This week in the Civil War; May 6 – 11, 1862: The destruction of the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia

After the historic battle between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia – known to many as the Merrimack – the two ironclad vessels kept each other in check for a period of about two months.

The Virginia, commanded by Commodore Josiah Tatnall, spent much of her time docked at Norfolk undergoing repairs.

Lt. Catesby ap Roger Jones, Executive Officer for the Virginia, wrote in 1874 that “Commodore Tatnall commanded the Virginia forty-five days, of which time there were only thirteen days she was not in dock or in the hands of the Navy Yard.”

Read the rest here…