Ironclads Revolutionized Naval Warfare

The Battle of Fredericksburg is remembered as the Confederate Army’s most one-sided victory in its campaign against the Union Forces of the North. It was also the first battle to occur shortly after President Abraham Lincoln had delivered his “Emancipation Proclamation” and the President was hard pressed for a victory to use to bolster public support for it. General George McClellan fresh of his victory against of General Robert E. Lee’s forces at Antietam was being pressured by the President to

Hunley. It was built with the intention of “attacking Union ships that were blockading Confederate seaports”. It was equipped with a long pole containing an explosive charge; this “spar torpedo” was used to place an explosive on an enemy vessel and detonate it. There was no air supply in the Hunley with the exception of the main compartment. The Hunley was the first submarine to successfully sink another ship. It was responsible for sinking the USS Housatonic, but after signaling its success, the Hunley itself sank. Overall, the Hunley suffered three tragedies. The first crew drowned on August 29th, 1864 followed by and the second crew on October 15th later that year. Inventor Horace Hunley himself was one of the many casualties of the CSS

It can be debated where exactly the Union was able to claim its victory during the War Between the States. Most people could narrow the turning point in the war to Gettysburg and Vicksburg. The battle of Gettysburg was a very tragic loss for the South, but the battle at Vicksburg was the largest victory for the North. In this lone battle, the Union created an economic problem for the South. The Union Army’s troops, helped by gunboats and river ironclads took control over the Mississippi River. This action virtually split the Confederate territory in two while also seizing control over the South 's main artery of transport. When Vicksburg fell to Union troops on July 4, 1863, the Confederacy lost its last chance to control the Mississippi River.

Between the battle of Fort Sumter a Confederate victory and the First battle of Bull Run anther Confederate victory, there were nine other smaller battles many not large enough to truly be called a battle. Of those nine battles three were won by the Confederates and two were inconclusive. At the first battle of Bull Run, the Union still believed that this is going to be a very short war, they believed it so much that spectators came and lined the sides of the battlefield to watch the Union smash the Confederate Army. Of the spectators most we're just common folk or people near that community, but

This board is of standard: 8-4.5, the Civil War. This board consists of some of the most rememberable things in the war like the Surrender at Appomattox where Lee and Grant ended the war, the casualties in each battle, Gettysburg Address, and the H.L. Hunley. I also included Fort Sumter where the first shots of the war were fired. The early capture of Port Royal happened when the Union shot down the 2 forts that surrounded the Port Royal Sound and the nearby townspeople

The Battle of Antietam was a monumental win for the Union, and for the elimination of slavery. The winning of the battle gave the Union a huge advantage over the Confederate, and this victory pleased President Abraham Lincoln. Abraham Lincoln had been waiting for an appropriate time to release the first edition of the Emancipation Proclamation, which meant that any and all slaves working in the Confederacy were to be released. This victory was tragic for the Confederacy because they lost all their slaves and they were at a severe disadvantage compared to the Union. Another monumental event that impacted American history is the moment where the Union soldiers discovered the Confederate’s battle tactics. The tactics paper, called “Special Orders 191” written by General Lee, was originally meant for General D. H. Hill, one of his other army leaders, but thanks to someone’s lack of focus, the plans were left behind and the Union was given the lead in the war. One prominent place related to the Civil War and American History is Dunker Church. Dunker Church was a building that resembled peace, love, modesty and positivity throughout its lifetime. However, the night before the battle, the Confederate soldiers were stationed around the church. This meant that the Union would have to attack the church, leaving it “battle-scarred”. Dunker Church was collateral damage to the war and it’s also where both sides agreed to truce with each other for this

The battle of Antietam took place near the Antietam Creek in Maryland and was the victory that stopped the Confederacy’s advance on the north. Before Antietam, Confederacy’s forces lead by Robert E lee was crushing the union forces despite the superior numbers of the north and the superior industry of the north. But this all changed

Everyone started searching for the submarine, but nothing was found until May 3rd, 1995 when three scuba divers were looking around on the ocean floor. Harry Pecorelli, Wes Hall, and Ralph Wilbanks had set out one day to explore the ocean in the last area that the Hunley was seen. When Pecorelli was twenty-seven feet below the surface, he started probing

