The steam frigate USS Merrimack.

USS Merrimack was the wooden steam frigate that, in Confederate hands, became the first of a series of casemate ironclads – the CSS Virginia. She fought the USS Monitor in the first battle between ironclads at Hampton Roads.

The USS Merrimack was a frigate built in Boston and launched in 1855. She was a wooden sloop-of-war with axillary steam engine, essentially a sailing vessel with steam power for assistance.

USS Merrimack before becoming the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia. A model at the Mariners' Museum in Norfolk.

Specifications of the U.S.S Merrimack.

• Displacement: 3200 tons
• Length: 305 feet
• Beam: 51 feet, 4 inches
• Draft (average): 23 feet
• Speed, (average) 9 knots
• Armor: None
• Armament (1861):
• Fourteen 8-inch smoothbore guns of 63 cwt
• Two 10-inch smoothbore guns
• Twenty-four IX-inch Dahlgren smoothbore guns
• Officers & Crew: 519

She was heavily armed for her size and a modern design for its time. While on a tour to Europe the ship impressed the British Admiralty to the point they decided to issue their own version.

However, she had her share of problems too. Throughout her career she was plagued with machine failures and by 1860 her steam plant was condemned while at the Gosport Navy Yard in Virginia.

Well before the Commonwealth of Virginia seceded from the Union, orders had gone out to move the Merrimack from Gosport to Philadelphia.

Unfortunately, somebody dropped the ball and all of a sudden Virginia Militia had blocked the escape. Instead the decision was made to burn her along with any other material that was found potentially useful to the enemy.

Was it Merrimack, Merrimac or Virginia who fought USS Monitor?

It seems a lot of people believe it was the "Merrimac" and the USS Monitor who fought the first ever battle between ironclads at Hampton Roads, March 9, 1862. It is incorrect, as we define it today. Let me explain...

At the time, many in the Union States considered the Civil War a rebellion of the South. With this mindset there were no "Confederate States of America", only an insurgency. By accepting their name-change from "Merrimack" to "CSS Virginia" would in a way legitimize the Confederacy and its Navy. This denial could also be seen as an intended insult.

Not that that is the only reason the old name lingered, but it is definitely a factor. The reason I say that is because there are records on both sides, North and South, that kept calling her "Merrimack" even after the engagement at Hampton Roads.

Many seems to get the spelling wrong too. The correct name is Merrimack – not Merrimac. Apparently both the original drawings of the sail plan and hull lines have the incorrect spelling.

It's hard to say if that was simply a result of poor spelling or that nobody cared. We'll probably never find out. However, having spent some time in archives looking at ship plans, it seems they were more tolerant of "creative" spelling back then.

Building a model of the USS Merrimack

The original plans of the U.S.S Merrimack, prior to becoming an ironclad, can be obtained from the National Archives, Bureau of Ships (the link will open in a new window).

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