USS New Ironsides in the Civil War

by William H. Roberts

This is the first modern scholarly look at the little-known yet remarkable USS New Ironsides - America's first seagoing ironclad and the only one to see combat in the American Civil War. It describes the design, construction, and wartime career of the armored frigate, which included sixteen months of combat off Charleston, South Carolina, where she fired more shots than all of Rear Adm. John Dahlgren's monitors put together and caused the Confederates to offer $100,000 for her destruction.
Here, a former surface warfare commander chronicles New Ironsides's entire story, from inception as the Navy's insurance policy in 1861 through the straining urgency of construction and blockade service in the stormy early months of 1863 to the hard-fought engagements at Charleston Harbor and Fort Fisher.

Genres: Civil War

188 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1999

About the author

After retiring from the navy in 1994 as a surface warfare officer, William H. Roberts earned his Ph.D. in history at the Ohio State University in Columbus.

Reviews

[John Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

History of the New Ironsides, goes into some of the engineering details, which I enjoy. Also touched on the politics of naval construction. Good concise book on an underappreciated unique warship in the history of the United States Navy.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

USS New Ironsides is a fabulous book and is highly reccommended. Roberts covers all aspects of the career of this ironclad. His book answered many questions I had about the Navy's monitors in the Civil War and more importantly is a refreshing look at a ships history. Roberts explores the process from the Navy determining their need for an ocean going ireonclad to the final disposition of the ship. Roberts is a retired Surface Warfare Officer and brings with him academic credentials as a PhD which makes this book informative on many different levels. Again this is highly reccommended.