Hampton Roads (Monitor vs. Virginia (Merrimack), Battle of the Ironclads) Lt.
John Worden, USN Capt. Franklin Buchanan and Lt. USS Merrimack/CSS Virginia. Monitor and Merrimack. Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack (American Civil War. Battle Summary: Hampton Roads, VA. The Battle of Hampton Roads Summary & Facts. Battle of Hampton Roads - American Civil War. The next day, the USS Monitor steamed into the Chesapeake Bay.
Designed by Swedish engineer John Ericsson, the vessel had an unusually low profile, rising from the water only 18 inches. The flat iron deck had a 20-foot cylindrical turret rising from the middle of the ship; the turret housed two 11-inch Dahlgren guns. TheMonitor had a draft of less than 11 feet so it could operate in the shallow harbors and rivers of the South. It was commissioned on February 25, 1862, and arrived at Chesapeake Bay just in time to engage the Virginia. The battle between the Virginia and the Monitor began on the morning of March 9 and continued for four hours.