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Scott's Anaconda Plan
The Scott's Anaconda Plan was the strategy for the Union in order to achieve a victory in the war. The plan was that the North would block all of the South's ports thus their economy would die because they wouldn't be able to send or recieve any supplies. -
Ironclad idea
In early May, Stephen Mallory, the Confederate Navy Secretary, came up with the idea of the Ironclads. He knew that this was a unqiue idea and that the North did not have this because he was a U.S . Senator from Florda before he came to the Confederacy. -
Approval
Gideon Welles, the North Navy Secretary, had decided that he too wanted to build Ironclads once he heard about the South building the ships in Gosport Navy Yard. He finally got the approval and money needed in August, but Mallory already had a 3 month head start. -
The Plans
Corneilleus Bushness goes to John Erricson, the engineer to see the plans for the Northern Ironclad. Bushnell shows the plans to Lincoln 4 days later and he aproves. -
Monitor sets out
The completed Northern Ironclad, the Monitor, finally set sail on March 6th. -
Merrimack sets sail
The Merrimack, the Southern Ironclad, follows closely behind the Monitor setting sail only 2 days later. -
Cumberland battle
The Merrimac first attacked the Cumberland. The Merrimac killed 121 crew members and managed to sink the ship at 2:40 pm. The Cumblerand was able to damage the armor on the Merrimack slightly before it sunk. -
Congress battle
After destroying the Cumberland, the Merrimac went after the Congress. The Congress had already lost a few men due to the help they tried to give to the Cumberland. The Congress finally sank at 4:00 pm that day. -
Minessota Battle
The Merrimac next target was the Minessota. The Minessota sadly ran aground during the battle. The Merrimack did not want to get stuck in the same situation as the tide was going out. The Merrimac retreated and decdied to come back the next morning. -
The Beginning Of The Ironclad Battle
The Merrimack returned the next day only to discover another ship waiting for them: the Monitor. The battle began at 8 am that morning. After 2 hours, no damage had been done. -
The Change
At 10:05 am, the Monitor retreated into shallow water in order to change the ammunition on the turret. The Merrimack took this opportunity to attack the Minessota. Instead of attacking, the Merrimack ran aground. The bottom of the ship was damaged as there was no armor on the bottom. Lucily, the Merrimack was able to free itself. -
The Injury
Later that day, Warden, captain of the Monitor, was injured when the Merrimack fired a shot at the pilothouse. The executive officer, Samuel Dana Greene, ordered the ship to retreat into shallow water once more in order to tend to Warde. -
The Outcome
The battle ended in a draw, but the North (strategically) won as the Merrimack was more damaged than the Monitor.
