Today, Brian posted an excellent and timely blog concerning General McClellan and what became known as the siege of Yorktown (1862).  Demonstrating McClellan’s wary nature, Brian presented you with an overview of the Confederate force he faced in 1862; a force, needless to say, that could have been quashed far earlier if McClellan had chosen to move the massive Army of the Potomac more effectively.  Alas, McClellan erred on the side of caution, drawing out the Peninsula Campaign until the Confederates could slip far from his grasp allowing him to advance toward Richmond at a disappointingly slow crawl.  However, the May 17^, 1862 issue of Harper’s Weekly was not so pessimistic.  On page 315 under the headline “General McClellan’s Army,” the “evacuation” of Confederates from Yorktown is lauded as a stellar Union victory.  Following the logic of Archer Jones in his essay “Military Means, Political Ends,” the Confederate loss of territory was ultimately what the author used to applaud McClellan’s early advances in the campaign, not the general’s tactics.  As Jones explains, “both governments…recognized the political significance of the gain and loss of territory because these provided a measure of military success and failure.”  Tactical victories could thus be overshadowed by the retreat of a military line.[i]

McClellan’s perceived success would not last long, however, as the Army of Northern Virginia commanded by General Lee escaped total destruction at the conclusion of the campaign to Lincoln’s displeasure.  In a letter written on October 13, 1862, Lincoln took a stab at McClellan’s notorious ego by asking “Are you not over-cautious when you assume that you can not do what the enemy is constantly doing?  Should you not claim to be at least his equal in powers, and act upon the claim?”[ii]

 

Please take a look at the article from Harper’s Weekly and compare for yourself the author’s account of the siege with Brian’s superb summary.  Always consider the source from which you gather information and never lay down your guard when evaluating media bias.  Nineteenth century journalism was not only slanted, but downright doused in partiality from both Union and Confederate sources.

 

General McClellan’s Army 

From the May 17^th, 1862 edition of Harper’s Weekly, p. 315

WE devote several pages this week to illustrations of our Army under General McClellan, which has just driven the rebels out of Yorktown…

Five companies of Massachusetts troops participated in a splendid little action which took place this morning. One company made a brilliant charge on a rebel redoubt, drove the rebels away, killed quite a number, and hemmed in fourteen, who were taken prisoners. The redoubt is situated in front of a piece of woods, and faces an open cornfield to the right of the Yorktown road. It was determined last evening to reduce the work and ascertain what fortifications were behind, beyond the woods. Early this morning three companies of the First Massachusetts Regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel Wells, and two. companies of the Eleventh, under Major Tripp, left camp and arrived on the ground just about daylight. Company A, Captain Wild, was deployed as skirmishers to the left across the field to prevent a flank movement of the enemy. Company I, Captain Rand, was held in reserve toward the right near a small ravine, while Company H, under Captain Carruth, advanced at double quick across the field and charged upon the work. Led by Lieutenant-Colonel Wells, they dashed ahead in the most gallant manner. As soon as they were seen crossing the open field, a distance of four or five hundred yards from the redoubt, the rebels opened a spirited fire from behind the parapet. In face of this fire the gallant little band of sixty advanced at a double quick with bayonets fixed. Their comrades were falling on the field around them; but not a man on our side fired a gun until those who charged the redoubt had arrived within a few yards of the ditch in front. Then they discharged a volley, and the rebels retreated. Although much exhausted by the run across the corn-field, our men jumped into the ditch and climbed over the parapet. Thus the work was successfully taken in a few minutes. Lieutenant Chandler and Lieutenant-Colonel Wells were among the first to reach the fort. Company H lost three men killed and thirteen wounded. No other casualties occurred on our side. Most of the killed and wounded fell within twenty yards of the ditch, which was six or seven feet deep and eight feet wide in front of the redoubt. Company A still held their position as skirmishers to the left, and subsequently Company I was ordered to advance to support those in front. In the meantime Company A, Eleventh Massachusetts, Captain Humphrey, came forward to the right at double quick and kept the rebels back, while Company G, Captain Allen, which had been placed to support a section of our artillery, also advanced, and with picks and shovels commenced destroying the redoubt. Our artillery did not fire a single shot. Presently the rebels opened with their artillery from their fortifications to the left. Our brave Massachusetts boys fired away into the woods, while some of their comrades were shoveling the earth from the parapet of the rebel fort into the ditch below. A little to the right of this work there was an opening through the woods and a clearing behind, where another rebel redoubt was situated. From this the rebels poured forth a continuous fire; but the skirmishers from the Eleventh regiment filed off to the right and left, covered by the woods, and thus escaped the effect of their fire. When the attack was made on our left the rebels were driven in confusion in every direction. Fourteen of them got on a small strip of ground behind which was a stream which they could not cross. Hence they were taken prisoners. One of them rushed out with a white haversack on his musket and begged our men not to shoot. Firing in that direction ceased for a moment. He said there were thirteen others who wanted to surrender. Soon they appeared and were taken prisoners. Fourteen rebels were captured altogether—one sergeant, one corporal, and a dozen privates. They all belonged to Company E, Nineteenth Virginia Regiment. They were a companyof sharp-shooters who were on duty in the fort. They said they were completely taken by surprise, and when we opened the attack there was great confusion among them; but they were soon supported by other troops on the right and left. Our soldiers acted in the most gallant manner, and were highly complimented by the Brigadier-General, who was on the ground. The object of the movement having been most successfully accomplished, our men retired from the field in perfect order.

