Ironclad (Civ5)/American Civil War/Civilopedia

The first steam-driven warship plated with iron or steel was launched by the French Navy in 1859, but the first battles involving ironclads took place in 1862 during the Civil War. It quickly became clear that the ironclad had replaced the wooden ship-of-the-line as the most powerful warship afloat; by the end of the war the Confederate Navy launched 24 ironclads (although 59 were begun, several being destroyed before completion), while the Union commissioned 52 coastal ironclads.