Recommend a Good Book about Life on an Ironclad?

skb8721

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I want to read a book about everyday life on an ironclad -- by which I mean a river ironclad. What did the sailors eat, where did they sleep, what was battle like, etc. Even how often did they get to bathe or shower, how did the toilets work, etc. It'd be great if such a book described the inside of the vessels, too.

There are certainly plenty of books about ironclads, but most seem to deal with one particular ship or battle, or they deal with tactics or strategy, whereas, as I noted, I want to know mainly about everyday life on the vessels. (There are a number of diaries available, but they offer only one perspective at a time; I'm looking for something drawing on multiple sources and gives a good overview.)

Doing a little research on Amazon.com, I don't really see any books that overtly fit the above bill, except perhaps Gosnell's Guns on the Western Waters: The Story of River Gunboats in the Civil War .

Any suggestions?

Thanks!
 
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Thanks for pointing out this book: although it's not about western waters, it's still close to what I'm looking for, so I ordered it just now.
Glad to hear! There is a severe lack of books covering this crucial aspect of the war. I need to get more books on this also. Your post actually helped me because I might grab the book as well. Thanks!
 
I'd look at Myron J. (Jack) Smith, Jr.'s work, although he may be a little too in-depth if what you're looking for is an overview.

Give Barbara Brooks Tomblin's recent The Civil War on the Mississippi: Union Sailors, Gunboat Captains, and the Campaign to Control the River (University Press of Kentucky, 2016) a look-over and see if it's what you're searching for. (Even if it's not, it's a really good book...)

https://books.google.com/books?id=GkgxDAAAQBAJ&dq=barbara+brooks+tomblin&source=gbs_navlinks_s
 
And yet another topic that could be researched and written about. 150+ years later and we still are learning.
 
I'd look at Myron J. (Jack) Smith, Jr.'s work, although he may be a little too in-depth if what you're looking for is an overview.

Give Barbara Brooks Tomblin's recent The Civil War on the Mississippi: Union Sailors, Gunboat Captains, and the Campaign to Control the River (University Press of Kentucky, 2016) a look-over and see if it's what you're searching for. (Even if it's not, it's a really good book...)

https://books.google.com/books?id=GkgxDAAAQBAJ&dq=barbara+brooks+tomblin&source=gbs_navlinks_s
Hi Mark,

Thanks for your reply.
To which of Myron (Jack) Smith's book are you referring, please sir?

Thanks,
Chellers
 
Hi Mark,

Thanks for your reply.
To which of Myron (Jack) Smith's book are you referring, please sir?

Thanks,
Chellers

Well, all of them, really!

But in terms of day to day operations aboard gunboats, in particular I'd highlight these:

(Of those, the "Tinclads" one really stood out for me, because I don't believe there's ever been a book-length treatment of those little-heralded workhorses of the war before. But they're all terrific.)
 
Well, all of them, really!

But in terms of day to day operations aboard gunboats, in particular I'd highlight these:

(Of those, the "Tinclads" one really stood out for me, because I don't believe there's ever been a book-length treatment of those little-heralded workhorses of the war before. But they're all terrific.)
Thanks much, Mark, for your clarification and opinion on Smith's books.

I shall follow your suggestion and go with the "Tinclad" book, first. Sounds like a person can't go wrong with any of his books. Good to know.
 
As far as what it's like in battle, I suppose if you were to put a metal trash can on your head and pound it with a hammer would do it. That's what my dad said it was like in a sub during depth charging. ;-)))
 
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As far as what it like in battle, I suppose if you put a metal trash can on your head and pound it with a hammer would do it. That's what my dad said it was like in a sub during depth charging. ;-)))

Likely. Farragut visited aboard the ironclad Benton in the summer of 1862, and she dropped down to shell the upper Vicksburg batteries with him aboard. After a few shell hits on the Benton, Farragut is quoted as saying something like, "I'm going up on deck. I feel like I'm shut up in an iron pot and can't stand it."
 
Thanks much, Mark, for your clarification and opinion on Smith's books.

I shall follow your suggestion and go with the "Tinclad" book, first. Sounds like a person can't go wrong with any of his books. Good to know.

I wouldn't recommend making it my first reading about the Civil War on the western waters, though. It's rather in-depth. :wink:
 
A Year on a Monitor and the Destruction of Fort Sumter by Alvah Hunter and edited by Craig Symonds. Hunter was a boy who signed up and served aboard a monitor. Like all curious boys, he wandered around the ship and once detected a leak by the propellor shaft. He brought this to the attention of the captain (or someone in charge) and this allowed them to fix it so she would not flounder.
 
Last night I finished reading Guns on the Western Waters: The Story of River Gunboats in the Civil War by Gosnell, and it was terrific -- exactly what I'd been looking for. Some readers might dislike this, but Gosnell mainly writes mere introductions and conclusions to first-person eyewitness accounts, and lets those who were there tell their stories. Although there is less analysis and context doing it this way, I was pretty much looking for first-person eyewitness accounts. So I was very pleased with this book. Tonight I start on The Monitor Boys.
 
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