On March 8, 1862 naval history was made when the first Confederate ironclad the Merrimac, steamed down the Elizabeth River to Hampton Roads to attack the wood sided U.S. blockading fleet anchored there. After ramming and sinking the 24 gun wooden hulled sloop Cumberland, the Merrimac headed for the 50 gun frigate Congress. One Union officer who watched the attack later said, "I watched as the Merrimac shot and shell into her with terrific effect, while the shot from the Congress glanced from her iron plated sloping sides without doing any apparent damage." The results of this day proved the superiority of iron over wood. The next day iron was pitted against iron when the Merrimac and the Monitor met up. The Merrimac carried more guns than the Monitor but it was slow and clumsy. The Monitor being faster and more stylish was also smaller than the Merrimac An officer aboard the Monitor describes the attack, "The turrets and other parts of the ship were heavily struck, but the shots did not penetrate. The tower was intact, and it continued to revolve. A look of confidence passed over the men's faces, and we believed the Merrimac would not repeat what she'd accomplished the day before." Neither ironside was seriously damaged in this fight. And a new age of warfare had begun, where wooden ships would be a thing of the past.