Hey everybody, welcome back to the good ol’ blog! Today’s tidbit about me is: I’ve never been west of the Texas panhandle, but I long to explore the great expanses of mountain and sand that are the American West.

 

So in our last blog posting, I discussed the Battle of Drewry’s Bluff. Now, Drewry’s Bluff was part of the Peninsula Campaign, where the Union tried to take Richmond by landing a GIGANTIC army in Hampton and Newport News during the early months of 1862. By mid-spring of 1862, the Union army on the Peninsula had about 120,000 men against the available Confederate force of about 13,000! Balancing out this enormous advantage, however, was the Union army’s commander: General George McClellan. McClellan had trained and organized the army in northern Virginia during the winter seasons, and formed them into fine fighting shape. Whatever skills he had as a trainer and organizer, however, were completely negated by his “skill” (or lack thereof) as a military commander. Ironically, McClellan thought of himself as a modern-day Napoleon: in truth, he was more like the cowardly lion from the Wizard of Oz, except WAY more arrogant.

 

When McClellan took command of Union troops on the Peninsula, he took command of a large land army and a formidable naval force. However, he was criticized because the Battle of Hampton Roads in March had delayed the onset of his campaign for an entire month. Although he still possessed the USS Monitor and maintained control of the waterways around the Peninsula, he did not feel confident moving out. This was not the first time McClellan was scared to move: he had already received some criticism for not doing any campaigning at all with the Union army in northern Virginia after the battle of First Manassas/Bull Run. His excuse – that he was ‘outnumbered” – was not only false, but would become a recurring excuse for not moving out and engaging the Confederates.

 

After doing a whole lot of nothing in northern Virginia, McClellan decided to galvanize his forces on the Peninsula in early April 1862 and strike forward. He advanced steadily against the Confederates that he outnumbered 10-1, bravely ready to continue walking in their general direction… until he reached Yorktown. There, the Confederates had created a SMALL LINE OF DEFENSIVE POSITIONS!! How frightening! The 12-mile-long defensive line stretched from Yorktown out into the interior of the Peninsula. The Confederates on the Peninsula, lead by General Magruder, were again only 13,000 strong: this meant they had a whopping 1,000 men per mile of defenses. Once he encountered this terrifying obstacle, McClellan understandably brought his 120,000 men to a grinding halt so he could build defensive lines of his own.

