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Iron Dawn: The Monitor, the Merrimack, and the Civil War Sea Battle that Changed History
From acclaimed popular historian Richard Snow, who “writes with verve and a keen eye” ( The New York Times Book Review ), the thrilling story of the naval battle that not only changed the Civil War but the future of all sea power.
No single sea battle has had more far-reaching consequences than the one fought in the harbor at Hampton Roads, Virginia, in March 1862. The Confederacy, with no fleet of its own, built 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 when it was already well along, and, in desperation, commissioned an eccentric inventor named John Ericsson to build the Monitor , an entirely revolutionary iron warship—at the time, the single most complicated machine ever made. Abraham Lincoln himself was closely involved with the ship’s design. Rushed through to completion in just 100 days, it mounted only two guns, but they were housed in a shot-proof revolving turret. The ship hurried south from Brooklyn (and nearly sank twice on the voyage), only to arrive to find the Merrimack had arrived blazing that morning, destroyed half the Union fleet, and would be back to finish the job the next day. When she returned, the Monitor was there. She fought the Merrimack to a standstill, and saved the Union cause. As soon as word of the battle spread, Great Britain—the foremost sea power of the day—ceased work on all wooden ships. A thousand-year-old tradition ended, and the path to the naval future opened.
Richly illustrated with photos, maps, and engravings, Iron Dawn is the irresistible story of these incredible, intimidating war machines. Historian Richard Snow brings to vivid life the tensions of the time, explaining how wooden and ironclad ships worked, maneuvered, battled, and sank. This full account of the Merrimack and Monitor has never been told in such immediate, compelling detail.
No single sea battle has had more far-reaching consequences than the one fought in the harbor at Hampton Roads, Virginia, in March 1862. The Confederacy, with no fleet of its own, built 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 when it was already well along, and, in desperation, commissioned an eccentric inventor named John Ericsson to build the Monitor , an entirely revolutionary iron warship—at the time, the single most complicated machine ever made. Abraham Lincoln himself was closely involved with the ship’s design. Rushed through to completion in just 100 days, it mounted only two guns, but they were housed in a shot-proof revolving turret. The ship hurried south from Brooklyn (and nearly sank twice on the voyage), only to arrive to find the Merrimack had arrived blazing that morning, destroyed half the Union fleet, and would be back to finish the job the next day. When she returned, the Monitor was there. She fought the Merrimack to a standstill, and saved the Union cause. As soon as word of the battle spread, Great Britain—the foremost sea power of the day—ceased work on all wooden ships. A thousand-year-old tradition ended, and the path to the naval future opened.
Richly illustrated with photos, maps, and engravings, Iron Dawn is the irresistible story of these incredible, intimidating war machines. Historian Richard Snow brings to vivid life the tensions of the time, explaining how wooden and ironclad ships worked, maneuvered, battled, and sank. This full account of the Merrimack and Monitor has never been told in such immediate, compelling detail.
395 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2016
39 people are currently reading
511 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 78 reviews
June 15, 2017
This book was informative (if you are interested in the navy aspect of the civil war) , but I think it expanded too much and a lot of the attention was taken from the main point which was supposed to be the battle between the two ironclads from both the South (The Virginia) and the North (The Monitor) . Basically the book only touches upon that battle in the last 70 pages and it's only briefly mentioned. All in all , interesting topic but not a book I would pick up again if I had the choice.
February 4, 2017
While I give this book 4 stars it will probably not appeal to anybody that isn't a history nerd (guilty). It's not simply about the famous battle between the Civil War's two famous ironclads but about the evolution of naval technology and the change of traditions that had endured for centuries. Most of the story is about the the evolution of two technologies and the final exclusive reliance of an existing third. The technologies were the use of iron in the construction of naval vessels and the abandonment of wood; the innovation of the revolving turret gun enclosure and finally the abandonment of wind (sail) propulsion in favor of steam engines. Sounds like a real page-turner doesn't it? LOL. Well for me it was. I find the evolution of technology to be interesting and they usually have interesting stories attached to them. In the last few months I read a historical fiction on the development of our national power grid and the fight between DC and AC current. Then I read a biography in which the evolution of the automobile and the airplane were prominently featured. What is even more interesting, and if somebody is aware of a book on the subject please recommend it to me, is that many of the conveniences we have in our homes owe their existence to the military or at least government research. Corningware was invented for the space program, refrigeration was developed for use on Navy ships, the injector razor owes its use to the Army in WWI, M&M candy was developed for the Army, etc. It would be fascinating to learn the origins of the various things we take for granted in our daily lives. So there is the basis for my interest in books like this. Of course I also enjoy the military and naval aspects of the story as well. Regarding the book, however, I think both the technical story and the naval story were very well researched and reported and what could have been an extremely boring story even for me was completely avoided. I was even more impressed by the author explaining how these two ships changed international naval thinking and put us in our first arms race. In fact, these two ships probably invented the notion of an arms race as in the 19th century their version of "The Bomb" or ICBMs was actually big ships, their navies. These two ironclads immediately made all wooden sail driven ships obsolete. The British immediately stopped construction on all wooden ships for their fleet. These two ships that didn't exist very long changed centuries old naval traditions overnight and started an explosion of military technology and development that we live with today.
March 3, 2021
One of the best books I have read about the battle of these iron clads and how these steam powered war machines were created.
May 1, 2017
I knew the basics about the Monitor and the Merrimack - that they were ironclad boats that fought in the Civil War - but that was it. The whole story is really interesting and improbable! That the first two ironclad boats would spring up at the same time from two different navies and both be ready for battle within 24 hours of each other is crazy.
The story of the battle itself was great, but I think my favorite part of the book was the story of the reaction around the world to the battle. In one weekend, every navy in the world became obsolete.
Very interesting book if you are a Civil War fan.
The story of the battle itself was great, but I think my favorite part of the book was the story of the reaction around the world to the battle. In one weekend, every navy in the world became obsolete.
Very interesting book if you are a Civil War fan.
