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NORFOLK, Virginia in the 1860s: 1 through 4 of 4

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  1. The Burning of the Gosport Navy Yard
    date April 21, 1861map NORFOLK, Virginiatags Government, Politics, War

    The atmosphere at the Gosport Navy Yard in Portsmouth was hostile on the hazy Saturday evening of April 21, 1861. Virginia had just succeeded and the loyalty of the yard was torn between North and South. Both sides wanted it and sent forces to take control of it. The first ones to get there were two companies of Virginia Navy volunteers and militiamen of the Norfolk Greys who mustered outside the gates....

  2. Work Begins Converting Merrimac into Ironclad CSS Virginia
    date July 24, 1861map NORFOLK, Virginiatags War

    In the Spring of 1861, Union forces abandoned the USS Merrimac, sinking it in the Elizabeth River near Norfolk, Virginia. The water was shallow enough to allow Confederates to raise the ship. During the Summer of 1861, the Merrimac was placed in dry dock at the Norfolk Navy Yard. Originally a wooden steam-powered gunboat, Confederate engineers began coating the hull with iron, renaming it the C.S.S....

  3. Transforming Naval Warfare
    date March 8, 1862 to March 9, 1862map NORFOLK, Virginiatags Navy, Civil War, Science/Technology

    On March 8, 1862, the power of a new form of naval warfare made its appearance at Hampton Roads Bay, Virginia. The CSS Virginia (formerly the sunken USS Merrimack) appeared beside the Union fleet, showing her aggressive naval power with a never-seen-before "iron coating." With a front mounted cannon and an iron body, she destroyed two Union wooden ships, lowering Union morale. On March 9, 1862, the...

  4. The Debut of the CSS Virginia
    date March 8, 1862 to March 9, 1862map NORFOLK, Virginiatags War

    On the days of March 8th and 9th, the Confederate Ironclad CSS Virginia [formerly the sunken USS Merrimack, which the Confederates had risen from the Norfolk Navy Yard ant rebuilt as an ironclad] sunk two wooden Union ships then battled the Union Ironclad USS Monitor to a draw. While first running down and sinking the USS Cumberland [a sailing ship], the Virginia then approached the frigate Congress,...