| By the end of the American Civil War, the Union navy had sixty monitor-type ironclad warships built or under construction. The majority of these vessels were laid down in east coast ports, particularly in the New York City area, but nearly one half of them were still unfinished after the Confederate surrender. There are several reasons for this poor production performance, most notably engineering design flaws, labor and material shortages, and professional egotism and jealousy. Additionally, the problems associated with technological change and ship construction during the war, particularly those caused by the perceived need to improve individual designs while under construction, only served to further delay vessel completion dates. This dissertation examines these ramifications and their cumulative and ultimate affect on the Union ironclad construction program and the war effort as a whole. |
