The Battle of Hampton Roads began March 8, 1862 when the newly-launched Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia (built on the hull of the former USS Merrimac) engaged the USS Congress and USS Cumberland, defeating the two conventional wooden vessels.

The following day Virginia would meet an entirely different foe, forever changing the course of naval warfare.

Also shown is an excerpt of a first-hand account by Rear Admiral Thomas O. Selfridge, Jr.  At the time of the battle, Selfridge was a lieutenant in command of a gun division aboard the Cumberland.

The Sinking of the Cumberland by the Iron Clad Merrimac, off Newport News, Virginia, March 8th, 1862. Cumberland went down with all her Flags flying: destroyed but not conquered. Copy of lithograph by Currier & Ives, 1862.

(Ed. note: As a rare personal aside, my great-great grandfather served as a Marine aboard the Congress and was wounded during the battle.  Luckily he survived, although the injuries troubled him long afterwards, according to his pension records.  -D.)

“Boat Exercises - Naval Training Station, Hampton Roads, Va. September 19, 1918,” G.L. Hall Optical Co., Photographer Begun as a small training and receiving station in the early 1900s, the Naval Training Station in World War I would become one of the premier training centers for naval personnel. By Armistice Day in 1918, more than 34,000 men had been assigned there. The complete panoramic photograph measures 7” x 57” and was taken by G. L. Hall Optical Company of Norfolk.
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“Boat Exercises - Naval Training Station, Hampton Roads, Va. September 19, 1918,” G.L. Hall Optical Co., Photographer

Begun as a small training and receiving station in the early 1900s, the Naval Training Station in World War I would become one of the premier training centers for naval personnel. By Armistice Day in 1918, more than 34,000 men had been assigned there. The complete panoramic photograph measures 7” x 57” and was taken by G. L. Hall Optical Company of Norfolk.