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Union Ironclads

The Union navy included forty-two ironclads by the end of the war, although it began seventy-six. Twenty-two of the completed ironclads were used on the western rivers, including the Mississippi, the Arkansas, and the Ohio rivers. All but four of the coastal ironcladswere monitors, meaning that they were armored, steam-propelled vessels with about a foot from the waterline to the deck and a few heavy guns. Not all union ironclads were monitors. The Union also utilized capturd Confederat ironclads. Both the Tennesse and the Atlanta spent considerable amounts of time in Union service. The Union also captured the Eastport and the Columbia. The Eastport was captured in the process of conversion into an ironclad, and was then finished and used until she was sunk in the Red River campaign.The Columbia was captured by Sherman's troops as the Confederates evacuated Charleston in 1865. Sadly, she was captured too late to be of any use to the Union navy. Also, the Union made an attempt to capture the Albemarle, but the attempt failed when the ship was destroyed.

The typical City Class ironclad, the USS St. Louis

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