In this section of the James River lie the remains of the USS Cumberland, and at this location and along the shore to the left stood the Union batteries that protected Camp Butler. On March 8, 1862, the Confederate ironclad ram CSS Virginia attacked the Federal fleet blockading the James River. Converted during the previous year from the former steam frigate USS Merrimack, which had been scuttled when Federal forces evacuated Norfolk in 1861, the Virginia was a remarkable test of Confederate ingenuity and resources. Appearing like a "floating barn belching smoke" and armed with 10 guns, she steamed toward Newport News Point under Flag Officer Franklin Buchanan, CSA. After methodically passing the 50-gun USS Congress, the Virginia rammed the 30-gun Cumberland, tearing a hole "large enough for a carriage to drive through." The Cumberland quickly began to sink into the James River with her guns still firing and 121 men aboard. With her ram embedded in the Cumberland, the Virginia's engines struggled to free her from being pulled under the waves, and she survived because her ram broke off, allowing her to attack the Congress, which had run aground while trying to escape. The Congress soon surrendered. Musket fire from Newport News Point wounded Buchanan, who ordered the destruction of the Congress. Lieutenant Catesby Roger Jones, CSA, then assumed command of the Virginia. The ironclad moved to attack the USS Minnesota, one of three vessels that had run aground coming to the aid of the Cumberland, but the Union ship was saved from destruction because the tide had ebbed. The Virginia returned to Norfolk, determined to finish destroying the Union fleet on the morrow.
