 ONCE THE PRIDE
 OF THE CONFEDERACY.
 FOR UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGIST
 GORDON WATTS,
 A DECADE-LONG DREAM
 IS ABOUT TO BECOME A REALITY.
 TODAY, DIVERS HOPE
 TO FIND THE REMAINS
 OF ONE OF THE MOST FAMOUS SHIPS
 IN NAVAL HISTORY.
I'M JOHN RHYS-DAVIES.
 JOIN ME AS WE SEARCH
 FOR THE MERRIMAC,
 NEXT ON ARCHAEOLOGY.
CAPTIONING MADE POSSIBLE BY
THE LEARNING CHANNEL
 IN APRIL 1861,
 SIX DAYS AFTER THE BOMBARDMENT
 OF FORT SUMTER
 HERALDED THE START
 OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR,
 SECRETARY OF THE UNITED STATES
 NAVY GIDEON WELLES
 ORDERED THE DESTRUCTION OF ALL
 THE SHIPS AT NORFOLK, VIRGINIA,
 TO KEEP THEM FROM FALLING
 INTO THE HANDS
 OF THE CONFEDERATES.
 AT ANCHOR
 WAS AN ESTIMATED 1/4
 OF THE UNITED STATES
 NAVY'S WARSHIPS.
 AMONG THE CASUALTIES--
 BURNT TO THE WATER LINE
 AND SUNK--
 WAS THE DECOMMISSIONED
 WARSHIP MERRIMAC.
IN WHAT MUST SURELY BE
THE MOST REMARKABLE
NAVAL RESURRECTION EVER,
THE CHARRED, WATERLOGGED HULL
OF A UNION WOODEN SHIP
WOULD RISE AGAIN
AS A CONFEDERATE IRONCLAD.
LESS THAN A YEAR
AFTER HER SINKING,
SHE WOULD FACE
A UNION COUNTERPART
IN ONE OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY
BATTLES IN NAVAL HISTORY.
TODAY, ARCHAEOLOGISTS
ARE SEARCHING NORFOLK'S WATERS
FOR THE REMAINS
OF THIS CELEBRATED SHIP.
 ON ONE OF THE HOTTEST
 JULY WEEKENDS IN MEMORY,
 TWO RESEARCH VESSELS
 HEAD DOWNRIVER
 TOWARD WHAT MAY BE
 THE FINAL RESTING PLACE
 OF THE CONFEDERATE IRONCLAD,
 THE MERRIMAC.
 A KEY PLAYER IN THE WAR'S
 MOST SIGNIFICANT NAVAL BATTLE,
 THE MERRIMAC
 REVOLUTIONIZED NAVAL WARFARE
 THE WORLD OVER.
 AT THE HELM
 OF THIS RESEARCH VESSEL
 IS GORDON WATTS, RENOWNED
 UNDERWATER ARCHAEOLOGIST,
 WHO, 20 YEARS AGO,
 HELPED LOCATE
 THE MERRIMAC'S NEMESIS,
 THE YANKEE IRONCLAD
 MONITOR,
 OFF THE COAST
 OF NORTH CAROLINA.
 THEN IN 1983 HE WENT
 IN SEARCH OF THE MERRIMAC.
 OR, AS SHE WAS
 RECHRISTENED,
 THE CONFEDERATE IRONCLAD
 VIRGINIA.
10 YEARS AGO,
WE WERE WORKING UP HERE
DOING A SURVEY
AND FOUND A REMOTE
SENSING TARGET
THAT WAS SO SURPRISING
IN ITS LOCATION
AND CONFIGURATION
THAT WE THOUGHT THERE
WAS AN EXCELLENT CHANCE
 THAT IT COULD BE SOME PORTION
 OF THE REMAINS OF THE VIRGINIA.
WE'VE BEEN WAITING
FOR A DECADE TO RETURN
AND FIND OUT WHETHER IT
INDEED WAS THE SHIP.
 AFTER 10 YEARS OF STRUGGLING
 TO FINANCE THE EXPEDITION,
 WATTS HAS RETURNEDE WHERE ,
 THE MOUTH
 OF THE ELIZABETH RIVER
 NEAR HAMPTON ROADS,
 VIRGINIA,
 WHERE THE MERRIMAC
 WENT DOWN IN 1862.
 WHAT'S AT STAKE
 IS NO ORDINARY CIVIL WAR RELIC.
