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Photo # NH 57832:  USS New Ironsides.  Artwork by Clary Ray

Online Library of Selected Images:
-- U.S. NAVY SHIPS --

USS New Ironsides (1862-1866).
Also called (incorrectly) USS "Ironsides"

USS New Ironsides, a 4120-ton broadside ironclad, was built at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last, and largest, of the initial group of three "salt-water" armored warships begun in 1861 in response to meet the needs of the Civil War, she was commissioned in August 1862. Following a lengthy fitting-out period, she joined the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron in January 1863. For the next year, she operated in support of the blockade of Charleston, South Carolina, and took part in several attacks on the Confederate fortifications defending that city. New Ironsides's heavy broadside battery of eight heavy guns on each side, coupled with her iron protection, made her a uniquely valuable ship for bombardment purposes.

The first of these actions took place on 7 April 1863, when nine Federal ironclads entered Charleston harbor and conducted a prolonged, though inclusive, bombardment of Fort Sumter. New Ironsides was repeatedly hit by enemy cannon fire, but was not seriously damaged, unlike several of her consorts. During the summer of 1863, the ship battered Confederate positions during the successful campaign to take Fort Wagner. During this effort, on 21 August, New Ironsides was the target of a torpedo boat attack attack. Another such attack, by CSS David during the night of 5 October 1863, damaged the ironclad, but she was able to remain on station until May 1864, when she went to Philadelphia for repairs and a general overhaul.

Upon completion of this work in late August, New Ironsides recommissioned to join the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. In December she participated in a major assault on Fort Fisher, North Carolina, in an effort to stop blockade running into the port of Wilmington. Though this attack was called off on Christmas Day, after an extensive bombardment, the Federal fleet returned to renew the operation in mid-January 1865. New Ironsides was one of dozens of warships that vigorously shelled Fort Fisher, preparing the way for a ground assault that captured the position on 15 January. For the next few months, New Ironsides supported Union activities in the Hampton Roads area. She decommissioned in April 1865 and was laid up at Philadelphia. There, on 16 December 1866, USS New Ironsides was accidently destroyed by fire.

This page features, and provides links to, all the views we have concerning USS New Ironsides.

For additional pictures related to this ship, see:

  • USS New Ironsides -- Without Sailing Rig;
  • USS New Ironsides -- Actions and Activities off Charleston, S.C.; and
  • USS New Ironsides -- Actions and Activities during the Fort Fisher Operation.


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."

    Click on the small photograph to prompt a larger view of the same image.

    Photo #: NH 95018

    USS New Ironsides (1862-1866)


    Photograph, somewhat retouched, taken during the Civil War era, while the ship was carrying full sail rig.

    Courtesy of the U.S. Marine Corps Historical Center, Personal Papers Section: Collection of Henry Clay Cochrane.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 51KB; 740 x 490 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 94784

    USS New Ironsides (1862-1866)


    Photograph by P.F. Cooper, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, showing the ship with a full set of masts and yards.
    The original photographic print is mounted on a carte de visite.

    Courtesy of the U.S. Marine Corps Historical Center, Personal Papers Section: Collection of Henry Clay Cochrane, 1983.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 75KB; 445 x 765 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 58741

    USS New Ironsides (1862-1866)


    Line engraving published in "Harper's Weekly", 1862, depicting the ship fitting out a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in mid-1862.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 167KB; 740 x 575 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 57832

    USS New Ironsides (1862-1866)


    Sepia wash drawing by Clary Ray, circa 1900, depicting the ship with her full sailing rig.

    Courtesy of the Navy Art Collection, Washington, DC.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 93KB; 740 x 485 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 1429

    USS New Ironsides (1862-1866)


    Lithograph by W.H. Rease, Philadelphia, circa 1862.
    Main inscription below the image reads: "U.S. Armored Frigate, New Ironsides. Designed and Constructed for the U.S. Navy Department by Merrick & Sons, Philadelphia".

    Collection of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1936.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 81KB; 740 x 660 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 60662

    USS New Ironsides (1862-1866)


    19th Century photograph of a lithograph, depicting the ship with full sailing rig.
    The original photographic print has been somewhat damaged by surface abrasion.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 131KB; 740 x 615 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 66759

    USS New Ironsides (1862-1866)


    Halftone reproduction of a 19th-Century lithograph, depicting the ship with full sailing rig.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 91KB; 740 x 435 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 61431

    USS New Ironsides (1862-1866)
    (left) and
    USS Monadnock (1864-1874) (right foreground)

    Engraving published in "Harper's Weekly", 3 February 1866 as part of a larger print entitled "The Iron-clad Navy of the United States.
    See Photo # NH 73986 for the complete print.
    Text printed below the image is in error concerning the date of New Ironsides' launch, which actually took place on 10 May 1862.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 121KB; 740 x 490 pixels

     
    Photo #: NH 74548

    USS New Ironsides
    (1862-1866) and
    USS Passaic (1862-1899)

    Drawing by Fred S. Cozzens, published in "Our Navy -- Its Growth and Achievements", 1897, depicting the ships during the Civil War.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 71KB; 740 x 280 pixels

     


    The following view, which mainly shows another ship, depicts New Ironsides in the distance:

    Photo #: NH 464-KN (Color)

    Civil War Ironclads at Sea

    Chromolithograph by Armstrong & Company, after an 1893 watercolor by Fred S. Cozzens, published in "Our Navy -- Its Growth and Achievements", 1897.
    Ships depicted are (from left to right):
    Monadnock class twin-turret monitor;
    Passaic class single-turret monitor (in foreground);
    USS Naugatuck;
    USS Keokuk
    USS New Ironsides and
    USS Nantucket.

    Collection of Captain Glenn Howell, USN, 1974.

    U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.

    Online Image: 71KB; 740 x 485 pixels

     

    For additional pictures related to this ship, see:

  • USS New Ironsides -- Without Sailing Rig;
  • USS New Ironsides -- Actions and Activities off Charleston, S.C.; and
  • USS New Ironsides -- Actions and Activities during the Fort Fisher Operation.


    If you want higher resolution reproductions than the digital images presented here, see: "How to Obtain Photographic Reproductions."


    Return to Naval Historical Center home page.

    Page made 31 August 2001
    Coding updated 4 November 2001