The Civil War on the Water

When people think of the Civil War they think about blue and gray uniforms, old-fashioned rifles, Gettysburg, or the six hundred twenty thousand men that lay on battlefields all across America.  But that last fact is not absolutely true.  Not all of the troops lay on battlefields.  Even though the infantry is the most noticed force in the Civil War, there were other men that deserve just as much, if not more, credit as them.  These men are the sailors who set up the blockade along the East Coast, maintained control of the Mississippi river over the course of the entire war, and manned the superior navy in the most consequential war that the continent has ever known.  If it weren’t for those noble mariners the war may have ended much later and with a winner that would not have led to the existence of the America that is the home to millions of people today.  It seems fitting that the men and their tools, ships such as the ironclads, be recognized.  A little background might be necessary though before the actual discussion about the navies of the Civil War commences.

Around the time of the Civil War naval powers in North America were primarily steamboats, which were first invented by John Fitch, despite the fact that he was overshadowed by another man, Robert Fulton, who was given the primary credit for the conception of the steamboat.  Fitch’s steamboat was slow and expensive in contrast to the faster, economically superior model created by Fulton.  The latter man is known better, mostly for his enhanced ability to commercialize the product, spreading his name faster than the inventor himself.  Ironically Fulton didn’t even make his fortune in steamboat manufacturing but in the production of submarines for the British and French navies.  But he did make some revolutionary design changes to the idea, at least one of which was the flanking of the engine and paddlewheels between two hulls to prevent enemy fire from reaching them, making them ideal for naval warfare.  It was not until the Civil War itself, however, that the navy converted almost completely to steam power.

In the years leading up to the Civil War navies were primarily populated with ships made of wood, although they soon transferred from sails to steam.  But thanks to the ingenious mind of John Ericsson, ships began to evolve into more effective machines of war.  To wonder what he could have done that made the classic wooden vessel for the seas change in such a way would not be a dumb or stupid question.  It would actually just be the first step in the direction of learning the answer, which is simply iron.  Again it would not be an unintelligent question to ask why this was so great.  The answer is actually extremely fascinating and, in fact, very extensive, going farther than is convenient to detail.  The basic information, however, is as follows: John Ericsson was the first to design a ship with iron armor, resulting in his revolutionary ships being dubbed the ironclads.  Ironclads bore several inches of armor, which provided quite a bit of fortification.  There were actually two ways to create an ironclad.  The first and more preferred way was to actually construct the hull out of iron, a method that ensured full protection from enemy fire.  This tended to be more reliable and allowed for thicker armoring for the entire ship.  Mostly these were used by the Union in the war.  The second method was to simply apply iron plating to the hull of a typical wooden steamboat, creating ships that became known as casemate ironclads.  These were less effective than real ironclads, sometimes containing oversights in the armoring, grating its enemy a distinct advantage.  Casemate ironclads were typically found in Confederate navies.  But with ironclads on both sides of the Civil War, it begs the question: how would a battle between two of these incredibly powerful warships end?

The answer came on March 8, 1862, at approximately 2:00 p.m., in the shape of a monstrous warship known as the CSS Virginia.  Although not many bring attention to it, this ship has a very exciting story apart from the battle that at the climax of its existence, so first the history of the ship should be imparted.  It was built in Boston and commissioned in 1856 as the USS Merrimack with the purpose of visiting ports in European waters such as those of England, France, and Portugal.  In 1857 the Merrimack was given new orders as the flagship of the Pacific Squadron, which was stationed off of the west coast of South America at that time.  When it had completed its mission there, it was taken to Virginia for repairs and then retired.  Or, at least that is what was planned to happen.  It was during that time that the first Confederate states seceded, throwing the country into chaos.  When the Union forces near the stationary Merrimack heard the news, they burned and sank the ship in hopes of keeping it out of enemy hands.  If their goal had been accomplished, things may have happened differently in the future, but, as it is, they did not succeed.  The Confederates managed to salvage the ravaged vessel and turn her into a casemate ironclad, re-commissioned the CSS Virginia.  By the time March 8, 1862, came around the craft had completed its conversion from a Union flagship to a Confederate monstrosity.  It was on the aforementioned date that the repurposed ironclad attacked two ships that were part of the Union’s blockade on the East Coast, ramming the first with its one thousand five hundred pound iron ram (although it lost the ram, its most powerful weapon during that engagement), and battering the second with cannon fire, while its victim was run aground, until it surrendered.  The next day, on March 9, the Virginia set its sights on the next ship it found, the USS Minnesota.  But when the Confederates began firing upon the ship, a small raft-like vessel maneuvered around from the other side of the ship and began to return fire.  It was the USS Monitor, one of John Ericsson’s greatest achievements during the Civil War.  The ship was ingenious, with roughly ninety-five percent of its iron-armored hull below the surface of the water and a revolving gun turret as one of the few parts of the ship above it.  Although these were not the first ironclads to see action, they were the first to battle another ironclad.  The ensuing battle lasted for several hours without either vessel gaining an advantage.  Out of desperation, the Virginia attempted to ram its opponent, even without it ram.  The effort failed, however, due to the superior maneuverability of the Monitor, which dodged easily.  The battle concluded when the captain of the Monitor, Lieutenant John L. Worden, was temporarily blinded by the explosion of a cannon shell from the Virginia, and the Union ship decided to retreat to shallow water for a brief time to treat the captain and to reorganize the chain of command.  The Confederate crew, assuming that its enemy was fleeing, having limited munitions left, and noticing the lowering of the tide, decided not to pursue and rather returned to the port of Norfolk, Virginia, allowing the battle to end in a draw.  The thing is, the Union could have chalked that battle up for a victory if they had done at least one of two things: 1) if they had used thirty pounds of gunpowder in the cannons, which would have given them enough power to penetrate the enemy’s hull, rather than the fifteen pounds actually used, and 2) if they had fired at the unarmored part of the Virginia’s hull, which had been under water until the ship’s weight decreased by five tons from firing its load of ammunition.  In fact, this battle became the greatest loss for the United States Navy until the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Nevertheless the encounter proved, despite the lack of efficiency in some areas, the power of the ironclad.

Even though many more died on land, the men that commanded the seas during the Civil War are worthy of just as much recognition.  And, although they sailed in ironclads, which were nearly impenetrable, they bore their share of casualties.  They were not invincible and the navy suffered casualties of two thousand one hundred twelve men, the second largest naval casualty count in United States history.  Although many men died due to the bloody Civil War, it was also a time of new ideas and inventions in the area of military armaments, especially sailing vessels.  With the innovations produced by the horrendous affair the United States made an enormous leap towards possessing superior armed forces.  The navy and its ironclads were, one, a deciding factor in the war and, two, a gift to the future of the American military.