 JOSEPH GUTIERREZ
 IS A HISTORIAN
 WHO SPECIALIZES
 IN THE NAVAL ASPECTS
 OF THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR.
THE MERRIMAC WAS
A GREAT SOUTHERN EXPERIMENT.
IF THIS EXPERIMENT WORKED,
IT WOULD DECIDE
WHETHER OR NOT
WOOD COULD STAND
AGAINST AN ARMOR-CLAD VESSEL,
AND SO, IN MANY WAYS,
IT REPRESENTS THE CHANGE--
TWO CONFLICTING TIMES MERGE
ON MARCH 8, 1862.
THE PAST IS REPRESENTED
BY WOOD,
AND THE QUESTION OF THE FUTURE
REPRESENTING IRON.
 THE WATERS GORDON WATTS
 TROLLS
 WERE HOTLY CONTESTED
 DURING THE CIVIL WAR,
 FOR GOOD REASON.
 HERE, THREE RIVERS--
 THE JAMES, THE ELIZABETH,
 AND THE NANSEMOND--
 CONVERGE AND FLOW
 INTO THE CHESAPEAKE BAY.
 FOR THE UNION,
 THESE TRIBUTARIES FORMED
 A MAJOR INVASION ROUTE
 TO THE HEART
 OF THE CONFEDERACY
 AND NORTHERN
 MANUFACTURING CENTERS.
 TO THE CONFEDERACY,
 THE RIVERS OF HAMPTON ROADS
 FORMED A VITAL GATEWAY
 FOR SUPPLIES.
 IN THE SPRING OF 1861,
 THE UNION HELD
 FORTRESS MONROE
 AND A GUN BATTERY
 AT NEWPORT NEWS.
 THE OTHER SIDE OF HAMPTON ROADS
 AND THE ELIZABETH RIVER
 WERE CONTROLLED
 BY THE SOUTH.
 FROM THE BEGINNING,
 PRESIDENT LINCOLN HAD ORDERED
 A BLOCKADE
 OF ALL SOUTHERN PORTS.
 TO HAMPTON ROADS
 HE SENT FIVE POWERFUL WARSHIPS,
 INCLUDING THE CUMBERLAND
 AND THE 44-GUN FRIGATE
 CONGRESS.
 THE UNION SHIPS,
 LIKE THE CONGRESS
 AND THE CUMBERLAND,
 WERE POWERFUL AND WOODEN.
 BY THE TIME
 OF THE CIVIL WAR,
 IT WAS CLEAR THAT ADVANCES
 IN MILITARY WEAPONRY,
 SUCH AS
 THE EXPLODING SHELL,
 WOULD SOON RENDER
 WOODEN-HULLED SHIPS OBSOLETE.
 AS OUTDATED AS THE UNION
 WARSHIPS MAY HAVE BEEN,
 THEY WERE FAR SUPERIOR
 TO THE CONFEDERACY'S NAVY,
 WHICH CONSISTED
 OF FEWER THAN 10
 CONFISCATED UNION
 REVENUE CUTTERS.
 TO THE THANKLESS POSITION
 OF CONFEDERATE
 SECRETARY OF THE NAVY,
 JEFFERSON DAVIS
 APPOINTED STEPHEN MALLORY,
 FORMERLY A U.S. SENATOR
 FROM FLORIDA.
STEPHEN MALLORY WAS ELECTED
TO THE UNITED STATES SENATE
BY THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE
AND CHAIRED THE SENATE NAVAL
AFFAIRS COMMITTEE.
AS A RESULT,
HE DEVELOPED AN UNDERSTANDING
OF NAVAL PROBLEMS
IN THIS PERIOD OF TRANSITION
IN THE 1850s.
 MALLORY KNEW OF THE IMPENDING
 REVOLUTION IN SHIPBUILDING.
 HE KNEW THAT
 A SINGLE IRONCLAD
 COULD TURN
 THE ENTIRE PROUD FLEET
 OF UNION WOODEN SHIPS
 INTO KINDLING.
 MALLORY SENT ENVOYS
 TO TRY TO PURCHASE IRON SHIPS
 IN EUROPE TO NO AVAIL.
 HE CAREFULLY APPRAISED
 THE SOUTH'S ABILITY
 TO BUILD ONE
 AND FOUND IT WOULD TAKE
 THREE TO FOUR YEARS,
 TIME THAT THE CONFEDERACY
 COULDN'T AFFORD TO LOSE.
