Ironclads In The Civil War

The perfection of the art of war lies in the implementation of all means available. This is true on the operational level of war just as much as the strategic level. Throughout history the winning army has either been the one with vast numerical superiority or uses all of its combat arms jointly to their greatest effect, whether that is through use of infantry and cavalry or, like during the American Civil War, the combination of land and naval assets in joint operations. The Unions use of both river bound ironclads, or other steam powered ships, and land forces allowed them to quickly move troops up and down the Mississippi, Tennessee, and Cumberland Rivers to great effect, playing a pivotal role in their victorious Fort Henry-Fort Donelson

and Vicksburg campaigns. The victories in both these campaigns opened the door to the Southern hinterlands, and set a precedent for further joint operations during the American Civil War and future conflicts.
The Civil War saw the first widespread use of steam power as more than just an augmentation of sails, most notably through the use of ironclads. Ironclads were steamships that sat low on the water with iron plated decks and hulls. These steam ships were able to carry larger armaments and absorb more enemy fires than their wood predecessors. The steam powered ships in a rapidly modernizing Navy used a screw propeller, which removed the Navy’s dependence on the wind and the strength of the oarsmen.
With the onset of the Civil War, in April 1861, both sides recognized the importance of lines of supply and communication. These lines were mainly made up of railroads and rivers, which made the control of the Mississippi river and its tributaries high priorities. With this in mind the Union quickly patched together a river squadron, consisting of three timber clad gunboats, seven City Class ironclad gunboats, and two river steamers that were converted into ironclads. The squadron was commanded by Union Flag Officer Andrew Hull Foote. The fleet acted “as a floating cavalry, [which] provided an invaluable reconnaissance role along the rivers”, a role that discovered two fortifications that would hinder the Union advance into Tennessee; Fort Henry and Fort Donelson.
When compared to other campaigns during the Civil War the Henry-Donelson campaign seems insignificant, but the strategic implications were immense. It was the first decisive Union victory, additionally the campaign opened Tennessee for further Union incursion, finally it served as a proving ground for joint operations. Fort Henry was located on the right bank of the Tennessee River, approximately twelve miles from Fort Donelson, located on the left bank of the Cumberland. With the blessing of General Halleck, General Ulysses S. Grant began the Henry-Donelson campaign on February 1st, 1862. At the beginning of his campaign, Grant had 9,000 troops available with another 6,000 reinforcements set to arrive from St. Louis and elsewhere. Grant’s plan depended on the support of Foote’s gunboats and transport vessels to ferry his army up the Tennessee River.
Foote’s fleet consisted of four ironclads and three wooden gunboats, after dropping Grant’s land forces approximately three miles downstream, would shell Fort Henry and allow the infantry to move forward and assault from the land.

According to Kendall Gott, in his novel Where the South Lost the War, Foote’s gunboat attack on Fort Henry was the first use of ironclads against earthen fortifications. Heavy winter rains made Grant’s land movement slow and tedious as the roads were bogged down with mud and standing water, but the effects on the Confederate fort was even worse. Inside Fort Henry, the Confederate soldiers were standing in calf-deep water, this being the result of seasonal rains that raised the Tennessee near the flood levels reached the year prior and in some places only six feet below Confederate canon positions. After an hour and fifteen minutes of bombardment Fort Henry raised the white flag and General Lloyd Tilghman surrendered to Flag Officer Foote, before Grant’s forces even began their attack. Before the battle began, General Tilghman ordered most of the garrison to withdraw to Fort Donelson, leaving only a small detachment to man the river guns. In total, less than one hundred men surrendered at Fort Henry, with another fifteen killed and approximately twenty cannons captured. The success at Fort Henry was predominately a naval victory and it catapulted Foote to national acclaim. Any failure on Grant’s part to capture the entire garrison could be accounted for by the muddy roads and the fact that the Confederates chose to flee before the battle began. The victory allowed Grant to continue his campaign and proved that coordination between land and naval forces could lead to success in the

