Product Description

The first seagoing ironclad was the USS Monitor, and its profile has made it one of the most easily recognised warships of all time. Following her inconclusive battle with the Confederate ironclad Virginia on March 9, 1862, the production of Union monitors was accelerated. By the end of the year a powerful squadron of monitor vessels protected the blockading squadrons off the Southern coastline, and were able to challenge Confederate control of her ports and estuaries. Further technological advancements were included in subsequent monitor designs, and by the end of the war the US Navy possessed a modern coastal fleet carrying the most powerful artillery afloat. This book covers the design, development and operational history of the Union’s Monitor fleet.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #360449 in Books
• Brand: Osprey Publishing
• Published on: 2002-01-25
• Released on: 2002-01-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 48 pages

From the Publisher
The unrivalled illustrated reference on fighting vehicles, transport and artillery through the ages. Each volume is illustrated throughout, making these books uniquely accessible to history enthusiasts of all ages.

About the Author
Angus Konstam is an experienced Osprey author with over 10 titles in print. He has long been associated with the sea, having served in the Royal Navy, practised underwater archaeology and curated a maritime mueseum. His understanding of the subject is based on years of study of maritime history, and intimate knowledge of the leading maritime museums on both sides of the Atlantic.

Customer Reviews

Civil War Naval Review Part 1
This fills in some of the gaps in my library on the American Civil War Navies, in particular, the Union Navy . This book does help with the background information that I was looking for. I would have like to see more technical drawings, with dimensions, for building models of these ships. Otherwise, a good book to read and work with.

A Needed Study on an Important Class of Warship
This book provides useful information on a subject that has been given little attention by writers: the technical characteristics of the Union's Civil War monitors. This title also covers three other Union non-monitor ironclads that saw service in the eastern theatre, the USS Keokuk, USS Galena, and USS New Ironsides. The illustrations are of good quality, conveying well the subtle differences between the monitor classes. The author demonstrates how "monitor fever" followed the USS Monitor's success at Hampton Roads, leading an over-emphasis on monitors that ignored their serious failings. With a low profile, thick turret armor, and the flexibility of rotating turrets, the monitors were superior to all Confederate ironclads they encountered, but fared less well against forts. And they were seriously unseaworthy, as demonstrated when USS Weehawken sank in only moderate seas in December, 1863.

This title gives some interesting technical details about guns and armor, but less background on the seaworthiness problem. There is little coverage of monitors in action, or the historic influence of monitors on warship design. There are some interesting points about details like the US Navy's preference for reliable, short-ranged smoothbores in monitors rather than longer-ranged, less reliable rifled guns. Like many books in this series, this title is limited by brevity and gives just enough to make you want more.