 SO HE DECIDED
 TO TRY A THIRD TACK.
IT'S QUESTIONABLE EXACTLY
WHO HAD THE BRIGHT IDEA
 OF SAYING, "LET'S GO LOOK
 AT THE OLD MERRIMAC
AND TRY TO CONVERT HER."
MALLORY SUBMITTED
A BILL TO CONGRESS
WHICH SHOWED THAT
THE MERRIMAC'S CONVERSION
WOULD BE QUICKER
AND LESS EXPENSIVE
THAN BUILDING A NEW ONE.
 A MODERN,
 PROPELLER-DRIVEN FRIGATE,
 THE MERRIMAC HAD BEEN THE PRIDE
 OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY
 WHEN SHE WAS BUILT.
 IN MAY 1861, SHE WAS RAISED
 FROM HER WATERY BERTH
 AT THE NORFOLK NAVY YARD,
 AND WORK BEGAN TO CONVERT HER
 TO AN IRONCLAD.
 ABOVE THE WATER LINE,
 THE SUPERSTRUCTURE
 WAS COMPLETELY REMOVED.
 THE DESIGN CALLED
 FOR THE CONSTRUCTION
 OF A GUN DECK, OR CASEMATE,
 PLANKED
 WITH 4 INCHES OF OAK
 COVERED WITH TWO LAYERS
 OF IRON PLATE,
 EACH 2 INCHES THICK.
 THE CASEMATE, INCLINED
 AT A 36-DEGREE ANGLE,
 WOULD EASILY DEFLECT
 ENEMY FIRE.
 ARMED WITH 10 GUNS
 AND A CAST-IRON PROW
 FOR RAMMING,
 "SHE'S NOW THE EIGHTH WONDER
 OF THE WORLD,"
 BOASTED
 ONE OF HER BUILDERS.
 MORE THAN 100 YEARS LATER,
 GORDON WATTS WONDERS,
 DOES THIS SONAR IMAGE REVEAL
 WHAT REMAINS OF THE MERRIMAC?
 SOMEWHERE WITHIN
 THIS 1-SQUARE-MILE AREA,
 UNDER 30 FEET OF WATER,
 MAY LIE THE MERRIMAC.
 TO FIND HER,
 WATTS WILL USE REMOTE SENSING,
 INCLUDING SIDE-SCANNING
 SONAR.
SIDE-SCANNING SONAR
GENERATES A SOUND PULSE
MUCH LIKE THE SOUND
THAT A PORPOISE MAKES.
THAT SOUND GOES OUT ON EITHER
SIDE OF THE TRANSDUCER,
HITS THINGS ON THE BOTTOM,
AND 
AND THE MACHINE PROCESSES
THE RETURNING SOUND
AND TURNS IT
INTO A VISUAL, PRINTED IMAGE
VERY MUCH LIKE A PHOTOGRAPH
OF THE BOTTOM SURFACE
AND TARGETS ON IT.
 IN 1983, THE SONAR SCAN
 PRODUCED THIS IMAGE.
 GORDON WATTS IS CONVINCED
 THAT THIS IS THE FIRST
 GLIMPSE OF THE MERRIMAC
 SEEN IN 130 YEARS.
THE FEATURES ARE VERY CRISP,
VERY WELL-DEFINED,
AND HERE,
THERE'S AN INDICATION
THAT THE ACTUAL FRAMEWORK
OF THE VESSEL WAS EXPOSED
10 YEARS AGO WHEN WE FIRST
LOCATED THE TARGET.
 THE 1983 SONAR TARGET SHOULD
 BE RELATIVELY EASY TO FIND--
 IF IT'S STILL EXPOSED.
 FOR HOURS, WATTS AND HIS TEAM
 CRISS-CROSS THE RIVER,
 AND THE SONAR IMAGES
 REFUSE TO RESOLVE
 INTO THAT 1983 OUTLINE.
 WHERE, THEY WOULD LIKE TO KNOW,
 IS THE MERRIMAC?
 IN 1862, THE MEN
 OF THE UNION WARSHIPS
CUMBERLAND AND CONGRESS
 WANTED TO KNOW
 THE SAME THING.
 THEY PATROLLED THESE WATERS
 WITH DREAD.
 BY LATE FEBRUARY,
 INTELLIGENCE REPORTS REVEALED
 THAT THE MERRIMAC
 WOULD BE COMING SOON
 TO BREAK THE BLOCKADE.
