I photographed this Civil War Ironclad warship CSS Virginia at the Mariners Museum in Newport News VA.
The CSS Virginia was built upon the salvaged lower hull and engines of the USS Merrimack—a scuttled Union steam frigate. Confederates cut the ship down to the waterline and built an iron-plated, sloped “casemate” (a central, sloped armored box) to protect her guns and machinery. She was heavily armed with a mixed battery of Brooke rifles and Dahlgren smoothbore cannons, and her bow was fitted with a heavy iron ram.
The historic Battle of Hampton Roads was the very first naval battle fought between two ironclads when the CSS Virginia faced the USS Monitor in March 1862. The battle was a tactical draw as neither ship could pierce the opponent’s armor, but both sides claimed strategic victory for their side.