André Geraque Kiffer 
Naval Battle Of Hampton Roads, 1862 [PDF ebook] 

Also known as the Battle of the Monitor and the Merrimack (rebuilt and renamed CSS Virginia) or the Battle of the Ironclads, it was the most important naval battle during the American Civil War, fought during March 8 and 9, 1862. The battle attracted the attention of almost every navy in the world. The USS 'Monitor’ became the prototype of a new class of warship, being the first of two ships whose names were applied to entire classes of their successors, the other being the HMS 'Dreadnought’. For one side or the other to win effectively, it mainly lacked better coordination at the level designed for a naval force (fleet or squadron), particularly with regard to the two forces chains of command.