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Category Archives: Navies
The Emergency Ironclads
In late summer 1861, the United States Navy initiated a crash program to build their first ironclad warships, leading directly to the titanic clash between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia (ex USS Merrimack) in Hampton Roads on March … Continue reading
Posted in Navies
Tagged Civil War Strategy, CSS Virginia, Gideon Welles, International affairs, ironclads, naval strategy, USS Monitor
6 Comments
Question of the Week: 3/9-3/15/2020
If you could’ve had the opportunity to serve in a Civil War ironclad, would you have volunteered? Why or why not?
History in Pieces
History comes in many pieces. My good friend Hal, a retired navy captain, collects Civil War naval artifacts. He acquired items that caught his eye over the years without any particular theme in mind only to find threads and connections … Continue reading
Posted in Material Culture, Memory, Navies
Tagged Charleston Harbor, CSS Chicora, CSS Palmento State, Fort Sumter, USS Housatonic, USS Mercedita
1 Comment
Tracking the Lost Silver of the Benjamin F. Hoxie
Emerging Civil War welcomes back guest author Neil P. Chatelain Throughout the Civil War, the Confederate navy’s commerce raiders captured hundreds of Union merchants. A major task of these raiders included efforts to intercept vessels shipping bullion, both gold and … Continue reading
ECW Weekender: Exploring Columbus, Georgia with Kennesaw State University’s Upcoming Bus Tour
Looking to explore some history and museums in Columbus, Georgia? The National Civil War Naval Museum stands on the bank of the Chattahoochee River. It preserves the largest surviving Confederate warship, the CSS Jackson, as well as the wreckage of … Continue reading
Posted in ECW Weekender, Navies, Upcoming Events
Tagged bus tour, columbus georgia, Kennesaw State University
3 Comments
An Ancient and Fearsome Weapon: The Ram
The ram—the main armament of sleek and swift Greek triremes powered by 180 rowers—turned back a Persian invasion at the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC and launched Western Civilization. Rowing galleys ruled the Mediterranean for two more millennia, the … Continue reading
Posted in Battles, Navies, Weapons
Tagged Battle of Hampton Roads, Catesby ap R. Jones, CSS Virginia, Franklin Buchanan, USS COngress, USS Cumberland
2 Comments
The Fall of Fort Henry and the Changing of Confederate Strategy
Fort Donelson has “Unconditional Surrender” Grant. It has an early morning Confederate attack, a breakout by Nathan Bedford Forrest and, in short, the stuff that makes good history. But from this outsider’s perspective looking in on the Western Theater, I … Continue reading
Sink Before Surrender: The CSS Virginia Gets Underway
In the dawn of that fateful Saturday, March 8, 1862, the CSS Virginia lay alongside the Gosport Shipyard quay on the west bank of the Elizabeth River across from Norfolk, Virginia, and just upriver from Hampton Roads. The storm passed … Continue reading
The Confederate Navy’s Order of Battle at New Orleans: A Reflection of Political Tensions
ECW welcomes back guest author Neil P. Chatelain. The ECW post on September 27, 2018 titled “Order of Battle – Why Those Lists Matter” reminded me of my own research, and I began doing what historians do: using thoughts and … Continue reading
Posted in Battles, Navies
Tagged Admiral David G. Farragut, Captain George N. Hollins, Commander John K. Mitchell, Commander William C. Whittle, Confederate Navy, Fall of New Orleans, Ironclad, Lieutenant Beverly Kennon, neil p. chatelain, New Orleans, order of battle, River Defense Fleet
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ECW Weekender: View from the Ramparts – Fortress Monroe, Virginia
In the gathering dusk of Saturday, March 8, 1862, a young Union telegrapher, John Emmet O’Brien, stood on the ramparts of Fortress Monroe on Old Point Comfort dominating the entrance to Hampton Roads, Virginia. He looked to the right and … Continue reading
