The first battle between ironclads happened on 9 March 1862 , as the armored Monitor was deployed to protect the Union 's wooden fleet from the ironclad ram Virginia and other Confederate warships . In this engagement , the second day of the Battle of Hampton Roads , the two ironclads repeatedly tried to ram one another while shells bounced off their armor . The battle attracted attention worldwide , making it clear that the wooden warship was now out of date , with the ironclads destroying them easily .