Patrick Stakem

Riverine Ironclads, Submarines, and Aircraft Carriers of the American Civil War. Patrick Stakem

This book is an overview of the Civil War ironclads that changed Naval Warfare forever. It focuses mainly on those ships designed and deployed on inland rivers. The day of the wooden ship, even updated with steam engines to replace sails, was coming to an end. The heavier cannon was prevailing over sturdy oak timbers. Offense was surging ahead of defense. Even in the Revolutionary war, wooden ships fell to hot-shot, cannon balls heated to red heat in a furnace. Steam, iron, and firepower were the new parameters of naval warfare. Another topic is that of Union and Confederate submarines. The most popular sub was the CSS Hunley, which sank a Union warship, but never returned to base. In fact, the North and the South produced and deployed dozens of different submarine designs. In addition, the adaption of observation balloon's on floating platforms is covered, as well as the Navy's first hospital ship. There is a section at the end of this book showing where to see some of the surviving equipment.