 THE UNION MEN DIDN'T KNOW,
 HOWEVER,
 WHAT THE REBUILT MERRIMAC
 WOULD LOOK LIKE.
 THEY ONLY KNEW SHE WAS NEW
 AND VERY DANGEROUS.
 BUT THE NORTH WAS DETERMINED
 THAT THE FRIGHTENING PROSPECT
 OF A CONFEDERATE IRONCLAD
 SHOULD NOT GO UNCHALLENGED.
 SINCE THE FALL OF 1861,
 SWEDISH-BORN DESIGNER
 JOHN ERICSSON HAD BEEN AT WORK
 ON A VERY DIFFERENT IRONCLAD
 AT BROOKLYN, THE MONITOR.
THE UNITED STATES SIGNED
A CONTRACT WITH JOHN ERICSSON
 TO BUILD THE MONITOR
BECAUSE HE SAID
HE COULD DO IT IN 90 DAYS.
THEY ALREADY KNEW
 THE CONFEDERATES WERE
 CONVERTING THE MERRIMAC
INTO AN ARMORED VESSEL,
AND THEY KNEW THEY NEEDED
SOMETHING THAT WAS COMPARABLE
TO NEUTRALIZE THE THREAT
POSED BY THIS CONFEDERATE SHIP.
 AFTER NINE MONTHS
 OF INTENSIVE CONSTRUCTION,
 ON MARCH THE 8th, 1862,
 THE MERRIMAC, RECHRISTENED
 THE CONFEDERATE SHIP VIRGINIA,
 STEAMED DOWN
 THE ELIZABETH RIVER
 ON HER MAIDEN VOYAGE.
 ADMIRAL FRANKLIN BUCHANAN,
 AT THE HELM OF THE VIRGINIA,
 HAD BEEN THE FIRST
 SUPERINTENDENT
 OF THE UNITED STATES
 NAVAL ACADEMY--
 A STRATEGIST
 TO BE RECKONED WITH
 AND A DARING COMMANDER.
 HIS INTELLIGENCE
 HAD INFORMED HIM,
 ERRONEOUSLY
 AS IT TURNED OUT,
 THAT THE CUMBERLAND
 HAD BEEN REFITTED
 WITH NEW
 AND POWERFUL WEAPONS.
 IF HE COULD TAKE HER ON,
 HE REASONED,
 HE COULD TAKE ON
 ANY UNION SHIP.
 WITH TYPICAL BUCHANAN BRAVADO,
 HE WENT AFTER HER.
 PAUSING ONLY FOR
 A PASSING SHOT AT THE CONGRESS,
 BUCHANAN ORDERED THE MERRIMAC
 TOWARDS THE CUMBERLAND.
 WITHIN MOMENTS, THE MERRIMAC
 RAMMED THE CUMBERLAND,
 LEAVING A 7-FOOT GASH
 IN HER SIDE.
 THE CUMBERLAND WENT DOWN
 WITHIN 10 MINUTES.
 HAMPTON ROADS WAS IN CHAOS.
 SEVERAL UNION SHIPS RAN AGROUND
 TRYING TO ESCAPE THE IRONCLAD,
 LEAVING THEM EASY PREY.
 AFTER THE CUMBERLAND'S
 DESTRUCTION,
 THE VIRGINIA SLOWLY TURNED
 TO MOVE TOWARDS THE CONGRESS.
 THE CONGRESS
 HAD WATCHED THE BATTLE,
 AND IF YOU'RE IN COMMAND
 OF THE CONGRESS,
 YOU DON'T WANT TO TANGLE
 WITH THE VIRGINIA.
 IN THE NATURAL AMPHITHEATER
 OF HAMPTON ROADS,
 THOUSANDS OF NORTHERN
 AND CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS
 WATCHED FROM SHORE
 AS THE VIRGINIA BEGAN
 HER ATTACK ON THE CONGRESS.
 QUICKLY, THE CONGRESS
 WAS DECIMATED.
 WITHIN MINUTES,
 THE STUNNING OUTCOME
 WAS TELEGRAPHED TO WASHINGTON.
 LINCOLN CALLED
 AN EMERGENCY MEETING
 AT THE WHITE HOUSE.
 THE SECRETARY OF WAR,
 EDWIN STANTON,
 TOLD THE PRESIDE,
 "IT'S NOT UNLIKELY WE SHALL
 HAVE A CANNONBALL FROM HER GUNS
 IN THE WHITE HOUSE
 BEFORE WE LEAVE THIS ROOM."