December 3, 2020
The Battle of the Monitor and the Merrimack is arguably the best-known naval battle in American history. But why should a reader be interested in a book that is so narrowly focused? After all, it’s a battle we all learned about in school. My interest in learning more about the battle was piqued by having been born in Norfolk, VA, in a hospital located no more than three miles from the site of the confrontation. Attending schools in Norfolk, I probably heard more about this battle than the average student. Throughout my school years, we received a steady dose of Virginia history; this was especially true in Norfolk, where we were less than an hour drive from Virginia's Historic Triangle (Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg). So, when I came across this title on Goodreads, I wondered how much I really knew about the battle. After all, how much can they cover in school? As it turned out, there was a great deal that I did not know about the ships or the battle.
When the Civil War began, the Southern states had few naval resources compared to the North—a handful of shipyards and a small merchant marine. The Confederacy had naval officers—men who had resigned from the US Navy—but few sailors and no warships. President Lincoln declared a blockade of the Southern coasts in order to cut off Southern trade with the rest of the world and prevent the sale of cotton, the Confederacy's major crop. The Confederates needed a navy to break the Union blockade and to defend their port cities. The Confederacy’s Secretary of the Navy, Stephen Mallory, had to find ships.
The idea for these new ships began to evolve from the start of the war. When the Union opted to hold Fort Sumter in defiance of South Carolina’s demands that the U.S. Army abandon its facilities, the southerners built a floating battery on a raft protected by iron shielding that carried heavy guns—two 42-pounders and two 32-pounders. From that time, the South sought to create a steam-powered, casement-ironclad that would be nearly indestructible. They got to work on what was left of the USS Merrimack, a steam-powered frigate that had been partially destroyed when Union forces abandoned the Norfolk Navy Shipyard. It would be enclosed with a casemate covered with four-inch iron plating and armed with ten powerful guns. Recognizing the threat that the ship posed to the Union, President Abraham Lincoln sought to build their own ironclad.
Author Richard Snow, who was editor-in-chief of American Heritage for seventeen years, skillfully sets the scene for the events that resulted in the iconic clash between the Monitor and the Merrimack at Hampton Roads. Technically, the Merrimack was the hull upon which the ironclad warship CSS Virginia was constructed, but the ship will probably remain known as the Merrimack. Snow describes the steps in the development of the ship’s designs. Doubts abounded. To some, the Monitor appeared to be little more than a “cheesebox on a raft.”
“John Dahlgren spoke with no amusement at all when he first saw the ship afloat and thought it ‘a mere speck, a hat upon the water.’ but she was ‘the most complicated machine that had ever been built,’ a combination of steam and iron whose revolutionary design so confounded naval architects that many doubted she would even float.”
Richard Snow, Iron Dawn: The Monitor, the Merrimack, and the Civil War Sea Battle that Changed History
Snow cleverly tells the story of the two ironclads through the men who envisaged, engineered, financed, built, and sailed them on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line, leading toward a single confrontation that changed both the course of the Civil War and the future of naval ships. The human stories are what makes this such a compelling read. Included in the profiles are: the Confederate Naval Secretary Stephen Mallory and his Union counterpart, Gideon Welles; the Monitor’s pioneering designer, John Ericsson; John Dahlgren, “the father of American naval ordnance”; and the Merrimack’s co-architects, John Brooke and John L. Porter; and the skippers of the two ships Franklin Buchanan (Merrimack), and the Monitor’s John Worden. The following is a typical account, in this case a description of the US Navy's chief engineer, Benjamin Franklin Isherwood, who was one of John Ericsson's leading antagonists:
“Still in his thirties, the powerfully built Isherwood—his broad chest made him seem shorter than his five feet ten inches—had the reputation of being the "handsomest man in Washington," which probably didn't sweeten the opinion of those who also found him the most abrasive one. His supporters like to speak of his frankness, but this quality manifested itself in a straightforward rudeness that needlessly brought him many enemies. In part, his character had been formed by the difficult service to which he'd devoted most of his life. Being a naval engineer in the years before the Civil War meant that you were responsible for the fuming, dimly understood, deeply resented machinery that had begun to show up in warships only a generation earlier.”
Richard Snow, Iron Dawn: The Monitor, the Merrimack, and the Civil War Sea Battle that Changed History
That battle itself was inconclusive. When the Monitor appeared at Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862, the Merrimack had already sunk two wooden Union ships of five anchored there. It first rammed and sank the USS Cumberland and then used gunfire to set the USS Congress aflame. When the confrontation between the ironclads finally takes place, neither the Monitor’s two guns, nor the smaller guns on the Merrimack could inflict any significant damage on their armored opponent. In part, this was due to the Merrimack coming equipped with explosive shells for wooden ships rather than armor-piercing rounds. Not a single man was killed on either side, and neither the Monitor nor the Merrimack suffered very much damage. Despite the inconclusive result of the battle, the Monitor did preserve the Union blockade. However, neither ship survived more than a few months after the confrontation, although enthusiasm for the Monitor swept the North before its demise. The Confederates blew up the Merrimack rather than let it be captured by Union troops advancing into Virginia. The Monitor sank in a gale off of North Carolina’s barrier islands as it was being moved to a new post, but the author only briefly mentions the discovery and recovery of the Monitor’s turret and engine in the late 90s.
Snow provides the reader with an accessible, enjoyable, fast-paced account of an important period in American naval history.
When the Civil War began, the Southern states had few naval resources compared to the North—a handful of shipyards and a small merchant marine. The Confederacy had naval officers—men who had resigned from the US Navy—but few sailors and no warships. President Lincoln declared a blockade of the Southern coasts in order to cut off Southern trade with the rest of the world and prevent the sale of cotton, the Confederacy's major crop. The Confederates needed a navy to break the Union blockade and to defend their port cities. The Confederacy’s Secretary of the Navy, Stephen Mallory, had to find ships.
