the.com/ironclad
A wooden navy's worst nightmare, wrapped in armor and steaming toward obsolescence.
first clashMonitor versus Merrimack ended in a 1862 draw
instant obsolescenceOne battle made every wooden warship a relic
word originNow means contracts you legally cannot wriggle out of
heavy problemAll that armor made early ironclads barely seaworthy
french firstLa Gloire beat everyone to it in 1859