A Little Bit of March Madness for CWN 150 Fans

USS Benton Ship Plans

 As many of you know, college basketball season is winding to a close with its annual tournament of 64.  Now in the clutches of the last four remaining teams, it would seem fitting to introduce a little bit of bracketology into this blog once again.

How does this relate to the Civil War Navy you ask?  For our longtime readers, you may recall we did something similar (albeit a bit drawn out) back in 2011 with the "Greatest Naval Officer of the Civil War." 

As a way to get some more interaction on the blog, here is our list of the "Elite Eight" vessels of the Union and Confederate navies.  Who would make your final four? Who would be the champion?  We will leave answers blank as a rubric below to help you out.  Post your answers here or on the CWN 150 Facebook page, and we will publish the results!

Union Vessels:
1. USS New Ironsides
2. USS Onondaga
3. USS Minnesota
4. USS Monitor
5. USS Hartford
6. USS Cairo
7. USS Kearsarge
8. USS Benton


Confederate Vessels:
1. CSS Virginia
2. CSS Arkansas
3. CSS Richmond
4. CSS Albemarle
5. CSS Alabama
6. CSS Tennessee
7. CSS David
8. HL Hunley

Which ships would be your Final Four (Top Two Union Confederate Vessels):

(Union) __________  VS. (Union) __________

(Confederate) __________  VS. (Confederate) __________

Which ships would be in your Final (Top Union/Confederate Vessel):

(Union) __________ VS. (Confederate) __________

Winner: __________

Let us know who makes the cut in your mind!  Do you have other vessels in mind?  Which ones? Let us know!