They ran ads in the major northern newspapers asking inventors to submit their intent to offer a proposal by Aug. The "Ironclad Board" immediately began to solicit proposals. 7, 1861, directing the Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles, to appoint a board to investigate plans for ironclads and to appropriate $1.5 million for their construction. In response, Congress passed a bill on Aug. As concern mounted, there was increasing pressure on Congress and the Navy to confront the threat. Under the design of John Mercer Brooke, John Luke Porter and William Price Williamson, the ship was salvaged and gradually converted into an ironclad ship renamed CSS Virginia.Īs news of the construction of Virginia made its way north, the Union knew that with their aging wooden fleet, they would be in a predicament if they did not have an ironclad of their own. With the blockade effectively cutting the Confederacy off from the outside world, the concept of converting the burned hull of the Merrimack into an ironclad came to life. Although, the Merrimack was renamed the CSS Virginia by the Confederacy, people today continue to refer to it as the "Merrimac." (Courtesy U.S. USS Merrimack was destroyed when the Norfolk Navy Yard (Gosport) was burned. However, after the Union troops left, the townspeople managed to salvage the shipyard, including the hull of a wooden warship known as USS Merrimack. There was no time to evacuate all the ships, so the port and ships were burned. ![]() At the time of secession, Gosport had a large complement of ships awaiting repair. Gosport, a naval shipyard located in Portsmouth, Va., was just such a facility. This plan, known as the "Anaconda Plan," was meant to choke the South into submission.Īfter the secession of Virginia, the Union withdrew their forces northward after trying to destroy any materials or facilities that would benefit the Confederacy. ![]() Knowing this, President Lincoln declared there would be a blockade of the Southern states. ![]() The South needed lines of trade with other countries to compensate for their lack of industrial facilities. Soon after the American Civil War began in 1861, both the North and the South realized how important the seas were to the war effort.
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