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The Battle of Hampton Roads was a naval battle of the American Civil War, taking place from March 8, 1862 to March 9, 1862, off Sewell's Point, a narrow place near the mouth of Hampton Roads, Virginia. As the war started, Union forces evacuating Norfolk burned the ships left behind. One was raised by the Confederates, renamed the CSS Virginia, and plated with iron—making it the first modern ironclad warship. On March 8, 1862, it sailed into Hampton Roads off Sewell's Point to challenge the blockading Union ships there, destroying several of them. The next day, it was engaged by the USS Monitor, a newly built Union ironclad. Although the battle itself was inconclusive, it is chiefly significant in naval history as the first battle between two powered ironclad warships, which came to be known as ironclads. Prior to then, warships were made primarily of wood. After the battle, ships and naval warfare changed dramatically, as nations around the world raced to convert their fleets to iron. (more...)
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