er service. Some months
later, upon the evacuation of Norfolk, the _Merrimac_ was blown up to
prevent her falling into the hands of the Unionists, and the _Monitor_
foundered off Hatteras in December, 1862. The battle wrought a complete
revolution in naval warfare. The days of wooden ships ended, and all the
navies of the world are now made up mainly of ironclads.

More important work was done by the Union fleets during this year. The
government put forth every energy to build ships, with the result that
hundreds were added to the naval force, many of which were partial and
others wholly ironclad.

OTHER COAST OPERATIONS.

A month before the fight between the _Monitor_ and _Merrimac_, a
formidable naval expedition under Commodore Goldsborough and General
Ambrose E. Burnside passed down the Atlantic coast and captured Roanoke
Island. St. Augustine and a number of other places in Florida were
captured by troops from Port Royal. Siege was laid to Fort Pulaski, at
the mouth of the Savannah River, and it surrendered April 11th. The
advantage of these and similar captures was that it gave the blockading
fleets control of the principal harbors, and made it easier to enforce a
rigid blockade. There were two ports, however, which the Union vessels
were never able to capture until the close of the war. They were
Charleston and Wilmington, North Carolina. The latter became the chief
port from which the Confederate blockade-runners dashed out or entered
and were enabled to bring the most-needed medical and other supplies to
the Confederacy, while at the same time the owners and officers of the
ships reaped fortunes for themselves.

CAPTURE OF NEW ORLEANS.

One of the primal purposes of the war was to open the Mississippi, which
was locked by the enemy at Vicksburg and New Orleans. As a necessary
step in the opening of the great river, an expedition was fitted out for
the capture of New Orleans. Well aware of what was coming, the
Confederates had done all they could to strengthen the defenses of the
city. Thirty miles from the mouth of the Mississippi were the powerful
Forts Jackson and St. Philip, on opposite sides of the river. They
mounted 100 heavy guns, and six powerful chains were stretched across,
supported by an immense raft of cypress logs. Thus the river was closed
and no fleet could approach New Orleans until these obstructions were
removed or overcome. When this should be done, it was still seventy-five
miles t