Development of the Ironclads
On 9 March 1862, an inconclusive battle in the American Civil War transformed the face of naval warfare forever. It was the world's first combat between ships with iron hulls. The 'ironclads' were born. Fighting for the South was a weapon shaped like a huge metal covered barn roof, the 'USS Merrimack'. Fighting for the North was an even stranger contraption, the 'USS Monitor'. Neither could sink the other.
For nine months the crew of the 'USS Monitor' ruled the seas until disaster struck. They left behind poignant photographs and letters that painted a vivid picture of a world poised on the brink of a new kind of war. One sailor on board wrote: 'I think we get more credit for the mere fight than we deserve. Anyone could fight behind impenetrable armour.' This is the story of the lives and deaths of the men who sailed on the first modern warship.
Less than a year after their epic battle, both ironclads lay on the seabed. More than 100 years after the 'USS Monitor' disappeared, her wreckage was suddenly discovered. Inside the gun turret, a most momentous discovery was made: the remains of two sailors. The search for their identities has been ongoing ever since.
Published: 2006-01-12