The idea for these new ships began to evolve from the start of the war. When the Union opted to hold Fort Sumter in defiance of South Carolina’s demands that the U.S. Army abandon its facilities, the southerners built a floating battery on a raft protected by iron shielding that carried heavy guns—two 42-pounders and two 32-pounders. From that time, the South sought to create a steam-powered, casement-ironclad that would be nearly indestructible. They got to work on what was left of the USS Merrimack, a steam-powered frigate that had been partially destroyed when Union forces abandoned the Norfolk Navy Shipyard. It would be enclosed with a casemate covered with four-inch iron plating and armed with ten powerful guns. Recognizing the threat that the ship posed to the Union, President Abraham Lincoln sought to build their own ironclad.
Author Richard Snow, who was editor-in-chief of American Heritage for seventeen years, skillfully sets the scene for the events that resulted in the iconic clash between the Monitor and the Merrimack at Hampton Roads. Technically, the Merrimack was the hull upon which the ironclad warship CSS Virginia was constructed, but the ship will probably remain known as the Merrimack. Snow describes the steps in the development of the ship’s designs. Doubts abounded. To some, the Monitor appeared to be little more than a “cheesebox on a raft.”
“John Dahlgren spoke with no amusement at all when he first saw the ship afloat and thought it ‘a mere speck, a hat upon the water.’ but she was ‘the most complicated machine that had ever been built,’ a combination of steam and iron whose revolutionary design so confounded naval architects that many doubted she would even float.”
Richard Snow, Iron Dawn: The Monitor, the Merrimack, and the Civil War Sea Battle that Changed History
Snow cleverly tells the story of the two ironclads through the men who envisaged, engineered, financed, built, and sailed them on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line, leading toward a single confrontation that changed both the course of the Civil War and the future of naval ships. The human stories are what makes this such a compelling read. Included in the profiles are: the Confederate Naval Secretary Stephen Mallory and his Union counterpart, Gideon Welles; the Monitor’s pioneering designer, John Ericsson; John Dahlgren, “the father of American naval ordnance”; and the Merrimack’s co-architects, John Brooke and John L. Porter; and the skippers of the two ships Franklin Buchanan (Merrimack), and the Monitor’s John Worden. The following is a typical account, in this case a description of the US Navy's chief engineer, Benjamin Franklin Isherwood, who was one of John Ericsson's leading antagonists:
“Still in his thirties, the powerfully built Isherwood—his broad chest made him seem shorter than his five feet ten inches—had the reputation of being the "handsomest man in Washington," which probably didn't sweeten the opinion of those who also found him the most abrasive one. His supporters like to speak of his frankness, but this quality manifested itself in a straightforward rudeness that needlessly brought him many enemies. In part, his character had been formed by the difficult service to which he'd devoted most of his life. Being a naval engineer in the years before the Civil War meant that you were responsible for the fuming, dimly understood, deeply resented machinery that had begun to show up in warships only a generation earlier.”
Richard Snow, Iron Dawn: The Monitor, the Merrimack, and the Civil War Sea Battle that Changed History
That battle itself was inconclusive. When the Monitor appeared at Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862, the Merrimack had already sunk two wooden Union ships of five anchored there. It first rammed and sank the USS Cumberland and then used gunfire to set the USS Congress aflame. When the confrontation between the ironclads finally takes place, neither the Monitor’s two guns, nor the smaller guns on the Merrimack could inflict any significant damage on their armored opponent. In part, this was due to the Merrimack coming equipped with explosive shells for wooden ships rather than armor-piercing rounds. Not a single man was killed on either side, and neither the Monitor nor the Merrimack suffered very much damage. Despite the inconclusive result of the battle, the Monitor did preserve the Union blockade. However, neither ship survived more than a few months after the confrontation, although enthusiasm for the Monitor swept the North before its demise. The Confederates blew up the Merrimack rather than let it be captured by Union troops advancing into Virginia. The Monitor sank in a gale off of North Carolina’s barrier islands as it was being moved to a new post, but the author only briefly mentions the discovery and recovery of the Monitor’s turret and engine in the late 90s.
Snow provides the reader with an accessible, enjoyable, fast-paced account of an important period in American naval history.
Want to read
March 3, 2021Personal note: I had a dream last night I was fighting a tremendous foe. I yelled at this enemy while raising a broad sword in my left hand "This is Iron Dawn!" (meaning the sword) and then yelled "I am Dawn!" In my right hand was a golden railway spike. LOL
Upon a morning Google This book came up. Guess I'm meant to read it?
Any dream interpreters out there, feel free to comment.
Upon a morning Google This book came up. Guess I'm meant to read it?
Any dream interpreters out there, feel free to comment.
February 24, 2024
This book, more than anything else, conveys the human element among the growing age of machines. The author does an awesome job of portraying the characters involved, from inventor and genius John Ericsson down to the men serving on the Monitor. I found the book to be highly engaging, but most of all the pictures at the chapter headings captivated my attention. I thought I had a thorough understanding of naval affairs during the war; then I read this book!!!
February 6, 2017
A good history of the Monitor and the Merrimack during the Civil War. The author gives a thorough history of each craft, its creators and crew. Maps were provided, along with several pages of pictures. All in all - a great book about a Civil War battle that doesn't get the attention that others do.
April 19, 2017
There were parts of this book that were great, and other parts that really dragged for me. This book seems to be a fan favorite of history readers, so I am probably in the minority on this one. I usually love the asides in a history book where the background of historical persons are discussed, but it did not work for me in this book. I felt that there were too many people, and too once a person was discussed, he often didn't come back for a while. While I enjoyed some of the buildup to the actual battle of the Merrimack vs. the Monitor, it went on for too long, and the detail was not interesting enough for me to keep me engaged.
With all of that said, I did learn a lot about the navies of both sides during the Civil War, and the the actual action at sea was fascinating. Good book, but for me at least, not great.
With all of that said, I did learn a lot about the navies of both sides during the Civil War, and the the actual action at sea was fascinating. Good book, but for me at least, not great.
