Editing CSS Virginia (section)

==Destruction==
[[File:Destruction of Merrimac, May 11, 1862.png|thumb|284px|alt=Print: Destruction of the rebel vessel "Merrimac" off Crany Island; published by Currier and Ives|''Destruction of the rebel vessel ''Merrimac'' off Craney Island, May 11, 1862,'' by [[Currier and Ives]] ]]

On May 10, 1862, advancing Union troops occupied [[Norfolk, Virginia|Norfolk]]. Since ''Virginia'' was now a steam-powered heavy battery and no longer an ocean-going cruiser, her pilots judged her not seaworthy enough to enter the Atlantic, even if she were able to pass the Union blockade. ''Virginia'' was also unable to retreat further up the [[James River]] due to her deep {{convert|22|ft|m|adj=on}} draft (fully loaded). In an attempt to reduce it, supplies and coal were dumped overboard, even though this exposed the ironclad's unarmored lower hull, but this was still not enough to make a difference. Without a home port and no place to go, ''Virginia''{{'}}s new captain, [[flag officer]] [[Josiah Tattnall III]], reluctantly ordered her destruction in order to keep the ironclad from being captured. The ship was destroyed by Catesby Jones and John Taylor Wood, who set fire to scattered gunpowder and cotton strewn across the ship's deck. Early on the morning of May 11, 1862, off Craney Island, the fire reached the ironclad's magazine, leading to a massive explosion that obliterated the ship. What remained of ''Virginia'' then sank to the harbor floor.<ref>{{cite book | last=Nelson|first=J. L. | date= 2007 | title=Reign of Iron: The Story of the First Battling Ironclads, the Monitor and the Merrimack | publisher=[[HarperCollins]] | isbn=9780061365119|pages=316–320}}</ref>

[[File:CSS Virginia Anchor.jpg|thumb|right|Anchor of CSS ''Virginia'' at its former location at the [[American Civil War Museum]]]]

After the war, the government determined that the wreck of ''Virginia'' needed to be removed from the channel. In 1867, Captain D. A. Underdown salvaged 290,000 pounds of iron from the site, much of which was taken from the ship's ram and cannons. The following year, Underdown detonated explosives under the ''Virginia''<nowiki/>'s hulk to fully clear the river, but the attempt did not totally remove the wreck. In 1871, E.J. Griffith recovered an additional 102,883 pounds of iron from the seabed, and in 1876, the "remaining timbers" of the ship were raised.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Quarstein |first=John V. |title=The CSS Virginia: Sink Before Surrender |date=2021 |publisher=[[Arcadia Publishing]] |isbn=9781614238355 |publication-date=2021}}</ref> In 1982, the [[National Underwater and Marine Agency]] explored the area around Craney Island and found that "there are no large areas of either concentrated or scattered debris associated with the Virginia lying on the river bottom within the survey area."<ref>{{Cite web |date=1982 |title=Merrimack (U.S.S.) |url=https://numa.net/expeditions/merrimack-u-s-s/ |access-date=February 21, 2024 |publisher=[[National Underwater and Marine Agency]]}}</ref>

Most of the recovered iron was melted down and sold for scrap (notably, some of the ship's iron was used to craft [[Pokahuntas Bell]] in 1907).<ref name=":0" /><ref>''[[Richmond Times-Dispatch]]'', "[https://www.loc.gov/chroniclingamerica/lccn/sn85038615/1907-04-13/ed-1/seq-2 Pokahuntas Bell for Exposition] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116002034/https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85038615/1907-04-13/ed-1/seq-2/|date=16 November 2022}}", April 13, 1907</ref> Other pieces of the ship have been preserved in museums: The ship's brass bell is held at the [[Hampton Roads Naval Museum]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hafner |first=Katherine |date=January 2, 2019 |title=Whatever happened to the brass bell salvaged from the USS Merrimack? |url=https://www.pilotonline.com/2019/01/02/whatever-happened-to-the-brass-bell-salvaged-from-the-uss-merrimack-2/ |access-date=February 21, 2024 |website=The Virginian-Pilot |language=en-US}}</ref> and one of the ''Virginia''<nowiki/>'s anchors now rests in front of the [[American Civil War Museum]] in [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last1=Petersen |first1=Bo |last2=Mechaca |first2=Ron |date=July 6, 2003 |title=Wreckage of Ironclad ''Merrimack'' Becomes Stuff of Legend |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/373986230 |url-access=subscription |access-date=February 21, 2024 |work=[[The Post and Courier]]|id={{ProQuest|373986230}} }}</ref> Numerous souvenirs, ostensibly made from salvaged iron and wood raised from ''Virginia''{{'}}s sunken hulk, have found a ready and willing market among Civil War enthusiasts and [[East Coast of the United States|eastern seaboard]] residents. However, the [[provenance]] of many of these artifacts is impossible to prove, which has given rise to the humorous [[Proverb|adage]] that "if you took all the iron and all the wood supposedly collected from the [wreck of the CSS ''Virginia''], you'd have enough to outfit a fleet of ironclads."<ref name=":1" />