 STANTON, PRONE TO
 AN ALARMIST STANCE,
 WAS CONVINCED THE MERRIMAC
 WOULD WRECK EVERY SHIP
 IN THE NAVY,
 THEN DESTROY
 THE UNION'S MAJOR PORTS.
IN THE NORTH, IT WAS PANIC.
THE PEOPLE IN WASHINGTON,
COASTAL CITIES
LIKE BALTIMORE AND NEW YORK,
ALL FELT--
TO A DEGREE, RIGHTLY SO--
 THEY WERE NOW VULNERABLE
 TO ATTACK BY THE VIRGINIA,
BECAUSE CLEARLY,
THERE WAS VERY LITTLE
IN THE UNITED STATES NAVY
CAPABLE OF HANDLING THE SHIP.
IN THE SOUTH, IT WAS JUBILATION.
IT WAS ONE OF
THE MOST SIGNIFICANT
NAVAL VICTORIES
OF THE CONFEDERACY
DURING THE ENTIRE WAR.
 AS NIGHT DESCENDED
 ON MARCH 8th,
 THE SOUNDS OF THE BATTLE
 DIED AWAY.
 THE SKY OVER HAMPTON ROADS
 WAS LIT
 BY THE BRILLIANT BURNING
 OF THE CUMBERLAND.
 WHILE THE SOUTH REJOICED
 AND THE NORTH RECOILED IN FEAR,
 A NEW PLAYER SLIPPED
 INTO HAMPTON ROADS.
 IT WAS THE MONITOR.
■
 THE MERRIMAC HAD NEVER BEEN
 ON SEA TRIALS.
 THE SHIP WASN'T EVEN COMPLETED,
 YET IN THAT ONE BATTLE,
 THE IRONCLAD SHIFTED
 THE BALANCE OF POWER
 APOCALYPTICALLY
 TOWARDS THE SOUTH.
MARCH 8, 1862--GREATEST NAVAL
DISASTER FOR THE UNITED STATES
UNTIL PEARL HARBOR,
AND IT SOME WAYS WAS
A TOTAL SURPRISE.
 BUT THE NEXT DAY,
 THE PENDULUM WOULD
 BEGIN SWINGING BACK.
 AS THE MORNING
 OF MARCH 9th DAWNED
 AND THE MERRIMAC STEAMED
 CONFIDENTLY ACROSS THE CHANNEL
 TO RESUME POUNDING THE HAPLESS
 WOODEN SHIPS OF THE NORTH,
 AN ODD-LOOKING VESSEL
 WITH A REVOLVING TURRET
 SUDDENLY APPEARED.
 "IT LOOKS LIKE A TIN CAN
 ON A SHINGLE,"
 SOMEBODY OBSERVED.
 THE ARRIVAL OF THE MONITOR
 CAUGHT THE MERRIMAC
 BY COMPLETE SURPRISE.
THE MONITOR DANCES AROUND
AND IS ABLE TO FIRE SOLID SHOT
AT ALMOST POINT-BLANK RANGE,
ACTUALLY CRACKING
THE VIRGINIA'S ARMORED PLATES
IN SEVERAL PLACES.
 AT TIMES, THEY ARE ONLY
 INCHES APART,
 BUT NEITHER VESSEL
 CAN GAIN THE UPPER HAND.
IF YOU'LL THINK ABOUT
WHAT LIFE WAS LIKE
ON THESE TWO SHIPS
ON MARCH 9th, IT WAS HORRENDOUS.
 FIRST OF ALL, THE VIRGINIA
 WAS COATED IN FAT
TO HELP CANNONBALLS
GLAZE OFF HER INCLINED SIDES,
SO SHE WAS ON FIRE
PART OF THE TIME.
IMAGINE A 170-PLUS-POUND
CANNONBALL
STRIKING 4 INCHES OF ARMOR
WHILE YOU'RE ON THE INSIDE.
MEN BLED FROM THEIR NOSES
AND FROM THEIR EARS
JUST FROM THE CONCUSSIONS.
 A TURNI.
THE KEY EVENT OF THE BATTLE
IS WHEN THE VIRGINIA FIRES
AN EXPLODING SHELL
WHICH STRIKES THE PILOTHOUSE
WHERE THE COMMANDING OFFICER
IS STATIONED
AND EXPLODES IN HIS FACE.
