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Tag Archives: ironclads
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 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
George Washington Rains & The Union Gunboats at Fort Donelson
Ted Savas shares some of his research and historic documentation! Another piece of the puzzle fell into place for me as I continue working daily on my book tentatively titled: The Other Side of the Civil War: George Washington Rains, … Continue reading
Posted in Battles, Navies, Weapons
Tagged Battle of Fort Donelson, George Washington Rains, ironclads, Ted Savas
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“Praise the Lord and Admiral Porter”: Running the Vicksburg Batteries
“We still live,” wrote Lieutenant Elias Smith of the USS Lafayette. “The whole gunboat fleet passed the Vicksburg batteries on Thursday night [April 16, 1863], without receiving material damage. All praise to the Lord and Admiral Porter.” As far as … Continue reading
A Most Curious Battle: Memphis, June 6, 1862
In the early morning hours, hundreds of Memphis citizens assembled high on the bluffs to observe the battle. But there were no surging ranks of blue and gray in the valley below, just the Big Muddy rolling broad and inexorable … Continue reading
Posted in Battles, Emerging Civil War, Navies, Western Theater
Tagged Battle of Memphis, Charles Ellet Jr., Charles H. Davis, City-Class Ironclads, Confederate River Defense Fleet, Eads gunboats, ironclads, James B. Eads, Mississippi campaign, Mississippi Marine Brigade, Mississippi River Squadron, Mississippi Valley Campaigns, Pook Turtles, Samuel Pook, Unites States Ram Fleet, USS Benton, USS Cairo, USS Carondelet, USS Louisville, USS St. Louis, Western Gunboat Flotilla
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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?
Around We Go: In the Monitor Turret
Lieutenant Samuel D. Greene, USN, had a problem. He was encased within a dim, claustrophobic, metal drum—20 feet in diameter—behind eight layers of bolted and riveted 1-inch-thick iron plates in charge of two immense 11-inch Dahlgren shell guns, each 13 … Continue reading
The Mississippi River Squadron and the “Great Artery of America” (Part 2)
Emerging Civil War welcomes back guest author Kristen M. Pawlak Part 1 can be found here. As the first of the major naval battles to secure the Mississippi River from 1862 until 1863, Fort Henry also marked a turning point … Continue reading
Posted in Campaigns, Navies
Tagged Battle of Memphis, Confederate River Defense Fleet, David Porter, ironclads, John C. Pemberton, Kristen Pawlak, Mississippi River, Mississippi River Squadron, run the batteries, transport troops, Ulysses S. Grant, Vicksburg, Vicksburg Campaign, Western Gunboat Flotilla
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The Mississippi River Squadron and the “Great Artery of America” (Part 1)
Emerging Civil War welcomes back guest author Kristen M. Pawlak On June 10, 1862, mere months before the Army of the Tennessee launched its initial operations against the Confederate fortress at Vicksburg, Mississippi, newly-promoted Major General William T. Sherman penned … Continue reading