March 26, 2017
A wonderfully well-written and informative narrative surrounding the Battle of Hampton Roads. Snow tells the biography of a remarkable group of men and the technically ingenious ships that revolutionized naval warfare. The tone of the book is popular, and it lacks notes, but it is still one of the better accounts of the Monitor and Merrimack/Virginia available, and undoubtedly the best account published recently. A good edition to any Civil War library.
January 20, 2018
Iron Dawn was a well-written account of the battle that changed Naval Warfare for years to come. The amount of detail he puts into showcasing the behind the scenes battles to get the Merrimack and the Monitor not only built, but out to sea. There was plenty of intrigue and behind the scenes maneuvering to keep the suspense going.
May 29, 2025
Long winded & just to much book
August 26, 2025
"Iron Dawn" drew me in with its beautiful cover art and promise to tell, what I believe, one of the most fascinating stories of American (or global) naval history. Yet, it kept me with some of the most fun characters and perspectives In fiction and non-fiction.
Snow does a magnificent job weaving together eye witness accounts, relevant information, and contemporary discoveries in a way that keeps the reader perfectly informed. As a result, when he teleports you into a cabinet meeting with president Lincoln you can say "These advisors should watch what they say, Lincoln actually knows about how to make a buoyant vessel". Snow's ability to make the reader feel like part of the discussion also allows them to feel how tangible the tension is when "The Merrimack may shell the white house by morning." This artful story-telling reminds the reader that there is always much more to any conflict than just one issue and the type of mechanical and technological advancement that marked this period in history is still producing sizable ripples today.
Snow does a magnificent job weaving together eye witness accounts, relevant information, and contemporary discoveries in a way that keeps the reader perfectly informed. As a result, when he teleports you into a cabinet meeting with president Lincoln you can say "These advisors should watch what they say, Lincoln actually knows about how to make a buoyant vessel". Snow's ability to make the reader feel like part of the discussion also allows them to feel how tangible the tension is when "The Merrimack may shell the white house by morning." This artful story-telling reminds the reader that there is always much more to any conflict than just one issue and the type of mechanical and technological advancement that marked this period in history is still producing sizable ripples today.
March 24, 2017
This is an excellent book on the battle between the two most famous ironclad ships of the Civil War. The Monitor and the Merrimack (which is actually the Virginia) took place on March 9, 1862 and changed the face of naval warfare forever.
The book is beautifully written in a style that all readers will find easy to read and understand. Snow provides substantial information on the background of the two ships, their design and construction, their crews and captains, and the relevant interactions with Union and Confederate leaders. The battles (the Merrimack's March 8th attacks on several Union wooden sailing war vessels, plus the March 9th battle versus the Monitor) are covered in detail based on ship's logs, diaries, and letters of the people involved. The aftermath and ultimate demise of both vessels is also covered.
My one slight grumble is that the author does not provide the detailed endnotes that usual accompany such works. The reader is left to guess at where direct quotes are sourced among the long bibliography included at the end of the book. This makes it difficult to researchers, but I suppose the elimination of distractions improves the readability of the book. And it is very readable. One of the better books I've read on the famous battle.
The book is beautifully written in a style that all readers will find easy to read and understand. Snow provides substantial information on the background of the two ships, their design and construction, their crews and captains, and the relevant interactions with Union and Confederate leaders. The battles (the Merrimack's March 8th attacks on several Union wooden sailing war vessels, plus the March 9th battle versus the Monitor) are covered in detail based on ship's logs, diaries, and letters of the people involved. The aftermath and ultimate demise of both vessels is also covered.
My one slight grumble is that the author does not provide the detailed endnotes that usual accompany such works. The reader is left to guess at where direct quotes are sourced among the long bibliography included at the end of the book. This makes it difficult to researchers, but I suppose the elimination of distractions improves the readability of the book. And it is very readable. One of the better books I've read on the famous battle.
June 9, 2017
Publisher: Amberley 2016
Language: English
ISBN-9781445663463
The crew of the USS Cumberland had never seen anything like the Merrimack. They had heard of it, but they didn't really associate it with a ship. Up until now they had been using words like Floating battery and on the 8th of March 1862 when Merrimack slowly steamed into Hampton Roads, looking for all the world like a floating barn roof with a single chimney, Cumberland's Quartermaster could find no word other than "That thing" to describe it. The nickname "The big thing" would stick.
Inside the ungainly, clunking, metallic monster, the Confederate crews waited silently by their guns, while in the louder parts of the ship the engineers strained their ears against the noise of their own machinery, blind in what many considered an iron coffin. Officers watched tensely as the "old time Frigate" with her skyscraping masts and high sides, still considered the cutting edge of maritime technology, crept into their sights.
The battle when it came was brutal. Merrimack's smaller but heavier battery tore through the old wooden walls as if they were paper, slaughtering the gun crews. While the broadsides of the conventional warships bounced off her armoured sides like India rubber. Hampered by the confines of the anchorage and the lack of wind, the giant old frigate was at the mercy of this godless, chugging, creation of modern war. Called everything from an infernal crocodile to a rhino, the Merrimack crawled slowly towards its target, blowing more holes in her her with every passing minute, then rammed her, and sent her to the bottom.
This was the beginning of the battle of Hampton Roads, which could have come right out of 20,000 leagues under the sea. Merrimack might as well have been Nautilus, with its iron hull and deadly ram, for the amount of terror she inspired, if only she could have submerged. But it didn't matter what she couldn't do, because what had just happened in this vital stretch of water, had made real the fears of all the politicians in Washington. Since the fall of Norfolk, they had shivered at the thought that the south had built a "floating battery" or else an iron ship, that single handedly could engage and sink multiple conventional ships twice her size. The implications of such a ship, let loose in a busy harbour or yard, would be like a 19th century pearl harbour, with the ironclad running amok amongst an entire fleet and sinking most of it. It just didn't bear thinking about, especially when the north depended on the navy to keep the south locked down under blockade. But the question was, could such a ship really be capable of such an action?
The answer was yes, but no one knew that until the sinking of the Cumberland, and it was a scary enough thought to ensure the north got building one as well. So on the second day of the battle, when Merrimack came steaming for the grounded USS Minnesota and a sinister, crocodilian form slid out from behind the bulk of helpless timber-ship, most confederates suspected it was "Ericson's iron battery".
