Iron vs Oak.docVIP

Battle of Hampton Roads Published: March 2006 Iron vs. Oak When the currents of history and technology collided off Hampton, Virginia, in March 1862, naval warfare changed forever. By Joel K. Bourne, Jr. National Geographic Senior Writer Courtesy of London News Picture Library On a peaceful Saturday in early March 1862, the oddest ship anyone had ever seen lumbered into the great watery junction north of Norfolk, Virginia, known as Hampton Roads. Roughly 280 feet long from the iron ram at its prow to the thudding propeller at its stern, the black leviathan carried neither ma