Rise of the Ironclads

Author: George F. Amadon
Rise of the Ironclads
Pictorial Histories Publishing Company
1988
Format: PDF
Pages: 82
Language: English
Size: 57.8 MB

This books does an excellent job of explaining the struggle between the Union and Confederate navies. England was very supportive of the Confederacy at the beginning of the Civil War, providing the Southerners with food, clothing, medicine, and the tools of war. Then the blockade of Southern ports by the wooden Union Navy became more effective. The Confederacy considered this act to be evil and cruel because it denied women and children the necessities of life. The secret conversion of the U.S.S. MERRIMACK to the ironclad C.S.S. VIRGINIA was considered to be a God-given means by which the wooden ship blockade could be broken, allowing necessary supplies to flow once again from Great Britain. The short-lived success of the VIRGINIA ended with the arrival of the U.S.S. MONITOR. The success of the MONITOR changed naval architecture and tactics for navies around the world. George Amadon's book provides an excellent analysis of naval strategies of the time, these ships, and the great battle between them.