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The Civil War in America: naval engagement in Hampton Roads
Poster Prints from Mary Evans Picture Library
The Civil War in America: naval engagement in Hampton Roads
The confederate iron-plated steamer Merrimac, running into the Federal sloop, Cumberland, from a sketch by T. Nast. This encounter had one important result; the Federals realised that wooden ships were obsolete in the face of the metal clad Confederate ships
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Media ID 4376724
© Mary Evans Picture Library 2015 - https://copyrighthub.org/s0/hub1/creation/maryevans/MaryEvansPictureID/10218400
1862 Clad Confederate Encounter Engagement Federal Federals Hampton Important Iron Nast Obsolete Plated Realised Result Roads Running Sloop Steamer
EDITORS COMMENTS
This striking image, created by renowned political cartoonist Thomas Nast for Illustrated London News in December 1862, depicts a pivotal moment in the American Civil War: the naval engagement in Hampton Roads, Virginia. The iron-plated Confederate steamer Merrimac, under the command of Rear Admiral Franklin Buchanan, is shown charging into the Federal sloop Cumberland. The Cumberland, with its wooden hull, was no match for the Merrimac's advanced armor plating, resulting in the Federal vessel's unfortunate demise. The encounter at Hampton Roads on March 8 and 9, 1862, marked a significant turning point in the naval war. The Federals were shocked to discover that their wooden ships, long considered the backbone of their naval fleet, were now obsolete in the face of the Confederate ironclads. The Merrimac, renamed the Virginia after its first engagement, went on to sink two more Union ships before being damaged and taken out of action. This realization led the Union Navy to reconsider their shipbuilding strategies, ultimately resulting in the construction of their own ironclads, such as the USS Monitor, which would meet the Virginia in a famous clash in the same waters on March 9, 1862. The Hampton Roads engagement demonstrated the importance of technological innovation in warfare and underscored the need for the Union to adapt and respond to the Confederate threat. Thomas Nast's powerful sketch, with its intricate details and dramatic composition, offers a glimpse into the pivotal moment when the tide of the naval war began to turn in favor of the Union. The image remains an essential piece of American Civil War history, illustrating the significance of the Hampton Roads engagement and the impact it had on the course of the war.
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