Misplaced Pages

#822177

77-608: The Virginia II was named after the more famous Confederate ironclad, CSS  Virginia , also called the Merrimack because of the ship's origins as a Union frigate. The original Virginia' s success at the Battle of Hampton Roads caused "gunboat associations" to emerge around the South, mainly driven by women; their efforts helped with the construction of the Virginia II . Money to help with

154-461: A direct shell hit to her armored pilothouse forced her away from the conflict to assess the damage. The captain of the Monitor , Lieutenant John L. Worden , had taken a direct gunpowder explosion to his face and eyes, blinding him, while looking through the pilothouse's narrow, horizontal viewing slits. Monitor remained in the shallows, but as it was late in the day, Virginia steamed for her home port,

231-599: A few days before her first sortie; the ironclad was placed in commission and equipped by her executive officer , Lieutenant Catesby ap Roger Jones . The Battle of Hampton Roads began on March 8, 1862, when Virginia engaged the blockading Union fleet. Despite an all-out effort to complete her, the new ironclad still had workmen on board when she sailed into Hampton Roads with her flotilla of five CSN support ships: Raleigh (serving as Virginia ' s tender) and Beaufort , Patrick Henry , Jamestown , and Teaser . The first Union ship to be engaged by Virginia

308-580: A large portion of the National Defense Reserve Fleet , called the "James River fleet" or the "ghost fleet", consisting of " mothballed " ships, mostly merchant vessels, that can be activated within 20 to 120 days to provide shipping for the United States during national emergencies, either military or non-military, such as commercial shipping crises. The fleet is managed by the U.S. Department of Transportation 's Maritime Administration and

385-661: A new main deck, and a v-shaped breakwater (bulwark) was added to her bow, which attached to the armored casemate. This forward and aft main deck and fantail were designed to stay submerged and were covered in 4-inch-thick (10 cm) iron plate, built up in two layers. The casemate was built of 24 inches (61 cm) of oak and pine in several layers, topped with two 2-inch (51 mm) layers of iron plating oriented perpendicular to each other, and angled at 36 degrees from horizontal to deflect fired enemy shells. From reports in Northern newspapers, Virginia ' s designers were aware of

462-517: A non-native strain of tobacco which proved popular in England. Soon, the river became the primary means of exporting the large hogsheads of this cash crop from an ever-growing number of plantations with wharfs along its banks. This development made the proprietary efforts of the Virginia Company of London successful financially, spurring even more development, investments and immigration. Below

539-541: A side; each weighed approximately 9,200 pounds (4,200 kg) and could fire a 72.5-pound (32.9 kg) shell up to a range of 3,357 yards (3,070 m) (or 1.9 miles) at an elevation of 15°. Both amidship Dahlgrens nearest the boiler furnaces were fitted-out to fire heated shot . On her upper casemate deck were positioned two anti-boarding/personnel 12-pounder Howitzers . Virginia ' s commanding officer, Flag Officer Franklin Buchanan , arrived to take command only

616-506: A survey identified 175 sturgeon remaining in the entire river, with 15 specimens exceeding 5 feet (1.5 m). Due to its potential for generating mechanical power for rotating machinery such as grist mills, hydroelectric power, and as a water route for trade, many dams have been built across the James River since the time of European settlement of the region. While most of these dams have been removed or failed, several dams still exist along

693-647: Is held at the Hampton Roads Naval Museum , and one of the Virginia 's anchors now rests in front of the American Civil War Museum in Richmond . Numerous souvenirs, ostensibly made from salvaged iron and wood raised from Virginia ' s sunken hulk, have found a ready and willing market among Civil War enthusiasts and eastern seaboard residents. However, the provenance of many of these artifacts

770-577: Is impossible to prove, which has given rise to the humorous adage that "if you took all the iron and all the wood supposedly collected from the [wreck of the CSS Virginia ], you'd have enough to outfit a fleet of ironclads." Although the Confederacy renamed the ship, she is still frequently referred to by her Union name. When she was first commissioned into the United States Navy in 1856, her name

847-544: Is the last bridge east of the Deepwater Port of Richmond and head of ocean-going navigation at the fall line of the James River. West of this point, potential flooding is more of an engineering concern than clearance for watercraft. The following is a list of extant highway bridges across the James River with one or both ends within the City of Richmond. The following is a partial, incomplete list of extant highway bridges across

