During the American Civil War, naval warfare underwent rapid transformation. The famous ironclads such as the USS Monitor and CSS Virginia showed their might, but a less glamorous but highly practical class of vessels known as the “cottonclads” played a significant role, particularly in the western rivers.
Cottonclad warships were essentially civilian steamboats converted for military use and protected by bales of compressed cotton stacked along their sides. This expedient armour was not intended to stop heavy artillery, but it did provide a measure of protection against small arms fire and light cannon shot.
The Union Queen of the West, converted into a cottonclad via the placement of cotton bales as artillery-resistant armor, ramming the Confederate Vicksburg. Credit: Wikimedia
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