[ Autographs ] (C.S.A. Virginia Relic) A neat relic of the Confederate ironclad C.S.S. Virginia, formerly the U.S.S. Merrimac but renamed after her capture, a 2in x 2.5in x 1/16in piece of the armor plating carried by the Virginia which so effectively protected the vessel from the shots of the U.S.S. Monitor during their historic engagement at Hampton Roads in 1862 The plate bears an embossed stamp "Merrimac 1862" and was originally sold as a souvenir when the vessel was scrapped some years after the war.