Hampton Roads Naval Museum

30. USS New Ironsides

Norfolk, VA

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USS New Ironsides was built in 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, USS New Ironsides 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 April 7, 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 August 21, New Ironsides was the target of a torpedo boat attack. Another such attack, by CSS David during the night of October 5, 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 January 15. For the next few months, New Ironsides supported Union activities in the Hampton Roads area. She was decommissioned in April 1865 and was laid up in Philadelphia. There, on December 16, 1866, USS New Ironsides was accidentally destroyed by fire.