Editing CSS Baltic (section)

==Background and description==
During the early 19th century, a large cultural divide had developed between the northern and southern regions of the United States primarily over [[Slavery in the United States|slavery]], which was mainly a southern institution.  Northerner [[Abraham Lincoln]] won the [[1860 United States presidential election|1860 presidential election]],{{sfn|Holmes|2001|p=35}} and due to his anti-slavery position a number of southern states [[secession in the United States|seceded]] in late 1860 and early 1861, forming the [[Confederate States of America]];{{sfn|Bearss|2007|pp=22{{endash}}23}} by April 1861, the [[American Civil War]] had commenced.{{sfn|Calore|2002|pp=29{{Endash}}30}} 

From the beginning of the conflict, the Confederates were at a distinct disadvantage compared to the [[Union Navy]] due a lack of available ships, infrastructure, and manufacturing capabilities.{{sfn|Smith|2003|pp=30{{en dash}}31}} Control of the Confederate coastline was important because the Union's [[Anaconda Plan]] intended to [[Union blockade|blockade]] the Confederacy to cut off trade, including imported armaments.{{sfn|Calore|2002|p=63}}  After Union victories at the [[Battle of Forts Hatteras and Clark]] and the [[Battle of Port Royal]] in late 1861, both the Confederate government and the individual Confederate states became more concerned with coastal defense.{{sfn|Still|1985|pp=79{{en dash}}80}}

''Baltic'' was built in 1860 at [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]].<ref name="DANFS">{{cite web |title=Baltic |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/histories/ship-histories/confederate_ships/baltic.html |publisher=Naval History and Heritage Command |access-date=6 February 2022}}</ref>{{sfn|Silverstone|1989|p=235}}{{sfn|Joiner|2011|p=48}}{{efn|According to naval historian Saxon Bisbee, ''Baltic'' was built in 1856 at [[New Albany, Indiana]], for ship captain William Bragdon.  Bisbee writes that the [[hull (watercraft)|hull]] was constructed by William Jones, and that the machinery was built by the firm of Lent, South, and Shipman.{{sfn|Bisbee|2018|p=55}}}}  Little is known about her, and naval historian Saxon Bisbee describes her as "one of the most obscure Confederate [[ironclad]]s" and states that "Confederate documents relating to the vessel are almost nonexistent".{{sfn|Bisbee|2018|p=55}}  According to Bisbee, the vessel was taken to [[Mobile, Alabama]], after her construction by Bragdon,{{sfn|Bisbee|2018|p=56}} but the ''[[Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships]]'' (DANFS) says that she was built for the Southern Steamship Company.<ref name="DANFS" />  She was used as a [[towboat]]{{sfn|Bisbee|2018|p=56}}{{sfn|Silverstone|1989|p=235}} and as a cotton [[lighter (barge)#Lighter tug|lighter]] in [[Mobile Bay]] off the [[Gulf of Mexico]].{{sfn|Bisbee|2018|p=56}}{{sfn|Still|1985|p=80}}

On November 8, 1861, the [[Alabama General Assembly]] passed legislation appropriating $150,000 for an ironclad that could serve as both a [[gunboat]] and as a [[naval ram|ram]].{{sfn|Still|1985|pp=79{{en dash}}80}}  The state government formed a commission to select a vessel for conversion,{{sfn|Bisbee|2018|p=56}} and the [[sidewheel steamer]] ''Baltic''{{sfn|Silverstone|1989|p=235}} was bought on December 13 at a cost of $40,000.  The process of converting her into a [[casemate ironclad]] began on December 22{{sfn|Bisbee|2018|p=56}} and enlarged the ship's dimensions, increasing the length to {{convert|186|ft|m|1}}, the beam to {{convert|38|ft|m|1|abbr=on}},{{sfn|Bisbee|2018|p=56}} and her [[tonnage]] to 624 tons.{{sfn|Silverstone|1989|p=235}}{{efn|No surviving document specifies ''Baltic''{{'}}s exact type of tonnage.{{sfn|Silverstone|1989|pages=xi–xii}}}} To allow her hull to carry the extra weight of the armor and guns, the ship was fitted with [[hog chains]].{{sfn|Canney|2015|p=31}}  Bisbee states that the converted ship's [[draft (nautical)|draft]] was {{convert|7|ft|m|1|abbr=on}},{{sfn|Bisbee|2018|p=56}} the DANFS and naval historian Paul Silverstone state {{convert|6|ft|5|in|m|1|abbr=on}},<ref name="DANFS" />{{sfn|Silverstone|1989|p=235}} and naval historian [[William N. Still Jr.]] provides a figure of about {{convert|6|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}.{{sfn|Still|1985|p=80}}

