The former Merrimack was converted into CSS Virginia to break the Union blockade and attack Union shipping along the coast. Compared with Monitor, Virginia had more freeboard and much greater dimensions, although it still fell short of a true ocean-going vessel. Its armour included a belt varying between one and four inches, a one-inch deck, and a four-inch casemate. A crew of roughly 320 served two 7-inch Brooke rifles, two 6.4-inch Brooke rifles, and six 9-inch Dahlgren smoothbores. That battery made Virginia the more potent ship on paper, but the larger casemate also presented far more target than Monitor's low deck and turret.
Chapter · 11:12-12:58
Virginia was built to break the Union blockade
Virginia combined greater dimensions, more freeboard, and a much heavier battery for a Confederate plan to break the blockade and attack Union shipping.