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Tag Archives: CSS Virginia
Ironclads vs. Fort: Drewry’s Bluff and Fort Darling
On a steamy Virginia day this summer, I visited the site along the west bank of the James River where a small-scale but significant engagement took place on May 15, 1862, during the Virginia Peninsula campaign. Fort Darling on Drewry’s … Continue reading
Posted in Battlefields & Historic Places, Battles, Navies
Tagged Battle of Drewry's Bluff, Captain Augustus H. Drewry, Columbiad, CSS Virginia, Fort Darling, George B. McClellan, James River, John Rodgers, Lt. William Jeffers USN, Merrimack, Peninsula Campaign, Richmond National Battlefield Park, Southside Heavy Artillery, USS Galena, USS Monitor
6 Comments
Repurposing Captured Enemy Vessels Part 3: US Vessels Flying the Confederate Flag
In Part 1 of this four-part series, I examined how the United States was able to capture and repurpose three Confederate ironclad warships. In Part 2, I continued that examination, expanding it to examine wooden vessels of the Confederacy captured … Continue reading
Posted in Navies, Weapons
Tagged Archer, Atchafalaya River, Caleb Cushing, Charles W. Read, Clarence, CSS Florida, CSS Tuscaloosa, CSS Virginia, David D. Porter, Fort DeRussey, John B. Magruder, Leon Smith, Repurposing Captured Enemy Vessels, Tacony, Texas Maritime Department, USS Harriet Lane, USS Queen of the West, USS Westfield
1 Comment
Repurposing Captured Enemy Vessels Part 1: Confederate Ironclads Flying the US Flag
Ever wonder why there was a US Navy warship during the Civil War named after Confederate General Braxton Bragg? Or why there is a Confederate warship named after US President James Buchannan’s niece and de facto first lady? These confusing … Continue reading
Posted in Navies, Weapons
Tagged Asa Tift, Battle of Mobile Bay, CSS Arkansas, CSS Atlanta, CSS Mississippi, CSS Missouri, CSS Stonewall, CSS Tennessee, CSS Virginia, David Farragut, H.L. Hunley, Mississippi River, Nelson Tift, Raimondo Luraghi, Repurposing Captured Enemy Vessels, USS Cairo, USS Eastport, USS Kearsarge, USS Monitor, USS Nahant, USS Weehawken, William A. Webb
9 Comments
The Most Frightened Man and the Ironclads
One hundred and sixty years ago yesterday, March 8, 1862, a frustrated commander in chief convened another council of war to prod Major General George B. McClellan into action. McClellan proposed to transport the Army of the Potomac down the … Continue reading
The First Draft of Naval History: USS Minnesota’s Deck Log and the Battle of Hampton Roads
In naval circles, the deck log is sacred. It is a ship’s official record, documenting location, weather, personnel and supply transfers, and changes in course and speed. Anything significant, important, or novel is recorded in a ship’s log and signed … Continue reading
Under Fire — Feeling Something Warm: A Gunner on USS Congress in the Battle of Hampton Roads
The fearsome Rebel ironclad CSS Virginia (ex USS Merrimack, aka Merrimac) materialized in Hampton Roads, Virginia, that calm and clear Saturday morning, March 8, 1862. “The ‘Merrimac’ was steaming slowly towards us,” recalled Seaman Frederick H. Curtis of the wooden … Continue reading
Recruiting the Crew: Iron Men for Iron Ships
Both Civil War navies faced severe recruiting shortages in that first war year and indeed throughout the conflict. The U. S. Navy expanded tenfold, competing for enlistees not only against the army but also alongside the burgeoning, more lucrative, and … Continue reading
The Paradox of the Lost Cause: Part I
Emerging Civil War is pleased to welcome guest contributor Adam Burke… Tucked into the nook of a large brick building in historic Harpers Ferry is a conspicuous granite monolith. It stands along Potomac Street, a lesser traveled street one block … Continue reading
The ECW Series Gets Naval: Prepare for the clash of the ironclads!
The clash of the Monitor vs. the Merrimack—the alliterative “M’s” made for a catchy hook for many of us as kids!—is one of the best-known stories of the Civil War: two iron sea beasts trading explosive blows, battling to a … Continue reading