The ship's propulsion machinery consisted of two single-cylinder [[Marine steam engine|steam engine]]s with a [[bore (engine)|bore]] of {{convert|22|in|cm}} and a {{cvt|7|ft|m|adj=on|1}} [[stroke (engine)|stroke]].  These were fed by four horizontal [[return-flue boiler]]s; the boilers were either {{convert|24|or|28|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} long and had a diameter of either {{convert|36|or|40|in|m|abbr=on}}.  The two [[paddle wheel]]s were {{cvt|29|ft|m|1}} in diameter and {{convert|8|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} wide.{{sfn|Bisbee|2018|pp=187{{en dash}}188}}  As was normal for steamboats of the time, the vessel could be powered by burning either wood or coal.  ''Baltic'' had a fuel capacity of up to {{cvt|75|LT|t}}.{{sfn|Bisbee|2018|p=58}}  The changes needed to convert her into an ironclad made her very slow; Silverstone and the DANFS list her speed as {{convert|5|kn|lk=in}}, and Bisbee describes it as "not [...] more than a man's walking pace".{{sfn|Bisbee|2018|p=55}}  Most Confederate ironclads were [[screw steamer]]s instead of [[paddle steamer]]s; ''Baltic'' was one of the few paddle steamer ironclads actually completed or converted within the Confederacy,{{sfn|Still|1985|pp=101{{en dash}}102}} and naval historian Raimondo Luraghi described her propulsion as obsolescent.  She also had difficulty steering.{{sfn|Luraghi|1996|p=280}}  She had a crew of 86,{{sfn|Silverstone|1989|p=235}} whose quarters Luraghi describes as "very poor".{{sfn|Luraghi|1996|p=280}}  Confederate ironclads frequently had issues with excessive heat below deck, the emission of noxious fumes from the machinery, and poor ventilation; ''Baltic{{'}}''s crew frequently slept on dry land or in the open air.{{sfn|Bisbee|2018|pp=28{{endash}}29, 200 fn. 72}}

Her [[bow (ship)|bow]] was strengthened so that it could serve as a ram,{{sfn|Bisbee|2018|p=56}} and she was armed with six cannons: two [[Dahlgren guns]], two [[32-pounder gun]]s, and two other pieces that Luraghi refers to as "minor"{{sfn|Luraghi|1996|p=280}} and the DANFS as "smaller".<ref name="DANFS" />  Historian Gary D. Joiner notes that the Dahlgrens were likely {{convert|9|in|cm|adj=on|0}} pieces.{{sfn|Joiner|2011|p=49}} Naval historian Donald Canney says that her armament consisted of two Dahlgrens and three 32-pounders or possibly a pair of Dahlgrens plus one 42-pounder and two 32-pounders.{{sfn|Canney|2015|p=31}}  ''Baltic'' was armored with iron plates {{convert|7|in|0}} wide and {{convert|2.5|in}} thick that were bolted to her new wooden [[superstructure]],{{sfn|Canney|2015|p=30}} although the [[aft]] portion was only protected by bales of [[cotton]]. The layout of the vessel is largely unknown.  Few descriptions of ''Baltic'' post-conversion exist,{{sfn|Bisbee|2018|p=56}} and Still describes the completed product as "a nondescript vessel in many ways".{{sfn|Still|1985|p=80}}