Hey everyone, thanks for tuning in to episode number 107 of our Civil War Podcast.

I'm Rich.

And I'm Tracy. Hello y'all. Welcome to the podcast.

As y'all recall over the last two weeks, we've looked at the background to the world's first battle between two iron clad warships.

As we've discussed the development and construction of both the CSS Virginia and the USS Monitor.

But this week we're going to keep you guys in suspense for one more show as far as the battle between the Virginia and Monitor that took place on Sunday, March 9th, 1862.

Because we're going to use this episode to take a closer look at the dramatic events that took place on Saturday, March 8th, when the Virginia steam down the Elizabeth River out into Hampton Roads and proceeded to wreak havoc on the Blockade Union Fleet there.

We mentioned before that 61-year-old Captain Franklin Buchanan was the officer chosen by Confederate Secretary of the Navy, Stephen Mallory, to command the CSS Virginia.

But in late February, when Buchanan arrived at the Gospur Navy Yard, he found that the iron clad was still far from ready for action.

Not only was the construction crew and dockyard staff still working on the ship, but although the Navy Department had been hard at work procuring ammunition for the Virginia, she was still woefully short of powder.

In fact, her magazine wouldn't be sufficiently filled until March 7th.

Buchanan also found that the iron clad was still short of crewmen, and so while the Virginia's capable executive officer, Lieutenant Katzby-Aprr Jones,

supervised other last-minute preparations, Buchanan sent Lieutenant John Wood, the grandson of President Zachary Taylor,

to ask the Confederate Army for help.

Wood met with the general commanding the nearby troops, and he received permission to ask for volunteers from among the rebel soldiers.

200 men volunteered, and of them would selected 80 artillery men or former sailors to serve on board the Virginia.

While final preparations were underway, Buchanan pondered how best to use his novel new command to attack the vessels of the enemy's blockading squadron.

He knew that the Virginia's deep draft was going to be a problem.

The iron clad drew 22 feet of water, and since the waters of the Elizabeth River and Hampton Roads were a maze of shallows and narrow channels,

she was going to be difficult to maneuver, and even with a good pilot on board, Buchanan would be severely restricted

as to where he could safely steam.

Nevertheless, he wrote to Mallory, saying, quote,

...