Hampton Roads: A channel connecting the estuary of James River with Chesapeake Bay, situated south of Fort Monroe, Virginia. Here, March 8, 1862, the Confederate ironclad "Virginia" ("Merrimac") destroyed the Federal frigates "Cumberland" and "Congress"; and the following day there was a contest between the "Virginia" and the ironclad "Monitor," the former retiring. This was the first engagement between ironclads in our history.

---