ON THE INLAND WATERS.--On the great water ways of the West the notable deeds of the navy were the capture of Fort Henry on the Tennessee by Foote's flotilla (p. 358), the capture of New Orleans by Farragut (p. 361), and the run of Porter's fleet past the batteries at Vicksburg (p. 368). [Illustration: ONE OF PORTER'S GUNBOATS PASSING VICKSBURG.] THE MONITOR AND THE MERRIMAC .--But the most famous of all the naval engagements was that of the _Monitor_ and the _Merrimac_ in 1862. When the war opened, there were at the navy yard at Norfolk, Virginia, a quantity of guns, stores, supplies, and eleven vessels. The officer in command, fearing that they would fall into Confederate hands, set fire to the houses, shops, and vessels, and abandoned the place. One of the vessels which was burned to the water's edge and sunk was the steam frigate _Merrimac_. Finding her hull below the water line unhurt, the Confederates raised the _Merrimac_, turned her into an ironclad ram, renamed her _Virginia_, and sent her forth to destroy a squadron of United States vessels at anchor in Hampton Roads (at the mouth of the James River). [Illustration: MERRIMAC AND MONITOR.] Steaming across the roads one day in March, 1862, the _Merrimac_ rammed and sank the _Cumberland_, [6] forced the _Congress_ to surrender, and set her on fire. This done, the _Merrimac_ withdrew, intending to resume the work of destruction on the morrow; for her iron armor had proved to be ample protection against the guns of the Union ships. But the next morning, as she came near the _Minnesota_, the strangest-looking craft afloat came forth to meet her. Its deck was almost level with the water, and was plated with sheets of iron. In the center of the deck was an iron- plated cylinder which could be revolved by machinery, and in this were two large guns. This was the _Monitor_ [7] which had arrived in the Roads the night before, and now came out from behind the _Minnesota_ to fight the _Merrimac_. During four hours the battle raged with apparently no result; then the _Merrimac_ withdrew and the _Monitor_ took her place beside the _Minnesota_. [8] This battle marks the doom of wooden naval vessels; all the nations of the world were forced to build their navies anew.