 

How could this happen, you may ask yourself? Well, General Magruder was an ex-actor, and he decided that McClellan was fool enough to be tricked into a lengthy siege, which would delay the Union long enough to get reinforcements to Richmond so that the Confederates could have a chance at holding it. To fool McClellan, Magruder built lots of fake gun emplacements full of fake wooden cannons, and marched his tiny army around back and forth in front of McClellan’s forces, making it kind of look like he had more men and cannons than he really did. It completely fooled McClellan.

 

Now, granted, the Union army didn’t have anywhere NEAR the intelligence options available to it that we do today. But the Confederates knew approximately how many men the Union had: shouldn’t the Union be able to do the same? Even if Magruder had succeeded in making it look like he had three times as many men as he really did, that would amount to about… 39,000 men. McClellan would still outnumber him over 3-1. As for the Union, they had access to the first ever observation balloon during the Peninsula campaign. Since there weren’t nearly as many trees around back then as there are now, one would think that even if Magruder made it look like he had 39,000 men, the Observation balloon would be able to easily confirm that whatever the number, the Union still outnumbered the Confederates by a staggering amount. Whatever the assessment, McClellan ended up believing that he was outnumbered. Again. By a force that in reality was one tenth his size. As a result, he wasted an entire month putting the “defenses” of Yorktown to siege, refusing to engage the Confederates at all. The USS Monitor may have ensured the safety of the waterways, but McClellan made no attempt to use the navy to land forces behind the Confederates and trap them. By the time he was ready to attack, he found that the Confederates had abandoned their earthworks at Yorktown and withdrawn.

 

Well, that’s enough blog for today – tune in next time and I’ll focus on either the rest of McClellan’s sad tenure as Union commander during the Peninsula Campaign and beyond (likely), or on something else entirely (not as likely, but possible). Oh, and here’s an article covering the Peninsula Campaign (article HERE) in case this article has stirred your interest! See ya later!

The crew of the Monitor expanded by one, when, during the night of May 16, 1862, a young black man rowed to the Monitor from the north shore of the James River. Thinking him to be a Confederate boarder, the men standing watch fired a warning shot and sounded the alarm that a boarding party had been sighted.  Paymaster William Keeler recalled that “The first night after getting here I was upon the point of turning in when ‘boat ahoy,’ followed by a musket shot led me to conclude that something had turned up – the shout of ‘boarders’ from our worthy captain & valorous first Lieut. was followed by a stampede from all the State rooms for the deck.  I…found the vast array of ‘Monitors’ armed to the teeth drawn up confronting the enemy – a poor trembling contraband…”

Twenty-four year old Siah Carter, an escaped slave from Shirley Plantation, had reason to tremble. His master, Hill Carter of Shirley Plantation, had “called all his slaves together & told them that if any of them went on board of the yankee ships, the yankees would carry them out to sea, tie a piece of iron about their necks & throw them overboard,” William Keeler recalls Siah telling them. Yet Siah knew that the Monitor could be a route to a new life for him. So he called out to the crew that he was a black man, and no threat. Because of his knowledge of the area, he was taken aboard as a crew member—contraband of war—and rated as a cabin boy.

Remarks Friday May 16th 1862

 

Midnight to 4 AM

Wind S.E. & rainy     

                                                                                                            William Flye

 

 

4 to 8 A.M

Wind & weather same.  at 5.30 Galena made signal to get under weigh. 

