Military Building a strong navy It is 1862. As well as having more soldiers, the Unionists also have a larger navy. At the outbreak of the war, the Confederate Navy (led by Stephen Mallory) had thirty ships, while the Union Navy (led by Gideon Wells) had ninety. However, the Confederate coastline is very long and difficult to blockade. Also, the Confederacy has control of the river Mississipi, which runs straight down the middle of their territories and which provides a very effective supply route.

So what is the best way of developing the navy? Confederate Options Your main policy should be to invest in new 'torpedo' technology and small, fast ships. Your main policy should be to build 'ironclad' warships which are slow but almost indestructible. Your main policy should be to invest into developing new 'submarine' technology. Union Options Your main policy should be to blockade the Southern ports so that the Confederates are starved of supplies. Your main policy should be to build 'ironclad' warships which are almost indestructible. Your main policy should be to build large amounts of traditional wooden ships. Outcomes The Confederates couldn't match the size of the Union navy, so they tried to gain the advantage in technology. They built small, fast ships called 'blockade runners' and used 'torpedos' (which sank 40 Unionist ships). They also built the first practical submarine - the CSS Hunley - but this sank on its first mission.

The Unionists focused instead on blockading the southern ports. This strategy was so effective that when the Confederacy finally decided to sell its cotton abroad, it found that 95% of it couldn't get past the Unionist ships.

Perhaps most significantly, both sides abandoned wooden ships in favour of steam-powered 'ironclads'. In the Battle of Hampton Roads (Mar 8th-9th 1862, Virginia) the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia clashed with the Unionist ironclad USS Monitor in an epic battle lasting over four hours. Neither ship was destroyed, but several wooden ships in their paths were completely destroyed. Quiz Questions Who was in charge of the Confederate Navy?*Stephen Mallory*Gideon Wells*John Brown*Harriet Tubman Who was in charge of the Unionist Navy?*Gideon Wells*Stephen Mallory*John Brown*Harriet Tubman