Ship Modelers Association

Since I am on the American Civil War footing, I picked another ship which was, in her day, a famous ship. She was a wooden ship built as an ironclad warship. She had a complement of 460 men, was armed with 2 each 150pdr, 2 each 50pdr, 14 each 11 inch and 2 each 12pdr cannons. She had a 4.5” armor belt with 1” armor decking. She was
powered with a 700 hp engine capable of a fast 6 knots. She was built by William Cramp & Sons Ship and Engine Building Co. of Philadelphia in 1862.

The USS NEW IRONSIDES was named in honor of the USS CONSTITUTION, who earned the nickname “Old Ironsides” during her engagement with HMS GUERRIERE. She was one of three ironclads ordered shortly after the start of the Civil War and launched in 1862. She was modeled on the latest European designs and was one of the most powerful ships afloat during her brief existence. She was never regarded as a very good sea going ship, had a pronounced tumblehome, was originally rigged as a ship but her masts were later cut down.

USS NEW IRONSIDES entered service as the flagship of Rear Admiral Samuel du Pont’s South Atlantic Blockading Squadron in August of the year she was commissioned. She was first stationed off Charleston, South Carolina. Her first engagement was on April 7 when she took on two Confederate forts, fort Moultrie and Sumter. During this engagement she was hit 55 times but proved the construction of iron sides and her name by suffering little or no damage. She next took part in the bombardment of Morris Island as flagship of Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren. During this action, which took place between July and September of 1863. During these engagements she received a total of 214 hits but again had little damage as a result.

Thus the USS NEW IRONSIDES proved, as the first seagoing ironclad America had, and the only one to see extensive combat during the Civil War, that the day of the all wooden warship was over just as much as the USS MONITOR did. In sixteen uninterrupted months off Charleston, the USS NEW IRONSIDES fired more shots than all of Rear Admiral
John Dahlgren’s monitors put together. She also caused the Confederates so much grief that they offered a bounty of $100,000.00 for her destruction – a huge sum in those days. Thus the concern of the Federals with her possible damage and/or destruction by
attacks using spar torpedo boats, another “new” seagoing wartime weapon. She avoided the first attach of this nature on August 21st, but on October 5, 1863, she was successfully attacked by CSS DAVID, which managed to detonate a mine on her starboard quarter.

Unfortunately for the Confederates, the damage caused by the explosion was insignificant and the USS NEW IRONSIDES remained on station off Charleston until May of 1864, when she finally returned to Philadelphia.
Her next assignment was to join the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron in October, where she subsequently took part in the bombardment of Fort Fisher, North Carolina, both on Christmas Eve and again on January 13 thru 15, 1865, which resulted in the capture of the fort. This 1865 assault against Fort Fisher led Admiral David Dixon Porter, a hard man to impress, to call the ship best in the fleet for offensive operations.
She was then decommissioned on April 7, 1865, two days before the General Lee surrendered at Appomattox. I can find no official reason why she was decommissioned after only three years. She spent most of her time blockading and bombarding forts, so maybe she was just worn out. She was probably also obsolete within that time span of 3 years, as she
was not a very good sea ship and her speed was nothing to recommend her. She was laid up at League Island, Philadelphia, where she was accidentally destroyed by fire on December 16, 1866. Thus the Confederates got their wish, but too late to help their cause.

For those who may want more information on this ship, there is a book, which is out of print but available occasionally in used book stores. The title is “USS New Ironsides in the Civil War” by William H. Robert. Cost is around $50.00