Ironclads During The Civil War Essay

The Discovery of Ironclad Ships during the American civil war

The origin of ironclad
Essentially, an ironclad was a water vessel that was being propelled by steam and it was fitted with plates of iron armor. The idea of using armor to construct an ironclad warship was invented some period back. For instance, a warship that belongs to the Vikings was lined with shields from inside. Numerous shipbuilders embraced the idea of encasing the ships with lead. For instance, in the sixteenth century the Korean built a ship that resembles a turtle. During that period, the idea was not utilized in the construction of warships, because it was considered as historical curiosities.
When the war erupted, the US navy soldiers did not have any ironclad warships because of their respect the US navy continued to remain faithful to the union. For them to overcome that limitation, the confederacy opted to build or buy ironclad in order to accumulated advantage for the naval forces. Immediately the union embarked on constructing their own ironclads. There were two

Some of the common ships were the CSS Manassas and the CSS Virginia. The Manassas was transformed from the old ice-breaking steamer known as the Enoch train. In the American history, Manassas was the first ironclad to participate in a war in 1861. The ship fought other union ships on their transit to the Orleans. Manassas caused massive destructions to a number of ships, unfortunately, it become obsolete and was sunk on 1862. Additionally, the Virginia was transformed from the old USS Merrimack at Norfolk, Virginia. The ship faced other war ships that were made from wood, causing a lot of damage to the other ships. The USS Cumberland and USS congress were sunken as a result. When USS monitor arrived, the two ironclad meet resulting in a draw fight. The Virginia was aground in the James River, because of its deep draft, to prevent it from the union it was