Jonathan+Ironclads

= Ironclads = toc **Before the Ironclads** In the time before the ironclads, navies were made up of wooden vessels. These ships were often prone to catching fire. One example of a ship that existed in the era before the ironclads is the USS //Constitution//. The //Constitution// is built of "ribs" of wood, which, in turn, have the hull of the ship built around them. This is similar to the base construction of many ironclads. However the major difference is the metal protective armor. Also, armaments were different. Ships like the //Constitution// carried many cannons in fixed positions. The //Monitor// only carried two large cannons, which were placed inside a protected turret that could rotate 360 degrees. In addition to the significantly smaller number of cannons that could rotate, the cannons on the //Monitor// were loaded from behind, rather than from the front as most traditional cannons to protect the crew. Ironclads are widely superior to their wooden counterparts of that time, as evidenced by the //Merrimac//'s rampage on frigates. In addition, ironclads relied on engines to travel, while most other vessels, with the exception of paddle steamers, relied solely on the wind, and sails, to move. Ironclads were vastly superior to their counterparts in their respective navies. == =History and Development of Ironclads= In the early nineteenth century, many shipbuilders began experimenting with iron, breaking the tradition of building seagoing vessels out of nothing but wood. Essentially, an ironclad was a steam-powered warship fitted with iron armor plates. However, despite contrary belief, a ship's having an iron hull did not make it an ironclad. Many ironclads had wooden hulls with armor plating. An ironclad, specifically, was designed for ramming other vessels and being immune to attack. The contrast between an ironclad, in relation to other ships with iron components, could be likened to the difference between a sedan and a tank: one is merely made of metal, the other is almost indestructible. There were two common types of ironclads at the time of the Civil War. The first was a casemate. A casemate was an iron box built around a ship to protect its crew and its weapons. An example of a casemate was the CSS //Virginia//. The second was a monitor. A monitor was a low-freeboard steamship that contained a small number of heavy guns within a turret. Low-freeboard means that the deck of the ship is very close to the water. An example of a monitor was the USS //Monitor//. The first ironclad, //La Goire//, was built by the French Navy during the 1850s to attack enemy forts in the Crimean War. Following the Crimean War, Britain and France also began experimenting with ironclads for ship-to-ship combat in addition to shore bombardment. Their design concepts made their way across the Atlantic Ocean and into the Union and Confederacy. = = == =Ironclads of the Union and Confederacy= The //Monitor// was an example of one kind of ironclad, of which it shared the same name. There were also "riverboat ironclads", operating on the Mississippi River for the Confederacy. These vessels were often made of civilian riverboats from before the war, which had been stripped of all civilian furnishings such as cabins, and fitted with heavy armor and cannon. This was done because at the outbreak of the war, the entire navy went to the Union due to their homeports. The ironclads of the South were often simply referred to as "rams", because they had strong metal bows to ram and sink enemy vessels. The Confederate States of America used its ironclads mainly to protect its harbors and rivers. The Confederate mentality was that one ironclad could defeat many wooden ships, and many Northern ships were made of wood. The Union, on the other hand, used its ironclads in a more active role. Northern ironclads would prowl the South, seeking enemy ironclads to attack and bombarding Southern positions with artillery. Because of this, ironclads of the North moved much more than those of the South. There were three main reasons why the ironclads were so important, especially at the time when they entered service in the Civil War. The first was that ironclads were among the first modern ships to be powered by steam rather than wind and to be armored with metal, bridging evolution to more modern warships. The second is that although the Civil War is a major aspect of American history, its naval battles are often overlooked yet important. The ironclads were a key aspect of the naval war. The third reason is that the ironclads were simply revolutionary. They were so far ahead of their time that they made all other countries begin viewing their fleets as useless and outdated, and it started the push for vessels made entirely of metal. This naval race eventually was a key factor in the events leading to the First World War. = = =Invention of the Submarine (Collaborative edit by schom)= The Battle of Hampton Roads was one of the largest turning points in the development of marine warfare. Ironclads ruled the water with their protective metal plating. All other ships were inferior. Both the Confederacy and the Union realized that whoever was the most advanced in marine technology was at an advantage. The next step in development was known as the CSS //Hunley//. The //Hunley// was developed by the Confederacy and is known to be the first submarine of the Civil War. The //Hunley// sat just below the surface, and was manned by eight crewmen. These crewmen had to manually crank the //Hunley’s// propeller. The only feat that this vessel accomplished was sinking the USS //Housatonic//. Shortly after sinking the //Housatonic,// the Hunley was never heard of again until being raised from its resting place in 2000.



 The French inventor Brutus De Villeroi told the Union that he, too, could provide the Union with a submarine. His contraption was known as the //Alligator//. Measuring 47 feet long, this vessel was an engineering marvel. This invention re-defined the meaning of undersea travel. Its a ﻿bility to stay s ﻿ubmerged deep in the water was unheard of. The only flaw with this vessel was that it was powered by oars, but this was quickly corrected by a screw propeller. Unfortunately, when being towed to South Carolina, this vessel was hit by a storm and sank. The //Alligator// was said to be the closest thing to a modern-day submarine ever built in its time.

