| Iron and Heavy Guns: Duel Between the Monitor and the Merrimac Contributor(s): Smith, Gene a. (Author) |
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ISBN: 1886661154 ISBN-13: 9781886661158 Publisher: TX A&m-McWhiney Foundation OUR PRICE: $14.20 Product Type: Paperback Published: January 1998 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | United States - Civil War Period (1850-1877) - History | Military - Naval |
| Dewey: 973.752 |
| LCCN: 96027927 |
| Series: Civil War Campaigns and Commanders |
| Physical Information: 0.38" H x 6.04" W x 8.96" (0.48 lbs) 118 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 1851-1899 - Topical - Civil War |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: March 1862. The Union ironclad warship, Monitor, with its two eleven inch Dahlgren smoothbores in a unique revolving turret assembly, leaves New York City under tow to serve blockade duty off the coast of North Carolina. Meanwhile, the Confederate ironclad Virginia (formerly the wooden frigate Merrimac) is raising havoc with Union blockaders in Hampton Roads. The inevitable showdown takes place on March 9th. For more than four hours the two ironclads battle furiously at close range. The Merrimac finally withdraws and returns to Norfolk to protect the river approaches to Richmond, leaving the Monitor in control of the Roads and in position to protect the Union blockaders. In May, the Merrimac is destroyed by its own crew to prevent capture; in December, the Monitor sinks in a storm off Cape Hatteras while under tow from Hampton Roads to North Carolina waters. An exciting account of two ships that would change naval warfare forever. Gene A. Smith holds a Ph.D. from Auburn University and is Assistant Professor of History at Texas Christian University. He is author, with Frank L. Owsley, Jr., of "For the Purpose of Defense" The Politics of the Jeffersonian Gunboat Program. |