I seem to remember it was during the Civil War that the first US ironclad warships came into the picture. I think the north's ship was the USS Monitor and the south also had one, and the two engaged in a futile battle because neither ship's cannonballs could penetrate the hulls of the other. What do you guys think about these warships' roles in the war?
The CSS Virginia/Merrimack was the other ship you're referring to. The Battle of Monitor and Merrimack proved that ironclad ships would completely own the old-style wooden ships, as the Merrimack was taking out Union ships left and right until the Monitor showed up and forced an inconclusive end to the battle. After the battle, everyone know that iron was the future of naval warfare. The HL Hunley (the submarine built by the confederacy), however, had as great (some might say greater) an impact on naval warfare, even though it's not as well known, today.
Ah, you jogged my memory. Thanks for the information! I always find it interesting when technology evolves more quickly than the people using it.
As I recall the first Ironclad ship was not American, but my memory fails me as to who built/owned her. But that ship, as I seem to recall, never saw combat. The Virginia/Monitor battle, inconclusive as it ended, did signify a REVOLUTION in naval design, just as the Battle of LEPANTO (1571) did.
