“Sailors,” he announced, “in a few minutes you will have the long-expected opportunity to show your devotion to your country and our cause.” ![]() As the ironclad neared the Federals’ wooden flotilla, Confederate commander Franklin Buchanan addressed his crew. ![]() On March 8, 1862, the Virginia left Gosport on its maiden voyage and steamed toward nearby Hampton Roads, a vital sea junction that was patrolled by a Union blockading fleet. Neither of the ironclads was much to look at-the Monitor was labeled a “tin can on a shingle” and the Virginia a “floating barn roof”-but critics were silenced the minute their destructive power was put on display. ![]() CSS Virginia, constructed from the ruins of the frigate USS Merrimack
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