sentences:  The Navy wanted such a vessel to counter the threat posed to its wooden-hulled blockaders by the former screw frigate Merrimack which, according to intelligence reports, the Norfolk Navy Yard was rebuilding as an ironclad ram for the Confederacy (the CSS Virginia).The search's main objective in locating the vessel is to educate the Submarine Force and Navy in general that their undersea heritage actually started back in the Civil War era.DeLoach was the Assistant Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Resources, Requirements and Assessments.