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The Battle of Hampton Roads: New Perspectives on the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia * Harold Holzer and Tim Mulligan, eds. * New York: Fordham University Press, 2006 * xviii, 222 pp. * $44.95 cloth; $24.95 paper
Few Civil War battles have appealed to so many audiences as the famous contest between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia. The events that unfolded in Hampton Roads on 9 March 1862 at once appeal to those interested in, among other subjects, traditional naval history, the influence of technology upon warfare, and of course, the human drama of inventors, politicians, and sailors. The nexus where so many important themes may be examined offers historians an excellent opportunity to produce thoughtful analysis. Naturally, it may lead to a more celebratory history lacking in scholarly rigor as well. Both results are found in this collection of papers presented in March 2003 at a symposium at the Mariners' Museum in...