Started at 6 A.M & anchored off City Point at 7.45 AM.  found the Gun boats

Aroostook & Port Royal & Naugatuck at anchor.  Several of our crew sick this

morning owing to river water & foul air in the ship                                                                                                                                                                           E. V. Gager

 

 

8 toMeridian

Wind N.E. & misty, lying off City Point                              

Louis Stodder

 

 

Meridian to 4 PM

Wind light from S.E. with light showers of rain                   

Geo. Frederickson

 

 

4 to 6 P.M

Light wind from S.E. & pleasant weather.  at 6: PM the Aroostook,  Port Royal & Naugatuck got  underweigh and went down the river                                                                                                                                                             William Flye

 

 

6 to 8 PM

Wind & weather same, armed the watch.  lights seen moving along shore

at City Point                                                                                                               

E. V. Gager

 

 

8 to Midnight

Cloudy & light wind from S.W. at 11. P.M saw a boat, hailing received no answer fired at and came along side and proved to contain contraband                                             

Louis Stodder

Hello readers!  This is a very exciting blog post for me because it is my first since the conclusion of final exams for the spring semester!  Now that I’m home from the good ole’ University of Virginia, I have even more time to spend sifting through databases and congressional catalogues to find fascinating photographs and documents to share with you!  I recently came across the following picture labeled “contraband” in a Library of Congress collection.  I found it intriguing that the title was not “slave” or “black soldier,” but upon some reflection and research the label is not only interesting but historically appropriate.

 

“Contraband” was used by the Union to refer to slaves who escaped from the Confederate states to Union lines.  As the term implies, such individuals were not deemed free or enslaved, but received a status unique to their controversial condition.  The title is documented as first entering the wartime scene in 1861 at our very own Fort Monroe.  Brig. Gen. Benjamin Butler bestowed the designation upon three slaves who escaped from a Confederate fortifications project via canoe.  After a Confederate soldier approached Butler to retrieve the slaves, the Brigadier General explained that since the CSA had used them to aid the Confederate military effort, their appropriate status should be contraband of war.  Coupled with the illegitimacy of the Fugitive Slave Law due to Virginia’s secession, Butler’s designation prevented the slaves from being returned to Confederate hands.  As Joseph T. Glatthaar explains in his essay “Black Glory,” “In one eventful day, Butler had, in effect, freed three slaves and then employed them to work for the Union army.”[i]

The title gained official status in 1861 with the passage of the First Confiscation Act.  Though this legislation is often overlooked in high school and collegiate classes, it represents an important first step toward emancipation which allowed for the inclusion of African Americans in the military affairs of the Civil War.  In his essay, Glatthaar further elucidates that throughout the war, roughly 180,000 slaves served the Union “gr[owing] cotton and foodstuffs and aided in all sorts of construction and logistical endeavors…caus[ing] shortages, hardships, and disillusionment among [Confederate] soldiers and civilians alike.”  Those who could not escape from the Confederacy also wreaked havoc on plantations “through work sabotage,” leading to further unrest in the minds of Confederate slave owners.[ii]

Glatthaar argues that the emancipation of slaves played a critical if not imperative role in Union victory.  Though I am always hesitant to point to one aspect of the war as the key to Union success, I will concede that the draining of labor from the Confederacy due to emancipation was crippling.  With the flight of slaves, Confederate leadership was forced to redistribute troops amongst different labor duties; an action that no doubt depleted the number of men fighting on the battlefield when the CSA already faced a daunting magnitude of Union soldiers.[iii]

If you take anything away from my post, I hope that you will always pause to consider the minute details that are often overlooked.  Sometimes considering the title of a photograph or the use of a term in a speech can lead to an enlightening discovery and a deeper understanding of a compelling topic.  As you have probably already realized, I am an intellectual historian that has been dropped onto the battlefields of the Civil War.  However, I recognize that it is crucial to never neglect the connection between military affairs and the political or cultural atmosphere of an era.  If you would like to read more on this topic, I would suggest perusing Glatthaar’s essay along with the other essays in Why the Confederacy Lost edited by Gabor S. Boritt.

