17 February 1862, the ironclad was the hope of the Confederacy to destroy the wooden ships in Hampton Roads, and to end the Union blockade which had already seriously impeded the Confederate war effort. See also List of steam frigates of the United States Navy Union Navy Ships captured in the American Civil War Bibliography of American Civil War naval history Footnotes References Bibliography Nelson, James L. 2004. The Reign of Iron: The Story of the First Battling Ironclads, the Monitor and the Merrimack. HarperCollins Publishers, NY. . External links history.navy.mil/photos: USS Merrimack Journal of a Cruise onboard U.S. Steam Frigate Merrimack, 1856–1858, MS 15 held by Special Collections & Archives, Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy Sailing frigates of the United States Navy Battle of Hampton Roads New Hampshire in the American Civil War Ships of the Union Navy Vessels captured from the United States Navy Shipwrecks of the American Civil War Shipwrecks of the Virginia coast Ships built in Boston 1855 ships Scuttled vessels Maritime incidents in April 1861