Editing USS Monitor (section)

====Duel of the ironclads====
The next morning at about 6:00&nbsp;am ''Virginia'', accompanied by {{ship|CSS|Jamestown||2}}, {{ship|CSS|Patrick Henry||2}} and {{ship|CSS|Teaser||2}}, got underway from [[Sewell's Point]] to finish off ''Minnesota'' and the rest of the blockaders, but were delayed from reaching Hampton Roads because of heavy fog until about 8:00&nbsp;am.<ref>[[#Quarstein99|Quarstein, 1999]], p. 78</ref> In ''Monitor'' Worden was already at his station in the pilot house while Greene took command of the turret.<ref name=Still18>[[#Still|Still, 1988]], p. 18</ref> Samuel Howard, Acting Master of ''Minnesota'', who was familiar with Hampton Roads with its varying depths and shallow areas, had volunteered to be the pilot the night before and thus was accepted, while Quarter Master [[Peter Williams (Medal of Honor)|Peter Williams]] steered the vessel throughout the battle (Williams was later awarded the [[Medal of Honor]] for this act).<ref>[[#Field|Field, 2011]], pp. 38, 46</ref><ref>[[#Quarstein10|Quarstein, 2010]], pp. 181, 191</ref> The speaking tube used to communicate between the pilothouse and the turret broke early in the action, so Keeler and Toffey had to relay commands from Worden to Greene.<ref name=Quarstein78>[[#Quarstein10|Quarstein, 2010]], p. 78</ref><ref name=Greene/> As ''Virginia'' approached, she began firing at ''Minnesota'' from more than a mile away, a few of her shells hitting the vessel. When the firing was heard in the distance, Greene sent Keeler to the pilot house for permission to open fire as soon as possible; Worden ordered,<ref name=Still18/><ref name=Hoehling155>[[#Hoehling|Hoehling, 1993]], p. 155</ref> "Tell Mr. Greene not to fire till I give the word, to be cool and deliberate, to take sure aim and not waste a shot."<ref name=Hoehling155/>

''Monitor'', to the surprise of ''Virginia''{{'}}s crew, emerged from behind ''Minnesota'' and positioned herself between her and the grounded ship, preventing the Confederate ironclad from further engaging the vulnerable wooden ship at close range. At 8:45&nbsp;am Worden gave the order to fire; Greene fired the first shots of the battle between the two ironclads, which harmlessly deflected off the Confederate ironclad. During the battle ''Monitor'' fired solid shot, about once every eight minutes, while ''Virginia'' fired shell exclusively.<ref>[[#Maclay|Maclay, 1894]], p. 314</ref> The ironclads fought, generally at close range, for about four hours, ending at 12:15&nbsp;pm,<ref>[[#Ward|Ward, Burns and Burns, 1990]], pp. 95, 101</ref>{{efn|Accounts vary, some claim the battle lasted no more than three and a half hours,<ref name=Tucker171/> while some claim as many as five hours.<ref>[[#Varhola|Varhola, 1999]], p. 221</ref>}} ranging from a few yards to more than a hundred. Both ships were constantly in motion, maintaining a circular pattern. Because of ''Virginia''{{'}}s weak engines, great size and weight, and a draft of {{convert|22|ft|m|abbr=on}}, she was slow and difficult to maneuver, taking her half an hour to complete a 180-degree turn.<ref>[[#McPherson|McPherson, 1988]], pp. 373–74</ref>

During the engagement, the controls of the machinery driving ''Monitor''{{'}}s turret spindle began to malfunction, making it extremely difficult to turn and stop the turret itself at a given position, so the crew simply let the turret continuously turn and fired their guns "on the fly" as they bore on ''Virginia''. ''Monitor'' received several direct hits on the turret, causing some bolts to violently shear off and ricochet around inside. The deafening sound of the impact stunned some of the crew, causing bleeding from noses and ears.<ref>[[#Clancy|Clancy, 2013]], pp. 109–111</ref><ref name=leckie211>[[#Leckie|Leckie, 1990]], p. 211</ref> However, neither vessel was able to sink or seriously damage the other. At one point, ''Virginia'' attempted to ram, but only struck ''Monitor'' a glancing blow and did no damage. The collision did, however, aggravate the damage to ''Virginia''{{'}}s bow from when she had previously rammed ''Cumberland''. ''Monitor'' was also unable to do significant damage to ''Virginia'', possibly because her guns were firing with reduced charges, on advice from Commander [[John A. Dahlgren|John Dahlgren]], the gun's designer, who lacked the "preliminary information" needed to determine what amount of charge was needed to "pierce, dislocate or dislodge iron plates" of various thicknesses and configurations.<ref name="Nelson, James L 2005 400 pages"/><ref name=Dahlgren279>[[#Dahlgren|Dahlgren, 1882]], p. 279</ref>{{efn|In a letter of 19 March 1862, to Captain A. A. Harwood, Chief of Bureau of Ordnance and hydrography, Dahlgren emphasized "A subject so important cannot be perfected without much reflection and extensive experiment. But we lack almost the preliminary information indispensable to commence with."<ref name=Dahlgren279/>}} During the battle Stodder was stationed at the wheel that controlled the turning of the turret, but at one point when he was leaning against its side the turret received a direct hit directly opposite to him which knocked him clear across the inside, rendering him unconscious. He was taken below to recover and relieved by Stimers.<ref name=Greene>[[#Green|Greene letter, 1862]]</ref><ref>[[#Maclay|Maclay, 1894]], p. 313</ref>

