In this lesson, students conduct simple experiments to learn how displacement, density, and surface tension allow ships to float. They then analyze images of wooden and ironclad ships and use observations and inference to compare the characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of each. More
This period image portrays the Battle of Hampton Roads, which took place on March 8 and 9, 1862. The battle was the first time engine-powered ironclad ships fought each other, and although it ended in a draw, the battle captured the imaginations of Americans. More
at the Mariner's Museum and Park. Contains articles, images, and resources for teachers and students.
'The combat of the Merrimac and the Monitor made the greatest change in the sea-fighting since cannon fire by gunpowder had been mounted on ships about four hundred years before."
Winston Churchill, A History of the English Speaking Peoples Vol. 4: The Great Democracies. (London: Mead, Dodd, 1956).
In the Civil War, both the Union and the Confederacy raced to build armored, steam-powered warships that were the ancestors of today's navies. Meet the people behind and aboard the "ironclads"---and relive the famous 1862 battle between the Monitor and the Merrimack.More
Based in part on Colonial Williamsburg's popular evening programs "Cry Witch" and "Ghosts Amongst Us"---and also including stories that have never been performed----here are the tales that chilled and amused Virginians over two hundred years ago. More
