RAMSA "Ram" is a ship whose principal weapon is its own bow, hardened and reinforced to penetrate the hull of an enemy ship, and usually strengthened internally to avoid or reduce self-inflicted damage from the collision. Rams had a long history of success during the age of oared fighting ships, which could maneuver at will, and were particularly suitable for combat in coastal and inland waters. The ram was impractical on sailing ships, which were less maneuverable and encumbered by extensive masts and rigging, but steam propulsion brought it back into favor. During the American Civil War, the Confederacy made extensive use of the ram, both on specialist ships and on ironclads that also carried heavy gun armament. Some conventional Union warships were modified for ramming and the North also employed a modest number of specialist rams in the Mississippi River area. These included the "Ellet Rams", which were Army ships that cooperated with the Navy, several rams captured from the Confederates, and two ships ( Avenger and Vindicator ) constructed for the Army but turned over to the Navy before completion in 1864. Though subsequent events showed the ram to be a difficult weapon to use effectively and all too likely to harm friends more than foes, the incidents of the Civil War and the 1866 war between Austria and Italy kept it in favor beyond the end of the 19th Century. Though the ram was usually fitted as an auxiliary weapon on ships mainly armed with guns, the U.S. Navy did build one specialist ram ship in the 1890s, USS Katahdin . During the two World Wars, the ram enjoyed a brief revival when many destroyers and other smaller warships were given specially hardened bows to attack surfaced submarines.
Civil War Era Rams used by, or employed in association with, the U.S. Navy included:I. Commissioned U.S. Navy Rams (or ships that had been rams in Confederate service before entering the U.S. Navy).
|
 War, Technology, and Experience aboard the USS Monitor The experience of the men aboard the Monitor and their reactions to the thrills and dangers that accompanied the new machine. The invention surrounded men with iron and threatened their heroism, their self-image as warriors, even their lives  Naval Strategies of the Civil War: Confederate Innovations and Federal Opportunism Compare and contrast the strategies of the Southern Secretary of the Navy, Mallory, against his rival in the North, Welles. Mallory used technological innovation and the skill of individuals to bolster the South's seapower against the Union Navy's superior numbers |
 Confederate Ironclad 1861-65 Every aspect of Confederate ironclads is covered: design, construction, armor, armament, life on board, strategy, tactics, and actual combat actions.  Confederate Submarines and Torpedo Vessels 1861-65 Interesting information and many excellent illustrations. It addresses the CSA David class torpedo boats and the Hunley (and its predecessors), as well as Union examples such as the Alligator and the Spuyten Duyvil |
Photograph of a Civil War Western Rivers ram steamer. Line engraving after a sketch by Alexander Simplot, published in "Harper's Weekly", 1862, depicting an incident at the close of the Battle of Memphis on 6 June 1862. The steamer shown may be Mingo or Lioness , the stern-wheel rams of Ellet's fleet. |
 Halls of Honor The U.S. Navy Museum takes you on an informed and entertaining romp through one of North America s oldest and finest military museums. The museum has been in continuous operation at the Washington Navy Yard since the American Civil War |
 Raise The Alabama She was known as "the ghost ship." During the Civil War, the CSS Alabama sailed over 75,000 miles and captured more than 60 Union vessels. But her career came to an end in June of 1864 when she was sunk by the USS Kearsarge off the coast of Northern France |
 The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns Here is the saga of celebrated generals and ordinary soldiers, a heroic and transcendent president and a country that had to divide itself in two in order to become one |
 Civil War Journal - The Conflict Begins These four programs from the History Channel series Civil War Journal cover critical aspects of the early days of the war. |
Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress
US Naval Archives
|
Books Civil War Womens Subjects Young Readers Military History DVDs Confederate Store Civil War Games Music CDs Reenactors |
