Duel of the Ironclads: USS Monitor and CSS Virginia at Hampton Roads 1862 (General Military) [Hardcover]

Angus Konstam (Author), Tony Bryan (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: General Military | Publication Date: March 11, 2003

Previously published in three separate volumes as Campaign 103: Hampton Roads 1862, New Vanguard 41: Confederate Ironclad 1861-65 and New Vanguard 45: Union Monitor 1861-65.
When the ironclad USS Monitor steamed out to meet the CSS Virginia on 9 March 1862, the face of naval warfare was changed forever. A four-hour duel left neither ship victorious, but in the wake of the battle wooden warships were rendered obsolete. This book details the clash at Hampton Roads, as well as tracing the development of ironclads within the Union and Confederate fleets. Union ironclads evolved quickly from the time of the production of the Monitor, so that by the end of the war the US Navy possessed the most powerful artillery afloat. The Confederate fleet, meanwhile, was born out of the hulks of existing vessels in naval yards and backwaters within sight of the enemy - its very existence was a tribute to the ingenuity of Southern shipbuilders.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

ANGUS KONSTAM hails from the Orkney Islands and is the author of over 20 books for Osprey. Formerly the Curator of Weapons in the Royal Armouries at the Tower of London, he also served as the Chief Curator of the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West, Florida. Angus lives in London, where he combines a freelance museum consultancy business with a career as a historian and writer.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing; First Edition edition (March 11, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1841767212
• ISBN-13: 978-1841767215
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 7.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #542,920 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

With over 50 history books in print, Angus is a widely recognised and much-published historian. While he specialises in military and naval history he has also written numerous more general history books, designed to make the subject more accessible to a wider audience. Uniquely he has been able to draw on his expertise as a senior museum curator who has worked on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as on his academic training as a historian and as a maritime archaeologist.

His latest book is a full-length biography: Blackbeard: America's Most Notorious Pirate, which is published by Wiley & Sons. of New York (June 2006)

Angus is also just finished writing a history of the Allied landings at Salerno in September 1943 for the British publisher Pen & Sword, and he is currently working on a new project, with the working title of Supership: The Quest for the Renaissance Battleship.

Angus lives in Edinburgh, in Scotland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Read!, June 6, 2007

By 

Mike Miner (Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Duel of the Ironclads: USS Monitor and CSS Virginia at Hampton Roads 1862 (General Military) (Hardcover)

I thought this was a great read. Splendid illustrations, well written text. Qucik, easy, and enjoyable. I wanted to know more about the famous battle between the Monitor and Viginia, but didn't want to be bogged down with the text, and I wanted a well illustrated volume. I'm sure that this subject has been written on to no end, but I was more than pleased with this work.