For hours, the two ships blasted away at each other at so close a range they collided five times.
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On March 8, 1862, a large, slow-moving and unwieldy Confederate ship steamed toward the blockading Union vessels posted at Hampton Roads, outside of Virginia’s James River. The rebels made a beeline for the sloops USS Cumberland and USS Congress. As the rebel vessel approached, the Cumberland fired into it, but the cannon fire bounced harmlessly off the rebel ship’s ironclad hull.
