- Joined
- Mar 31, 2012
- Location
- Central Ohio
M E Wolf suggested that this might make a good thread.
Duplicate ship names often present a problem for the historian; there's a (perfectly natural) tendency to assume that the same name refers to the same vessel. The problem is especially acute in the Civil War era because of several factors:
#2 is particularly odd from a modern frame of reference, because we're not accustomed to the Army operating vessels, let alone enough to cause a major problem. But during the Civil War, the Army arguably operated more vessels than the Navy did, though these were transports and the like for the most part, many chartered from civilian owners.
To be continued...
Duplicate ship names often present a problem for the historian; there's a (perfectly natural) tendency to assume that the same name refers to the same vessel. The problem is especially acute in the Civil War era because of several factors:
1. The Union and the Confederacy did not avoid duplicating names of the other's navy;
2. The Union Army and the Union Navy did not avoid duplicating vessel names;
3. The Confederate Navy (and state navies) did not appear to obsess about the duplication of names;
4. Civilian vessels quite frequently had similar names, and the war saw a lot of civilian vessels taken into military service or chartered by the military.
2. The Union Army and the Union Navy did not avoid duplicating vessel names;
3. The Confederate Navy (and state navies) did not appear to obsess about the duplication of names;
4. Civilian vessels quite frequently had similar names, and the war saw a lot of civilian vessels taken into military service or chartered by the military.
#2 is particularly odd from a modern frame of reference, because we're not accustomed to the Army operating vessels, let alone enough to cause a major problem. But during the Civil War, the Army arguably operated more vessels than the Navy did, though these were transports and the like for the most part, many chartered from civilian owners.
To be continued...
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