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| 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 8th
–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
