The deck and turret of the ironclad U.S.S. Monitor on the James River, Virginia, on July 9, 1862. The Monitor was the first ironclad warship commissioned by the U.S. Navy, and famously fought the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia (builtfrom the remnants of the USS Merrimack) in the Battle of Hampton Roads - the first meeting in combat of ironclad warships - on March 8-9, 1862.