SECTION 10

#1732844825823

924-706: The Atlantic at Newburyport, Massachusetts . After raising, restoring, and outfitting as an ironclad warship, the Confederacy bestowed on her the name Virginia . Nonetheless, the Union continued to refer to the Confederate ironclad by either its original name, Merrimack , or by the nickname "The Rebel Monster". In the aftermath of the Battle of Hampton Roads, the names Virginia and Merrimack were used interchangeably by both sides, as attested to by various newspapers and correspondence of

1001-550: The Battle of Hampton Roads . Virginia ' s battery consisted of four muzzle-loading single-banded Brooke rifles and six smoothbore 9-inch (229 mm) Dahlgren guns salvaged from the old Merrimack . Two of the rifles, the bow and stern pivot guns , were 7-inch (178 mm) caliber and weighed 14,500 pounds (6,600 kg) each. They fired a 104-pound (47 kg) shell . The other two were 6.4-inch (163 mm) cannon of about 9,100 pounds (4,100 kg), one on each broadside. The 9-inch Dahlgrens were mounted three to

1078-485: The Chesapeake Bay area. Preliminary sketch designs were submitted by Lieutenants John Mercer Brooke and John L. Porter , each of whom envisaged the ship as a casemate ironclad. Brooke's general design showed the bow and stern portions submerged, and his design was the one finally selected. The detailed design work would be completed by Porter, who was a trained naval constructor .Porter had overall responsibility for

1155-407: The Chesapeake Bay . The navigable portion of the river was the major highway of colonial Virginia during its first 15 years, facilitating supply ships delivering supplies and more emigrants from England. However, for the first five years, despite hopes of discovering gold ores, these ships sent little of monetary value back to the sponsors. In 1612, businessman John Rolfe successfully cultivated

1232-651: The Confederate States Navy during the first year of the American Civil War ; she was constructed as a casemate ironclad using the razéed (cut down) original lower hull and engines of the scuttled steam frigate USS  Merrimack . Virginia was one of the participants in the Battle of Hampton Roads , opposing the Union's USS  Monitor in March 1862. The battle is chiefly significant in naval history as

1309-960: The Elizabeth River and the Nansemond River join the James River to form the harbor area known as Hampton Roads . Between the tip of the Virginia Peninsula near Old Point Comfort and the Willoughby Spit area of Norfolk in South Hampton Roads , a channel leads from Hampton Roads into the southern portion of the Chesapeake Bay and out to the Atlantic Ocean a few miles further east. Many boats pass through this river to import and export Virginia products. The James River contains many parks and other recreational attractions. Canoeing, fishing, kayaking, hiking, and swimming are some of

1386-641: The Kanawha River , a tributary of the Ohio River . For the most mountainous section between the two points, the James River and Kanawha Turnpike was built to provide a portage link for wagons and stagecoaches. However, before the canal could be fully completed, in the mid-19th century, railroads emerged as a more practical technology and eclipsed canals for economical transportation, ending the canal's progress at Eagle Rock . The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O)

1463-586: The SS ; Arago and USS  Minnesota , which had been repaired. Virginia made several sorties back over to Hampton Roads hoping to draw Monitor into battle. Monitor , however, was under strict orders not to re-engage; the two combatants would never battle again. On April 11, the Confederate Navy sent Lieutenant Joseph Nicholson Barney , in command of the paddle side-wheeler CSS  Jamestown , along with Virginia and five other ships in full view of

1540-463: The Virginia II , the results were favorable: her casemate withstood 7 direct hits by 100-pound conical iron "bolts," which barely dented her plating. On December 7 Virginia II , along with the Fredericksburg and Richmond , steamed down to Fort Brady near Trent's Reach and near sunset exchanged cannon fire with the fort until darkness fell. Her final action took place on January 23–24, 1865 when

1617-614: The confluence of the Cowpasture and Jackson rivers in the Appalachian Mountains . It flows into the Chesapeake Bay at Hampton Roads . Tidal waters extend west to Richmond at the river's fall line (the head of navigation ). Larger tributaries draining to the tidal portion include the Appomattox River , Chickahominy River , Warwick River , Pagan River , and the Nansemond River . At its mouth near Newport News Point,

