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Hampered by lack of materials, shipyards and experienced shipbuilders, even so the South managed to construct 34 iron-armored warships during the Civil War, of which the Confederate Navy put 25 into service. The stories of these vessels illustrate the hardships under which the Navy operated--and also its resourcefulness. Except for the Albemarle, no Confederate ironclad was sunk or destroyed by enemy action. Overtaken by events on the ground, most were destroyed by their own crews to prevent them from falling into Union hands.
This account covers the design and construction and the engagements of the Confederate ironclads and describes the ingenuity and courage, as well as the challenges and frustrations of their "too little, too late" service.
List of contents
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments deletev
Introduction: The Ironclad Program
I.¿The CSS Manassas, the First Ironclad
II.¿The CSS Virginia at Hampton Roads
III.¿The CSS Mississippi and CSS Louisiana at New Orleans
IV.¿A Volcano of Fire-the CSS Arkansas
V.¿The White Hall Ironclad
VI.¿The Cornfield Ironclad
VII.¿Disaster at Wilmington
VIII.¿The Blockade Is Broken
IX.¿The CSS Tennessee at Mobile Bay
X.¿The Ordeal of the Savannah Squadron
XI.¿Trent's Reach and the Destruction of the James River Ironclads
XII.¿An Ironclad at Shreveport
XIII.¿The CSS Jackson
XIV.¿The Last Ironclad, the CSS Stonewall
Some Final Thoughts
Appendix: Officers and Crew Assigned to the CSS Virginia,
CSS Arkansas, CSS Albemarle, CSS Neuse,
CSS North Carolina and CSS Raleigh
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Writer, editor and historian R. Thomas Campbell is a retired health systems consultant who lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania and Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Summary
Offers an account of the design, construction, and engagements of the Confederate Navy's ironclad warships. It is a perplexing story. On the one hand, it is the description of vision, ingenuity, and courage, coupled with grim perseverance and determination. On the other hand, it is tale of frustration, innumerable delays, and “too little too late”.
