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USS ''Merrimack'', also improperly ''Merrimac'', was a
The Confederate States of America, Confederacy, in desperate need of ships, raised ''Merrimack'' and rebuilt her as an ironclad ram (ship), ram, according to a design prepared by John Mercer Brooke, Lt. John Mercer Brooke, CSN. Commissioned as CSS Virginia, CSS ''Virginia'' 17 February 1862, the ironclad was the hope of the Confederacy to destroy the wooden ships in Hampton Roads, and to end the Union blockade which had already seriously impeded the Confederate war effort.
history.navy.mil/photos: USS ''Merrimack''Journal of a Cruise onboard U.S. Steam Frigate ''Merrimack'', 1856–1858, MS 15
held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy {{DEFAULTSORT:Merrimack 1855 Sailing frigates of the United States Navy Battle of Hampton Roads New Hampshire in the American Civil War Ships of the Union Navy Vessels captured from the United States Navy Shipwrecks of the American Civil War Shipwrecks of the Virginia coast Ships built in Boston 1855 ships Scuttled vessels Maritime incidents in April 1861
steam frigate
Steam frigates (including screw frigates) and the smaller steam corvettes, steam sloops, steam gunboats and steam schooners, were steam-powered warships that were not meant to stand in the line of battle. There were some exceptions like for exa ...
, best known as the hull upon which the ironclad warship
An ironclad is a steam-propelled warship protected by iron or steel armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. Th ...
CSS Virginia, CSS ''Virginia'' was constructed during the American Civil War. The CSS ''Virginia'' then took part in the Battle of Hampton Roads (also known as "the Battle of the ''USS Monitor, Monitor'' and the ''Merrimack''") in the first engagement between ironclad warships.
''Merrimack'' was the first of six Steam frigate, screw frigates (steam frigates powered by screw propellers) begun in 1854. Like others of her class (, , , and ), she was named after a river. The Merrimack River, Merrimack originates in New Hampshire and flows through the town of Merrimac, Massachusetts, often considered an older spelling which has sometimes caused confusion of the name.Nelson, J. The Reign of Iron. 2004.
History
Creation
''Merrimack'' was launched by the Boston Navy Yard 15 June 1855, ship sponsor, sponsored by Mary E. Simmons, and commissioned 20 February 1856, Captain Garrett J. Pendergrast in command. She was the second ship of the Navy to be named for the Merrimack River.Service
Shakedown cruises took the new screw frigate to the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean and to Western Europe. ''Merrimack'' visited Southampton, Brest, France, Brest, Lisbon, and Toulon before returning to Boston and decommissioning 22 April 1857 for repairs. Recommissioning 1 September 1857, ''Merrimack'' got underway from Boston Harbor 17 October as flagship for the Pacific Squadron. She rounded Cape Horn and cruised the Pacific coast of South America, South and Central America until heading for home 14 November 1859. Upon returning to Norfolk Navy Yard, Norfolk, she decommissioned 16 February 1860. ''Merrimack'' was still in ordinary during the crisis preceding Abraham Lincoln, Lincoln's inauguration. Soon after becoming Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles took action to prepare the frigate for sea, planning to move her to Philadelphia. The day before the firing on Fort Sumter, Welles directed that "great vigilance be exercised in guarding and protecting" Norfolk Navy Yard and her ships. On the afternoon of 17 April 1861, the day Virginia seceded, Engineer in Chief Benjamin F. Isherwood, B. F. Isherwood managed to get the frigate's engines lit off; but the previous night secessionists had sunk light boats in the channel between Craney Island (Virginia), Craney Island and Sewell's Point, blocking ''Merrimack''. On 20 April, before evacuating the Navy Yard, the U.S. Navy burned ''Merrimack'' to the waterline and sank her to preclude capture.
The Confederate States of America, Confederacy, in desperate need of ships, raised ''Merrimack'' and rebuilt her as an ironclad ram (ship), ram, according to a design prepared by John Mercer Brooke, Lt. John Mercer Brooke, CSN. Commissioned as CSS Virginia, CSS ''Virginia'' 17 February 1862, the ironclad was the hope of the Confederacy to destroy the wooden ships in Hampton Roads, and to end the Union blockade which had already seriously impeded the Confederate war effort.
See also
*List of steam frigates of the United States Navy *Union Navy *List of ships captured in the 19th century#American Civil War, Ships captured in the American Civil War *Bibliography of early United States naval history#American Civil War, Bibliography of American Civil War naval historyFootnotes
References
Bibliography
* * * * * * Nelson, James L. 2004. ''The Reign of Iron: The Story of the First Battling Ironclads, the Monitor and the Merrimack''. HarperCollins Publishers, NY. .External links
history.navy.mil/photos: USS ''Merrimack''
held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy {{DEFAULTSORT:Merrimack 1855 Sailing frigates of the United States Navy Battle of Hampton Roads New Hampshire in the American Civil War Ships of the Union Navy Vessels captured from the United States Navy Shipwrecks of the American Civil War Shipwrecks of the Virginia coast Ships built in Boston 1855 ships Scuttled vessels Maritime incidents in April 1861