Ironclad Board

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The Ironclad Board was an advisory board established by the Union in 1861 in response to the construction of the CSS Virginia by the Confederacy during the US Civil War. The primary goal of the Ironclad Board was to develop more battle-worthy "ironclad" ships, leading to the construction a number of innovative designs, including the USS Monitor. The board consisted of senior naval officers Commodore Joseph Smith, Commodore Hiram Paulding, Commander Charles H. Davis and Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus Fox. [1]

Contents

History

On August 7, 1861, the Union Navy advertised for proposals for "iron-clad steam vessels of war," of iron or of a combination of wood and iron, to draw from ten to sixteen feet of water. The next day, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles chose a "board" to look over the proposals he expected to get. The "Ironclad Board" consisted of Commodores Joseph Smith and Hiram Paulding, Commander Charles H. Davis, and Assistant Secretary of the Navy Gustavus Fox. [2]

Challenges

The Ironclad Board faced many challenges of its own since ironclad technology was still very new. The French and British had built effective ironclad ships, but European ironclads took a long time to construct and drew far too much water to be useful off the Southern coast. The Ironclad Board had to get rid of the proposals the Navy received to find a shallow-draft design that would be successful and could be built quickly.

Design Ideas

The board received seventeen proposals of different form, practicality, and degree of detail, ranging from William Norris's ninety-ton steam gunboat to Edward S. Renwick's 6,520-ton giant. The board recommended that Welles build three of the proposed ships. One of the designs it accepted, which became the USS Galena, was proposed by Cornelius S. Bushnell. The Galena had a traditional hull and broadside battery. Even with a conventional sailing rig, the proposal was bizarre, and the board required Bushnell to guarantee the ship's ability to float and its stability.

A second design, even more abnormal, was John Ericsson's single-turreted, low-freeboard vessel. Ericsson's design had the shallowest draft and shortest estimated construction time, but against it were its extremely low freeboard, turret-mounted guns, and total reliance on steam power. The board took a flyer on Ericsson, and quick construction was the most important thing in Welles's decision to build the Monitor.

Board members saw what the Union navy needed instantly—"vessels invulnerable to shot, of light draught of water"—but other factors clearly affected their deliberations. The board, therefore, took out insurance by choosing as its third vessel a fully rigged, high-freeboard ship with solid wrought-iron armor and a broadside battery.

The prevailing theme of the Union ironclad program was urgency, but urgency compounded by technological confusion. Increasing production of a proven design would have been difficult enough, without the handicap of having to design, test, and build it at the same time.

Design Flaws & Worries

The board also worried about the ability of the chosen designs to fight in the open ocean. The Navy expected the Confederates to use Virginia in Hampton Roads, but beyond that instant goal, their intentions seemed less clear. Steadily multiplying rumors had the Confederate ironclad ascending the Potomac River to attack Washington, while others feared she would instead put to sea to attack cities on the coast such as New York.

Related Research Articles

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USS Monitor was an ironclad warship built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War and completed in early 1862, the first such ship commissioned by the Navy. Monitor played a central role in the Battle of Hampton Roads on 9 March under the command of Lieutenant John L. Worden, where she fought the casemate ironclad CSS Virginia to a stalemate. The design of the ship was distinguished by its revolving turret, which was designed by American inventor Theodore Timby; it was quickly duplicated and established the monitor class and type of armored warship built for the American Navy over the next several decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Ericsson</span> United States engineer

John Ericsson was a Swedish-American inventor. He was active in England and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monitor (warship)</span> Small ironclad warship with large guns

A monitor is a relatively small warship that is neither fast nor strongly armored but carries disproportionately large guns. They were used by some navies from the 1860s, during the First World War and with limited use in the Second World War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Hampton Roads</span> 1862 naval battle in the American Civil War, the first between ironclads

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An ironclad is a steam-propelled warship protected by iron or steel armor plates, constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or incendiary shells. The first ironclad battleship, Gloire, was launched by the French Navy in November 1859 – narrowly pre-empting the British Royal Navy, though Britain built the first completely iron-hulled warships.