The two vessels were at such close range that they collided five times.<ref>[[#Ward|Ward, Burns and Burns, 1990]], p. 101</ref> By 11:00&nbsp;am ''Monitor''{{'}}s supply of shot in the turret had been exhausted. With one of the gun port covers jammed shut, she hauled off to shallow waters to resupply the turret and repair the damaged hatch, which could not be fixed. During the lull in the battle, Worden climbed through the gun port out onto the deck to get a better view of the overall situation. ''Virginia'', seeing ''Monitor'' turn away, turned her attention to ''Minnesota'' and fired shots that set the wooden vessel ablaze, also destroying the nearby [[tugboat]] ''Dragon''. When the turret was resupplied with ammunition, Worden returned to battle with only one gun able to fire.<ref name=Field56>[[#Field|Field, 2011]], p. 56</ref>

Towards the end of the engagement, Worden directed Williams to steer ''Monitor'' around the stern of the Confederate ironclad; [[John Taylor Wood|Lieutenant Wood]] fired ''Virginia''{{'}}s 7-inch Brooke gun at ''Monitor''{{'}}s [[pilothouse]], striking the forward side directly beneath the sight hold, cracking the structural "iron log" along the base of the narrow opening just as Worden was peering out.<ref>[[#Field|Field, 2011]], pp. 36–37, 56–57</ref> Worden was heard to cry out, ''My eyes—I am blind!'' Others in the pilothouse had also been hit with fragments and were also bleeding.<ref name=Holzer14>[[#Holzer06|Holzer, Mulligan, 2006]], p. 14</ref> Temporarily blinded by shell fragments and gunpowder residue from the explosion, and believing the pilothouse to be severely damaged, Worden ordered Williams to sheer off into shallow water, where ''Virginia'' with her deep draft could not follow. There ''Monitor'' drifted idly for about twenty minutes.<ref name=Wilson32>[[#Wilson|Wilson, 1896]], p. 32</ref> At the time the pilothouse was struck, Worden's injury was only known to those in the pilothouse and immediately nearby. With Worden severely wounded, command passed to the executive officer, [[Samuel Greene (naval officer)|Samuel Greene]]. Taken by surprise, he was briefly undecided as to what action to take next,<ref name=Holzer14/> but after assessing the damage, soon ordered ''Monitor'' to return to the battle.<ref name=Greene/><ref name=Field56/><ref>[[#Baxter|Baxter, 1933]], p. 294</ref>

Shortly after ''Monitor'' withdrew, ''Virginia'' ran aground, at which time Jones came down from the spar deck to find the gun crews not returning fire. Jones demanded to know why and was briefed by Lieutenant [[John R. Eggleston|Eggleston]] that powder was low and precious, and given ''Monitor''{{'}}s resistance to shot after two hours of battle, maintained that continued firing at that point would be a waste of ammunition.<ref name=Tucker171>[[#Tucker|Tucker, 2006]], p. 171</ref> ''Virginia'' soon managed to break away and headed back towards Norfolk for needed repairs, believing that ''Monitor'' had withdrawn from battle. Greene did not pursue;<ref>[[#Still88|Still, 1988]], p. 7</ref> like Worden, he was under orders to stay with and protect ''Minnesota'',<ref>[[#Holzer06|Holzer, Mulligan, 2006]], p. 101</ref> an action for which he was later criticized.

As a result of the duel between the two ironclads, ''Monitor'' was struck 22 times, including nine hits to the turret and two to the pilothouse. She had managed to fire 41 shots from her pair of Dahlgren guns. ''Virginia'' sustained 97 indentations to her armor from the fire of ''Monitor'' and other ships. Neither ship sustained any significant damage. In the opinion of ''Virginia''{{'}}s commander Jones and her other officers, ''Monitor'' could have sunk their ship had she hit the vessel at the waterline.<ref name="Wilson32"/><ref>[[#Quarstein10|Quarstein, 2010]], p. 79</ref>

Strategically, the battle between these two ships was considered the most definitive naval battle of the Civil War. The battle itself was largely considered a draw, though it could be argued ''Virginia'' did slightly more damage.<ref name=Wilson32/> ''Monitor'' did successfully defend ''Minnesota'' and the rest of the Union blockading force, while ''Virginia'' was unable to complete the destruction she started the previous day. The battle marked a turning point in the way naval warfare would be fought in the future.<ref>[[#Konstam|Konstam, 2002]], p. 7</ref> Strategically, nothing had changed: the Union still controlled Hampton Roads and the Confederates still held several rivers and Norfolk,<ref>[[#Davis75|Davis, 1975]], p. 136</ref> making it a strategic victory for the North. The battle of the ironclads led to what was referred to as "Monitor fever" in the North. During the course of the war, improved designs based on ''Monitor'' emerged; 60 ironclads were built.<ref name=Wagner553/>