Sinister by name sinister by nature the Monitor, with its black decks almost awash and it's revolving turret scanning for a target like a cyclops eye had one mission that day. After the news of the disaster of 8 March, she had been sent steaming down across the open ocean and though very nearly not making it into the calmer waters of the roads, she now fearlessly interposed herself between the two bigger ships, determined to save the Minnesota, and possibly the union.
Richard Snow has written a book worthy of a screenplay, the details are simply amazing. If this book was made (properly) into a war movie, it would garner the director and producer unending praise from the historical community. This book is about people and personalities, it's about politics and agendas, it's about science and engineering, it's about war and how it was changing. In short it's everything a work of narrative history should be.
A clear, straightforward account of the battle of Hampton Roads, excitingly told, but with the added padding of almost everything that occurred to bring the first fully ironclad steamers into battle, and what happened afterwards. The history is helped by the fact that it all occurred with almost novelistic timing, or at least it appears that way due to Snow's expert writing. The confederates build a potentially war winning ship by converting the hulk of a burnt out captured Union vessel, based on armoured floating batteries and ironclad steam/sail ships already in service in Europe. The union gets wind of it and also gets building. One is beleaguered by supplies, the other with red tape, but the race is on and both reach the finish line together, having almost taken on lives of their own. Then one goes on a wrecking spree amongst Union ships, prompting the US to send their new equivalent to stop it. Showing up the next day, a legendary duel of machines occurs.
All of this is told with the precision, accuracy and verve of the best storytellers. The tension and fear in the opening of the battle of Hampton Roads is palpable, and inspires such crisp imagery that it's darn near compulsive reading. First hand accounts put the reader right into the ship's themselves, and practical and technical details abound in ways that promote the flow of the narrative rather than slow it down.
There are some rather grand statements made, but none that are not merited, because although these ships were in fact greatly limited in terms of speed and blue water effectiveness, indeed their duel highlighted everything that was wrong with them as well as what was right. However the potential was staggering nonetheless. It appears here as if, certainly for the north, it was as much a giant real time practical test as it was an effort to check the Confederate menace.
The legacy of the duel at Hampton Roads is both the most well known naval action American Civil War but also, the applications of armoured steam warships, which as one of the many interesting image sections show, was not taken lightly by the Union. The age of Ironclads and Dreadnaught's had arrived with the gleam of an Iron Dawn. And this book shows how it happened.
Language: English
ISBN-9781445663463
The crew of the USS Cumberland had never seen anything like the Merrimack. They had heard of it, but they didn't really associate it with a ship. Up until now they had been using words like Floating battery and on the 8th of March 1862 when Merrimack slowly steamed into Hampton Roads, looking for all the world like a floating barn roof with a single chimney, Cumberland's Quartermaster could find no word other than "That thing" to describe it. The nickname "The big thing" would stick.
Inside the ungainly, clunking, metallic monster, the Confederate crews waited silently by their guns, while in the louder parts of the ship the engineers strained their ears against the noise of their own machinery, blind in what many considered an iron coffin. Officers watched tensely as the "old time Frigate" with her skyscraping masts and high sides, still considered the cutting edge of maritime technology, crept into their sights.
The battle when it came was brutal. Merrimack's smaller but heavier battery tore through the old wooden walls as if they were paper, slaughtering the gun crews. While the broadsides of the conventional warships bounced off her armoured sides like India rubber. Hampered by the confines of the anchorage and the lack of wind, the giant old frigate was at the mercy of this godless, chugging, creation of modern war. Called everything from an infernal crocodile to a rhino, the Merrimack crawled slowly towards its target, blowing more holes in her her with every passing minute, then rammed her, and sent her to the bottom.
This was the beginning of the battle of Hampton Roads, which could have come right out of 20,000 leagues under the sea. Merrimack might as well have been Nautilus, with its iron hull and deadly ram, for the amount of terror she inspired, if only she could have submerged. But it didn't matter what she couldn't do, because what had just happened in this vital stretch of water, had made real the fears of all the politicians in Washington. Since the fall of Norfolk, they had shivered at the thought that the south had built a "floating battery" or else an iron ship, that single handedly could engage and sink multiple conventional ships twice her size. The implications of such a ship, let loose in a busy harbour or yard, would be like a 19th century pearl harbour, with the ironclad running amok amongst an entire fleet and sinking most of it. It just didn't bear thinking about, especially when the north depended on the navy to keep the south locked down under blockade. But the question was, could such a ship really be capable of such an action?
The answer was yes, but no one knew that until the sinking of the Cumberland, and it was a scary enough thought to ensure the north got building one as well. So on the second day of the battle, when Merrimack came steaming for the grounded USS Minnesota and a sinister, crocodilian form slid out from behind the bulk of helpless timber-ship, most confederates suspected it was "Ericson's iron battery".
Sinister by name sinister by nature the Monitor, with its black decks almost awash and it's revolving turret scanning for a target like a cyclops eye had one mission that day. After the news of the disaster of 8 March, she had been sent steaming down across the open ocean and though very nearly not making it into the calmer waters of the roads, she now fearlessly interposed herself between the two bigger ships, determined to save the Minnesota, and possibly the union.
Richard Snow has written a book worthy of a screenplay, the details are simply amazing. If this book was made (properly) into a war movie, it would garner the director and producer unending praise from the historical community. This book is about people and personalities, it's about politics and agendas, it's about science and engineering, it's about war and how it was changing. In short it's everything a work of narrative history should be.
A clear, straightforward account of the battle of Hampton Roads, excitingly told, but with the added padding of almost everything that occurred to bring the first fully ironclad steamers into battle, and what happened afterwards. The history is helped by the fact that it all occurred with almost novelistic timing, or at least it appears that way due to Snow's expert writing. The confederates build a potentially war winning ship by converting the hulk of a burnt out captured Union vessel, based on armoured floating batteries and ironclad steam/sail ships already in service in Europe. The union gets wind of it and also gets building. One is beleaguered by supplies, the other with red tape, but the race is on and both reach the finish line together, having almost taken on lives of their own. Then one goes on a wrecking spree amongst Union ships, prompting the US to send their new equivalent to stop it. Showing up the next day, a legendary duel of machines occurs.
