The BATTLE OF THE IRONCLADS

by Eric

The ironclads were big ships made of iron. They changed Naval warfare forever. This meant that ironclads would mark the end of the line for the huge wooden ships, and the tactics too. Now, with metal ships, we could change everything, and now with stronger ships we could destroy wooden ships SO easily. That meant that wooden ships couldn’t be used again, or they would be destroyed in seconds.

In 1862, during the Civil War, the Merrimac and Monitor squared off near Hampton Roads, Virginia. The ‘Merrimack was the first Ironclad built and was a confederate frigate. Then the ‘Monitor,’ the Union answer to the Merrimac was built. The ‘Merrimack’ had destroyed a lot of ships before the ‘Monitor’ was fully built. It took 118 days to build the ’Monitor’. In the battle, the ‘Merrimack’ came towards the ‘Monitor’, not knowing what to expect. They came closer to each other and suddenly collided. During the battle, each with an underwater ram collided several times. The fight lasted five hours and with darkness falling in, both had to retreat. Badly damaged, Confederate commanders destroyed the ‘Merrimack’ so it wouldn’t get captured. The ‘Monitor’ later sank in waters known for unexpected storms.

Sites to use:  
Eyewitnesstohistory.com
Bbc.co.uk/timewatch
I hope you like ironclads! I have to admit they’re pretty neat. I think that this was the best invention of ships in all time!