Remarks Thursday May 15th/62

 

Midnight to 4. A.M

Wind & weather same  swung to ebb at 4. A.M.  Pickets called in at 4 A.M

                                                                                                            E.V. Gager

 

 

4 to 8 A.M

Wind N.E and raining, at 6 AM got under weigh stood up

the river.  the banks lined with riflemen firing at the vessels,

sighted the battery at 7. A.M. commenced the action at 7.15.  Channel

obstructed badly.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Louis Stodder

 

 

8 to Meridian

still engaged with the battery,  fire from the battery very heavy

the shots going through the Galena.  At 11 A.M the Galena hauled off

and steamed down the river.  got our anchor and prepared to follow 

whilst turning was struck on the turret by a 10 in solid shot denting the iron about

3 inches.  fired one canister, and 34. 5 sec  shells.  anchored at 11.45 A.M where

we started from                                  

Geo. Frederickson

 

 

Meridian to 4 P.M

Light wind from N.E. and thick rainy weather 

at 2 P.M the Aroostook & Port Royal got under weigh and proceeded down the river 

at 3 P.M. sent our surgeon on board the Galena.  At 3.30 got under weigh and

proceeded down the river in company with the Galena                                                                                                                                                                     William Flye

 

 

4 to 6 PM

Wind & weather same proceeding down the river.  was obliged to

keep below on account of Riflemen on the banks firing whenever a man showed himself  

E.V.Gager

 

 

6 to 8 PM

Wind NE & thick, steaming down the river, anchored at 7.15 9 miles above City Point                                                                                                                 

Louis Stodder

 

 

 

8 to Midnight

Wind from SE.to N.E. with drizzling rain     

Geo. Frederickson      

Howdy friends, and welcome to another posting on the good ol’ blog! Today’s tidbit about me is: during a visit to Dublin in May of 2008, I completely bypassed the 2-hour-long line for admission to the Guinness Brewery by registering online the night before at no extra cost! You should all do the same if the situation presents itself!

 

As the sesquicentennial of the Peninsula Campaign continues to unfold, historical events like the Battle of Drewry’s Bluff each get their turn in the limelight. What was the Battle of Drewry’s Bluff, you may ask? Well worry not, my friends, I am about to discuss it! Drewry’s Bluff was a naval battle between a Confederate fort on the James River and a small Union fleet of about 5 ships (including the Monitor!) that took place on May 15^th 1862. The battle is also known as the Battle of Fort Darling, since that was the name of the Confederate fort. The Union fleet tried to defeat the fort and bypass it, so that the Union navy could land troops as close to Richmond as possible, while the Confederates tried to stop all that from happening.

 

Before continuing, it is worth mentioning that the Virginia, being unable to retreat in the face of the Union’s advance during the Peninsula Campaign, was sadly scuttled by her own crew just six days before the battle so that the Union would not capture her. And where did her crew go afterwards, you may ask? Why, into fort Darling! One can only imagine their annoyance at seeing their old rival Monitor steaming up the James with another ironclad, the Galena, and three small wooden gunboats. The Galena, though an ironclad, was not of the same pattern as the Monitor, and looked a lot more like a conventional ship than the Monitor did. However, this difference carried some problems: the Galena did not have nearly as much armor as the Monitor. This would be a critical issue once the Union ships got within range of Fort Darling.

 

As the Union fleet, lead by the Galena, got within range of the fort at about 7:15 am, the fort’s three large guns opened fire. The Galena was hit hard, but stood her ground, and for the next four hours, traded shots with the fort. The Galena’s armor plating was only about two inches thick, so Confederate shells went right on through. The Monitor tried to take some of the pressure off of the Galena, but her turret would not allow the Monitor’s guns to elevate enough to hit the fort. Luckily, her armor was thick enough to deflect all the Confederate shots. The Galena was not so fortunate, and by the end of the battle her decks were described by a visitor as being “like a slaughterhouse.” (article HERE.) Having used all her ammunition, and having received a serious amount of damage, the Galena disengaged around 11:30 am, and the Union withdrew.

