During the Civil War, the Union had a great advantage at sea. In order to turn the tables, the Confederacy made a new type of warship that was heavily armored with iron - ironclads! The Confederates captured a Union steamship called the Merrimack and turned it into an ironclad, which they promptly renamed the Virginia.

The ironclad immediately set off for Hampton Roads, Virginia, which was an important waterway guarded by the Union. The Virginia was able to easily sink two of the Union wooden ships and take back the waterway.

Though little did they know that the Union had already had built an ironclad called the Monitor. It was designed by a Swedish-born engineer named John Ericsson. The ship had some very unique features, such as a revolving gun tower.

Months later the Virginia returned to the Hampton Roads and there waiting was the Monitor. They fought for hours, nether ship receiving much damage. Eventually the Monitor forced the Virginia to withdraw. The brawl, that signaled a revolution in naval warfare, became known as the clash of the ironclads.