Ironclad Ships of the Civil War
By: Caleb
At this time there was a civil war going on between the north and
south. The south felt that it was right to own slaves. They also believed
in states’ rights. The north however wanted to abolish slavery. They
followed in President Lincoln’s footsteps. Wooden ships were no longer
successful at sea. The south and north both built Ironclad ships and
battled it out at Hampton Roads, VA. Hampton Roads was the beginning
and not the end of ironclads.
The Monitor was one ship involved in this historic battle. John
Ericsson designed every single aspect of the Monitor including the first
flush toilets on a ship (Anderson 36). In New York, the work of
building the Monitor was shared by several ironworks and shipyards in
order to speed things up (Allen & Allen 56). The Monitor’s first battle
was with the Merrimack on March 9, 1862 at Hampton Roads, VA. The
Monitor engaged the Merrimack off the Virginia coast, where the
Merrimack the previous day attacked two Union wooden ships. The
Monitor sank on Dec. 3, 1862, in about 220 feet of water (Funk &
Wagnalls, Monitor).
The Confederacy did not build the Merrimack. It was renamed the
Virginia. They found this ship. The Union sank it when it was still there
ship. The South discovered that it was still usable (Anderson 33). The
South decided to put a layer of iron on it (Anderson 34). The
Merrimack’s First battle was with the Monitor. Neither side won. The
Monitor pulled away and assuming it was over the Merrimack pulled away
also (Anderson 34-36). The Merrimack was sunk twice. The first time
by the Union. The second time was by the Confederacy in 1862 (Allen
& Allen).
The most famous Civil War naval battle was fought on March 9,
1862, Hampton Roads, VA, between the U.S.S. Monitor and the C.S.S
Virginia. It was the first battle between Ironclad Ships. For three hours
each tried vainly to sink the other. The engagement was intensive, but it
foreshadowed the day when wooden ships would be obsolete
(Encyclopedia Americana). The Iron Merrimack was attacking two Union
Wooden Ships. The Monitor hid in the shadows of the ruined Minnesota.
There wasn’t a lot of damage in this battle. There were only a few
dents (Dusek 6-7). An interesting fact was that both of these ships
were destroyed within a year of their historic battle (Anderson 36).
There were other ironclad ships that were made during the Civil
War. Both sides made many more, especially the South. One was the
C.S.S. Albermarle. The Albermarle terrorized Union forces along the North
Carolina coast in 1864. She was sunk by a party of Union soldiers using
a steam-power launch with a star torpedo. Another ship was the C.S.S.
Arkansas. This armored confederate ram campaigned in the Vicksburg,
Mississippi area. In August, 1862 she headed for a battle at Baton
Rouge, Louisiana. Her engines broke down near an enemy position so
her crew ran her aground and blew her up. The Union also made more
Ironclads like these ones too (Stanchak 52).
It is clear why both sides built Ironclads. The era of wooden ships
was over. Both sides built many more ironclad ships during and after the
Civil War. Today our Navy still uses ironclad ships. Countries also use
these to ship things across the sea. If it wasn’t for the Monitor and the
Merrimack our countries’ Navy would be unsuccessful in battles and we
would have a weak coastal military.
Works Cited
Allen, Thomas B & Allen, Roger MacBride. Mr. Lincoln’s High Tech War.
USA: National Geographic. 2009. Print.
Anderson, Maxine. Great Civil War Project you Can Build Yourself.
Vermont: Nomad Press, 2005. Print.
“Civil War.” Encyclopedia Americana. Grolier Online, 2013. Web 22 April.
2013.
Dusek, Karen H. “Clash of the Ironclads.” Cobblestone. Nov/Dec
2012.6-7. Print.
“Merrimack,” Funk and Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. 2009. N. pag.
Primary Search. Web 24 April 2013.
“Monitor” Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. 2009. N. Pag.
Primary Search, Web. 24, Apr. 2013.
Stanchak, John. The Visual Dictionary of the Civil War. New York:
Kindersley, 2000, Print.