SECTION 20

#1732844825823

1694-515: The "overall grade of the State of the James has improved to a B with a score of 66% from its failing health decades ago." The James River drains a catchment comprising 10,432 square miles (27,020 km ). The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million people (2000). The James River forms near Iron Gate on the border between Alleghany and Botetourt counties, from

1771-654: The 1960s and 1970s, mishandling and dumping of the insecticide Kepone resulted in the contamination of large stretches of the James River estuary downstream of the Allied Signal Company and LifeSciences Product Company plants in Hopewell, Virginia . Because of the pollution, sections of the river were considered "dead" and unfit for human use, and many businesses and restaurants along the river suffered economic losses. In December 1975 Virginia Governor Mills Godwin Jr. shut down

1848-454: The Confederate squadron in the James River , including ironclads Richmond , and Fredericksburg , with five smaller vessels, made a second unsuccessful attempt to circumvent obstructions in Trent's Reach. A reliable report indicated there was a passage through, as a result of a freshet of melting ice. To avoid the risk of collision, the gunboats and tenders were lashed to the starboard sides of

1925-658: The Cowpasture and Jackson Rivers in Botetourt County 348 miles (560 km) to the Chesapeake Bay . The river length extends to 444 miles (715 km) if the Jackson River is included, the longer of its two headwaters, it is the longest river in Virginia. Jamestown and Williamsburg , Virginia's first colonial capitals, and Richmond , Virginia's current capital, lie on the James River. The Native Americans who populated

2002-464: The James River Squadron were ordered destroyed by squadron commander Admiral Raphael Semmes to prevent their capture by rapidly advancing Union forces during the evacuation and fall of Richmond on April 3, 1865. Following the war's end, most of the wreck of Virginia II was raised for salvage. CSS Virginia CSS Virginia was the first steam-powered ironclad warship built by

2079-421: The James River to fishing for 100 miles, from Richmond to the Chesapeake Bay . This ban remained in effect for 13 years, until efforts to clean up the river began to show results. A decade of accumulated silt, lying above the contaminated riverbed, helped to reduce levels of the chemical. Since the 1970s, the health of the James River has improved substantially. The Chesapeake Bay Agreement of 1983, signed by

2156-587: The James River west of Richmond. The Monitor-Merrimac Memorial Bridge-Tunnel prohibits bicycles, but bicyclists may take the Jamestown Ferry . After a fatal accident on the Boulevard Bridge , the City of Richmond requires bicycles to travel on the sidewalk for the length of the bridge. The James River Reserve Fleet is the anchorage ( 37°07′13″N 76°38′47″W  /  37.120393°N 76.646469°W  / 37.120393; -76.646469 ) for

2233-493: The Union plans to build an ironclad and assumed their similar ordnance would be unable to do much serious damage to such a ship. It was decided to equip their ironclad with a ram , an anachronism on a 19th-century warship. Merrimack' s steam engines, now part of Virginia , were in poor working order; they had been slated for replacement when the decision was made to abandon the Norfolk naval yard. The salty Elizabeth River water and

2310-538: The Union squadron, enticing them to fight. When it became clear that Union Navy ships were unwilling to fight, the CS Navy squadron moved in and captured three merchant ships, the brigs Marcus and Sabout and the schooner Catherine T. Dix . Their ensigns were then hoisted "Union-side down" to further taunt the Union Navy into a fight, as they were towed back to Norfolk, with the help of CSS  Raleigh . By late April,

2387-472: The Union's blockading fleet and nearby cities, like Washington, D.C. While under tow, she nearly foundered twice during heavy storms on her voyage south, arriving in Hampton Roads by the bright firelight from the still-burning triumph of Virginia ' s first day of handiwork. The next day, on March 9, 1862, the world's first battle between ironclads took place. The smaller, nimbler, and faster Monitor

CSS Virginia II - Misplaced Pages Continue

2464-576: The activities that people enjoy along the river during the summer. From the river's start in the Blue Ridge Mountains to Richmond , numerous rapids and pools offer fishing and whitewater rafting. The most intense whitewater stretch is a 2-mile (3 km) segment that ends in downtown Richmond where the river goes over the fall line . This is the only place in the country where extensive class III (class IV with above average river levels) whitewater conditions exist within sight of skyscrapers. Below

