On this day March 8, 1862

[Scamp]

March 8 1862. The Confederate ironclad warship CSS Virginia makes wooden warships obsolete and wreaks havoc on the Union Navy in the Battle of Hampton Roads. The Virginia attacked the Union blockade squadron of 5 wooden warships and left three aground and sank the other two.

The Virginia came right through Union cannon fire, with shots bouncing off her armor, and rammed the USS Cumberland with her iron ram. The Cumberland sank. Next Virginia sank the USS Congress with her cannons. The USS Minnesota ran aground and that saved her from being sunk but several of her crew were killed or wounded by cannon fire.

At the end of the day The CSS Virginia went back to port leaving 400 dead enemy sailors, with a loss of two. But the brave commander of the Virginia, Franklin Buchanan was wounded by a shot to the leg after he left the safety of the ironclad and climbed out onto the deck to shoot at the enemy at close range. Now that's a fighter. His leg would have to be amputated.

This was the United States Navy's greatest defeat until World War II.

After hearing this news, other countries stopped the building of wooden warships.

 

[yiostheoy]

March 8 1862. The Confederate ironclad warship CSS Virginia makes wooden warships obsolete and wreaks havoc on the Union Navy in the Battle of Hampton Roads. The Virginia attacked the Union blockade squadron of 5 wooden warships and left three aground and sank the other two.

The Virginia came right through Union cannon fire, with shots bouncing off her armor, and rammed the USS Cumberland with her iron ram. The Cumberland sank. Next Virginia sank the USS Congress with her cannons at very close range combat. The USS Minnesota ran aground and that saved her from being sunk but several of her crew were killed or wounded by cannon fire.

At the end of the day The CSS Virginia went back to port leaving 400 dead enemy sailors, with a loss of two. But the brave commander of the Virginia, Franklin Buchanan was wounded by a shot to the leg after he left the safety of the ironclad and climbed out onto the deck to shoot at the enemy at close range. Now that's a fighter. His leg would have to be amputated.

This was the United States Navy's greatest defeat until World War II.

After hearing this news, other countries stopped the building of wooden warships.

The Yankee's launched the first ever submarine called The Alligator in 1863 as well.

This would eventually render all surface warships obsolete.

From now on, there would only be 2 kinds of ships --

1 - submarines

2 - targets for submarines.

 

[Scamp]

March 8 1862. The Confederate ironclad warship CSS Virginia makes wooden warships obsolete and wreaks havoc on the Union Navy in the Battle of Hampton Roads. The Virginia attacked the Union blockade squadron of 5 wooden warships and left three aground and sank the other two.

The Virginia came right through Union cannon fire, with shots bouncing off her armor, and rammed the USS Cumberland with her iron ram. The Cumberland sank. Next Virginia sank the USS Congress with her cannons at very close range combat. The USS Minnesota ran aground and that saved her from being sunk but several of her crew were killed or wounded by cannon fire.

At the end of the day The CSS Virginia went back to port leaving 400 dead enemy sailors, with a loss of two. But the brave commander of the Virginia, Franklin Buchanan was wounded by a shot to the leg after he left the safety of the ironclad and climbed out onto the deck to shoot at the enemy at close range. Now that's a fighter. His leg would have to be amputated.

This was the United States Navy's greatest defeat until World War II.

After hearing this news, other countries stopped the building of wooden warships.

The Yankee's launched the first ever submarine called The Alligator in 1863 as well.

This would eventually render all surface warships obsolete.

From now on, there would only be 2 kinds of ships --

1 - submarines

2 - targets for submarines.

It was the Confederate Submarine CSS Hunley that became the first sub ever to sink an enemy warship, 17 February 1864, they sank the USS Housatonic.

 

[JoeB131]

It was the Confederate Submarine CSS Hunley that became the first sub ever to sink an enemy warship, 17 February 1864, they sank the USS Housatonic.

Yup, and they only had to drown three crews of inbred rednecks to accomplish it.

Not that I have any objection to that sort of thing. The true tragedy of the civil war was that it didn't weed out the redneck population enough.

 

[whitehall]

Can you imagine what it was like to be inside a iron tub while cannon balls were hammering the hull? Strangely enough the Confederates were able to hammer a ironclad ship together while Lincoln's hoards were busy hanging farmers and burning barns.