History | The Civil War
Civil War Ironclads Participating vessels in the historic 1862 battle have been given various names— so has the battle itself WRITTEN BY
John Quarstein An illustration of the USS Merrimack by Currier & Ives, 1857.
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T
he battle that changed naval warfare forevermore, the Battle of Hampton Roads, is one of history’s 10 greatest ship-to-ship engagements. No longer would wooden warships rule the waves. Armored, turreted ships with heavy rifled guns would dominate the seas for the next 75 years. Despite all the battle’s acclaim, the names of the ships and of the engagement itself are numerous and various. The March 8–9, 1862 Battle of Hampton Roads, similar to many other Civil War battles, has many titles. Nevertheless, no matter what you might call it, the battle is always recognized as a change agent. Often it is called “Clash of Iron,” “Monitor vs. Merrimac,” or “Battle of the Ironclads.” Generally, this two-day naval conflict proved the power of iron over wood and changed the course of naval warfare. Accordingly, the engagement must always be called the Battle of Hampton Roads. This somewhat confusing choice of names raises another question: What is the proper name of the Confederate ironclad that sank two Union capital ships and fought USS Monitor to a standstill? Is it Merrimac, Merrimack, or Virginia? USS Monitor does not suffer from this type of identity crisis. The Union ironclad inventor, John Ericsson, was asked by Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus Vasa Fox to give the new ironclad, referred to as “Ericsson 86
Battery” while under construction, a proper name. Since Ericsson believed that his innovative ironclad’s “impregnable nature and aggressive character … will admonish the leaders of the Southern Rebellion,” as well as prove to be a monitor to the British Navy’s ironclad production, he proposed to name the new battery “Monitor.” The ironclad was such a success that “Monitor” became the name of an entire class and type of warship. Merrimac, Merrimack, or Virginia? The Confederate ironclad’s name, however, is consistently inaccurate. The most common usage is “Merrimac.” This reference, used by Civil War participants and historians ever since, is incorrect. The steam and sail powered forty-gun frigate with a screw propeller built at Charlestown Navy Yard was named USS Merrimack by John Lenthall, Chief of the U.S. Bureau of Naval Construction, on September 25, 1854. Naval constructor E.H. Delano, who designed the frigate, noted the ship’s name as “Merrimack” in his plans. This warship was the first of a class of six frigates built during the 1850s. Each of the ships was named for an American river: Roanoke, Wabash, Colorado, Minnesota, and Niagara. President Franklin Pierce—who was a native of Concord, New Hampshire, the county seat of Merrimack County, located on the Merrimack River— approved the construction of this class. He signed the act approving the appro-
priation and the ship names on April 6, 1854. The frigate to be built at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston was spelled “Merrimack.” Even though this evidence clearly documents that the frigate’s name should always be spelled with a “k” as it was named in honor of the Merrimack River, confusion concerning the river’s spelling is commonplace. The first written reference dates to 1691 during the reign of William and Mary, noting the northern boundary of Massachusetts as 3 miles north of the Merrimack River. Other references to the Merrimack spelling include Governor Thomas Hutchinson’s 1764 “History of the Province of Massachusetts.” “Merrimack” is a Native American word said to mean “swift water.” By the mid-19th century, many writers, Henry David Thoreau excepted, had begun to drop the “k.” It appears that the spelling Merrimack with the “k” is more often used at places along the river above Haverhill, Massachusetts, a city located at the head of navigation. Merrimac without the “k” is the popular spelling below Haverhill. The river formed the Merrimack Valley, which is often referred to as Merrimac Valley. This region was a major textile manufacturing area. One town in the region is named Merrimac, Massachusetts, but was not established until 1876. This circumstance, and the fact that it is easier to spell Merrimack with just a “c” rather than a “k,” is perAMERI CAN ESSE NCE
