"New to Naval Warfare" Topic

I have been a longtime admirer of the History of the Civil War. I however know little to nothing about Naval Warfare during the period besides the general information on the Monitor and Merrimack and Grant's push towards Fort Henry and Donelson. So what I wanted to ask, where could I get a good understanding of Naval battles during the time, and then what would be a good starting point for building an ACW era Naval Collection?

Ah, my friend, welcome to the Second Greatest Black Hole (TM) of gaming.

Jack Coombe (I think that's how he spells it) did a couple or three relatively inexpensive starter-type books on river and coastal actions. If I recall correctly, one was called "Gunfire Around The Gulf" or something like that.

For models, one could do much worse than 1:600 scale Thoroughbred Models. All of mine are TB. And I have quite a few. Bay Area Yards and Peter Pig have ships, but I like the stuff that Toby sells best.

It's very much a question of do you like river actions, coastal actions, or hunting down raiders? Which captures you imagination most? Start there.

Eric

Personally loved the book "Monitor: The Story of the Legendary Civil War Ironclad and The Man Whose Invention Changed the Course of History" by James T. De Kay. Wonderful insight to the thinking behind the newfangled ships, and a real sense of having engineers onboard trying to fix just one more thing as the ships steam into battle.

Always been a fan of Time-Life's "The Blockade: Runners and Raiders" (The Civil War Series, Vol. 3), but the TL genes are strong in my family.

It is a great period to play. You do not need a lot of ships to play. There are several rule sets out there, free and purchased. 1/600 is a good scale with lots of detail. Here is a nice site to give you information on the ships and people. link

There are a number of free ACW naval wargame rules here:

link

link

And I second Eric's recommendation for the Thoroughbred Models 1:600 scale ships. Although I don't own any, the ones that I have seen are magnificent. His e-store is here:

thoroughbredmodels.com

Jim

There is a comparatively small book called something like A Short History of Civil War at Sea or similar that recounts the major battles and some of the lesser known ones as well. If you do decide to jump into ironclad gaming, I, too, recommend Thoroughbred. They are a little more expensive, but well worth it.

I'd suggest purchasing the Monitor and Merrimack (aka CSS Virginia), since that is an epic duel, and they fought each other to a draw.

Here's a link to info on the Virginia, and the battle between her and the Monitor, as well as actions before and after their fight:

link

You can have a lot of fun with only a half a dozen boats.

You can have more fun with a full dozen. It all depends on what you want.

I use "Beer and Pretzel Ironclads" Rules by Buck Surdu. They threw out the Command and Control Rules to save money, according to Buck. I personally think it's so they could buy more Beer and Pretzels, but you'd have to ask him.

Eric

Most of my ships are from Thoroughbred but I do have a few from Bay Area Yards. Thoroughbred's are all metal while most of BAY's are resin hulls with metal superstructure. Can't go wrong with either and both offer ships that the other doesn't, but my preference is Thoroughbred. For starters I would suggest getting the Monitor and Virginia (Merrimac) plus a generic gunboat or two for each side.

I am currently reading "A History of the Confederate Navy" by Raimondo Luraghi. Flows really well and despite the name it does give some insight into the Union Navy and is chock full of details about the battles. Covers the river and coastal actions as well as the war at sea.

For someone new to the period a fun set of rules is "Hammerin' Iron" from Peter Pig. Easy to learn but definately a game and not an attempt at simulation, at least to me. "Smoke on the Water" is more in depth and a lot more involved. Fun, but tracking shots from a ship with huge broadsides like the New Ironsides can be a chore. I just ordered a set called "Sail and Steam Navies" from Bay Area Yards. Hasn't come in yet so I cannot comment but reviews seem to be positive.

Lastly you can join the Ironclads Yahoo group. Plenty of info and friendly folks there.

Paul

I agree that Thoroughbred miniatures are beautiful but wanted a smaller investment and gameing area so went with 1/1200. If you like smaller models or a smaller investment Stone Mountain Miniatures in Colorado offer some nice models for about 1/2 the price of Thoroughbred. For about 1/3 less than Thouroughbred you can get 1/1200 ironclads from Langton in the UK which are real gems.

Definitely join the Ironclads group on Yahoo.

You might also want to consider a boardgame. I dont know of any currently in print but for about $60 USD on eBay you can usually find Ironclads by Yaquinto, Iron and Oak by GMT or Ironclads by Excaliber games. Nice thing with these is you get lots of ships, history, and rules. The detail level in these is greater than I prefer however and I generally play with my miniatures and either Hammerin Iron or Beer and Pretzels Ironclads as rules.

Wikipedia is not the greatest source of information but I found it very helpful as a starting point for information. link

If you have the time I would also recommend a trip down to Columbus Georgia to visit the Civl War Naval Museum. It has a full size mockup of part of one of the Confederate Ironclads and the USS Hartford as well as some salvaged remains of two Ironclads. There is also lots of historical stuff about naval warfare in the Civil War and their museum store has lots of books to pick and choose from.

Al

Here's another vote for Thoroughbred models. They are more expensive than Bay Area Yards or Peter Pig, but you get what you pay for. They don't model every ship you might want, so search the other two manufacturers for them.

I also second the suggestion of Smoke on the Water rules. They are not an in-depth simulation, but offer an entertaining game for an evening. They are available as a free download here

rapiermedia.net/acwnaval

As for books, have a look at these;

Warships and Naval Battles of the Civil War by Gibbons. Full of colour pictures (not photographs!) of ships, and useful when it comes to painting your own. Some of Gibbon's interpretations have been criticised, but it's a good starting point. Secondhand copies are available.

Naval Warfare – Courage and Combat on the Water by Wideman. A small general history, but with wonderful and evocative pictures. This will make you want to get started gaming.

Mr Lincoln's Brown Water Navy by Joiner. If you fancy Mississippi riverine actions.

Iron Afloat by Still. The Story of the Confederate Armorclads.

Divided Waters by Musicant. Covers everything, provided that you want to go straight in at the deep end.

Much obliged everyone. I am looking into both the 1/600 and 1/1200 to see which one would best fit my needs now and for the next couple of years. I am also looking into rules and seeing which ones I both understand and like. Once again, I am thankful for all the helpful responses.