In 1861, the Confederate navy converted the hulk of U.S.S. Merrimack into the ironclad CSS Virginia. On March 8, 1861, Virginia sank one Union warship and drove another aground in flames before the north's ironclad U.S.S. Monitor crossed the Bay near this spot that night. The epic battle between Monitor and Virginia the next day signaled a new era in naval affairs, as the days of sail were over. Although the battle did not produce a clear victory, the Union Navy controlled the Bay. Fort Monroe, at the harbor to the west, never left Union control, and from there large fleets assembled in the Bay to enforce the blockade and invade the southern coast. In December 1864, a Union squadron assembled in the Bay en route to attack Fort Fisher, North Carolina. Fort Monroe, at the tip of the Virginia peninsula between the James and York rivers, was a well-protected site that ensured Union control of the Bay.
