Jackson Gamers' American Civil War Naval and
IRONCLADS Page

Page last updated: 5/25/03
All material by Jay Stribling unless otherwise credited

"Now comes the reign of iron - and cased sloops are to take the place of wooden ships."
Captain John A. Dahlgren, 9 March 1862


Photo by Ed Sansing

The rest of the Confederate squadron tries to join the fray and two vessels end up aground and others have to go all aback to avoid the stuck ships in our Out on the Bay game. We steamed, shot, and sank in this game on July 31, 2004, at HOBBYTOWN in North Jackson. Only part of the battle report is available so far. More photos and text will be added shortly!

This Page will always be a work in progress.

I do not claim to be the final authority on Ironclads. I just hope to share the information that I have accumulated and fill any readers in on what the Jackson Wargamers are doing with regards to naval wargaming in the American Civil War period. Input of any type is welcome. Criticism, reviews of products, articles and personal views are all sought eagerly. Photos in GIF or JPEG format are usable. You can email the author of this page at: jstribl_jackson@yahoo.com

"Wherever his fleet can be brought, no opposition to his landings can be made....We have nothing to opose to its heavy guns, which sweep over the low banks of this country with irresistable force."
Major General Robert E. Lee, 8 January 1862

ARTIFACTS AND MUSEUMS OF CIVIL WAR IRONCLADS

The U.S.S. Cairo was sunk by a torpedo (what we would call a mine) on December 12, 1862 not far from Vicksburg Mississippi. During December 1964, she was raised, and now rests on dry land at the National Battlefield Park in Vicksburg. Open to the public, she is well worth a visit. Partially rebuilt, and in a see-through condition, she is fascinating to behold. Even my 12 year old daughter thought she was "neat". Click on the image of the gun below to view Photographs that I took of the Cairo in December 1999.


While you are about it, there are other links there to view more information on Vicksburg. A great town to visit!

You also might want to try GRAND GULF

Or you could visit PORT HUDSON

"The action of the (9 March 1862), and the performance, power, and capabilities of the Monitor, must effect a radical change in naval warfare"
Letter of 15 March 1862 to Lieutenant John L. Worden from Gideon Welles.
RULES FOR IRONCLAD GAMES

Click on this box go to reviews of Miniatures Rule sets and Boardgames on the American Civil War and the "Ironclad Era" in general.

Rules Sets &
Boardgames

"You can't expect men to stand up against the fire of those gunboats."
Rear Admiral Porter quoting a Confederate after the battle at Arkansas Post, 9-11 January 1863

BOOKS ABOUT CIVIL WAR IRONCLADS

Click on the image above to go to the page of books about American Civil War Ironclads

"Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"
Rear Admiral Farragut, 5 August 1864

MOVIES AND VIDEOS ABOUT CIVIL WAR IRONCLADS


Click on "The Hunley" to go to my Movie list

CIVIL WAR IRONCLAD GAMES

Raiding the Federal Base was a 15mm ACW naval game. The Confederate Navy came down the river, looking for a fight, determined to destroy the supply base for Grant's army in late 1864. This game was vaguely based on the real naval battle of Trent's Reach which was indecisive. Our game showed more aggressiveness on the part of the Southern ships' captains. In the end, Grant's army had to go on short rations, and most ships from both fleets were resting on the river bottom! We fought this at HOBBYTOWN on May 4, 2002.

We fought a 15mm Ironclads game on February 2, 2002 at Hobbytown called Up the Lazy River. The battle report and Photos are available for your viewing pleasure. This game used our mainly home-made ironclad warships and the "Steam Iron and Tin rules.

Here are pictures of a game that Lee Drake ran at FUSILIER MUSTER 2001. This was an amphibious landing game with the Union Navy successfully providing fire support and keeping the southern ships safely away from the transports.

Here is another 15mm Ironclad battle run by Lee Drake, this time at FUSILIER MUSTER 2000, a gaming convention in Hattiesburg MS. We love Lee's games and the Jackson Gamers always try to enlist in his 15mm navies.

This 15mm Ironclad battle fought at HUBCON 99. A gaming convention in August 1999, also in Hattiesburg MS.

Debacle on the Mississippi was a game run by Jay Ainsworth at his home in Raymond MS on July 28, 2000. The Union navy attacked New Orleans in a 1/1200 scale fictional game using river ironclads instead of Farragut's seagoing ships. The Southern shore gunners were of sterner stuff this time and sent the Federal ships back down the river. Click on the name above to view Tim Latham's photos. The rules used were our own "Ironclad Gunboat" rules.

"We had nothing to fear from a land attack, but the gunboats are the devil."
Flag Officer Andrew Hull Foote quoting the Nashville Union and American11 February 1862

IRONCLAD MINIATURES

Click here for a neat list of manufacturers of, and sources for Ironclad-period miniatures compiled by Chris Salander.

Click on the box below to go to a section showing illustrations of various miniature ironclads, and reviews of differing manufacturers offerings.

Civil War Naval
Miniatures page 1
Civil War Naval
Miniatures page 2

Click on this box see some of Jay Stribling's home-made 15mm ironclad gaming miniatures.

15mm. Home made
Ironclads

LINKS TO OTHER CIVIL WAR NAVAL SITES

Links tested and broken ones removed - May 25, 2003

The Ironclads Project Nice Photos, and other material. An MSN group for the Ironclads enthusiast.
ACW sub-page off the LANGTON MINIATURES site Some neat notes on models in 2 scales, ship colors etc.
IRONCLADS AND BLOCKADE RUNNERS by Mark F. Jenkins
A 25-foot Confederate Ironclad - and the Men who made her!
MONITOR - History and Legacy
C.S.S. VIRGINIA
C.S.S. ALBEMARLE
C.S.S. NEUSE site.
C.S.S. CAIRO site & museum.
THE U.S. NAVY IN THE CIVIL WAR by Gary Matthews. Excellent!
The Denbigh site about a blockade runner and the recovery of artifacts from the wreck site.
Orrin Palmer's Civil War Art Site
IRON AND FIRE home page supporting the rules set of the same name.
William Mahmood sells cardstock models of nine different ACW ironclads. The pictures look quite interesting. They are 1/185 scale.
LOU COATNEY'S HOME PAGE Cardstock Ironclad models you can download & build.
The CSS Hunley Page:Latest on the Raising and preservation of the CSS Hunley, Confederate Submarine.
Navies in the Civil War:by Gabe Lavy.
Naval Historical Center All manner of resources. Search for images and history of ACW ships by name. Much MUCH more!

ALWAYS MORE TO COME!

Email the author of this period page at:

jstribl_jackson@yahoo.com

Return to Jackson Gamers' homepage

Angelfire - Free Home Pages
Free Web Building Help
Angelfire HTML Library
htmlGEAR - free polls, guestbooks, and more!

Thank you for visiting The Jackson Gamers' pages at Angelfire. Please come back and visit again!