All of this is told with the precision, accuracy and verve of the best storytellers. The tension and fear in the opening of the battle of Hampton Roads is palpable, and inspires such crisp imagery that it's darn near compulsive reading. First hand accounts put the reader right into the ship's themselves, and practical and technical details abound in ways that promote the flow of the narrative rather than slow it down.
There are some rather grand statements made, but none that are not merited, because although these ships were in fact greatly limited in terms of speed and blue water effectiveness, indeed their duel highlighted everything that was wrong with them as well as what was right. However the potential was staggering nonetheless. It appears here as if, certainly for the north, it was as much a giant real time practical test as it was an effort to check the Confederate menace.
The legacy of the duel at Hampton Roads is both the most well known naval action American Civil War but also, the applications of armoured steam warships, which as one of the many interesting image sections show, was not taken lightly by the Union. The age of Ironclads and Dreadnaught's had arrived with the gleam of an Iron Dawn. And this book shows how it happened.
January 11, 2017
What a wonderfully readable and informative book. Many historical writings fall prey to the curse of being boring, but Richard Snow presents this important piece of the Civil War with skill and scholarship. He's right up there with Nathaniel Philbrick in terms of talent. I highly recommend this book to students of American history, not just for the military and technological aspects, but the biographical details as well.
September 1, 2021
Very well written. The kind of book that gets people hooked on good history writing. I split this between hardback and audio and so got a cherry on top: Grover Gardner’s unparalleled narration!
June 16, 2021
The Battle that is the centerpiece of this book is all too brief. This is not necessarily a bad thing as the battle is a lot of each ship knocking each other about with no results. Snow's book here tries to focus on the impact this small moment would have on the navies of the world. A telling story Snow relays to us is that the Admiral in charge of the British fleet after the battle states that the British navy needs iron ships. When he is asked what to do with the 4 or 5 wooden ones being built at that moment he replies to stop, that they were useless. The British followed his advice. This is the essence of the story Snow is trying to tell from the conception of iron ships, to the creation of the ships, to the battle itself and the impact afterwards.
Iron plating for ships had always been a thought for naval powers of the world. The ability to create them had not been widely available. In the Southern Confederacy the concept to built the ships was widely discussed. The ability to make them was severely restricted due to the south's lagging industrial capacity. Even to build the few they would put a severe strain on southern industry. The ships they did build were more due to an incredible resourcefulness on those in charge of building it. It explains why their ironclad, the Merrimack (or the C.S.S. Virginia) was a wood ship that was covered with iron, not much different from that conceived for a thousand years. In a sense very symbolic of the south, a society based on tradition and the old ways.
The Monitor was a technological marvel. As Snow points out there were an incredible amount of patentable devices and concepts on the little ship. The problem for the inventor, John Erickkson, was that it was built so fast they never had time to patent them. The Monitor was the first iron ship. It was small in comparison to its counterpart and out gunned by numbers. Yet its guns were better, able to rotate, the ship had a shallower draft, something many did not think an iron ship could have, and many other little aspects which Snow explains that made the Monitor a revolution in innovation. This ship was the result of the industrial and scientific revolutions occurring at this time.
The book is really a look at how the ships were developed, built, impacted warfare and then ship building for the future. The battle is the centerpiece of the book but it is not the real story here. The story is the creative genius and the change that it brought.
Iron plating for ships had always been a thought for naval powers of the world. The ability to create them had not been widely available. In the Southern Confederacy the concept to built the ships was widely discussed. The ability to make them was severely restricted due to the south's lagging industrial capacity. Even to build the few they would put a severe strain on southern industry. The ships they did build were more due to an incredible resourcefulness on those in charge of building it. It explains why their ironclad, the Merrimack (or the C.S.S. Virginia) was a wood ship that was covered with iron, not much different from that conceived for a thousand years. In a sense very symbolic of the south, a society based on tradition and the old ways.
The Monitor was a technological marvel. As Snow points out there were an incredible amount of patentable devices and concepts on the little ship. The problem for the inventor, John Erickkson, was that it was built so fast they never had time to patent them. The Monitor was the first iron ship. It was small in comparison to its counterpart and out gunned by numbers. Yet its guns were better, able to rotate, the ship had a shallower draft, something many did not think an iron ship could have, and many other little aspects which Snow explains that made the Monitor a revolution in innovation. This ship was the result of the industrial and scientific revolutions occurring at this time.
The book is really a look at how the ships were developed, built, impacted warfare and then ship building for the future. The battle is the centerpiece of the book but it is not the real story here. The story is the creative genius and the change that it brought.
August 8, 2017
This is a wonderful history focussed on a singular event - the battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac. Snow takes us through the preceding events such as Ft. Sumter, the abandonment of Norfolk. He lays out the engineering and the R&D that went into the development of iron clads - such as steam propulsion, cannon science and metallurgical improvements. There was a host of historical events and personalities both impeding iron clad emergence and promoting it (the disastrous cannon accident aboard the USS Princeton a case in point). Snow presents both sides - Union and Confederate and the interplay of ideas and incentives that engaged both navies. He has a particular talent for bringing to life the people involved, from the respective Presidents (Lincoln and Davis) to Secretaries of Navy (Gideon Welles in the north and Stephen Mallory in the south) to the engineers and officials intimately involved in the ideas, testing and realization of iron clads, to the ships' officers, crew members and ranging far afield to the influences the battle had on Great Britain and France. In the immediate aftermath, Great Britain canceled its entire wooden ship construction schedule, including ships already being built. The battle was truly monumental in effect. Snow has an understated sense of humor that crops up in his narratives of the various personalities - (Robert Isherwood, Chief Engineer of the US Navy, had the reputation of being "handsomest man in Washington" - and also the most abrasive...) Snow has produced one of the most readable, engaging and enjoyable histories that is replete with detailed information, personal accounts, related events and precedent history, science and technological advances. It is a pure pleasure to read and seriously hard to put down!
