CSS Virginia, wash drawing by Clary Ray, 1898

In 1861, the Confederates salvaged the USS Merrimack, which Federal forces had scuttled and burned when forced to abandon the Navy Yard in Norfolk, and converted her into an ironclad that they christened the CSS Virginia.

Many people, including Selfridge, continued to refer to the ironclad as the Merrimack.

Although the CSS Virginia prevailed on March 8, 1862, she did not escape unscathed: her iron ram was lost, her stack riddled, and two large guns were put out of order.

Courtesy of the U.S. Navy Art Collection, Washington, DC