HIS FACE IS BLACKENED.
HE'S BLINDED.
BLOOD IS POURING FROM
"EVERY PORE IN HIS SKIN,"
AND HE COLLAPSES.
 INSIDE THE MONITOR,
 CONFUSION REIGNS.
 SHE BREAKS OFF FIGHTING
 AND BEGINS DRIFTING AWAY.
 ABOARD THE VIRGINIA,
 CHEERS ERUPT.
 THEY THINK THEY HAVE CRIPPLED
 THE NORTHERN SHIP
 AND TURN FOR HOME.
 ABOARD THE MONITOR
 THEY TAKE THIS AS RETREAT,
 AND JUBILATION
 BREAKS OUT THERE AS WELL.
 BOTH SIDES DECLARE VICTORY.
 THE VIRGINIA FORCED
 THE UNION NAVY
 TO CHANGE ITS NAVAL STRATEGY,
 BUT THE MONITOR
 ALLOWED THE UNION
 TO PRESERVE ITS FLEET
 OF WARSHIPS.
 THE IRONCLADS NEVER MET AGAIN.
 WITHIN THE YEAR,
 THE MONITOR FOUNDERED
 IN A GALE OFF CAPE HATTERAS
 WHILE BEING TOWED
 TO FORT SUMTER.
 A FEW MONTHS LATER,
 THE MERRIMAC
 WAS SCUTTLED AND BURNED
 TO KEEP IT FROM UNION HANDS
 WHEN THE CONFEDERATES
 EVACUATED NORFOLK.
 FOR HOURS,
 HER IRON-COVERED CASEMATE
 GLOWED RED-HOT.
 THEN, IN A CLOUD OF STEAM
 AND A THUNDEROUS ROAR,
 SHE SLIPPED BENEATH THE WATERS
 OF THE ELIZABETH,
 A FEW MILES FROM WHERE
 SHE'D BEGUN HER SECOND LIFE
 AS THE VIRGINIA.
 IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS,
 HER CARCASS WAS PICKED CLEAN
 OF IRON ARMOR.
 WITHIN A DECADE,
 HER PLACE OF REST
 HAD BEEN LOST.
 MORE THAN A CENTURY LATER,
 GORDON WATTS HOPES
 TO RESURRECT THE MERRIMAC
 ONE LAST TIME.
ALL RIGHT, GLEN.
THEY'RE BOTH
IN THE WATER.
 THE CREW RESETS
 THE REMOTE SENSING EQUIPMENT.
 NOW THEY WILL SEARCH
 FOR SMALLER, HIDDEN TARGETS.
[CREWMAN]
TARGET.
[WATTS]
OFF TO THE RIGHT,
RIGHT NOW.
 LATE IN THE AFTERNOON,
 READINGS BEGIN TO APPEAR
 THAT LOOK FAMILIAR.
DID YOU GET IT
AS BIG AS BEFORE?
YEAH.
WE'RE THERE.
 SIGNATURES OF THE SHIPWRECK
 WATTS DISCOVERED IN 1983.
THERE IT IS.
WE JUST PASSED IT
RIGHT THERE.
YEAH.
IF THERE IS ANYTHING LEFT
IN THIS SPOT
THAT CORRELATES WITH
THE SIGNATURE
THAT WE GENERATED
10 YEARS AGO,
WE'RE ON IT.
 THE DIVERS HAVE LOCATED
 THE TARGET.
 AS THEY THOUGHT,
 IT'S A DEEP DEPRESSION
 COVERED BY LAYERS OF SILT.
 FOR TWO DAYS, WATTS HAS
 DIRECTED THE EXPEDITION
 FROM THE SURFACE,
 BUT WITH THE MERRIMAC
 WITHIN REACH,
 HE'LL LEAD THE NEXT DIVE.
 THE TRADITIONAL TOOLS
 OF AN ARCHAEOLOGIST--
 A BRUSH AND A PICK--
 ARE REPLACED BY AN IRON PROBE
 4 FEET LONG.
 THE OPERATION IS DELICATE.
 THE ROD SINKS EASILY
 INTO THE MUD.
 THE FRAGILE REMAINS
 CHURNED UP BY THE PROBE
 DRIFT THROUGH THE WATER.
I JUST PUT MY HAND
ON A BIG PIECE OF TIMBER.
COME AGAIN, JIM.
I SAID I JUST PUT MY HAND
ON A BIG PIECE OF TIMBER.
