alternatehistory.com

30 Mar

HMS Sagittarius commissions. The first of the twelve "90 day" ironclads, she completed ahead of schedule by two weeks due to sterling work by Laird (the builders).
Her armour is less effective than that of Warrior as the plates were not held to the same high peacetime standards, and in addition is a little thinner - four inches of rolled wrought iron with wooden backing.
Displacing less than 1,000 tons, she is emphatically not a ship built for the open sea - instead, she is a riverine ironclad though built with one mast for better fuel consumption, and has a top speed under steam of a paltry six knots.
She will be caulked up and towed across the Atlantic, and her guns (four 68-lber and four 110-lber) will be carried in the towing ship. Of interest is that she is pierced for twelve guns (six ports each side) and that with appropriate counterballasting will be able to fire a six-gun broadside. She is able to transit the Welland canal fully loaded.



31 Mar

Battle of Leesburg. McClellan's army engages Johnston's army outside the city, then falls back when the left wing of the Army of Northern Virginia attempts a turning movement against his flank. McClellan explains his movement by stating that losing the ability to fall back on the city would lead to the destruction of his army; however, this retreat leaves White's Ford in Confederate hands and gives the Confederacy a secure crossing of the Potomac forty miles from Washington. McClellan did demolish Kephart's Bridge before evacuating the area.