West.
The next step was the capture of Fort Donelson which, unlike Fort Henry, was garrisoned and the defenders planned on holding it. John B. Floyd commanded 17,000 troops at the fort and, unlike Fort Henry, was well constructed and above the water. Fort Donelson also boasted a dozen heavy guns on a bluff sighted down the Cumberland River. As far as outward defenses were concerned there was a circle of trenches along a ridge looking down on steep wooden ravines. Grant organized his now 27,000 troops and marched to Donelson over land while Foote took his flotilla down the Tennessee and back up the Cumberland. Once in position the gunboats would bombard the fort while his land forces laid siege. On the thirteenth of February the Confederates repulsed a premature Union probe. The next day Foote’s flotilla engaged the fort but after a fierce duel three of Foote’s gunboats were badly damaged obliging a now wounded Foote to withdraw.
Success seemed close at hand for the defending Southerners, but Floyd lost his nerve and decided that he needed to force a break out. On the morning of the fifteenth 10,000 Confederate troops, under General Gideon J. Pillow, attacked Grant’s right flank with great success, driving back Union troops and causing much disarray. The break out was successful but General Pillow decided to call his men back to the fort, due to exhaustion and the need for resupply. This mistake allowed Union forces to counter attack on the Confederate right as well as reorganize their own right flank and take back most of the rebel gains. On the night of fifteen February, the Confederate officers decided to surrender the garrison, but not before evacuating some 2,500 men on boats and another 700 cavalry, which escaped through a flooded road. Floyd and Pillow were able to escape leaving General Simon B. Buckner with 13,000 troops and the unfortunate task of asking for terms, General Grant asked for nothing but unconditional surrender and Buckner agreed. The success of the Fort Henry-Fort Donelson campaign was a morale booster for the Union and a morale killer for the Confederacy. In the aftermath of the campaign Union gunboats controlled the Cumberland and the Confederacy was forced to withdraw from Nashville on February twenty-third, General Albert Sidney Johnston, commander of Confederate troops in the region resigned to concentrate his remaining 45,000 troops at Corinth. Furthermore General Grant proved himself and a more than able field commander. The campaign also showed the advantages of the ironclad fleet.
While many look at the Gettysburg Campaign as the decisive turning point in the war, an often overlooked campaign came to a close at the same time, General Grant captured Vicksburg. Once again Grant utilized ironclads and other steam powered ships to move his forces down the Mississippi River, the Vicksburg Campaign didn’t go as smoothly as Henry-Donelson did but success there effectively split the Confederacy in half. It was no easy job though, Charles A. Dana, an observer of Grant’s camp, called it the “…toughest of tough jobs”. Grant’s campaign relied heavily on the support of navy gunboats and a large fleet of civilian craft to carry troops and supplies, joint operations were once again the keys to success.
Hailed as the “Gibraltar of the West” Vicksburg’s defenses were the strongest works of the war, this lead to a prolonged campaign lasting one year. Vicksburg was located on the eastern side of the Mississippi river. After his successes in the West, Ulysses S. Grant was given command of the Union Department of Tennessee, in 1862. Grant understood the strategic importance of Vicksburg, as it controlled the Mississippi. Noting the General Sherman had already failed to capture Vicksburg, Grant decided to launch and overland invasion through Mississippi, in November of 1862. Once his army was near Vicksburg, he would use the Mississippi squadron to cross to the eastern side of the river and attack from the rear. The Mississippi squadron was commanded by David Dixon Porter, son of War of 1812 hero Commodore David Porter.
The winter of 1862 was marked with many failures to cross the Mississippi River, but Grant didn’t give up hope. Most notably three attempts to bypass Vicksburg “in order to get gunboats, transports, and troops below the city for a secure crossing”. Attempts to build canals through the various bayous and waterways proved disastrous and high casualties from typhoid and dysentery tarnished Grant as a leader. After the failed attempts to bypass Vicksburg, Grant devised a daring maneuver. Porter would run his fleet “past the batteries while troops marched down the west bank to rendezvous with the fleet below Vicksburg”. The bulk of Grant’s army was now south of Vicksburg. They were then ferried across the river and set up on the high ground at Bruinsburg, 35 miles south of the city.
Unexpectedly Grant turned east and marched for Jackson, Mississippi. Lacking supplies his plan involved living off the country, confiscating wagons and filling them with captured rebel supplies. Grant’s army disappeared for two weeks. He marched 130 miles, fought and won four battles against separate enemy forces that, if combined, equaled the size of his own force, and penned the Confederates at Vicksburg. Once Grant turned on Vicksburg he had 45,000 troops, surrounding the city by land while Porter’s gunboats cut it off from the river. On May eighteenth, assuming that the Confederate defenders were demoralized by his movements, Grant ordered an assault on Vicksburg, the attack was repulsed. On the twenty-second he ordered another assault, using three corps. Despite early gains his forces were repulsed by heavy fire, compelling Grant to settle in for a siege. In the two failed assaults Union forces sustained around 4,200 casualties.
For six weeks Grant’s position strengthened while Vicksburg’s weakened, the rebels were beginning to starve. Realizing that a breakout was impossible, General John Pemberton, commander of the defenses of Vicksburg, sent a delegation to discuss the terms of surrender, on July third. After a meeting with his corps and division commanders Grant decided to “offer Pemberton conditions of surrender that would allow for parole. The Vicksburg campaign was over, but the costs were heavy on both sides. Since May twenty-ninth, Union forces sustained 10,142 casualties and the Confederates 9,091. Pemberton also surrendered 29,491 men.
Grant’s determination, daring, and skillful use of the navy broke the “stalemate in the battle for control of the Mississippi”. According to historian Kevin Dougherty, after the Vicksburg campaign “the war’s tide had turned decisively in favor of the Union”. The victories at Vicksburg and Gettysburg shook the resolve of the Confederacy. A Confederate soldier, captured at Vicksburg, claimed that he saw “no prospect” of “the south sustaining itself…our nations is divided and [there] is not a nuf left to fight for”. Vicksburg didn’t end the war, the Confederacy fought on for another two years, but it did set the stage for ultimate Union victory.
The Vicksburg and Henry-Donelson campaigns proved two things. Grant was an able commander with the ability to maintain command and control of a large army spread across a great distance. They also demonstrated that joint operations between land and naval forces, when used properly, could win campaigns. The overall success of both campaigns opened the south to further Union invasions and effectively split the Confederacy in half. The use of ironclads in the Western theater started a revolution in the navy showing that steam power was far more than viable but highly effective.