This is the second episode of WHRO’s award winning documentary series Civil War in Hampton Roads. The one-hour program, produced in high-definition, focuses on the historic battle between the Confederate ironclad Virginia (converted from the U.S.S. Merrimack) and the Union ironclad Monitor. On March 8, 1862 the C.S.S. Virginia almost destroyed the Union’s wooden fleet in Hampton Roads. There are few battles as famous as the battle at Hampton Roads on March 9, when the U.S.S. Monitor surprised the captain and crew of the Virginia who upon returning to the Roads expected to make short work of the remaining ships in the Union fleet. The stakes were high and the whole world was watching as the two ships pounded each other for four hours at close range. Battle of the Ironclads brings history to life and illustrates how naval warfare was changed forever: the day of wooden ships was now over. "Whereas," according to the London Times, "we had one hundred and forty-nine first-class warships, we have now but two."