History After Hours: First Battle of the Ironclads — USS Monitor Versus CSS Virginia with Michael Manning

Join the American Heritage Museum for a special History After Hours presentation exploring one of the most consequential encounters in American naval history—a story with important origins here in Massachusetts.

Museum Hours: 5:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m. | Presentation: 6:00 p.m.–7:30 p.m.

The Boston Navy Yard in Charlestown, located approximately 30 miles from the museum, designed, built, and supported many notable American warships. Among them was the USS Merrimack, one of six steam frigates ordered by the U.S. Navy in 1854. Combining traditional sails with a coal-fired steam engine and propeller, these vessels represented an important transition between the Age of Sail and the age of mechanized naval warfare.

The Merrimack began the Civil War as a United States Navy vessel, but she would later enter Confederate service under a new name: CSS Virginia. How could the same ship serve both sides during the same conflict?

Senior Docent Michael Manning will reveal the remarkable chain of events that transformed the Merrimack into a Confederate ironclad and brought the CSS Virginia face-to-face with the revolutionary USS Monitor at the Battle of Hampton Roads in March 1862.

Through historic images, maps, and firsthand accounts, Manning will examine the construction and capabilities of both vessels, the dramatic two-day battle, and the technological revolution that followed. Their confrontation marked the first combat between ironclad warships and demonstrated that the era of the wooden fighting ship was rapidly coming to an end.

About the Speaker

Michael Manning is a senior docent and historian with the American Heritage Museum and the Collings Foundation. He has volunteered with the organization for more than 12 years.

Manning’s professional background is in engineering, with a concentration in energy and transportation. Outside the museum, he leads tours along several segments of the Boston Harborwalk. Since 2015, he has served as chairperson of the Friends of the Boston Harborwalk.

He is also an advisor to the USS Constitution Museum at the Charlestown Navy Yard and an original member of The Pursuit of History, the organization behind the annual History Camp program.

Important Visitor Information

This program is a seated multimedia presentation in the American Heritage Museum’s Pacific War Gallery. Guests should plan to arrive at least 10 minutes before the presentation begins at 6:00 p.m.

History After Hours takes place on the first Thursday of each month, opening the American Heritage Museum from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. for evening admission and special programming.

Standard museum admission rates apply. American Heritage Museum members are admitted free.

Get Tickets for History After Hours – Thursday, September 3rd