Civil War Tech

Battle of Hampton Roads or the Battle of Ironclads

The Civil War is often referred to as the first "modern" war. Many of the technologies devised during that period permanently changed the way wars were fought.

Today on Far Future Horizons we present Civil War Tech, another exciting episode from the acclaimed documentary series Modern Marvels.

Lincoln's Secret Weapon

Battle of the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia (Merrimack)

Today on Far Future Horizons we present an episode from the acclaimed PBS series NOVA that tells the story of a naval battle fought during the American Civil War that was to change the face of naval warfare forever.

The Battle of Hampton Roads, often referred to as either the Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack (or Merrimac) or the Battle of Ironclads, was the most noted and arguably most important naval battle of the American Civil War from the standpoint of the development of navies. It was fought over two days, March 8^th –9th, 1862, in Hampton Roads, a roadstead in Virginia where the Elizabeth and Nansemond Rivers meet the James River just before it enters Chesapeake Bay. The battle was a part of the effort of the Confederacy to break the Union blockade, which had cut off Virginia's largest cities, Norfolk and Richmond, from international trade.