On March 8th, the Confederate captain first attacked the blockade’s sloop of war, USS Cumberland and raked the ship’s side without taking any damage. Then the captain gave the order to ram the USS Cumberland with its 1,500 pound iron ram. The ram punctured the side of the ship but it got entangled in the process. When the USS Cumberland went down, it took the huge ram with it. The ironclad ship set its sights on its next victim, the frigate, USS Congress. The USS Congress purposely ran aground to avoid being destroyed. The captain of the Virginia ordered the ship to be shot with incendiary hot shot. The ship burned the rest of the day but blew up that night. The USS Merrimack finally arrived and took a defensive position to protect the USS Minnesota from being destroyed. The 2 ironclads fought a 4 hour standoff. The Virginia hit the captain’s view port, temporarily blinding the Union captain. The Merrimack went to shallower water so their captain could recover. The Virginia wanted to shoot the USS Minnesota but the Confederate captain retreated instead.