Submarines and Ironclads: The Confederate Technology That Almost Won the Civil War
Leah and Michael Weisberg Series on American History
Event Details:
Presented live on Zoom
Please note: This program, originally scheduled to be in person, will now be available only via livestream. For any questions, please contact public.programs@nyhistory.org.
The Civil War was not only a clash of armies—it was a race to reinvent warfare. Ironclads, steam-powered warships protected by iron armor rather than vulnerable wooden hulls, revolutionized naval combat, rendering centuries of maritime strategy obsolete almost overnight. At the same time, the Confederate H. L. Hunley became the first submarine in history to sink an enemy warship in combat, demonstrating the devastating potential of underwater warfare despite its own tragic loss. In this conversation, Harold Holzer and Craig L. Symonds will explore how these extraordinary innovations challenged the Union’s naval dominance and hinted at a future of industrialized warfare that would reshape military conflict long after the Civil War ended.
Harold Holzer is the Manhattan Borough Historian, Jonathan F. Fanton Director of the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute at Hunter College, and the author, most recently, of Brought Forth on this Continent: Abraham Lincoln and American Immigration.
Craig L. Symonds is professor of history emeritus at the United States Naval Academy, as well as the author of numerous works on military history, including Annapolis Goes to War: The Naval Academy Class of 1940 and its Trial by Fire in World War II.
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Harold Holzer by Matt Capowski
