Figure 1: Sepia wash drawing by Clary Ray, circa 1900, depicting USS New Ironsides (1862-1866) with her full sailing rig. Courtesy of the Navy Art Collection, Washington, DC. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 2: Photograph, somewhat retouched, of USS New Ironsides (1862-1866) taken during the Civil War era, while the ship was carrying full sail rig. Courtesy of the US Marine Corps Historical Center, Personal Papers Section: Collection of Henry Clay Cochrane. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 3: Lithograph by W.H. Rease, Philadelphia, circa 1862. Main inscription below the image reads: "U.S. Armored Frigate, New Ironsides. Designed and Constructed for the U.S. Navy Department by Merrick & Sons, Philadelphia." Collection of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1936. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 4: Halftone reproduction of a 19th-century lithograph, depicting USS New Ironsides (1862-1866) with full sailing rig. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 5: Wash drawing by R.G. Skerrett, circa 1900, showing USS New Ironsides (1862-1866) as ready for action, with masts and yards struck down. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 6: Nineteenth century photograph of a watercolor sketch, depicting USS New Ironsides (1862-1866) off Charleston, South Carolina, in 1863, with her sides showing the effects of several engagements with Confederate artillery. The original photographic print is inscribed "With Compliments of W.S. Wells (Late) U.S. Navy." US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 7: "Charleston Harbor, Looking towards the City." Line engraving published in Harper's Weekly, January-June 1863, pages 264-65, depicting the Federal fleet off the harbor mouth at the time of the ironclads' attack on Fort Sumter, 7 April 1863. US Navy ships specifically identified include New Ironsides (second from left in the ironclad formation) and Keokuk (ironclad furthest to the right). US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 8: "Panoramic View of Charleston Harbor -- Advance of Ironclads to the Attack, April 7th, 1863." Line engraving published in The Soldier in our Civil War, Volume II, page 172, with a key to individual ships and land features shown. US Navy ships present are (from left to center): Keokuk, Nahant, Nantucket, Catskill, New Ironsides, Patapsco, Montauk, Passaic and Weehawken. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 9: "The Iron-Clad Frigate New Ironsides and Two Ericsson Batteries going into action at Charleston." Hand-tinted copy of a line engraving by Smyth, depicting USS New Ironsides and two monitors in action at Charleston, South Carolina, circa 1863. Courtesy of the Navy Art Collection, Washington, DC. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 10: Fort Fisher Operation, December 1864 -- January 1865. Ships of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron departing Hampton Roads, Virginia, en route to attack Fort Fisher, North Carolina, in December 1864. The ships present are (from left to right): A twin-turret monitor, probably USS Monadnock; USS New Ironsides and a steam sloop of war. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 11: "The Bombardment of Fort Fisher, January 15, 1865." Engraving by T. Shussler, after an artwork by J.O. Davidson, published in Battles and Leaders of the Civil War. It depicts ships of the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron bombarding Fort Fisher, North Carolina, prior to the ground assault that captured the fortification. Identifiable ships include: USS Monadnock (twin-turret monitor in the right center); USS Vanderbilt (gray two-stack side-wheel steamer in right foreground); and USS New Ironsides (at the right end of the main battle line). US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 12: "Bombardment of Fort Fisher," 15 January 1865. Lithograph after a drawing by T.F. Laycock, published by Endicott & Co., New York, 1865, depicting the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron bombarding Fort Fisher, North Carolina, in preparation for its capture. The print is dedicated to Commodore S.W. Godon, USN. Collections of the Library of Congress. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 13: “Capture of Fort Fisher, North Carolina, 15 January 1865.” Watercolor by eyewitness Ensign John W. Grattan, of Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter's staff, depicting Porter's fleet bombarding the fort prior to the ground assault. Side-wheel steamer in the right foreground is Porter's flagship, USS Malvern. USS New Ironsides and USS Monadnock are in the right distance. Courtesy of the Naval Historical Foundation, Grattan Collection. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
Figure 14: USS New Ironsides (1862-1866), left, and USS Monadnock (1864-1874), right foreground. Engraving published in Harper's Weekly, 3 February 1866 as part of a larger print entitled "The Iron-clad Navy of the United States.” Text printed below the image is in error concerning the date of New Ironsides' launch, which actually took place on 10 May 1862. US Naval Historical Center Photograph. Click on photograph for larger image.
The famous American frigate Constitution was given the nickname “Old Ironsides.” When the US Navy began building a new and powerful ironclad during the Civil War, a decision was made to give this warship the name USS New Ironsides, hoping that it would be as successful as its famous ancestor. The 4,120-ton broadside ironclad USS New Ironsides was built by Merrick & Sons at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and was commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 21 August 1862. The ship was approximately 232 feet long and 57 feet wide, had a top speed of 6 knots, and had a crew of 460 officers and men. New Ironsides was armed with two 150-pounder guns, two 50-pounder guns, 14 11-inch smooth-bore cannons, and two 12-pounders. Because it did not have a revolving turret, New Ironsides was considered a “broadside” ironclad and originally had a bark sail rig, but her masts were removed later on in her brief career and replaced with light poles. Although she was too slow for long-range sea duty, New Ironsides was a highly effective coastal warship that was practically invulnerable to enemy fire. The ship never reached her intended speed of 9.5 knots, but she was heavily armed and was very effective in bombarding stationery land targets.
After a lengthy fitting-out period, New Ironsides was assigned to the Union’s South Atlantic Blockading Squadron in January 1863. For approximately one year, she supported the blockade of Charleston, South Carolina, and was used to attack the Confederate forts located in and around that area. New Ironsides’ heavy broadside batteries on each side of the ship, along with her massive iron armor protection, made her extremely useful in this role.
New Ironsides’ first major attack on a Confederate fortification took place on 7 April 1863, when nine Federal ironclads entered Charleston harbor and bombarded Fort Sumter. New Ironsides was hit many times by rebel cannon fire, but she was not seriously damaged, unlike several of the ironclads that sailed with her during the attack. Fort Sumter was almost pounded into rubble by the Union assault, but it didn’t fall and remained in Confederate hands. During the summer of 1863, New Ironsides assisted in the bombardment of Fort Wagner (also known as Battery Wagner) and was present when the Confederates abandoned the fort in 7 September 1863. During the siege of Fort Wagner, New Ironsides was attacked by a Confederate torpedo boat on 21 August, but was not damaged. But on the night of 5 October 1863, another enemy torpedo boat, CSS David, attacked and damaged the ironclad. However, New Ironsides was able to remain on station until May 1864, when she returned to Philadelphia for repairs and a general overhaul.
Once the overhaul was completed in August 1864, New Ironsides was assigned to the Union’s North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. In December, she participated in the massive Union assault on Fort Fisher, North Carolina. Although the attack was halted on Christmas day after a heavy bombardment of the fort, the Union warships resumed the assault in mid-January 1865. New Ironsides was one of the many Union warships that pounded the fort with cannon fire, paving the way for a Union ground assault that eventually captured the Confederate stronghold on 15 January. For the remaining months of the Civil War, New Ironsides supported the Union fleet in the Hampton Roads area. The ship was decommissioned in April 1865 and was placed in reserve at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. While anchored there, USS New Ironsides was accidently destroyed by a fire on 16 December 1866.
It is a pity that the US Navy could not preserve New Ironsides as a floating monument to the Ironclad Era of naval shipbuilding. She was a tough war veteran and the precursor to the modern-day battleship. But she was still able to do honor to the name that was given to her before she was destroyed, even though her ancestor and namesake, USS Constitution, the original “Old Ironsides,” is still afloat to this day, floating peacefully in Boston Harbor.
