The CSS Virginia: Sink Before Surrender
John V. Quarstein; The History Press
Iron Coffin: War, Technology, and Experience Aboard the USS Monitor
David A. Mindell; The Johns Hopkins University Press
A lot has been written on the March 1862 Battle of Hampton Roads, but the discovery of USS Monitor off Cape Hatteras in 1973 and the recent recovery of human remains on the vessel have yielded further information, which has been incorporated into the reissue of David Mindell’s absorbing Iron Coffin (originally published in 2000).
Profiles of the inconclusive clash between Monitor and Virginia usually focus on Union inventiveness rather than Confederate ingenuity, since the Rebel ship was built on the keel of the burned warship Merrimack. In The CSS Virginia, John Quarstein argues that the Southern ironclad was the strategic victor at Hampton, since it held the U.S. Navy at bay until May 11. The Union seizure of Gosport, Va., and Virginia’s failure to clear a sandbar left Captain Josiah Tattnall no choice but to destroy it. Even so, Virginia’s success led to more rams being built on its pattern, but with a shallower draft, to defend sea and river ports.
Both books are packed with useful data and info. This makes for two ironclad deals for the naval buff.
Originally published in the August 2012 issue of Civil War Times. To subscribe, click here.
