‘Is the Warrior itself a match for the Monitor? It is useless now to talk of speed and magnificence’

The Times tried to reassure its audience that, if anything, the Warrior was a superior specimen of ironclad than either crude American version. The Illustrated London News, however, had its doubts: Is the Warrior itself a match for the Monitor? It is useless now to talk of speed and magnificence. To the thrill-seeking Victorian readership, well fed on daily bulletins and gossip relating to the great Civil War in distant, troubled America, this was quality entertainment, and serious food for thought. The 5 April issue of the Illustrated London News headlined it as nothing short of a Naval Revolution. His were still as highly contentious as they were expensive. Ironclad design was best conducted as matter of evolution not revolution, especially if public safety was as important as the public purse. Warriors own flaws were already being addressed in newer models on the drawing board.