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Description

Ported to OBJ, textured, and further modified from the STL format low poly waterline tabletop war gaming model created by Patrick Woodard. Preview picture posed in XNALara XPS. You can download Mr. Woodard's original STL model as part of his Confederate Ironclads Pack at the link below but be warned! STL models normally come untextured because they're made for use with 3D printers, with the end user expected to hand paint the 3D printed model. Furthermore I've added extra parts to this one in order to soup it up a bit and make it look somewhat better. If you want this to look the way it does in the above picture (or even better if you have the skill), then you'll have to round up your own textures and extra parts and do the job yourself, just like I did. Here's that link:

www.thingiverse.com/thing:3179…

CSS Manassas was the very first ironclad to be built and enter naval service on either side, Union or Confederacy, during the American Civil War (1862-65). She often gets overlooked in most histories of the war for two reasons: the epic battle between the later Monitor and Virginia (ex-Merrimac) at Hampton Road which for most historians marks the real starting point of the revolution in naval warfare that ironclads brought about, and her less-than-spectacular service career with the Confederate States Navy (CSN). She started out life in 1855 (some sources state 1853) as the Boston twin screw tugboat SS Elijah Wood. She was purchased on commission for the CSN initially for use as a privateer, but not long after it was decided to convert her into the CSN's very first ironclad instead (and the first of the war, as already noted). The conversion took place at Algiers, Louisiana and she was commissioned into CSN service once that was done on 12 September 1861 (long before either Monitor or Virginia). She was also ayptical for almost all CSN ironclads in that she was converted to a turtleback design, with her armored topside casemate covering the whole of the ship and curved on all sides so that all but the most accurately directed Union fire would simply bounce off. Her armored casemate also sat lower than the one typically used with Confederate ironclad rams and which further enhanced her turtle-like appearance. Armament originally consisted of a 64-pounder Dahlgren gun mounted at the bow in a fixed forward position as well as a bow-mounted ram, although the gun was later changed out for a smaller but easier to operate 32-pounder Dahlgren gun.

Manassas initially operated as a privateer, and her first action was her surprise attack on the Union's Mississippi River blockade fleet at the Battle of the Head of Passes on 12 October 1861, where the Mississippi splits into three distinct branches as it heads out to sea. She managed to damage the Union steam sloop USS Richmond by ramming her but the impact was partially absorbed by a coal barge tied alongside (she had been taking on coal at the time of the attack), and while tearing a hole in her side did not succeed in sinking her. In return Manassas lost her bow ram in the attack and had one of her smokestacks shot off by other Union ships in the area, in particuar USS Preble, and her own damage forced her to retire even though all Union shots bounced harmlessly off of her armor. For this Manassas was ever after known as a "hellish machine," given the use of the phrase in one of the Union action reports of the battle. She was later taken over by the CSN proper and took part in the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Phillip on 24 April 1862. She attempted to ram or damage three different Union warships as Admiral David Farragut's fleet made the successful passage of both Confederate forts but had very little effect on them. Once the battle was over she tailed the Union fleet, looking for another opportunity to strike, but accidentally grounded when the Union paddle frigate USS Mississippi turned around and attacked her. The captain of the Manassas had no choice but to order his entire crew to abandon ship, and all of them made it safely to shore as the Mississippi poured a "murderous fire" into the helpless Manassas. It did little save to free her and set her on fire, and the now-unmanned Manassas drifted downstream. Commander David Dixon Porter, who was one of the rising stars of the USN during the war but was at this time in charge of Farragut's mortar boats, tried to save Manassas as "an engineering curiosity." Before he could carry out his plans the on-board fire reached her vitals, and she blew up and sank. Manassas wound up being a total loss, and if as to add insult to injury Union forces successfully took the nearby major Louisiana port city of New Orleans the following day. The mangled wreck of the Masassas was supposedly rediscovered in 1981 by an expedition led by Clive Cussler (yes, that Clive Cussler) to locate the wrecks of all major Confederate Mississippi river ironclads lost during the war, although his team's findings were called into dispute at the time and are still contested. Only another expedition will clear away any doubt, providing the funding and desire for such ever becomes available.

In the final analysis Manassas was far more imposing in appearance than she was in reality. She made for a poor warship, and the fact that she had only the one fixed-forward gun effectively limited her to ramming in order to achieve any significant damage to her target. That said she still scared the crap out of the Union at the time, and perhaps that is the best historical legacy of CSS Manassas. She proved to be a very troubling peek into the near future of what a proper ironclad could achieve, once those were developed and actually built -- and those were coming very, very soon for both sides in the Civil War.

This model is missing many of the finer details of the original Manassas. That's because it was originally created for use as a small naval war gaming miniature, and I for my part only added the lower hull structure (borrowed from another model) and the missing gun. That said I think it's still decent for what it is, and it will do nicely as a placeholder for now. I hope you have fun with it too once you download it and start playing with it yourselves. XD

For non-profit, non-commercial use only. If you use, mod, re-release in original or modded form or do anything else with Mr. Woodard's models, please give him credit for his original handiwork, okay? Thank you.

