Ironclads essays

Ironclads essays In 1861 the Merrimack was captured by the Confederates. They turned it into an ironclad by placing iron on it. To counter it the Union created its own ironclad. The Monitor was born. Here are some of the ways ironclads impacted the navel warfare in the Civil War. Ironclads were ships built in a new technological way. They were platted with iron. The iron was placed in a way so that cannon balls were deflected. These new ships made wooden ships inferior. Ironclads could destroy wood ships by ramming them of by shooting them. The wooden ships couldnt harm the ironclads because of the cannon balls would bounce off them. Ironclads could also attack forts and land forces. Ironclads were not effective fighting other ironclads. The Battle of the Ironclads between the Monitor and the Merrimack lasted around four hours. When they shot each other the cannon balls just bounced off. The Merrimack tried to ram the Monitor, but failed. At times they were so close the bumped into each other. They were two matched forces, it was a draw. Nothing could match the force of an ironclad. In May 1862 the Confederates scuttled and burned the Merrimack so that the Union could not capture it. The Monitor sank in a storm as it traveled from Hampton Roads, were the battle took place. Ironclads were never used again in the Civil War after that battle. The only thing that stopped them was a storm and a side that was afraid of their ironclad being captured. The ironclads led up to the warships of today. They are like the great grandparents of todays iron warships. This is how ironclads impacted navel warfare in the Civil War. ...