"Iron Dawn: The Monitor, the Merrimack, and the ..." Topic

…Civil War Sea Battle that Changed History.

"From acclaimed popular historian Richard Snow, who "writes with verve and a keen eye" (The New York Times Book Review), the thrilling story of the naval battle that not only changed the Civil War but the future of all sea power.

No single sea battle has had more far-reaching consequences than the one fought in the harbor at Hampton Roads, Virginia, in March 1862. The Confederacy, with no fleet of its own, built an iron fort containing ten heavy guns on the hull of a captured Union frigate named the Merrimack. The North got word of the project when it was already well along, and, in desperation, commissioned an eccentric inventor named John Ericsson to build the Monitor, an entirely revolutionary iron warship—at the time, the single most complicated machine ever made. Abraham Lincoln himself was closely involved with the ship's design. Rushed through to completion in just 100 days, it mounted only two guns, but they were housed in a shot-proof revolving turret. The ship hurried south from Brooklyn (and nearly sank twice on the voyage), only to arrive to find the Merrimack had arrived blazing that morning, destroyed half the Union fleet, and would be back to finish the job the next day. When she returned, the Monitor was there. She fought the Merrimack to a standstill, and saved the Union cause. As soon as word of the battle spread, Great Britain—the foremost sea power of the day—ceased work on all wooden ships. A thousand-year-old tradition ended, and the path to the naval future opened.

Richly illustrated with photos, maps, and engravings, Iron Dawn is the irresistible story of these incredible, intimidating war machines. Historian Richard Snow brings to vivid life the tensions of the time, explaining how wooden and ironclad ships worked, maneuvered, battled, and sank. This full account of the Merrimack and Monitor has never been told in such immediate, compelling detail"
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Amicalement
Armand

Well if they can't get the name of the Ironclad CSS Virginia right in the title, why the hell would I want to spend money on this book?

Well said.

For a book scheduled for a November release.

I'm interested only if Mr. Snow has performed some new analysis or synthesis regarding the battle and it's impacts. What does this book add to our knowledge that was not already known?

There are many many naval subjects he could have elected to research, but apparently, the author would rather rehash an already well known and documented event.

css Virginia doesnt alliterate with Monitor.

Enough errors in the above blurb to make me skeptical.

What book(s) would you recommend, for the battle, and ironclads in general?

This looks like a great book on the true pre-dreadnought era. I'll have to pick it up.

Good point Murphy, sounds like someone ripped off a book report.

William C. Davis, "Duel Between the First Ironclads" is easily the best account of the battle and the background.

I second Davis…

+1 to Charlie. It's my go to reference on the battle.

Here is a general history on Civil War naval warfare.

Blue & Gray Navies: The Civil War Afloat, Spencer C. Tucker link

Poor old Gloire. Why does nobody remember her?

And with choice tidbits as this:

As soon as word of the battle spread, Great Britain—the foremost sea power of the day—ceased work on all wooden ships.

Huh? And I suppose Warrior, Black Price, etc. were chopped liver? And you're right, no respect for Gloire or Couronne.

Definitely a book NOT worth buying….

If the text of the book is as bad as the blurb, it's garbage, but I wouldn't make too much of the blurb or the title. Publishers often have more to do with these bits than the author, and they can be misleading, wrong, and just plain awful.

In any case I agree it's really hard to get excited about yet another book on the Monitor and Merrimack. The ironclad era was decades long and there were hundreds of ironclads built to dozens and dozens of designs. It would be nice to read about them.

- Ix

In an old issue of BBC History magazine about Iron clads it stated that one of the reasons the British did NOT help the South was after some testing it was found that US navy guns could penetrate British armor, but British guns could not penetrate American armor.

"As soon as word of the battle spread, Great Britain—the foremost sea power of the day—ceased work on all wooden ships." and "Duel Between the First Ironclads" ugh. Gloire and Warrior weren't even first generation French and British ironclads. What about the Aetma and Dévastation class ironclads from the Crimean war? link