Battle Of Monitor And Merrimac
by Ed Vebell
Title
Battle Of Monitor And Merrimac
Artist
Ed Vebell
Medium
Painting - Acrylic On Masonite
Description
Just as General Lee aimed at capturing Washington in order to gain recognition for the Confederacy from abroad, so Lincoln aimed at Richmond, heart and soul of the Confederacy, to make clear that the southerner's cause was lost. The grand strategy of the campaign was to bypass Lee's Army of Northern Virginia by launching an invasion from the York Peninsula, where the Union Army could be supplied and reinforced by sea, and fight its way to Richmond from the South. This strategy was threatened by the presence of the frigate Merrimack, which the Confederates had salvaged from the deep, converted into an ironclad, and renamed the Virginia. Soon the Virginia destroyed three Union warships. Alarmed by this, the Navy Department commissioned the most gifted naval engineer in American -- John Ericsson -- to build an armored vessel which could meet the Confederacy's ironclad on equal terms. This he did, almost miraculously, in one hundred working days. On March 9, 1862, the two ships met in Hampton Roads in what was the first all-ironclad battle of naval history. The two ships were well matched, but the Monitor had the advantage of one of Ericsson's innovations, a revolving turret, and of lying so low in the water that it was difficult to hit. In the end, the Virginia withdrew. She continued to protect the James River for the Confederates however, until they themselves destroyed her lest she be captured by the Union forces after they took Norfolk in May.
Please note the "Fine Art America" watermark will not appear on the painting or any print reproduction.
Artwork Copyright © 1978 Wind River Studios Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved under United States and international copyright laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, transmit, or otherwise exploit the Artwork in any way. Any sale of the physical original does not include or convey the Copyright or any right comprised in the Copyright. WRSH Stock Number XB05307
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April 11th, 2022
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