eerie replay of the events of april 20th 1961 claims once again engulf got sport. But this time set by confederate hands and in the frantic rush um no one informed commander josiah to channel now in command of C. S. S. Virginia that Norfolk had fallen earlier than anticipated. So the Virginia, it was now without a home. Um He didn’t want to risk being captured. Um to try to make a run out to sea would put the Virginia going between the guns of the rip raps in Fort Monroe and that would likely tear her to pieces. Um Some people wanted to abandon her and when um when the union forces took her they would probably have a big party and they could attack in when everyone was drunk. That was not a really good plan though. Um The only viable option was to take her of the James River, but she had to lighten her load to get over the James River bar. Unfortunately they like lighten the load as much as they could. But the wind shifted around midnight and the pilots onboard Virginia said there was no way they could make it over the bar. So only one thing was left next slide please. Well, that’s Lincoln there at Fortress Monroe. Sorry, I missed that one. Next life. This is the course of action. That pattern all talk just as the Virginia have been destroyed to keep her from enemy hands. A little over a year before now she faced destruction from her own men. Once again At two am on May 11, the call is given for Virginia’s crew to splice the main brace by drinking a double ration of grog and then time all ordered the vessel run aground at Cranie Island and the men told to evacuate A small detachment rigged the muscle to explode, etc. Blaze. The time was 458 am Richard Curtis, who had man one of the guns, recalled that the finest fighting ships that had ever floated on american waters at that time came to an untimely end at the hands of her friends, with no enemy within. On the way up the Elizabeth River the following morning, the monitor crew got their first glimpse of what was left of Virginia if several of them collected souvenirs to send home next lead. Hey, Now by early June 1862, it was clear the ruins of the Virginia were a menace to navigation. And so major general John, Wool the. US. Army took it upon himself to advertise referring to remove the wreck from the channel. Flag. Officer Goldberg, U. S. Navy beg to differ in a tough t exchange developed between them with Wolf saying, well, she’s no longer a Navy asset, so I have control of the salvage. He says the vessel does not belong to the Navy. She being entirely remodeled an ironclad at the time of her destruction. Yeah. Well, gold vera says, I reply in your communications today, I have to say that from the instructions I received, I cannot comment anyone to raise the Merrimac under any contract made by you. The wreck is placed distinctly under my charge by the Navy Department and as to your statement about are not belonging to the Navy. I differ with you entirely an opinion respectfully, your obedient servants. Nevertheless, the work had to be done. So, um, the Senate had actually appropriated $100,000 for raising the vehicles in Hampton roads and put out an RFP essentially. And um, it was answered by dozens of firms. Um, although not the bakers. Why? Well, they were working for the army. Um, but captain thomas Wells of boston actually had the winning bid. He was going to raise the colonel in whole, raised what was left of the Merrimack in the Congress, um, deliver any bodies free of charge, any personal property free of charge. In fact, he said he would raise all sunken vessels from fortress from there to my book. That’s a pretty big charge there. He brought hundreds of men, 320 divers and four salvage vessels and they had some success having cleared some parts of the wrecks from the navy yard. But despite his divers giving a really rosy analysis of the Cumberland in the Miramax halls, those vessels, they put Wealth extended close to $70,000 on the attempt and the Navy had very little to show for it. Um, In fact, attempts carried on in the later years of the war and the need to remove the wreck only took on increased urgency, particularly when it embarrassed certain members of the armed forces. In january of 18 64 1 Major General Butler, last Hampton roads for Washington, but his uh steamer, the city of Hudson, was sunk by none other than the Merrimac. Now, everyone survived. Um, They were taken off by another steamer, but it was a big embarrassment and clearly a very dangerous situation By February of 1860 for the Navy was soliciting for new proposals. This time they added the phrase, no wreck will be considered removed while any portion of the keel of floor timbers remain. And finally, there came a record with incredible determination. Local diver, David under, down, under down, um worked tirelessly. Um, He began using dynamite and so periodically the newspapers would grow. Miramax is being blown up again. Um, I think next slide, I believe. Yes. And so