Confederate Ironclad 1861–65
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- Create Date：2021-05-13 11:57:14
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Angus Konstam
- ISBN：1841763071
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Summary
The creation of a Confederate ironclad fleet was a miracle of ingenuity， improvisation and logistics。 Surrounded by a superior enemy fleet， Confederate designers adapted existing vessels or created new ones from the keel up with the sole purpose of breaking the naval stranglehold on the nascent country。 Her ironclads were build in remote cornfields， on small inland rivers or in naval yards within sight of the enemy。 The result was an unorthodox but remarkable collection of vessels， which were able to contest the rivers and coastal waters of the South for five years。 This title explains how these vessels worked， how they were constructed， how they were manned and how they fought。
Reviews
Dimitri
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A tribute bursting out of its trousers。 With 22 documented ironclads in the service of the Confederate Navy， this New Vanguard had to forfeit a vessel-by-vessel dissection。 Instead， there’s a pretty cutaway of the Merrimack and a painting on the battle of Mobile Bay， summarized in the plate commentary… but most of the time it lavishes attention upon the organization around the ships and upon the men within。 Ironclads were a cutting edge improvisation。 The South’s military resources were as outm A tribute bursting out of its trousers。 With 22 documented ironclads in the service of the Confederate Navy， this New Vanguard had to forfeit a vessel-by-vessel dissection。 Instead， there’s a pretty cutaway of the Merrimack and a painting on the battle of Mobile Bay， summarized in the plate commentary… but most of the time it lavishes attention upon the organization around the ships and upon the men within。 Ironclads were a cutting edge improvisation。 The South’s military resources were as outmatched on water as on land。 It could not hope to achieve parity with the U。S。 Navy or its shipyards， but it could trade quantity for quality by pitting armoured warships against a wooden fleet。 Not only sailing ships’ hulls， but also paddle-wheeled Mississippi steamers were coated with two layers of steel。 Smaller wharfs， away from steelworks， resorted to hammering railroad irons onto any eccentric man-of-war which could assist in the defense of the Confederacy’s maritime lines of resistance。 Generally， these weighty refurnishes made the ships unwieldy and – unlike their predecessors in the Crimean War – not ocean-going。 Luckily， they were “merely” called upon to stop Grant’s march down the Mississippi， sink whatever tonnage they could overpower in the calmer waters of the bay and go mano a mano with Union ironclads。 Most Civil War naval buffs are familiar with the claustrophobic conditions of Hampton roads， the atmosphere under the sheets hot with sweat and thick with smoke。 Surely only loyal seamen could perform in such an environment？ The sad truth is that while an abundance of naval officers declared loyalty to their state， the gunners they commanded from the ironclad’s pilothouse were landlubbers from the dregs of the C。S。 Army。 “Cramped” takes on new dimensions when you realize a gun crew consisted of 11 to 28 men。 The firing sequence left little room for absentees or shortcuts。Slow on their feet， ironclads relied on the brute power of their broadsides & the jabs of their pivoting Parrots。 Confrontations with monitors sporting single or double turrets in particular degenerated into indecisive duels even if a well-aimed series of strikes could dent the plate away to shred the oak underneath。 In this respect， nothing had changed since the days of Nelson， when wooden splinters proved as devastating as canister。 Scalding boiler steam was a novel danger， but far worse was the effect of concussion。 “The admiral then sent for some of the firemen from below， to drive the bolt [on the jammed gun] outward。 Four men came up， and two of them holding the bolt back， the others struck it with sledgehammers。 While they were thus standing there， suddenly there was a dull-sounding impact and at the same instant the men whose back were against the casemate were split to pieces。 I saw their limbs and chests， severed and mangled， scattered about the deck， their hearts lying near their bodies。 All of the gun crew and the admiral were covered from head to foot with blood， flesh and viscera。 The fragments and members of the dead men were shoveled up and struck below。” 。。。more
Sean Chick
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