Civil War Naval Battle: The Monitor and the Merrimack

The battle between Confederate-built USS Merrimack and the Union's USS Monitor marked the first naval engagement between two ironclad ships, a novelty of the time among mostly wooden vessels. Fighting ensued for several hours on March 9, 1862 near the mouth of the James River, as the Merrimack attempted to break up a Union blockade designed to cut the state of Virginia off from international trade. Neither side claimed a decisive victory in the end.