USS Monitor Legacy Program: Tinclads and Timberclads

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Image Credit: USS Tyler. Courtesy Naval History and Heritage Command, NH 49975

Tinclads and Timberclads Change Riverine Warfare

Presented by: John V. Quarstein, Director emeritus of the USS Monitor Center

At the war’s beginning, the Union purchased civilian steamers to help it control and conquer the Mississippi River Valley. Since they could not build ironclads fast enough, Samuel Pook and Commander George Rodgers conceived a plan to turn commercial steamboats into warships. Three ships, Lexington, Tyler, and Conestoga, were covered  by layers of wood and armed with heavy cannons.

For more information and for registration, visit our website: https://www.marinersmuseum.org/event/tinclads-and-timberclads/