Union River Ironclad 1861–65

Osprey New Vanguard #56

by Angus Konstam, Tony Bryan (Illustrator)

At the start of the American Civil War, neither side had warships on the Mississippi River, which was a vital strategic artery. In what would prove the vital naval campaign of the war, both sides fought for control of the river. While the Confederates relied on field fortifications and small gunboats, the Union built a series of revolutionary river ironclads. First commissioned in January 1862, these ironclads spent the next two years battling for control of the Mississippi, fighting in a string of decisive engagements that altered the entire course of the war. This book explains how these vessels worked, how they were constructed, how they were manned and how they were fought.

Genres: American Civil War, History, War, Civil War

48 pages, Paperback

First published August 14, 2002

About the author

Angus Konstam is a Scottish writer of popular history. Born in Aberdeen, Scotland and raised on the Orkney Islands, he has written more than a hundred books on maritime history, naval history, historical atlases, with a special focus on the history of piracy.

Reviews

[Jimmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting but very brief overview of Union ironclads in the Western Theater. It covers the design and construction of the ships pretty well but the section on the operations doesn't go into a lot of detail.

[Sean Chick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice little introduction to the design, use, and specifications of the Union's riverboat ironclads.