American Civil War History: Ironclads and Submarines

This 2-day American history class explores the impact of 2 major developments in naval technology in the American Civil War: ironclads and submarines.  We will learn about how they were developed, deployed, and their impact on the Civil War and future wars. This class features a lecture on each topic and group discussion.  I keep my slides very visual with lots of photographs, technical design sketches, paintings, and include eyewitness accounts of what happened.

** PLEASE NOTE: Most classes meet one time per week for two weeks, but there are also some classes that meet two times over one week. **

Day 1 – CSS Hunley and the 1st Successful (and Disastrous) Submarine Attack

The Hunley was the most successful of several submarines developed by both sides during the American Civil War.  This Confederate experiment, that took the lives of 3 crews, resulted in the very first sinking of a vessel, the USS Housatonic, by a submarine. This class will explore the design of the submarine, the goals of the experiment, and the outcome of the attack on the night of Feb 17, 1864 in Charleston harbor.  We will learn how torpedoes were used in the Civil War and how this weapon was adapted for use with the Hunley.  We will also discuss the clues provided to us via underwater archeology and what they tell us about what happened to the submarine and its crew.  

Day 2 – The USS Monitor, the CSS Virginia (Merrimack) and the Battle of Hampton Roads

Although a few ironclad vessels had been built in Europe, neither the North nor the South had one at the start of the American Civil War.  This led to a great race to either convert wooden vessels into impenetrable iron plated warships or to design new ironclads ships to gain an advantage along the coastlines and in the Mississippi.  The 2 most famous ironclads the USS Monitor (the “cheesebox on a shingle”) and the CSS Virginia (formerly known as the USS Merrimack) clashed at Hampton Roads in the world’s first navel engagement of ironclad warships.  We will learn how the 2 ships were built, and the innovations and inventions incorporated into their design; about the Battle of Hampton Roads; and how the battle fueled an ironclad building frenzy.