Iron Dawn: The Monitor, the Merrimack, and the Civil War Sea

Iron Dawn: The Monitor, the Merrimack, and the Civil War Sea Battle that Changed History

â€œAn utterly absorbing account of one of historyâ€™s most momentous battlesâ€ (Forbes) that not only changed the Civil War but the future of all sea powerâ€”from acclaimed popular historian Richard Snow, who â€œwrites with verve and a keen eyeâ€ (The New York Times Book Review).

No single sea battle has had more far-reaching consequences than the one fought in Hampton Roads, Virginia, in 1862. The Confederacy, with no fleet of its own, took a radical step to combat the Union blockade, building an iron fort containing ten heavy guns on the hull of a captured Union frigate named the Merrimack. The North got word of the project, and, in panicky desperation, commissioned an eccentric inventor named John Ericsson to build the Monitor, an entirely revolutionary iron warship. Rushed through to completion in just one hundred days, it mounted only two guns, but they were housed in a shot-proof revolving turret. The ship hurried south from Brooklyn, only to arrive to find the Merrimack had already sunk half the Union fleetâ€”and would be back to finish the job. When she returned, the Monitor was there. She fought the Merrimack to a standstill, and, many believe, saved the Union cause. As soon as word of the fight spread, Great Britainâ€”the foremost sea power of the dayâ€”ceased work on all wooden ships. A thousand-year-old tradition ended and the naval future opened.

Richly illustrated with photos, maps, and engravings, Iron Dawn â€œrenders all previous accounts of the encounter between the Monitor and the Merrimack as obsolete as wooden war shipsâ€ (The Dallas Morning News). Richard Snow brings to vivid life the tensions of the time in this â€œlively tale of science, war, and clashing personalitiesâ€ (The Wall Street Journal).
Country USA
Manufacturer Scribner
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2016-11-01
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Scribner
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2016-11-01
Format	Kindle eBook

Iron Dawn: The Monitor, the Merrimack, and the Civil War Sea Battle that Changed History

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