FEBRUARY 2, 1863:
“Cottonclads”
were the Confederacy’s answer to ironclads. Unable to produce enough plate iron
to shell their ships, the Confederacy decided to pack the ships’ hulls with
compressed cotton bales. This insulation often stopped shot and shell quite
effectively, though the cotton catching fire from the heat of the projectiles
was always a concern---hence the dense packing, which minimized the risk. The
Union never needed to make use of cottonclads.
On this day, Colonel C.R. Ellett U.S.A., who had decided to experiment with
cottoncladding for reasons of his own, took his gunboat U.S.S. QUEEN OF THE WEST against the
Confederacy’s C.S.S. CITY OF VICKSBURG. After
a gun battle in which the two ships exchanged incendiaries, the QUEEN OF THE
WEST’s cottoncladding caught fire. Although the ship was saved, several
crewmembers died from smoke inhalation.
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