=First Battle of the Ironclads= The first duel of these iron monsters occurred off of Hampton Roads, Virginia on March 9, 1862. The US Navy was caught off guard, cleaning its ships and hanging clothes off of rigging. The CSS //Merrimac (//formerly the USS //Merrimac// and later CSS //Virginia//), observing this sight, plowed into the fleet. It rammed several Union frigates, sending some to the bottom, some into flames, and some onto shallow water where they beached. The Union returned fire, but to their horror, their shots merely bounced off the Confederate monster. The //Merrimac//, satisfied with its results, withdrew from the carnage for the night and planned to continue its rampage the next morning. The USS //Monitor//, fresh from the slipways of Manhattan, steamed south to the location of the battle. Pulling alongside one of the wounded frigates, the //Monitor// baffled the fatigued crew. They had never seen a vessel like it before that time. The next morning, //Merrimac// returned, hungry for more Union ships and for the utter destruction of the blockade the Union had established. The //Monitor// was determined to prevent that from happening. Covering the crippled frigates, the //Monitor// engaged in combat with the //Merrimac//. For several long hours, the two iron beasts exchanged fire, to no avail. Their shots simply bounced off each other, and their repeated attempts to ram created more noise than it did damage. The engagement eventually ended when a shot hit the //Monitor//'s bridge, temporarily blinding its captain, who ordered the ship to take evasive action until a replacement could take command. The //Merrimac//, mistaking this for a retreat, left the scene of the battle. This battle is widely considered to be the first modern naval engagement. = = =The Legacy of the Ironclads= There were many other ironclads in addition to the //Monitor// and the //Merrimac//, but those two are the most famous and well-known. However, neither ship had a particularly fitting end. The //Merrimac// was blown up by the Confederacy several months after the Battle of Hampton Roads when the Union attacked Norfolk, Virginia to avoid capture. This end of her life is rather ironic, as the //Merrimac// was built by raising a Northern frigate and building around the existing hull. The //Merrimac// is one of few ships that has served under one name, sunk, been raised, rebuilt, and then sunk again, as CSS //Virginia//. The //Monitor//, fortunately, obtained a somewhat more permanent legacy. Following the Battle of Hampton Roads, several major flaws became apparent in her design. On one hot summer day, the //Monitor// was ordered to the Washington Navy Yard, where she was overhauled with better ventilation, a telescoping smokestack, more davits for boats she carried, and general improvements to her fighting and habitation abilities. In November 1862, the //Monitor// returned to combat. In December, she was ordered south to join a blockade off the Carolinas. She left Hampton Roads on December 29 under the tow of USS //Rhode Island//. When they left port, the weather forecast predicted ideal conditions. However, on the thirtieth, the weather quickly turned into a gale. As the //Monitor// approached Cape Hatteras, she struggled to keep going. Water began to enter the ship faster than its pumps could expel it, and shortly before midnight, it became clear that the //Monitor// was doomed. Her steam pressure, or propulsion, failed as rising water extinguished the boiler fires that powered her. Her captain ordered the towline cut, then he dropped anchor and sent a distress signal to the //Rhode Island//. //Rhode Island//, with its smaller boats, succeeded in rescuing most of the doomed ship's crew. By 1:30 A.M., the //Monitor// was at her final resting place, two-hundred and thirty feet below the unforgiving Atlantic. Sixteen men out of her sixty-two crew had perished that night, either in sinking with the ship or being swept to sea by the waves. However, the ironclads' legacy did not sink with the //Merrimac// and //Monitor//. These two ships singlehandedly inspired what we now know to be the modern U.S. Navy, and all other navies of the world. Their revolutionary design not only changed the face of surface warfare, but also, to an extent, led to the modern submarines of today. == =media type="custom" key="9484866"= = = =The Ironclads Today= Several ironclads exist today, in various places and pieces. Pieces of the USS //Monitor// have been raised from her watery grave off Cape Hatteras, including the turret, engine, propeller, cannon and anchor, and are now on display at the Mariner's Museum in Newport News, Virginia. Northrup Grumman's shipbuilding division constructed a full-scale replica of the //Monitor//, and this replica now resides on firm ground at the Mariner's Museum. The hulls of the USS //Cairo,// CSS //Neuse// and CSS //Jackson// can be seen, removed from the watery depths, at various museums. The CSS //Neuse II//, a replica of its namesake, is reported to be the only replica of a Confederate ironclad in existence. = =

=Bibliography= "USN Ships--USS Monitor (1862-1862)." //Naval History and Heritage Command//. U.S. Navy, 27 June 2001. Web. 12 May 2011. []

Jenkins. "Civil War Ironclads - An Introduction." // WideOpenWest //. 2011. Web. 15 May 2011. http://users.wowway.com/~jenkins/ironclads/ironintr.htm

"The Battle of the Ironclads, 1862." // EyeWitness to History - History through the Eyes of Those Who Lived It //. EyeWitness, 2005. Web. 15 May 2011. http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/ironclads.htm

// Wreck of the Monitor //. Digital image. // Noaa.gov //. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration. Web. 19 May 2011. .

// Sinking of the Monitor //. Digital image. //Navy.mil//. U.S. Navy. Web. 19 May 2011. .

// Battle of Hampton Roads //. Digital image. // themoralliberal.com //. The Moral Liberal. Web. 19 May 2011. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 32px;"><http://www.themoralliberal.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/USS-Monitor.jpg>.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 32px;">// USS Monitor Expedition 2009 (Graveyard of the Atlantic) //. // YouTube //. Dan Crowell, 6 July 2009. Web. 19 May 2011. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 32px;">[].

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">"Civil War Submarines." //<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">American Civil War History Timelines Battle Map Pictures //. Web. 22 May 2011. <http://americancivilwar.com/tcwn/civil_war/naval_submarine.html>.

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