Union Monitor 1861-65

by KONSTAM, ANGUSBRYAN, TONY

• ISBN13: 9781841763064
• ISBN10: 1841763063
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2002-01-25
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing

Summary

The first seagoing ironclad was the USS Monitor, and its profile has made it one of the most easily recognised warships of all time. Following her inconclusive battle with the Confederate ironclad Virginia on March 9, 1862, the production of Union monitors was accelerated. By the end of the year a powerful squadron of monitor vessels protected the blockading squadrons off the Southern coastline, and were able to challenge Confederate control of her ports and estuaries. Further technological advancements were included in subsequent monitor designs, and by the end of the war the US Navy possessed a modern coastal fleet carrying the most powerful artillery afloat. This book covers the design, development and operational history of the Union's Monitor fleet.

Author Biography

Angus Konstam is an experienced Osprey author with over 10 titles in print. He has long been associated with the sea, having served in the Royal Navy, practised underwater archaeology and curated a maritime mueseum. His understanding of the subject is based on years of study of maritime history, and intimate knowledge of the leading maritime museums on both sides of the Atlantic.

Table of Contents

Introduction	3	(1)
Monitor Design	4	(17)
Gideon Welles and the Navy Department
The first ironclad contracts
The Monitor and ``monitor fever''
Casemate ironclads
Passaic class
Canonicus class
USS Roanoke
Milwaukee class
Twin-turreted monitors
Ericsson's ocean-going monitors
The light-draft monitor fiasco
Monitor Construction Methods	21	(3)
Monitors in Operation	24	(16)
The role of the monitors
Crewing the monitors
Ordnance and gunnery
Monitors in action
Catalog of Ocean-Going Union Monitors	40	(3)
Bibliography	43	(1)
Color Plate Commentary	44	(4)
Index	48