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HMS Captain was a major warship built for the Royal Navy as a semi-private venture, following a dispute between the designer and the Admiralty. With wrought-iron armour, steam propulsion, and the main battery mounted in rotating armoured turrets, the ship was, at first appearance, quite innovative and formidable. However, poor design and design changes resulted in a vessel that was overweight and ultimately unstable. In terms of seaworthiness she was reported as closely comparable to the higher freeboard turret-ship HMS Monarch, but her reduced freeboard added a sense of "sluggishness". The Captain capsized in heavy seas, only five months after being commissioned, with the loss of nearly 500 lives.

USS <i>Galena</i> (1862) American military ship

USS Galena was a wooden-hulled broadside ironclad built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. The ship was initially assigned to the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and supported Union forces during the Peninsula Campaign in 1862. She was damaged during the Battle of Drewry's Bluff because her armor was too thin to prevent Confederate shots from penetrating. Widely regarded as a failure, Galena was reconstructed without most of her armor in 1863 and transferred to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron in 1864. The ship participated in the Battle of Mobile Bay and the subsequent Siege of Fort Morgan in August. She was briefly transferred to the East Gulf Blockading Squadron in September before she was sent to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for repairs in November.

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USS <i>Puritan</i> (1864) American Ironclad monitors

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USS <i>Casco</i> (1864) Torpedo boat of the United States Navy

The first USS Casco was the first of a class of twenty 1,175-ton light-draft monitors built by Atlantic Works, Boston, Massachusetts for the Union Navy during the American Civil War.

USS Shiloh was a single-turreted, twin-screw monitor that was slated to enter service with the United States Navy. The contract for her construction was awarded on 24 June 1863 to George C. Bestor of Peoria, Illinois. Her keel was laid down later that year at the yard of Charles W. McCordat of St. Louis, Missouri. However, while Shiloh was still under construction, USS Chimo, one of the first of the Casco-class monitors to be launched, was found to be unseaworthy.

USS <i>Nausett</i> (1865)

USS Nausett, a single-turreted, twin-screw monitor, was built by Donald McKay, South Boston, MA, and launched on 26 April 1865, and commissioned on 10 August 1865, Acting Master Win. U. Grozier in command. Soon after her commissioning, she steamed to New York, NY, where she decommissioned on 24 August 1865, and was laid up at the New York Navy Yard.

USS <i>Chimo</i> (1864) Torpedo boat of the United States Navy

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USS <i>Squando</i> 1865 American warship

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casemate ironclad</span> American Civil War warship type

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornelius Scranton Bushnell</span>

Cornelius Scranton Bushnell was an American railroad executive and shipbuilder who was instrumental in developing ironclad ships for the Union Navy during the American Civil War.

<i>Casco</i>-class monitor American Civil War ironclad monitor class

The Casco-class monitor was a unique class of light draft monitor built on behalf of the United States Navy for the Mississippi theatre during the American Civil War. The largest and most ambitious ironclad program of the war, the project was dogged by delays caused by bureaucratic meddling. Twenty ships of the class were eventually built at great expense, but proved so unseaworthy when trialed that they were quickly sidelined, causing a public scandal.

USRC <i>Naugatuck</i> Revenue cutter of the United States

USRC Naugatuck was a twin-screw ironclad experimental steamer operated by the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service during the American Civil War. She served the U.S. Treasury Department as the USRC E.A. Stevens, a name she retained until sold in 1890. She was loaned to the Navy by the Treasury Department and thus mistakenly referred to in U.S. Navy dispatches during early 1862 as "USS Naugatuck".

References

  1. Snow, Richard. Iron dawn: the Monitor, the Merrimack and the sea battle that changed history. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Amberley, 2016.
  2. Snow, pg 118