Hampton Roads: Monitor, Virginia, and the armour problem

The account follows the Confederate reconstruction of Merrimack as Virginia, the destruction of vulnerable Union ships, and Monitor's arrival. Crowds watched from nearby vessels and both shores, making the ironclad duel an unusual naval battle conducted before spectators. Slow firing, limited manoeuvre, damaged command arrangements, and guns unable to settle the contest made the result tactically indecisive. Monitor temporarily moved toward shallow water after John Worden was wounded, while Virginia withdrew with low ammunition, a leak, and difficulty maintaining steam. The wider significance was to make navies question whether existing weapons could penetrate modern armour reliably.