Monitor vs Merrimac - American History, 1493-1945

Asa Smith Describes the Battle of Hampton Roads

9-11 March 1862

View the letter from Asa Smith to his mother describing the fight between the Monitor and the Merrimac in the resource

The night of 8 March 1862 was a worrying time for supporters of the Union. In Washington, Lincoln’s cabinet met to discuss the terrible events of that day, while at Camp Hamilton near Newport News a soldier named Asa Smith wrote to his mother about being unable to sleep. The incident that occasioned this concern was the arrival in the Hampton Roads of the CSS Virginia, an ironclad that had wreaked havoc on the Union Navy.

Smith’s letters offer a vivid first-hand account of one of the most significant moments in naval history. The Virginia was a repurposed Union ship named Merrimack armored with iron plate by the Confederates. On 8 March it had faced-off against Union ships blockading Norfolk and Richmond. Smith describes how it rammed and sunk the USS Cumberland, burnt the USS Congress and closed in on the USS Minnesota, which had run aground. Smith reported that Union shots “glanced off without doing much of any damage.” That night his camp was full of sailors, many covered with blood – he even describes one gunner as having clots of brains spattered on his face.

The soldiers with Smith were convinced a full-scale Confederate attack was imminent. The panic was arguably greater in Washington, where some suggested the ironclad would soon begin roaming the east coast shelling Union cities at will. Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles was able to reassure the cabinet by announcing that he was putting the purpose-built ironclad USS Monitor into battle that very evening. Designed by John Ericsson, it featured a number of innovations beyond its armor, including rotating turrets containing heavy guns.

Asa Smith describes the relief of Union troops when they heard of the Monitor’s arrival. It positioned itself between the Virginia and the Minnesota. Battle between the two ironclads raged for 3 hours, although Smith records it being 5. He noted that the Monitor was able to out-sail the Virginia, and records its eventual victory. In truth, the battle was a stalemate, although both sides claimed victory afterwards.

These events were significant both for naval history and the Civil War. The Union had been blockading this area since April 1861, effectively cutting off Norfolk and Richmond from the sea. The initial success of the Virginia raised hopes that the blockade might be broken and naval supremacy swing in favour of the Confederacy. However, the blockade was not broken, and the Confederates later decided to give up Norfolk and scuttle the Virginia, which was trapped and unable to sail up-river to Richmond.

Worldwide attention focused on these events. Although France and Britain had already commissioned their first ironclads, the Battle of Hampton Roads convinced both them and other world powers to halt the production of wooden-hulled ships and focus on armoured vessels. The Monitor became the basis of a new class of warship which went by the same name. Rotating heavy guns also became a design standard. In this respect, Asa Smith had witnessed the birth of the modern warship.