Reign of Iron

The Civil War was notable for its use of new technologies, including the torpedo, the Gatling gun, and the telegraph. Another first was the ironclad ship, which ended the three-thousand-year tradition of wooden men-of-war. James Nelson, acclaimed author of the Brethren of the Coast trilogy, explores the extraordinary story of these ships in Reign of Iron.

As war raged, North and South raced to produce the first seaworthy ironclad ship. After a year-long scramble, the North’s Monitor and the South’s Merrimack met in battle for the first time. In his first non-fiction book, Nelson recounts the story of these ships, the men who built and fought them, and the extraordinary battle that made them legend.

James L. Nelson has served as a seaman, rigger, boatswain, and officer on a number of sailing vessels. He is the author of Thieves of Mercy and Glory in the Name: A Novel of the Confederate Navy. He is also the author of The Guardship, The Blackbirder, and The Pirate Round — the books of the Brethren of the Coast trilogy, as well as By Force of Arms, The Maddest Idea, The Continental Risque, Lords of the Ocean and All the Brave Fellows — the five books of his Revolution at Sea Saga. He lives with his wife and children in Harpswell, Maine.

“Nelson has written a stirring account of the day that wooden walls and canvas sails bowed to iron and steam.” — Bloomberg News