Battle of Hampton Roads - Birth of The Ironclads

Birth of The Ironclads

When steam propulsion began to be applied to warships, naval constructors renewed their interest in armor for their vessels. Experiments had been tried with armor during the Crimean War, just prior to the American Civil War, and the British and French navies had each built armored ships and were planning to build others. In 1860, the French Navy commissioned La Gloire, the world's first ocean-going ironclad warship. Great Britain followed a year later with HMS Warrior. The use of armor remained controversial, however, and the United States Navy was generally reluctant to embrace the new technology.