 

The Galena had lost 27 men in the fight, over half of them dead. These casualties comprised much of the gun crew, meaning most of her guns were now inoperable. Fort Darling, on the other hand, only lost 15 men, under half of them dead, and only one of its three guns was put out of action: the other two worked just fine. Also, there were six guns outside the fort in some trenches that had assisted Fort Darling during the engagement, and only one of them had been put out of action. This presented a huge problem for the Union. Since their wooden gunboats were weak and couldn’t really fight the fort at all, the Monitor couldn’t hit the fort with its guns, and the Galena had been crippled and was now out of ammo, the Union could not continue their advance up the James. They had to turn back and try to reach Richmond by some other route. Unfortunately for the Union, their forces on the Peninsula were lead by General McClellan, who was not a very good general. Perhaps we can talk about him next time! See ya later!

Remarks Wednesday May 14th 1862

 

Midnight to 4 A.M

Wind & weather same                                                                                   

Louis Stodder

 

 

4 to 8 A.M

At 4.45 got under weigh and proceeded up the river

in company with the fleet. Weather clear & pleasant

Geo. Frederickson

 

 

8 A.M to Meridian

first Part overcast, latter part rain with light airs from

the eastward, at 8.30 came to anchor in company with the fleet                                                                                                                                                       William Flye

 

 

Meridian to 4 P.M

Wind N.E. rainy, a party of the enemy came down under cover

of the bushes and fired on the Naugatuck with small arms.  fired from Howitzer

at them.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               E.V. Gager                 

 

 

4 to 6 P.M

Got under weigh and moved up the river and anchored along 

side of the flag ship.  Pickets out by the Aroostook as a party of the enemy

were seen on the banks.  Wind N.E & rainy                                                                          

Louis Stodder

 

 

6 to 8 P.M

Wind N.E. with drizzling rain. sent two men on shore as pickets                                                                                                                                          Geo. Frederickson

 

 

8 to Midnight

Wind N.E. with cloudy misty weather.  sent two men on shore

as pickets with orders to be relieved every two hours during the night.                                                                                                                                            William Flye

Remarks  Tuesday May 13/62

 

Midnight to 4. AM

Gentle breeze pure SW with clear and pleasant weather

                                                                                                            Geo. Frederickson

 

 

4 to 8 A.M

Wind and weather same.  at 4.30 called all hands up anchor

at 5.30 Heaving up James river in company with the fleet.  At 7.45 flag ship

made number 47 at 8 came to anchor

                                                                                                            William Flye

 

 

8 to Meridian

Light breeze from S.W. & pleasant weather.  planted buoys to cross

Harrisons bar.  9. AM with boats Northhampton and Curtis Peck passed by with exchanged prisoners.  9.30 got under weigh.  Gun boat Aroostock grounded on the bar and assisted off by Gun boatPort Royal.  came to anchor off City point at 11.30 when several white flags were flying  The enemy had set fire to the warehouses on the wharf where cotton and tobacco was stored

                                                                                                            E.V. Gager

 

 

Meridian to 4 P.M

Calm & pleasant.  Fleet lying at city point.  3.30 P.M got under

weigh and proceeded up the river.

                                                                                                            Louis Stoddar

 

 

4 to 6 P.M

Light breeze from S.W. proceeding up the river in company

                                                                                                            Geo. Frederickson

 

 

6 to 8 P.M

Wind and weather same.  steaming up James river in company with the fleet. 8 P.M fleet came to anchor in Devils reach.  Anchored in 3 fathoms 9 fathoms chain out

                                                                                                            William Flye

 

 

8 to Midnight

Calm & Cloudy.  swung to ebb at10 P.M

                                                                                                            E.V. Gager

As the Monitor steamed up the James River towards Richmond, she was following in the path of the original Jamestown colonists who had made their way up the James  255 years before that very week.  Off Jamestown Island, the Monitor‘s paymaster, William Keeler, reflected on this moment:

“About noon we arrived at Jamestown & found the Galena, Port Royal, & Aroostock lying at anchor.  Just abreast of them was the ruins of the old Jamestown Church around which cluster so many historic associations connected with the early settlement of the country.  About thirty feet of the tower is still standing & the foundation walls of the main building remain to shew its outline.  Joining it was a deserted rebel earth work bringing in strong contrast the deep toned piety of the early settlers & the perjured villany[sic] of their degenerate offspring.”

