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France's First Floating Iron Batteries
The batteries, floating gun stations that allowed for guns to be towed out to sea, had iron sides that could not be penetrated by weapons of that time. -
Southern Ironclad, Merrimac, Begins Construction
The Merrimac took 1,500 men to build in time and even then the construction was slow. -
The Union's First Ironclads Begin Construction
Congress had accepted the idea of ironclads as neccesary. They sent contracts to shipbuilders for the ships Galena and New Ironsides. -
Inland Ironclads Built
James Buchanan Eads was the original inland ironclad designer. The ships were of a flat, rectangular shape. The were like the Merrimac in shape. -
Fort Henry and Its Fall
Fort Henry was a garrison that protected the Southern route. the fort was captured without any help from General Ulysses S. Grant and his army. -
Fort Donelson and Its Fall
The fort, Donelson, was a much better situated fort than Fort Henry was. The Union fleet of ironclads was not capable of such a feat. The army was eventually left to take it all by itself. -
Island No. 10 and Its Fall
The Carondelet falanked the island to make a safe route for hte others to capture it. The Ironclads, without this flanking, would have had less of an advantage. -
The Monitor is Released
The grand ship, the Monitor, was one of the best ironclads the Union had built. It was a very large ship, meant for firepower, not so much speed. -
The Merrimac's Attack
The Southern ironclad, Merrimac, destroys the Union ships Congress and Cumberland. The Congress surrendered while the Cumberland was destroyed. -
The Duel of Iron
The Merrimac and Monitor finally face off in a long-range fight. The Monitor, being smaller could outmaneuver the thicker, slower Merrimac. -
The Merrimac's Defeat
The Merrimac is grounded. The ship is unable ot get out of a shallow water way and decide not to make a suicide effort of geting the Monitor, rather to sacrifice their own ship for the good of many. -
The Monitor and Galena Pair
The Monitor and Galena, now free of the blockade of the Southerners, decided to take out the Southern Capital. The Galena is left at the capital to fight the fort singlehandedly. The Galena is hopelessly outnumbered and is forced to die. -
New Orleans' Fall
The Manasas was a capable little rammer that the Union had made to fight the Southern army. The Navy was paired with the Army where thay took the city of New Orleans. -
The Arkansas, a Partly-Finished Ironclad
The Arkansas was a non-capable ironclad. The ship was not even remotely finished by the deadline for its completion. -
The Southerners and Their Rams
The Army and Navy made a joint effort to capture Fort Pillow. The Southerners had built rams to make sure that this was not accomplished.