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 The battle attracted attention worldwide, making it clear that the wooden warship was now out of date, with the ironclads destroying them easily.