The US Civil War featured tons of new technologies and tactics. How would the US military have stacked up against the European Powers towards the end of the Civil War, as far as weaponry, numbers, and tactics are concerned?

by Picklesadog

Although the US was not a global power at the time, the country yielded enormous armies on both sides with about 3,000,000 combined fighting men.

Were the US militaries technologically or tactically advanced compared to their European counterparts? Would someone like General Lee or General Sherman be recognized for their military intellect? Did the European powers have the same quality firearms and artillery pieces? And on the Naval side, were the Europeans quick to adopt ironclad ships?

And on the Naval side, were the Europeans quick to adopt ironclad ships?

Considering they were using bigger, far more capable ones first, yes, yes they were.

By the time Monitor and Virginia squared off in March 1862 both the British Royal Navy and French Marine Nationale were operating trios of seagoing large ironclad warships. The Royal Navy especially with the pair of Warrior and Black Prince could have defeated any pair of Ironclads from either side of the ACW, good odds on doing it solo, and in concert could ave taken on a larger American squadron with good odds.

They were bigger, with incredibly thick armor for the time, faster, and better gunnery platforms in sea states above a flat calm. Additionally while the very common US Dahlgren Guns were fine, they were still lagging compared to European designs especially in their armor piercing shells, trying to make up the difference in simple size of shell. And while the big Armstrong Breech Loading Rifles were less than perfect weapons in general British naval armaments were undergoing a general revolution toward bigger, rifled, better shell firing cannons but with a detour towards muzzle loaders again. While they also had the smaller less effective Defense and Hector classes under construction and the massive Achilles funded as well. And while the Monitors deserve recognition for taking truly revolving turrets into battle first, they were not unique, in particular there was Captain Cowper Phipps Coles in Britain who would patent his own design and allow the British to begin fielding turreted warships soon too.

That is to say nothing of the huge advantages both forces had over the USN in non armored warships in both size and number.

In the end the Union Navy developed a very effective blockade, amphibious, and riverine force. And relatively on the cheap though it would quickly erode following the war.

But if either the French or really the British fleets had been sent to lift the blockade of the South there is little the USN could conceivably have done to prevent it except in fleeting local tactical success and to then prevent in turn a blockade of the North and scourging of Yankee merchant ships globally.