Last Days of the CSS Virginia

Presented by John V. Quarstein, Director Emeritus, USS Monitor Center

Lecture begins at 2:30 PM

Civil War lectures are free with Museum admission, but reserving a seat is suggested as seating is limited. Reserve seats below.

When President Abraham Lincoln orchestrated the capture of Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia, the CSS Virginia lost its base. This left the huge Confederate ironclad with few options. The warship’s commander, Flag Office Josiah Tattnall, decided to lighten the vessel to move the deep-drafted ship to Richmond. When it became clear that the ship could not pass several shoals in the James River, the Virginia was destroyed by its own crew during the early morning hours of May 11, 1862.

Read more about our Civil War lectures here…