St. LoUs' Ships of Iron

5fish

Captain
Joined
Aug 26, 2007
Location
Central Florida
Here is a about the Union Brown water navy...

St. Louis' Ships of Iron


Many ironclad ships of the Union's brown fleet navy were built by James B. Eads ... Benton: Originally a U.S. snag-boat, she was altered and plated as an iron-clad. ...
www.usgennet.org/usa/mo/county/stlouis/1ironclads.htm - Cached

I think you will find it interesting...
 
That's an awesome link, 5fish. I've been to and through St. Louis dozens of times in my life but never knew much about the Civil War goings-on/preps there until I started reading, much less the USN traffic, and boat-building ops. I'm more familiar with the Cairo operations but far from expert. Thank you.


Leland
 
When you are looking at the different pictures of the river gunboats/ironclads. You notice the great diversity of boat designs the union was coming up with. It was obviously an era of innovation for boats and ships designs 19th century.
 
Another "Naval" Engineer

Col. Charles Ellet, a civilian engineer, at the direction of Secretary of War Stanton went on to re-engineer some coal steam barges near Pittsburgh, PA and made them into military rams. Ellet lead these rams against the Confederate brown water navy near Memphis, capturing that city for the Union.


WAR DEPARTMENT,
April 28, 1862.
Major-General HALLECK,
Pittsburg Landing:
The steam-rams constructed by Col. Charles Ellet at Pittsburgh and
Cincinnati are reported to be completed. The Mingo starts from Pitts-
burgh to-morrow noon; the Lioness in the evening; the Samson will start
Wednesday. Two others are at Cincinnati and one at New Albany.
They are under command of Colonel Ellet, specially assigned to that
duty. He will be subject to the orders of Commodore Foote, and will
join him immediately. Lieutenant-Colonel Ellet, now in Arkansas,
has been detailed to join his brother as second in command. I hope
this arrangement will be acceptable to you.
EDWIN M. STANTON.
 
Ellet's rams were unarmoured in a sense that they had no iron plating. They relied on steam power and the ramming techiques used since the days of the ancient Greeks. Darn if they weren't successful.
 
For enjoyably painful detail on the subject, read Ellet's Brigade, by Chester G. Hearn. Ellet was Army. Most of those who manned the boats under his command were Army. This snippet was the original "Wackiest Ships in the Army."

ole
 
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