July 28, 2017
Very well written.
I had a sense for the importance of the duel between the Monitor and the Merrimack, and some sense for Ericsson's innovation, but this book does a great job providing a more full story. Snow provides greater understanding of key figures such as Welles, Mallory, Buchanan, Ericsson, John Worden. I had heard of the key role of Dahlgren in naval artillery and was familiar with the Brookes rifle, but this book explained the development of these weapons and how they reshaped naval warfare. There is a good explanation of the innovative features of the Monitor - but also the design challenges, flaws, and navy yard improvisation that almost led to her sinking. There is also a good explanation of the creation of the CSS Virginia (nee Merrimack) - it wasn't just as simple as placing armored plates on her.
This book also provides insights into the burning (twice) of the Gosport Navy Yard, the ambiguity around the spelling of the Merrimack's name, and the reason why the Confederates ultimately scuttled the Merrimack.
An all round excellent book that not only tells the tale of the Monitor v. Merrimack, but also ties together the key individuals and technological innovation that led to this watershed moment in naval history.
I had a sense for the importance of the duel between the Monitor and the Merrimack, and some sense for Ericsson's innovation, but this book does a great job providing a more full story. Snow provides greater understanding of key figures such as Welles, Mallory, Buchanan, Ericsson, John Worden. I had heard of the key role of Dahlgren in naval artillery and was familiar with the Brookes rifle, but this book explained the development of these weapons and how they reshaped naval warfare. There is a good explanation of the innovative features of the Monitor - but also the design challenges, flaws, and navy yard improvisation that almost led to her sinking. There is also a good explanation of the creation of the CSS Virginia (nee Merrimack) - it wasn't just as simple as placing armored plates on her.
This book also provides insights into the burning (twice) of the Gosport Navy Yard, the ambiguity around the spelling of the Merrimack's name, and the reason why the Confederates ultimately scuttled the Merrimack.
An all round excellent book that not only tells the tale of the Monitor v. Merrimack, but also ties together the key individuals and technological innovation that led to this watershed moment in naval history.
March 6, 2025
In my experience, books about historical events come in two general forms. The first being a detailed description of all the actors present (the emotional state and choices made by all, or several, members of a crew over the course of a three day battle. Per se). The second covers the main event in broader strokes, but is preceded by the historical context that led to the event and followed by a detailing of the effects of the event.
This book is the latter.
What felt, initially, as a long winded introduction which had me impatient to "get to the boats" ended up a wonderfully engaging detailing of the lives of the men responsible for their creation. John Ericsson alone is worth an entire biography (and yes, I will be looking one up after this).
We even get to hate on George McClellan a bit, which is always fun.
I learned things about both boats I didn't know before, the battle (both their initial confrontation and the lingering conflict thereafter) were covered in sufficient detail and the conclusion gave appreciated insight into the influence the boats, especially the Monitor, had on the future development of navies around the world.
This book is the latter.
What felt, initially, as a long winded introduction which had me impatient to "get to the boats" ended up a wonderfully engaging detailing of the lives of the men responsible for their creation. John Ericsson alone is worth an entire biography (and yes, I will be looking one up after this).
We even get to hate on George McClellan a bit, which is always fun.
I learned things about both boats I didn't know before, the battle (both their initial confrontation and the lingering conflict thereafter) were covered in sufficient detail and the conclusion gave appreciated insight into the influence the boats, especially the Monitor, had on the future development of navies around the world.
October 11, 2017
As is oft said the battle in Hampton Roads, VA between the Merrimac (CSS Virginia) and the USS Monitor spelled the end of the era when iron men sailed wooden ships. While strategically the March 9, 1862 duel between the world´s first ironclad fighting ships was a draw, Swedish-born engineer John Ericsson´s Monitor forever changed naval architecture.
For anyone interested by Civil War history Richard Snow´s narrative is a fascinating peek into the thoughts and attitudes, through generous quotations of diaries and letters, of combatants on both sides. Of special note are the extended quotations from the gossipy yet detailed letters from Monitor Paymaster William F. Keeler of Illinois to his wife, Anna. For all its faults, Keeler writes, the sailors of the Monitor were unanimously loyal to their ¨cheese box on a raft.¨
Now boys, let us cheer
The men that don't know fear,
That worked that little battery
So handy, O!
They deserve well of us all,
Let us pray that none may fall,
May they live long to sing,
Yankee Doodle Dandy, O!
For anyone interested by Civil War history Richard Snow´s narrative is a fascinating peek into the thoughts and attitudes, through generous quotations of diaries and letters, of combatants on both sides. Of special note are the extended quotations from the gossipy yet detailed letters from Monitor Paymaster William F. Keeler of Illinois to his wife, Anna. For all its faults, Keeler writes, the sailors of the Monitor were unanimously loyal to their ¨cheese box on a raft.¨
Now boys, let us cheer
The men that don't know fear,
That worked that little battery
So handy, O!
They deserve well of us all,
Let us pray that none may fall,
May they live long to sing,
Yankee Doodle Dandy, O!
February 7, 2018
The author, a respected historian with a strong interest in naval history, has loved the story of the Monitor and the Merrimack since he was a child and has taken advantage of some remarkable preserved contemporary descriptions of this unusual "sea" battle near Newport News. What makes it come alive are the detailed descriptions of the construction of each ship, the wild political, military, and social issues that surrounded them (it explains how the "Merrimack," named after a Yankee river became a Confederate ship), and the peculiarities of battling with these two "firsts." By steps, Snow takes you through each element that led up to the engagement, how the Monitor came close to being a "no show," and what would have been at stake if it had failed in its mission. I didn't expect to find it nearly as exciting to read as it was. My hat is off to a fine writer who combined his talents to fulfill a boyhood dream. May other writers be so fortunate!
