Confederate Ironclad
The Confederate Ironclad "Virginia" was a compelling read to say the least. The subject of this book is the origin of the Ironclad battleships in the Americas, specifically relating to the ships "Virginia" and the "Monitor" in the beginning of the U.S. Civil War. The book also is about, although much more subtly, how the South had the North extremely fearful of the South's capabilities for 2 months of this conflict. The author, Trexler, uses this book to focus on the "Virginia" and the circumstances regarding her invention, implementation, and destruction all in a relatively short time period. Prior to the civil war, all navies throughout the world were of a wooden variety. Ships had been built using wood for hundreds of years and this was common practice amongst shipyards. Beginning with the late 1830's however, both the French and the British, the long-time naval power of the world, began putting iron on the outsides of some of their warships. This was done without the immediate threat of battle, and thus these ships were never tested in actual combat situations so nobody really knew the effectiveness of them. In Virginia, in 1860, the Gosport Yard was the best shipyard the America's had built, and was home to a dry-do
While there were no specific reviews of this book that I found, his work is cited on numerous papers throughout the Internet, and even in several maritime museums, including the "Monitor" museum (the Union's ironclad). Welles are reasons why I often watch the history channel, because it never ceases to amaze me what people are able to devise given the circumstances around them. Commodore McCauley, in charge of the yard, ordered the destruction of everything. " You also have depictions of Lincoln and his men looking out the windows towards the Potomac River for the "Virginia," and even orders by Lincoln to have ships ready to dump stone and block off the Potomac even though it would have meant blocking Northern supply routes as well. The following day the "Monitor" arrived, and the two ironclads fought to a standoff, both receiving 20+ shells and neither one being penetrated. Information about the author of this book was extremely scarce and hard to come by, probably due to the fact that this book was published nearly 70 years ago and there are numerous books and journals to tell the Ironclads story today. Lincoln ordered the "Merrimack" readied and brought to Philadelphia, but this never occurred. With Virginia in constant deliberations over whether to secede or stay loyal to the Union, President Lincoln and his cabinet were forced to make a decision. On March 8, the "Virginia" set sail for the first time, and sailed just up the coast to the Newport News region, home to a Union stronghold, Sewell's Point. Trexler does a great job to show this fear, as is demonstrated by the crews of the "Illinois" and "Argo" and their refusal to even try to chase down the slower "Virginia. " The Confederate Ironclad "Virginia" was subsequently published years later, in 1938. The South was very lucky to attain Gosport Yard, as many cannons, guns, and ammunitions had been left behind in the hasty departure. Stephen Mallory, secretary of the Navy for the Confederacy, suggested that reconditioning the engines and covering her in iron plating would be a far cheaper endeavor, at a cost of $172,523.
Common topics in this essay:
Virginia Lincoln,
Civil War,
Gosport Yard,
Ironclad Virginia,
Navy Confederacy,
Mallory Welles,
South North,
Cumberland Congress,
Newport Virginia,
Illinois Argo,
civil war,
gosport yard,
confederate ironclad virginia,
cumberland congress,
struck fear,
president lincoln,
beginning civil,
trexler job,
ironclad virginia,
confederate ironclad,
beginning civil war,
|
Acceptance Essays