Description

Ported to OBJ, textured, and further modified from the STL format low poly waterline tabletop war gaming model created by Patrick Woodard. Preview picture posed in XNALara XPS. You can download Mr. Woodard's original STL model as part of his Confederate Ironclads Pack at the link below but be warned! STL models normally come untextured because they're made for use with 3D printers, with the end user expected to hand paint the 3D printed model. Furthermore I've added extra parts to this one in order to soup it up a bit and make it look somewhat better. If you want this to look the way it does in the above picture (or even better if you have the skill), then you'll have to round up your own textures and extra parts and do the job yourself, just like I did. Here's that link:

www.thingiverse.com/thing:3179…

CSS Manassas was the very first ironclad to be built and enter naval service on either side, Union or Confederacy, during the American Civil War (1862-65). She often gets overlooked in most histories of the war for two reasons: the epic battle between the later Monitor and Virginia (ex-Merrimac) at Hampton Road which for most historians marks the real starting point of the revolution in naval warfare that ironclads brought about, and her less-than-spectacular service career with the Confederate States Navy (CSN). She started out life in 1855 (some sources state 1853) as the Boston twin screw tugboat SS Elijah Wood. She was purchased on commission for the CSN initially for use as a privateer, but not long after it was decided to convert her into the CSN's very first ironclad instead (and the first of the war, as already noted). The conversion took place at Algiers, Louisiana and she was commissioned into CSN service once that was done on 12 September 1861 (long before either Monitor or Virginia). She was also ayptical for almost all CSN ironclads in that she was converted to a turtleback design, with her armored topside casemate covering the whole of the ship and curved on all sides so that all but the most accurately directed Union fire would simply bounce off. Her armored casemate also sat lower than the one typically used with Confederate ironclad rams and which further enhanced her turtle-like appearance. Armament originally consisted of a 64-pounder Dahlgren gun mounted at the bow in a fixed forward position as well as a bow-mounted ram, although the gun was later changed out for a smaller but easier to operate 32-pounder Dahlgren gun.

Manassas initially operated as a privateer, and her first action was her surprise attack on the Union's Mississippi River blockade fleet at the Battle of the Head of Passes on 12 October 1861, where the Mississippi splits into three distinct branches as it heads out to sea. She managed to damage the Union steam sloop USS Richmond by ramming her but the impact was partially absorbed by a coal barge tied alongside (she had been taking on coal at the time of the attack), and while tearing a hole in her side did not succeed in sinking her. In return Manassas lost her bow ram in the attack and had one of her smokestacks shot off by other Union ships in the area, in particuar USS Preble, and her own damage forced her to retire even though all Union shots bounced harmlessly off of her armor. For this Manassas was ever after known as a "hellish machine," given the use of the phrase in one of the Union action reports of the battle. She was later taken over by the CSN proper and took part in the Battle of Forts Jackson and St. Phillip on 24 April 1862. She attempted to ram or damage three different Union warships as Admiral David Farragut's fleet made the successful passage of both Confederate forts but had very little effect on them. Once the battle was over she tailed the Union fleet, looking for another opportunity to strike, but accidentally grounded when the Union paddle frigate USS Mississippi turned around and attacked her. The captain of the Manassas had no choice but to order his entire crew to abandon ship, and all of them made it safely to shore as the Mississippi poured a "murderous fire" into the helpless Manassas. It did little save to free her and set her on fire, and the now-unmanned Manassas drifted downstream. Commander David Dixon Porter, who was one of the rising stars of the USN during the war but was at this time in charge of Farragut's mortar boats, tried to save Manassas as "an engineering curiosity." Before he could carry out his plans the on-board fire reached her vitals, and she blew up and sank. Manassas wound up being a total loss, and if as to add insult to injury Union forces successfully took the nearby major Louisiana port city of New Orleans the following day. The mangled wreck of the Masassas was supposedly rediscovered in 1981 by an expedition led by Clive Cussler (yes, that Clive Cussler) to locate the wrecks of all major Confederate Mississippi river ironclads lost during the war, although his team's findings were called into dispute at the time and are still contested. Only another expedition will clear away any doubt, providing the funding and desire for such ever becomes available.

In the final analysis Manassas was far more imposing in appearance than she was in reality. She made for a poor warship, and the fact that she had only the one fixed-forward gun effectively limited her to ramming in order to achieve any significant damage to her target. That said she still scared the crap out of the Union at the time, and perhaps that is the best historical legacy of CSS Manassas. She proved to be a very troubling peek into the near future of what a proper ironclad could achieve, once those were developed and actually built -- and those were coming very, very soon for both sides in the Civil War.

This model is missing many of the finer details of the original Manassas. That's because it was originally created for use as a small naval war gaming miniature, and I for my part only added the lower hull structure (borrowed from another model) and the missing gun. That said I think it's still decent for what it is, and it will do nicely as a placeholder for now. I hope you have fun with it too once you download it and start playing with it yourselves. XD

For non-profit, non-commercial use only. If you use, mod, re-release in original or modded form or do anything else with Mr. Woodard's models, please give him credit for his original handiwork, okay? Thank you.