2541-419: The addition of tons of iron armor and pig iron ballast, added to the hull's unused spaces for needed stability after her initial refloat, and to submerge her unarmored lower levels, only added to her engines' propulsion issues. As completed, Virginia had a turning radius of about 1 mile (1.6 km) and required 45 minutes to complete a full circle, which would later prove to be a major handicap in battle with

2618-419: The area around Craney Island and found that "there are no large areas of either concentrated or scattered debris associated with the Virginia lying on the river bottom within the survey area." Most of the recovered iron was melted down and sold for scrap (notably, some of the ship's iron was used to craft Pokahuntas Bell in 1907). Other pieces of the ship have been preserved in museums: The ship's brass bell

2695-621: The area east of the Fall Line in the late 16th and early 17th centuries called the James River the Powhatan River , named for the Powhatans who occupied the area. The Jamestown colonists who arrived in 1607 named it "James" after King James I of England as they constructed the first permanent English settlement in the Americas along the banks of the river about 35 miles (56 km) upstream from

2772-460: The badly-damaged Congress finally surrendered. While the surviving crewmen of Congress were being ferried off the ship, a Union battery on the north shore opened fire on Virginia . Outraged at such a breach of war protocol, in retaliation Virginia ' s now angry captain, Commodore Franklin Buchanan, gave the order to open fire with hot-shot on the surrendered Congress as he rushed to Virginia ' s exposed upper casemate deck, where he

2849-478: The battle ending without a clear victor. The captain of Virginia that day, Lieutenant Catesby ap Roger Jones , received advice from his pilots to depart over the sandbar toward Norfolk until the next day. Lieutenant Jones wanted to continue the fight, but the pilots emphasized that the Virginia had "nearly three miles to run to the bar" and that she could not remain and "take the ground on a falling tide." To prevent running aground, Lieutenant Jones reluctantly moved

2926-460: The capture of Signal Hill , shelling the Union defenses from 3 p.m. until 9 p.m. before finally ceasing fire. From September 29 through October 1, the Virginia II and the rest of the squadron attacked New Market Heights and Fort Harrison in conjunction with the Confederate Army ; it was the largest operation north of the James River since Cold Harbor and would remain so until the end of

3003-482: The construction of this ironclad was largely contributed by the Richmond chapter of the "Ladies Aid and Defense Society" (called the "National Defense Association"), which adopted the ironclad in early April 1862 for the defense of Richmond. The chairman was Maria Gaitskell Clopton. It is estimated that the society contributed more than $ 30,000 towards Virginia II ' s construction. By November 1862, John Mercer Brooke

3080-449: The conversion, but Brooke was responsible for her iron plate and heavy ordnance, while William P. Williamson, Chief Engineer of the Navy, was responsible for the ship's machinery. The hull's burned timbers were cut down past the vessel's original waterline, leaving just enough clearance to accommodate her large, twin-bladed screw propeller . A new fantail and armored casemate were built atop

3157-470: The cover of Confederate Battery Dantzler. They attempted to run past again that night, but Union soldiers had erected a huge light illuminating the obstructions; this, combined with several other factors, forced the attempt to be abandoned. While leaving, Hampton managed to entangle her screw propeller in Virginia II 's anchor chain. They suffered more heavy fire on their return upriver from Fort Brady , and Virginia II ran aground again before making it to

CSS Virginia II - Misplaced Pages Continue

3234-451: The day. Navy reports and pre-1900 historians frequently misspelled the name as "Merrimac", which was actually an unrelated ship, hence "the Battle of the Monitor and the Merrimac ". Both spellings are still in use in the Hampton Roads area. James River (Virginia) The James River is a river in Virginia that begins in the Appalachian Mountains and flows from the confluence of

3311-411: The deck stanchions , railings , and both flagstaffs. Even so, the now-injured Buchanan ordered an attack on USS  Minnesota , which had run aground on a sandbar trying to escape Virginia . However, because of the ironclad's 22-foot (6.7 m) draft (fully loaded), she was unable to get close enough to do any significant damage. It being late in the day, Virginia retired from the conflict with

