March 1862. The Union ironclad warship, Monitor, with its two eleven-inch Dahlgren smoothbores in a unique revolving turret assembly, leaves New York City under tow to serve blockade duty off the coast of North Carolina. Meanwhile, the Confederate ironclad Virginia (formerly the wooden frigate Merrimac) is raising havoc with Union blockaders in Hampton Roads. The inevitable showdown takes place on March 9. For more than four hours the two ironclads battle furiously at close range. The Merrimac finally withdraws and returns to Norfolk to protect the river approaches to Richmond, leaving the Monitor in control of the Roads and in position to protect the Union blockaders. In May, the Merrimac is destroyed by its own crew to prevent capture; in December, the Monitor sinks in a storm off Cape Hatteras while under tow from Hampton Roads to North Carolina waters. An exciting account of two ships that would change naval warfare forever.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
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"[this book] . . . helps the student experience the event, like a good history book should." -- Eclectic Homeschool Online
"an excellent series [that] should be in every Texas school!" -- Empire Books
"an excellent series [that] should be in every Texas school!" -- Empire Books
About the Author
GENE A. SMITH holds a Ph.D. from Auburn University and is a Professor of History at Texas Christian University. He is author, with Frank L. Owsley, Jr., of "For the Purpose of Defense": The Politics of the Jeffersonian Gunboat Program.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
worth the read,
By "mer6" (United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Iron and Heavy Guns: Duel between the Monitor and the Merrimac (Civil War Campaigns & Commanders) (Paperback)
This is a very well-put-togther, informative book about the ironside USS Monitor and its Confederate counterpart, the CSS Virginia. The title of the book was obviously off-putting to one reader, since it referred to the Merrimac (the name of the Virginia before it was re-fitted and re-christened by the Confederacy), but don't let that stop you!. This book delves into a fascinating part of American military history. The battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac changed the course of naval history, and had repercussions all over the world. This book is a great introduction into that period in history. For those who are still concerned about the use of Merrimac as opposed to Virginia: 1) the US gov't never formally recognized the Confederacy as a sovereign state, therefore the Confederacy would have had no authority to re-christen the ship (ergo, the original designation of Merrimac is, in fact, correct); 2) even during the Civil War, in both the North and the South, the name Merrimac was still widely used to describe the ship -- and remains the more widely recognized and acceptable of the two.
2 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
The Monitor never fought the Merrimac,
By
This review is from: Iron and Heavy Guns: Duel between the Monitor and the Merrimac (Civil War Campaigns & Commanders) (Paperback)
I would not buy this book because the Monitor fought a Confederate Ironclad called the C.S.S. Virginia. The Virginia was built upon the salvaged hull of a union ship called the Merrimack (with a "k"). There was another ship built by the union, called the Merrimac (without a "k") but it was a paddle wheel boat and it never fought the Monitor.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
The forty-one-year-old Welsh Virginian, Catesby ap Roger Jones, sat at the desk in his cramped cabin aboard the C.S.S. Virginia (formerly the U.S.S. Merrimac and usually known by that name) shortly before midnight on March 8, 1862. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Hampton Roads, New York, Roger Jones, Gosport Navy Yard, James River, Elizabeth River, United States, Chesapeake Bay, Mexican War, Navy Department, Newport News, North Carolina, Van Brunt, Lieutenant John, Naval Academy, Secretary Mallory, Franklin Buchanan, Fort Monroe, Pacific Squadron, Washington Navy Yard, John Ericsson, Lieutenant Greene, Rhode Island, Catesby Jones, Ironclad Board New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The forty-one-year-old Welsh Virginian, Catesby ap Roger Jones, sat at the desk in his cramped cabin aboard the C.S.S. Virginia (formerly the U.S.S. Merrimac and usually known by that name) shortly before midnight on March 8, 1862. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Hampton Roads, New York, Roger Jones, Gosport Navy Yard, James River, Elizabeth River, United States, Chesapeake Bay, Mexican War, Navy Department, Newport News, North Carolina, Van Brunt, Lieutenant John, Naval Academy, Secretary Mallory, Franklin Buchanan, Fort Monroe, Pacific Squadron, Washington Navy Yard, John Ericsson, Lieutenant Greene, Rhode Island, Catesby Jones, Ironclad Board New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 20
books:
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15
books
cite this book:
See all 15 books citing this book
- Battles and Leaders of the Civil War by Rh Value Publishing in Back Matter
- The Civil War by Gina De Angelis on page 62
- Battle in the Wilderness: Grant Meets Lee (Civil War Campaigns and Commanders) by Grady McWhiney in Front Matter
- Texans in the Confederate Cavalry (Civil War Campaigns and Commanders Series) by Anne J. Bailey in Front Matter
- Raphael Semmes and the Alabama (Civil War Campaigns & Commanders) by Spencer C. Tucker in Front Matter
See all 20 books this book cites
- The Battle of the Crater (Civil War Campaigns and Commanders Series) by Jeff Kinard in Front Matter
- Duel of the Ironclads: USS Monitor and CSS Virginia at Hampton Roads 1862 (General Military) by Angus Konstam in Back Matter
- George Gordon Meade and the War in the East (Civil War Campaigns and Commander Series) by Ethan S. Rafuse in Front Matter
- Winfield Scott Hancock: Gettysburg Hero (Civil War Campaigns and Commander Series) by Perry D. Jamieson in Front Matter
- Texans in the Confederate Cavalry (Civil War Campaigns and Commanders Series) by Anne J. Bailey in Front Matter
See all 15 books citing this book
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