entations on her armour. Twenty of these were judged to be
the marks of the "Monitor's" 11-inch balls. In these places the outer layer
of armour-plating was cracked and badly damaged. The under layer and the
wood backing were uninjured. The other seventy-seven marks were mere
surface dents made by the lighter artillery of the wooden ships. The
"Monitor" had used reduced charges of 15 pounds of gunpowder, and it was
believed that if the full charge of 30 pounds had been used, the results
might have been more serious, but the Navy Department had ordered the
reduced charge, as it was feared that with full charges the strain on the
gun-mountings and turret-gear would be too severe. The "Merrimac's" funnel
was riddled, and all outside fittings shot away. Two of her guns had been
made unserviceable on the first day by shots striking their muzzles.

Both sides claimed the victory in the Sunday's battle. The Confederates
claimed to have driven off the "Monitor," and stated that Jones had waited
for some time for her to renew the fight, before he turned back to Norfolk.
The Federals argued that the object of the "Merrimac" was to destroy the
"Minnesota," and the "Monitor" had prevented this, and was therefore the
victor. The frigate was successfully floated next tide. Sometimes the fight
is described as a drawn battle, but most writers on the subject accept the
Federal contention, and give the honours of the day to the little
turret-ship.

The battle of Hampton Roads was notable, however, not so much for its
immediate results, as for its effect on naval opinion and policy. It
finally closed the era of unarmoured ships; it led to a perhaps exaggerated
importance being attached to the ram as a weapon of attack; and it led to a
very general adoption of the armoured turret, and for a while to the
building of low-freeboard turret-ships in various navies. It was not till
long after that the story of the "Monitor's" perilous voyage from New York
was told, and thus even in America it was not realized that the "Monitor"
type was fit only for smooth waters, and was ill adapted for sea-going
ships. On the Federal side there was a kind of enthusiasm for the
"Monitor." Numbers of low-freeboard turret-ships of somewhat larger size,
and with improved details, were built for the United States, and even the
failure of Admiral Dupont's "Monitor" fleet in the attack on the
Charleston batteries did not convince the Navy Department that the type was