A review from School Library Journal explains this book:

Grade 5-8-In 1861, James Hamilton, a Harvard engineering student, has his dreams of building ships realized when he learns that the Confederates have resurrected an old Union ship, the Merrimack, and have converted it into a fortified vessel. He leaves school and offers his services to John Ericsson, a Swedish engineer charged with building an ironclad ship for the Union. Attending a meeting at the White House, James meets and falls in love with Julia Holmes, a young woman also involved with the war effort. When the Union orders the Monitor to Hampton Roads, VA, to protect federal ships against an inevitable attack by the Merrimack, Ericsson sends James onboard to record observations about the ironclad's performance. The young man is blinded in the final conflict of the battle and relinquishes his dreams for the future. Sapp?y carefully describes the construction of the Monitor and graphically depicts the horrors of war. The book is carefully researched and includes a detailed author's note . . . . the first-person narrative is full of emotion . . . .

And Mr. William Blake, A Civil War re-enactor in films, a lecturer, writer,and radio personality, wrote:

"A historic favorite of mine as it is the first clash of iron ships in the world. Maureen Sapp?y's treatment of this event was all the more interesting because she relates the personal dreams of the people, James, Julia, Mr. John Ericsson, and others that are central to this event. History buffs may find facts they didn't know, but all readers will stay with the story to the last page. Young readers will have their appetites whetted for more from Maureen Stack Sapp?y."