Remarks  Monday May 12th/62

 

Midnight to 4 A.M

Light airs from the westward & fine weather                                   

William Flye

 

 

4 to 8 A.M

Wind & weather same at 4.30 cast off from Sch and proceeded up James

river at 8 A.M off  Days point battery                                                                        

E.V Gager

 

 

8 toMeridian

Off days point battery.  At 8.30 passed two strs under flags of truce

was fired at from the battery on the pt but received no injury.  At 11.30 came to

anchor off Jamestown.  Found the Galena, Port Royal and Aroostook at anchor                                                                                                                             Louis Stodder

 

 

Meridian to 4 P.M

Baffling airs & pleasant weather.  At 1.30 P.M Flag ship made signal

get underweigh.  proceeded up the river in company with fleet:  At 4 PM off

Sandy pt.                                                                                                                    

Geo. Frederickson

 

 

4 to 6 P.M

First part calm latter part light airs from N.E. Steaming upJames river in company with our squadron                  

William Flye

 

 

6 to 8 P.M

Wind & weather same.  6.40 flag ship made number 50. 7 came to anchor                                                                                                                                       E.V. Gager

 

 

8 to Midnight

Light airs & pleasant                                                                          

Louis Stodder

Hey everyone, and welcome to the good ol’ blog! (yes, I will be saying that every time.) Today’s tidbit about me is: I fear both spiders and heights, but I’m curiously unafraid of flying! In the last blog post of mine, we discussed the race to build more ironclads. Today, lets us turn our attention away from shipbuilding and towards the enormous cannons that can shoot through those ironclads!

 

As the “ironclad” ship design cemented itself as the only prudent combat design among the powerful navies of the world, the issue of cannon armament arose. Since everyone was building ironclads, cannons capable of penetrating thick armor became essential. After all, if you can’t penetrate the armor of the enemy ship, what good are your cannons? And how useful is your navy?

 

The powerful nations of the world therefore turned their attention to inventors who could design cannons and cannon shells of sufficient power to penetrate even the armor of the most powerful ships of the day, like the HMS Warrior. The Warrior had around 4.5 inches of iron armor backed by around 18 inches of wood dampener, and when combined with its oceangoing capabilities, its top speed of 14.5 knots under steam power, and its staggeringly large compliment of heavy cannons, it was arguably the most powerful ship afloat. So when experiments in Washington DC with different cannon shells and the new Dahlgren rifled guns yielded shots that not only penetrated the Warrior’s armor, but went clean through the iron and wood and into the earthen bank behind the target, (article HERE,) attention was most certainly paid. Using a special modified powder charge, an advanced explosive shell and while firing at point blank range (50 yards), the Americans had virtually defeated the most powerful ship on earth.

 

The British were not idle while the Americans were hard at work developing the anti-armor capabilities of their guns. In possession of a breech-loading rifled cannon called an Armstrong gun, the British were able to create their own combination of powder load, projectile type, and gun caliber. The result was similar to the American achievement: the Armstrong gun, with modified ammunition, could also penetrate 4.5 inches of armor plating, just like the Dahlgren gun (article HERE!) However, like the Dahlgren gun, this achievement was only good for close range engagement. By adding an extra half inch of plate armor the Armstrong gun was made ineffective, and by moving the target further away from the Dahlgren, the same effect was had. Firepower was catching up to defensive power, but could not easily invalidate it at anything other than point blank range. Ironclads would not be made useless anytime soon, but at least it was possible to penetrate their armor, given the proper set of circumstances.

 

Tune in next time for a completely different, but still Civil-War-related, blog topic! Thanks for reading!