Monitor and Merrimac

[FONT=&quot] Here's a brief history of the Battle of Hampton Roads (Monitor and Merrimac):

Naval history was made on March 8, 1862, when the first Confederate ironclad steamed down the Elizabeth River into Hampton Roads to attack the woodensided U.S. blockading fleet anchored there. Built on the hull of the U.S.S. Merrimac (which had been scuttled and burned when the Federals abandoned the Gosport Navy Yard in April, 1861), the new warship had been christened C.S.S. Virginia, but in common usage retained its original name. After ramming and sinking the twenty-four-gun woodenhulled steam-sailing sloop Cumberland, the Merrimac headed for the fifty-gun frigate Congress. An awe struck Union officer watched the one-sided fight as the Merrimac fired "shot and shell into her with terrific effect, while the shot from the Congress glanced from her iron-plated sloping sides, without doing any apparent injury." [/FONT][FONT=&quot]

[FONT=&quot] The results of the first day's fighting at Hampton Roads proved the superiority of iron over wood, but on the next day iron was pitted against iron as the U.S.S. Monitor arrived on the scene. It was just in time to challenge the Merrimac, which was returning to finish off the U.S. blockading squadron. The Confederate ironclad carried more guns than the Union Monitor, but it was slow, clumsy, and prone to engine trouble. The Union prototype, as designed by John Ericsson, was the faster and more maneuverable ironclad, but it lacked the Rebel vessel's brutish size and power. The Merrimac's officers had heard rumors about a Union ironclad, yet, according to Lieutenant Wood: "She could not possibly have made her appearance at a more inopportune time for us...... Lieutenant S. Dana Greene, an officer aboard the Monitor, described the first exchange of gunfire: "The turrets and other parts of the ship were heavily struck, but the shots did not penetrate; the tower was intact, and it continued to revolve. A look of confidence passed over the men's faces, and we believed the Merrimac would not repeat the work she had accomplished the day before." Neither ironclad seriously damaged the other in their one day of fighting, March 9, 1862 though the Merrimac was indeed prevented from attacking any more of the Union's wooden ships. A new age of naval warfare had dawned.

For a more detailed description check out the link credited for the blurb:
http://www.civilwarhome.com/ironclad.htm

This first pic is of the U.S.S. Monitor before I added interior details and the turret canopy:


This second picture is a more finalized version of the U.S.S. Monitor with the additions and interior details:


This is the ship's Wheel inside the turret at the back creating a kind of Wheel House in the rear section of the turret.


This is the forward-looking-back view of the Wheel House section of the turret and overall Lower Command Deck.


This is the forward section of the turret which is the Gun Deck and has working cannons in the form of Fusion Coils and Man Cannons.


This is the flag at the stern of the ship (just a little aesthetic detail):


This is the C.S.S. Virginia/Merrimac forward-looking-aft view so far....


This is another view of the Merrimac aft-looking-forward:


This is another bow view showing a detail of the battering ram:


This is an overview with the roof not added yet you can see a better view of how the Merrimac's cannons are arranged.


This is another overview just to show another angle and to again show the cannon placement for the Merrimac:


This is currently the way the inside of the Merrimac is arranged (with the roof on) complete credit goes to FrankthaTank ST for the cool looking roof it really made an interesting effect using ramps for the roof.


This is an overview shot from the view of the main initial spawn:


This is another shot from a slightly higher angle:


Yet another shot from the aft section of the two ships:


After this last update the map is essentially complete. The only thing remaining is a few aesthetic details for the Merrimac such as adding a ship's wheel. After adding the finer details of the Merrimac the map will be posted in the Aesthetic section. If after the aesthetic details are completed, there is enough budget left a lower deck for each ship will be created.

This map is intended for aesthetic purposes and historic detail. It will be somewhat playable but only for casual purposes not competitive. Feel free to comment, add suggestions, etc... Enjoy!

Credit to FrankthaTank ST for co-forging
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The Merrimac and Monitor only had 2 decks each (3 technically). The Merrimac had a boiler room, engine room, munition store room, etc. below the water line in the lower deck. The gun deck and command deck were in the superstructure above the waterline. Technically the top of the super structure was another deck. The Merrimac had no turrets just adjustable cannons. The Monitor also had a boiler room, engine room, munition store room, etc. below the water line in the lower deck. The gun deck and command deck were in the single turret (which was a first of its kind). The top of the turret was also a makeshift cruising command deck thus the canopy. The only other superstructure on the Monitor was the small lookout box in the forward section, the smoke stacks in the aft section, and the flag poles in the bow and stern.

The Merrimac has been completely updated with the superstructure now in the refining phase. The basic structure (i.e. walls and roof) are now complete. The inside will receive some more aesthetic details but overall the map is essentially complete. When the details have been refined I will post this in the Aesthetic section under the same name or under the name Battle of Hampton Roads. Thanks for the comments so far, keep em comin!

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Edited by merge:

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I have now updated the interior and exterior of the Merrimac with some finer details. The Merrimac now has a ships wheel and two lifeboats. I also had just enough budget left to create lower decks for both the Monitor and Merrimac. I will either update this post tonight or tomorrow or I will simply post this map in the Aesthetic section with updated pictures to show the lower decks and new additions.

 

Thanks for the Awesome comment ROCK like I mentioned earlier the actual map and new pictures are now posted in the aesthetic section. I can't mention enough how I appreciate the comment the fact that you took the time to look up actual pictures and compare them is pretty freakin' cool man. Again Thanks ROCK and check out my signature for a link to the actual map, it's the one titled "Monitor vs. Merrimac."