During the Battle of Hampton Roads the Confederate ironclad the Virginia, aided by steam propulsion, revived the use of ramming to take down the Union ship the Cumberland (Potter, 1981, pg. 128). The Virginia was able to put three ships out of action and kill 250 Union sailors while sustaining minor damage to her topside and two guns (Potter, 1981, pg. 128). The use of ironclad battleships rendered wooden fleets useless. Their heavy solid shot ammunition would ricochet harmlessly off of their casemates, allowing ironclad battleships on both sides to decimate each other 's wooden
During the Battle of Hampton Roads the Confederate ironclad the Virginia, aided by steam propulsion, revived the use of ramming to take down the Union ship the Cumberland (Potter, 1981, pg. 128). The Virginia was able to put three ships out of action and kill 250 Union sailors while sustaining minor damage to her topside and two guns (Potter, 1981, pg. 128). The use of ironclad battleships rendered wooden fleets useless. Their heavy solid shot ammunition would ricochet harmlessly off of their casemates, allowing ironclad battleships on both sides to decimate each other 's wooden