under down takes over in 18 64. And by august of 18 65 he actually was able to work on the Congress, um pump out the field hall and raised what was left of that ship using steam power derricks to lift her and he told her first tooth fairy flats off Barkley before bringing her to the Navy yard In December of 1865. Um, under down raised a large portion of Merrimack. Um, he did this in effect by building a cofferdam around the wreck and using steam pumps to force the water out. But the hall proved to law argento unwieldy and so he could only bring up portions of it using dynamite, steam pumps and divers. But the wreck was still a menace. The Miramax thinks her next victim in december of 18 66 the steamer Adelaide um and Adelaide was part of the boston uh steam packet companies Old Day line and um anyway, again, no one was harmed, her passengers were all rescued by none other than the baker wrecking company. Um and um so you can see you’ve got all these different wrecking concerns and and people working on these these vessels. Um Next slide please here, you can just see one of the the diving suit of the period and it’s really hard to make this out that this is some of the material that was brought up from the wreck of the Virginia. Um Next slide please. Alright, in 1874, Oh I’m sorry, we need to finish up with under down. He brings up the boilers and the, what he says is the prow of the Virginia in May of 1867. Um the anchor in 1868, but sadly under down dies of a stroke in december of that year, having lost more money than he ever made on the contract. But after a point for him, it had become a matter of pride, john Hebrew takes over the contract in 18 61. That doesn’t have a lot of success. And finally in 18 70 for the bakers stepped back in both in their own capacity of the company and as a rental agency, wrecking vessels for other fellow records and diverse to work. You see they could afford all these are FPs for raising the Merrimac, they know how to business that stretch far beyond the water to Hampton roads, but here you see they are taking their bites made at this cherry. And the, the article goes on, we imagine that a clean sweep will be made at this time. Is this firm is not in the habit of doing things. I have, well, not so not so fast. The bakers did not finish the job. Um, in fact they essentially sub contracted um, to um, some of their, um, other, uh, um, associates and they bring up pieces of it. But they also, um, uh, subcontract to William West. I think that’s the next flight here, 1875. Yes. Still blowing up the Merrimac William West. He continues to dig and blast away the remains of the confederate war monster Merrimack. Um, and I love this for 12 years now. They’ve been exploding powder around her remains and the end is not yet. Now. The last major salvage effort was in 1876. Next slide please. And here you can see the remains of celebrated confederate ironclad Merrimack were towed up to the Navy yard yesterday by the tugboats, Nettie baker and when ludlow, not baker for large pontoons being attached to the hulk, they belong to the bakers. And you can see it was taken to the Navy yard. Um, People were actually invited to take uh, souvenirs from her um, at this time. Um, and so this was the last major um effort. Now, bits and bobs were dredged up at different times. Um, but very little material is now left Today. You can no longer try to salvage the Virginia because Cranie Island is now a wildlife refuge in an industrial area, which has been used as the location for replacement of dredged material since 1957 and is operated by the Us Army Corps of Engineers. What little materials left is probably covered in still the rumored boilers of the Miramax, which has been reported in the early 2000s, are the wrong shape. And we saw that um underground likely brought up the boilers. So what has been seen could be some of the pontoons used by the bakers and their 1874 attempts. They did lose one or two. But the Virginia lives on in museum. Next let’s see. I forgot I had this one. This is a lovely piece from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Museum showing the Merrimac being brought into the dock of May 30 1876. To be cut up. Next slide please. Yes, the Virginia lives on in museums around the region, her wheel and her napkin rings even can be seen at the Mariner’s Museum in Newport News, Her Bell and Hampton Roads Naval Museum in Norfolk, anchor and shaft. at the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond and other souvenirs and parts are spread out across the nation from tiny relics taken by the Monitor Boys in 18 62. So the tourist scavengers at the yard in the 18 seventies or the souvenirs from her iron made during the 19 oh seven Jamestown Expo. She was a technological wonder herself, And all methods of 19th century salvage and diving technology were used to remove her from her watery graves. I want to thank you and I look forward to any questions that you might have.