August 24, 2018
Bull Run, Shiloh, Antietam, Gettysburg. The Civil War is known for its land battles. And why not? The South barely had anything qualifying as a navy. But it was a sea battle that had the most impact on world history, making the entire world’s fleets obsolete.
In Norfolk, a group of clever men built a ship, unlike anything seen before, that struck fear in Union hearts. The former USS Merrimack (CSS Virginia) was believed invincible, capable of cruising past Union defenses up the Potomac, and shelling the Capitol (and the capital!). And then she could destroy Wall Street and Boston and sweep down the coast lifting the blockade!
Efforts to design and build an iron ship to thwart the Merrimack spawned the Monitor, another boat unlike any before her, built in only 100 days by the vain and difficult genius, John Ericsson. The Monitor was never tested. Her shakedown cruise ended in combat.
The story is remarkable, and the book reads like a novel.
In Norfolk, a group of clever men built a ship, unlike anything seen before, that struck fear in Union hearts. The former USS Merrimack (CSS Virginia) was believed invincible, capable of cruising past Union defenses up the Potomac, and shelling the Capitol (and the capital!). And then she could destroy Wall Street and Boston and sweep down the coast lifting the blockade!
Efforts to design and build an iron ship to thwart the Merrimack spawned the Monitor, another boat unlike any before her, built in only 100 days by the vain and difficult genius, John Ericsson. The Monitor was never tested. Her shakedown cruise ended in combat.
The story is remarkable, and the book reads like a novel.
April 9, 2021
A good book, providing a detailed history of the Civil War fight between the MONITOR and MERRIMACK. The author, Richard Snow, starts from the beginning, explaining the origin of both ships and how they came to battle in the waters of Hampton Roads. Plenty of characters are introduced, namely the politicians who demanded the ships, the engineers who built them, and the Sailors who fought in them. But the real focus of the book are the ships themselves. I really enjoy reading books about ships, and the writing in this particular work is some of the best I’ve read on the topic. I actually felt sad on the pages describing the destruction of each ship. As with Snow’s other books, the writing is great, keeping your interest through long technical descriptions of the ships and prolonged battle sequences. A great book for any Civil War history buff. Highly recommended for those wanting to better understand how an actual “revolution” in naval warfare plays out.
August 11, 2017
This was excellent. I had read the barebones of this in larger American histories, but I knew almost nothing of the personalities and details of the construction and battles. The parallels of technology innovation in every era were interesting--both skeptics and optimists were too extreme in their views. The technology absolutely did change the world, but it also did have glaring, fatal flaws. The steps of progress are important, but slower than many would like. The ships ended up mostly symbolic, but only because of their stalemate and luck. The Merrimack had one day of domination before the Monitor arrived, and they were powerful symbols. I didn't know that a bunch of Monitor-type ships were built afterward and used all over the country by the North. I would like more details of any fighting they did. If you like Civil War history, this is fabulous.
June 1, 2019
In all my reading about the Civil War, there has been but brief mention of the iron-clads. Even when describing the battle in Hampton Roads, there was really no discussion of the ships or the men bringing them into being. This book filled in so many gaps in my education. (I'm 74, by the way, and still have so much to learn!) Yes, parts were a bit dry, but still worth slogging through to understand the evolution of ships, war and engineering. Not to mention the many "characters" (both meanings) involved in the navies, the ship construction, and the battles. Very readable!
When I was younger I preferred reading novels with southern heroines, but now I find the history of the various parts of our country to be much more fascinating.
Greater understanding of the earlier years of this country is helping me to understand political and social forces operating today.
When I was younger I preferred reading novels with southern heroines, but now I find the history of the various parts of our country to be much more fascinating.
Greater understanding of the earlier years of this country is helping me to understand political and social forces operating today.
July 14, 2018
For Civil War buffs, naval historians, and others interested in how things work, this book spends more time on the mechanics of the Monitor (Union) and the rebuilding of the CSS Virginia (aka Merrimack), the politics on both sides to get their respective ironclads built, and the men who sailed these ships because the actual battle between these two ships was very brief.
I had no idea the battle wasn't fought at sea and that it was so short in duration. And the brief life of the two ironclads was also news to me.
But they changed naval history and that's also intriguing.
An excellent and easy read for those of us not mechanically inclined and a definite "must add" to your Civil War bookshelf.
I had no idea the battle wasn't fought at sea and that it was so short in duration. And the brief life of the two ironclads was also news to me.
But they changed naval history and that's also intriguing.
An excellent and easy read for those of us not mechanically inclined and a definite "must add" to your Civil War bookshelf.
January 19, 2020
This is the best history book that I have read in a while - a solid 5 stars. As with many recent history books, this book takes a single event - the Civil War naval battle of Hampton Roads - and describes the people and events that led up to it.
The stories behind the inventors and sailors are fascinating with just enough detail provided to hold your interest without getting bogged down in the backstory. The same can be said for the engineering and design of the ships. Without describing every nut and bolt of the 2 ships, the author provides just the right amount of detail to understand what each ship brought to the battle.
If you enjoy Civil War history and want to know more about the ships that changed the course of history I would highly recommend this book
The stories behind the inventors and sailors are fascinating with just enough detail provided to hold your interest without getting bogged down in the backstory. The same can be said for the engineering and design of the ships. Without describing every nut and bolt of the 2 ships, the author provides just the right amount of detail to understand what each ship brought to the battle.
If you enjoy Civil War history and want to know more about the ships that changed the course of history I would highly recommend this book
January 14, 2017
Thorough and fascinating account of the Civil War Hampton Roads naval battle brings new light to a familiar subject. Snow is meticulous in his research, devoting chapters to such subjects as Nathaniel Hawthorne's visit to the Monitor after the battle and whether or not Merrimack should be spelled with the final "k." There are not end notes, but an appendix on sources. Terrific account of the Monitor's stormy voyage to the battle which was as dangerous as the combat itself, and the naval action is described more explicitly than in any other source. Even if you think you know the whole story, this book will reward you with new information and insight.
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