3388-462: The expectation of returning the next day and completing the destruction of the remaining Union blockaders. Later that night, USS  Monitor arrived at Union-held Fort Monroe . She had been rushed to Hampton Roads , still not quite complete, all the way from the Brooklyn Navy Yard , in hopes of defending the force of wooden ships and preventing "the rebel monster" from further threatening

3465-465: The fall line east of Richmond, the river is better suited for water skiing and other large boat recreation. Here the river is known for its blue catfish , reaching average sizes of 20 to 30 pounds (9.1 to 13.6 kg), with frequent catches exceeding 50 pounds (23 kg). In the Chesapeake watershed, the James River is the last confirmed holdout for the nearly extirpated Atlantic sturgeon . In May 2007

3542-403: The falls at Richmond, many James River plantations had their own wharves, and additional ports and/or early railheads were located at Warwick , Bermuda Hundred , City Point , Claremont , Scotland , and Smithfield , and, during the 17th century, the capital of the colony at Jamestown. Navigation of the James River played an important role in early Virginia commerce and in the settlement of

3619-425: The far more nimble Monitor . The ironclad's casemate had 14 gun ports , three each in the bow and stern, one firing directly along the ship's centerline, the two others angled at 45° from the center line; these six bow and stern gun ports had exterior iron shutters installed to protect their cannon. There were four gun ports on each broadside ; their protective iron shutters remained uninstalled during both days of

3696-608: The first battle between ironclads . When the Commonwealth of Virginia seceded from the Union in 1861, one of the important US military bases threatened was Gosport Navy Yard (now Norfolk Naval Shipyard ) in Portsmouth, Virginia . Accordingly, orders were sent to destroy the base rather than allow it to fall into Confederate hands. On the afternoon of 17 April, the day Virginia seceded, Engineer in Chief B. F. Isherwood managed to get

3773-514: The frigate's engines lit. However, the previous night secessionists had sunk light boats between Craney Island and Sewell's Point , blocking the channel. On 20 April, before evacuating the Navy Yard, the U. S. Navy burned Merrimack to the waterline and sank her to preclude capture. When the Confederate government took possession of the fully provisioned yard, the base's new commander, Flag Officer French Forrest , contracted on May 18 to salvage

3850-592: The governors of Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, the mayor of the District of Columbia, and the EPA, established baseline environmental protections and promoted regional cooperation conducive to river clean-up. This original agreement has evolved as the Chesapeake Bay Program . The James River Association (JRA), founded in 1976, began publishing State of the James reports in 2016. In their 2023 report, JRA concluded that

3927-464: The highly angled path the dam takes across the river. While not identified in the National Inventory of Dams, a very low head weir structure is found below Bosher Dam in Richmond on either side of Williams Island. Known as the "Z-Dam" for its zigzag course on the south side of the island, the current structure was built in 1932 and serves to direct water into Richmond's water treatment facility on

SECTION 50

#1732844825823

4004-513: The interior, although growth of the colony was primarily in the Tidewater region during the first 75 years. The upper reaches of the river above the head of navigation at the fall line were explored by fur-trading parties sent out by Abraham Wood during the late 17th century. Although ocean-going ships were unable to navigate beyond present-day Richmond, portage of products and navigation with smaller craft to transport crops other than tobacco

4081-461: The ironclad back toward port. Virginia retired to the Gosport Naval Yard at Portsmouth, Virginia, and remained in drydock for repairs until April 4, 1862. In the following month, the crew of Virginia were unsuccessful in their attempts to break the Union blockade. The blockade had been bolstered by the hastily ram-fitted paddle steamer USS  Vanderbilt , and SS Illinois as well as

4158-570: The ironclad developed mechanical problems when an errant chain from the nearby CSS  Richmond became entangled in her propeller, and she could no longer participate in the battle. On August 13, the Virginia II participated in the attack on the Union forces at Dutch Gap. The Canonicus -class monitor , USS  Saugus , and her gunboats joined in the battle, but could not effectively train their guns, though they did manage to fire two shots that hit Virginia II . On August 17, she participated in

