A description of the construction, battles, and historical impact of the Civil War battleships, the Monitor and the Virginia, known to Union forces as the Monitor and the Merrimack, which focuses on the Battle of Hampton Roads.

In 1861, a young slave named Sam escapes to search for his father, who has been conscripted into the Confederate army, and makes his way to a northern city, while back at the Virginia plantation where Sam was raised Annabelle, the owner's daughter, struggles to run things after her father's death.

"Northern Virginia is a treasure house of history, perhaps more so tan any other part of the country. One unique way of experiencing that history is by visiting one of the region's many historic cemeteries. Cemeteries have been called open-air museums, and every gravestone has a story to tell. There are some 1,000 cemeteries in Northern Virginia, ranging from small family plots to huge national cemeteries covering hundreds of acres. Many of these...