2011 Famous Naval Battles 1oz Silver $1 - Hampton Roads

The first-ever clash between two ironclad warships took place during the American Civil War on Hampton Roads, a body of water on the US east coast.

On the Confederate side was Virginia, a wooden frigate previously known as USS Merrimack, which had been sunk and then rebuilt as an ironclad ram.

During the second day of the battle, she encountered the Union Monitor. 

A completely new design of ironclad, her extremely low profile meant that she had no more than 18 inches of armoured deck visible above the water line.

After fighting for several hours, mostly at close range,  neither ship had landed a decisive blow, their armour-plating proving effective. Nevertheless, the battle marked the dawn of a new era in maritime warfare.