4235-408: The ironclad's unarmored lower hull, but this was still not enough to make a difference. Without a home port and no place to go, Virginia ' s new captain, flag officer Josiah Tattnall III , reluctantly ordered her destruction in order to keep the ironclad from being captured. The ship was destroyed by Catesby Jones and John Taylor Wood, who set fire to scattered gunpowder and cotton strewn across

4312-421: The ironclads; Virginia II accreted to her bulk the gunboats Nansemond and Torpedo , with the torpedo boat Scorpion in tow. After passing the Union batteries at Fort Brady sometime after 8 p.m., the Virginia II accidentally beached Torpedo by cutting too close to the shore. The captain of Nansemond untied his ship from Virginia II in an attempt to free Torpedo . The fleet continued on and reached

4389-509: The new Union ironclads USRC E. A. Stevens and USS  Galena had also joined the blockade. On May 8, 1862, Virginia and the James River Squadron ventured out when the Union ships began shelling the Confederate fortifications near Norfolk, but the Union ships retired under the shore batteries on the north side of the James River and on Rip Raps island. On May 10, 1862, advancing Union troops occupied Norfolk . Since Virginia

4466-521: The north bank. The less than 5 feet tall dam does not serve any power or navigation purpose. In the Hampton Roads area, the river is as much as 5 miles (8.0 km) wide at points. Due to ocean-going shipping upriver as far as the Port of Richmond , a combination of ferryboats , high bridges and bridge-tunnels are used for highway traffic. Crossings east to west include: The SR 895 high-level crossing

4543-404: The obstructions at Trent's Reach. Again Virginia II ran into trouble, this time running aground; the smaller ships tried to free her for three hours. Only two ships made it through, the rest were either running aground or helping the ones that had already run aground. Dawn came with most of the squadron in full view of the Union fortifications at Battery Parsons, and they had to suffer fire until

4620-463: The ram's port side half; shot from Cumberland , Congress , and the shore-based Union batteries had riddled her smokestack, reducing her boilers' draft and already slow speed; two of her broadside cannon (without shutters) were put out of commission by shell hits; a number of her armor plates had been loosened; both of Virginia ' s 22-foot (6.7 m) cutters had been shot away, as had both 12-pounder anti-boarding/anti-personnel howitzers, most of

4697-407: The retreat of the Confederate wooden vessels, Virginia II approached the battery, followed by two ironclads, and effected a retreat upstream to Chaffin's Bluff . During this, the Virginia II ' s smokestack was riddled by shells. Though caught by surprise, this small action helped determine the effectiveness of the ironclads' armored casemates against close rifled cannon fire, and in the case of

SECTION 60

#1732844825823

4774-409: The safety of Chaffin's Bluff . Virginia II had at least 6 killed and more than a half dozen wounded from the action; she also suffered heavy battle damage which required extensive repairs. Her smokestack was destroyed, the engines became faulty, and her iron armor and underlying wooden framework were damaged. Her repairs had just been completed when Virginia II and the other Confederate warships of

4851-422: The ship's deck. Early on the morning of May 11, 1862, off Craney Island, the fire reached the ironclad's magazine, leading to a massive explosion that obliterated the ship. What remained of the Virginia then sank to the harbor floor. After the war, the government determined that the wreck of the Virginia needed to be removed from the channel. In 1867, Captain D. A. Underdown salvaged 290,000 pounds of iron from

4928-494: The site, much of which was taken from the ship's ram and cannons. The following year, Underdown detonated explosives under the Virginia 's hulk to fully clear the river, but the attempt did not totally remove the wreck. In 1871, E.J. Griffith recovered an additional 102,883 pounds of iron from the seabed, and in 1876, the "remaining timbers" of the ship were raised. In 1982, the National Underwater and Marine Agency explored

5005-538: The spectators." However, she suffered from further fitting-out delays and was not fully commissioned until May 18, 1864, almost a year later; she was made the flagship of the James River Squadron (replacing CSS  Richmond in this role). Virginia II went into action on June 21, 1864 as the flagship of Commodore John K. Mitchell , CSN, during the engagement between the Confederate James River Squadron and Federal ships in Trent's Reach. But

5082-531: The upper course of the river. From the head of the river downstream to Richmond are found the following dams as identified by the current US Army Corps of Engineers National Inventory of Dams: The tallest dam is the Reusens Dam, which also has the greatest hydroelectric nameplate capacity and the greatest reservoir capacity. At 1,617 feet, the longest dam is the Cushaw Hydroelectric Project due to

