War Ships

As the war was advancing, the Union decided to use ships as a way to block exports and imports of products and materials to the Confederates. The Confederates already had a disadvantage to the war due to low resources and no navy, therefore, this blockade would affect their ability to receive any income. The original ships used by both sides were made out of wood and were visible when at sea.  Due to these ships being made out of wood, they were easily destroyed and usually sunk. With newer discoveries, however, men were able to engineer newer ships constructed out of iron. As stated by Sara Ann, “Not only were the ironsides odd-looking, but the ship floated very low in the water, just barely exposing the deck”(McGill ). These newer ships were also different than the original ships, in that they appeared to look slimmer and shaped more like triangles with a rounder top. This allowed the ship to sink lower in the water and thus became more difficult to see from land. In addition, using firearms or cannons to destroy the ships was also challenging as the iron proved to withstand the damage from the ammunition.  While camouflaging their location from their enemies and weathering opening fire proved to be advantageous for the ironclad ships, they also had their disadvantages. For example, the ships took a fairly long time to turn and had difficulty moving in shallow water at low tide. Overall, the ironclad ships changed the course of the war and allowed both sides to devise smarter plans, have less casualties and last longer in war.

                                                     Works Cited

 McGill, Sara Ann. “Monitor & Virginia.” Monitor & Virginia, Aug. 2017, pp. 1–2. EBSCOhost, proxy-remote.galib.uga.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ndh&AN=17926669&site=eds-live.

                                                      Appendix A

Waud, Alfred R. , Artist. Steam Sloop Pensacola brought to Washington under canvas from Pensacola, some time. Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2004661025/>.