Civil War Ironclads: The U.S. Navy and Industrial Mobilization

Johns Hopkins Studies in the History of Technology

by William H. Roberts

Honorable Mention, Science and Technology category, John Lyman Book Awards, North American Society for Oceanic History Civil War Ironclads supplies the first comprehensive study of one of the most ambitious programs in the history of naval shipbuilding. In constructing its new fleet of ironclads, William H. Roberts explains, the U.S. Navy faced the enormous engineering challenges of a largely experimental technology. In addition, it had to manage a ship acquisition program of unprecedented size and complexity. To meet these challenges, the Navy established a "project office" that was virtually independent of the existing administrative system. The office spearheaded efforts to broaden the naval industrial base and develop a marine fleet of ironclads by granting shipbuilding contracts to inland firms. Under the intense pressure of a wartime economy, it learned to support its high-technology vessels while incorporating the lessons of combat. But neither the broadened industrial base nor the advanced management system survived the return of peace. Cost overruns, delays, and technical blunders discredited the embryonic project office, while capital starvation and never-ending design changes crippled or ruined almost every major builder of ironclads. When Navy contracts evaporated, so did the shipyards. Contrary to widespread belief, Roberts concludes, the ironclad program set Navy shipbuilding back a generation.

Genres: History, Civil War Navy

300 pages, Hardcover

First published March 6, 2002

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

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book, providing an acquisition-focused history of the Civil War monitors. The author, American historian William Roberts, offers an in-depth exploration of the development, contracting, construction, support, and disposal of the U. S. Navy’s monitor warships in the American Civil War. Roberts presents the monitors as the U.S. Navy’s first major procurement program of an advanced technology vessel by using the terms, structures, and processes of modern program management and acquisition frameworks. Roberts explains the factors which led to the program’s many failures, resulting in a case study on how not to run a major weapons procurement initiative in a time compressed environment. Comparisons are made with other large-scale historic acquisition efforts, such as the Polaris program and WWII aircraft production. Roberts argues that, despite the lack of a theoretical understanding of management as a science, the mistakes made by the individuals responsible for the program were generally preventable. This is in line with a main theme of the book: the universality of smart project management. A great book for anyone interested in the technological developments and managerial innovations of the Civil War. Highly recommended for any acquisition professional as a means of understanding the foundational elements of development, contracting, and construction.