5159-555: The war. Once again, though, the Virginia II suffered difficulty, delaying her entrance into the battle. She had just received a new cannon, and in the rush to leave the dock, the supply ship Gallego became entangled in her anchor chain, causing the Gallego to sink. In their routine patrol of the James River, the squadron was surprised to discover, on the morning of October 22, that the Union Army had finished fortifying Cox Hill . To cover

5236-407: The water rose high enough to allow them to finally retreat. In late morning, just as the water was high enough to re-float Virginia II , the Union fleet arrived and added its firepower. This time it was much more deadly: the double-turreted monitor USS  Onondaga was able to pierce her armor with its shot. Virginia II and the rest of the squadron retreated upstream until they were safely under

5313-443: The wreck of the frigate. This was completed by May 30, and she was towed into the shipyard's only dry dock (today known as Drydock Number One ), where the burned structures were removed. The wreck was surveyed and her lower hull and machinery were discovered to be undamaged. Stephen Mallory , Secretary of the Navy decided to convert Merrimack into an ironclad , since she was the only large ship with intact engines available in

5390-594: Was Merrimack, with the K ; the name was derived from the Merrimack River near where she was built. She was the second ship of the U. S. Navy to be named for the Merrimack River, which is formed by the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers at Franklin, New Hampshire . The Merrimack flows south across New Hampshire , then eastward across northeastern Massachusetts before finally emptying in

5467-508: Was able to outmaneuver the larger, slower Virginia , but neither ship proved able to do any severe damage to the other, despite numerous shell hits by both combatants, many fired at virtually point-blank range. Monitor had a much lower freeboard and only its single, rotating, two-cannon gun turret and forward pilothouse sitting above her deck, and thus was much harder to hit with Virginia ' s heavy cannon. After hours of shell exchanges, Monitor finally retreated into shallower water after

5544-417: Was able to report that she was "pretty well advanced, frames up, clamps in, etc...She will be a strong and fine vessel." However, after this promising start, significant delays plagued the new ironclad. It was not until more than a year after she was laid down that Virginia II was finally launched without incident on June 29, 1863. "She glided into the water 'like a thing of life' amid the prolonged cheers of

5621-556: Was completed between Richmond and the Ohio River at the new city of Huntington, West Virginia by 1873, dooming the canal's economic prospects. In the late-19th century, the Richmond and Alleghany Railroad was laid along the eastern portion of the canal's towpath, and became part of the C&;O within 10 years. In modern times, this rail line is used primarily in transporting West Virginia coal to export coal piers at Newport News . During

5698-505: Was feasible. Produce from the Piedmont and Great Valley regions descended the river to seaports at Richmond and Manchester through such port towns as Lynchburg , Scottsville , Columbia and Buchanan . The James River was considered a route for transport of produce from the Ohio Valley . The James River and Kanawha Canal was built for this purpose, to provide a navigable portion of

5775-399: Was injured by enemy rifle fire. Congress , now set ablaze by the retaliatory shelling, burned for many hours into the night, a symbol of Confederate naval power and a costly wake-up call for the all-wood Union blockading squadron. Virginia did not emerge from the battle unscathed, however. Her hanging port side anchor was lost after ramming Cumberland ; the bow was leaking from the loss of

5852-462: Was now a steam-powered heavy battery and no longer an ocean-going cruiser, her pilots judged her not seaworthy enough to enter the Atlantic, even if she were able to pass the Union blockade. Virginia was also unable to retreat further up the James River due to her deep 22-foot (6.7 m) draft (fully loaded). In an attempt to reduce it, supplies and coal were dumped overboard, even though this exposed

5929-523: Was the all-wood, sail-powered USS  Cumberland , which was first crippled during a furious cannon exchange, and then rammed in her forward starboard bow by Virginia . As Cumberland began to sink, the port side half of Virginia ' s iron ram was broken off, causing a bow leak in the ironclad. Seeing what had happened to Cumberland , the captain of USS  Congress ordered his frigate into shallower water, where she soon grounded. Congress and Virginia traded cannon fire for an hour, after which

#822177