Comments on: Humpday History Highlight

By: Wyatt Earp

Wyatt Earp — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:43:46 +0000

Dan – Thank you. I try to do it every Wednesday, just to let out my history fix.

Sully – Welcome. That ship was a monster for its time.

Old NFO – Sounds like a blast.

Morgan – Philly has the Olympia docked here, but it is a vet of the Spanish-American War and WWI. Great place to visit.

Rick – And that’s why I post it.

Doghouse – Probably a ton of history down there. And lots of folks laughing at my accent.

Alan B – I would love to visit the Victory. A lot of history there.

By: Alan B

Alan B — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:15:07 +0000

Talking about museums, if you are ever in portsmouth, UK you can see 3 great warships within walking distance:

Mary Rose (Henry VIII)

HMS Vistory (Nelson’s flagship at Trafalgar)

HMS Warrior (1860 – to avoid confusion with others of the same name).
http://www.hmswarrior.org/

from Wiki:
HMS Warrior was the first iron-hulled, armour-plated warship, built for the Royal Navy in response to the first ironclad warship, the French La Gloire, launched a year earlier.

When completed in October 1861, Warrior was by far the largest, fastest, most heavily-armed and most heavily-armoured warship the world had ever seen. She was almost twice the size of La Gloire and thoroughly outclassed the French ship in speed, armour, and gunnery.

Warrior did not introduce any radical new technology, but for the first time combined steam engines, rifled breech-loading guns, iron construction, iron armour, and propeller drive all in one ship, and built to unprecedented scale.

In one vessel, Warrior made every other navy obsolete. It never had to fight but with 110 pounder rifled breach loading guns and 68 pounder muzzle loaders it out gunned everything else.

By: Alan B

Alan B — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:03:39 +0000

In this country, the Battle of Hampton Roads (March 1862) is better known. It seems to be regarded as the first battle between opposing ironclads (USS Monitor, CSS Virginia).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hampton_Roads

By: Doghouse

Doghouse — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:11:37 +0000

If you ever make it down this way, I know of some museums you’d absolutely love.

By: Rick

Rick — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 03:50:41 +0000

Thanks for the on going history lesson.I had forgot much of the stuff you have written about.

By: Morgan

Morgan — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:45:56 +0000

The naval battles of the Civil War are not widely publicized, but as you can see, they are terribly interesting, nonetheless. Not only interesting, but revolutionary as well. With the ironclads, naval warfare changed forever, ushering in the age of the dreadnoughts, and with the Hunley, the age of the submarine. The Confederacy also had some fearsome vessels that caused nothing but trouble for the Union navy all over the Atlantic, such as the Alabama & the Shenandoah. Just as the Bismarck and the Tirpitz were trouble for the Allies in WWII, so were the Alabama & the Shenandoah for the Union.

By: Old NFO

Old NFO — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:34:58 +0000

Yes they are- If you get the chance, go see the Museum at Hampton Roads, VA.

By: Sully

Sully — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:29:50 +0000

It’s amazing how much naval warfare changed in such a short period of time.

Thanks for the history Wyatt.

By: Dan, Marysville WA

Dan, Marysville WA — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 00:25:14 +0000

I love the occasional history pieces, please keep them up!