The Battle of Hampton Roads, otherwise known as Monitor versus Merrimac, was the first engagement of two ironclad ships in battle. On March 8, 1862, the Merrimac, now christened the CSS Virginia, sunk two Union ships in addition to grounding another in an effort to prevent the Union from blockading southern ports. On March 9, the more significant battle began when the Confederate Virginia fired on the Union’s Minnesota. The Virginia then met its northern ironclad counterpart, the Monitor, at the mouth of the James River. The Virginia and the Monitor fired upon one another, though the incompetence of the crews rendered the shots ineffective. The volley continued for some time, causing people to flock to the shore, the docks, or nearby vessels in an effort to watch the action. Eventually, the Virginia had a successful shot at the Monitor, hitting the Monitor’s iron pilothouse. When the Monitor’s pilothouse was hit, iron shards flew everywhere and got into Commander Lieutenant John Worden’s eyes. This caused the Monitor to sheer off course and move into shallow water. The Virginia posed to attack the Minnesota, after deducing that the Monitor was out of commision at this point in time. Before attacking, the Virginia’s officers reported a leak in the bow, depleted ammunition, and that the steam powered engine was having trouble keeping pace. The battle ended in a draw as the Virginia headed back to its naval yard for repairs. The battle showed that in the future, all wooden ships and vessels would be obsolete in comparison to the ironclads that would soon became the new naval fighting

On March 9, 1862, the battle between the Union’s USS Monitor and the Confederate’s USS Merrimack was history’s first duel between ironclad warships. The cannons bounced effortlessly off the iron armor of the boats. This battle was known as the Battle of Hampton Roads and was part of the Confederate effort to break the Union blockade of Southern ports. This battle ended in a draw where neither side could declare victory, but it started the era of naval warfare. The use of ironclads marked the end of thousands of years of wooden warships.

The start of the Civil War was April 12, 1861 when Confederates attacked a Union fort. Fort Sumter took a heavy beating that day and would later surrender after the second day of the Confederates attacking (Roark et al. 424-5). Once the war started, the U.S. Navy created a blockade around the 3,500 miles of the South’s coastline. The fleet was originally just 36 ships, but it grew to 150 with new ships being added almost weekly. Few Confederate ships were able to cross the blockade, unless they were specially designed stealthy steam boats. These ships were known as “blockade runners” and were able to bring back important supplies like guns and medicine. But the blockade runners were in no way designed to destroy the Union’s blockade or even the ships that formed it for that matter. The Union’s navy was expanding too fast for the Confederates to keep up. The Confederacy decided to build two ironclad warships, the Merrimack and Virginia. These warships were powerful and sank two wooden Union ships. But the Union was not ready to give up their blockade without a fight. The Virginia was set to destroy the blockade the next morning, but it greated by the Monitor (Roark et al. 435). After a two hour battle, the ships called it a draw. Yet the Confederacy was never able to destroy the blockade using their own strength (Roark et al. 436).

In the year 1863, the Civil War was 2 years in. At the beginning of the year the war seemed to be in the hands of the Confederacy, but throughout the year the tables turned and it was apparent that the Union was gonna win the war. In January, “Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation [went] into effect” and there were 6-8 significant battles that transpired between then and May of 1863. At the end of May was the first assault on Port Hudson in Louisiana. This assault was a turning point for the Union and their goal of winning the war. Commodore Palmer expresses this by stating, “It is to be hoped that Port Hudson will fall some day.” But just a days walk away was Simmesport where an enemy(Confederate) crossing started a skirmish.

However, back in Washington D.C., Lincoln’s cabinet has a plan. After debating over their recent losses in the Congress and Cumberland, they decide to send in their own ironclad— the USS Monitor. While the Monitor did not hold the same firepower as the Virginia, it was low to the water and just as well protected. Praying to God that their decision is what is needed in their time of great need, Lincoln gives the order to send in the

Economically the Union was very strong and greatly outweighed the South. President Lincoln, as the war had begun, quickly declared a blockade, as described earlier, against the main Confederate ports. This was supposed to be under an international treaty, that hadn’t been signed yet, which had created the controversial political issues for Lincoln. Fortunate enough for the Union, when war broke out the United States Navy was small like it’s army, and its ships were scattered around the oceans. Of the American ships that were in surrounding waters, ten were partially destroyed or destroyed to prevent them from going to the Confederates when Virginia seceded. If they did this would have taken the Norfolk naval base with it.

The Union’s monitor was a controversial design. Inside of the monitor was the turrent, which rotted to bring two guns to bear on the target. The designs were very successful. In the early 1800s there was an advancement of early artillery shells. When the first iron clad activities were presented they required too much technology that the South did not have. Architects of the new ship were John Porter, his design was simple and effective, sloped at a 35 degree angle. Throughout the north rumor spread quickly about the Iron Monster. The union set out to create its own iron clad to conquer it. It came down to two or three basic designs, a conventional war ship the galena,