ROGER THAT. COULD
YOU BRING THAT UP?
YEAH.
ANOTHER PIECE, TOO.
LOOKS LIKE A CHUNK
OF THE SAME THING.
ROGER THAT.
[WATTS]
IT'S DEFINITELY...
[CREWMAN]
BEEN GNAWED
BY THE TEREDOS.
IT LOOKS LIKE IT
MIGHT BE OAK, TOO.
 TEREDOS, COMMONLY
 CALLED SHIPWORMS,
 BORE INTO WOOD, EXPOSING IT
 TO DETERIORATION.
[WATTS]
ONE GOOD EXAMPLE OF WHY
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR
MAY HAVE BEEN DESTROYED--
YOU CAN SEE THE TEREDO DAMAGE
TO THIS PIECE OF WOOD.
EXPOSED FACES OF WOOD ARE JUST
COMPLETELY EATEN AWAY,
AND IT'S SO SOFT THAT YOU CAN
LITERALLY BREAK IT APART
WITH YOUR FINGERS,
AND THE WOOD DETERIORATED
TO THE SPONGY SORT OF SAMPLE
THAT WE HAVE HERE.
 IS THIS ALL THAT REMAINS
 OF THE MERRIMAC?
 THE WORM-EATEN RELIC REVEALS
 A TELLING DETAIL.
THIS LOOKS LIKE
A SPIKE.
YEAH.
SQUARE SHANK.
 WHAT REMAINS MAY HAVE BEEN
 PART OF THE MERRIMAC'S HULL.
 THE IRONCLAD CAIRO,
 ON EXHIBITION
 IN VICKSBURG, MISSISSIPPI,
 ILLUSTRATES A SIMILAR
 TYPE OF CONSTRUCTION.
 OAK BEAMS FASTENED
 WITH SQUARE SPIKES
 WERE USED TO FRAME
 THE VESSEL'S HULL.
 AFTER NEARLY A CENTURY
 AND A HALF
 BENEATH THE BUSY
 AND POLLUTED WATERS
 OF THE ELIZABETH,
 A VENERABLE SHIP
 HAS ALL BUT DISAPPEARED.
IT'S, PERHAPS, NOT UNEXPECTED,
I GUESS,
BUT WE'RE CERTAINLY DISAPPOINTED
THAT THERE WAS NOT
SOME MAJOR ELEMENT
OF THE VIRGINIA THAT SURVIVES
THAT COULD BE RECOVERED
AND PERHAPS CONSERVED
AND PUT ON DISPLAY.
 A BITTER LOSS
 FOR GORDON WATTS AND HIS TEAM--
 AN ALL-TOO-COMMON FATE
 FOR THE INCREASINGLY
 FRAGILE SITES
 WHERE BROTHER
 FOUGHT AGAINST BROTHER
 TO DEFINE
 THIS NATION'S CONSCIENCE.
THE CIVIL WAR
IS THE BLOODIEST WAR
IN AMERICAN HISTORY.
OVER 600,000 PEOPLE
WERE KILLED OR WOUNDED,
AND THESE PEOPLE ON BOTH SIDES
PAID IN BLOOD FOR US TO HAVE
THE NATION THAT WE HAVE TODAY.
 THE EPIC BATTLE BETWEEN
 THE MERRIMAC AND THE MONITOR
LASTED LESS THAN FIVE HOURS.
ALTHOUGH IT ENDED
IN A STALEMATE,
ITS IMPACT SEALED
THE FATE OF A NATION.
THE UNION BLOCKADE OF VIRGINIA
AND THE SOUTH HELD,
DOOMING THE CONFEDERACY.
THE BATTLE OF THE IRONCLADS
ALTERED NOT ONLY
THE COURSE OF THE CIVIL WAR,
BUT THE FUTURE OF NAVAL WARFARE.
THE MERRIMAC'S FIRST SHOT
SOUNDED THE DEATH KNELL
FOR ALL THE WOODEN WARSHIPS
OF ALL THE NAVIES IN THE WORLD.
CAPTIONING PERFORMED BY
THE NATIONAL CAPTIONING
INSTITUTE, INC.
CAPTIONS COPYRIGHT 1993
DISCOVERY COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
PUBLIC PERFORMANCE OF CAPTIONS
PROHIBITED WITHOUT PERMISSION OF
NATIONAL CAPTIONING INSTITUTE
