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THB[CIVIL WAR] Ironclad "Defensive Armor" Patent Model
![[CIVIL WAR] Ironclad "Defensive Armor" Patent Model](https://s1.img.bidsquare.com/item/xl/3583/35833127.jpeg?t=1W16ZE)
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About Auction
LiveApr 25, 2026
Featuring rare artifacts, documents, ephemera, photography, and weaponry relating to the American Civil War. Fleischer's Auctions info@fleischersauctions.com
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- Lot Description
Scaled model of Charles Hodge Hudson’s “Armor-Clad” Patent, with original patent application ticket signed “C.H. Hudson,” dated 26 May 1862. U.S. Patent No. 44,426, granted 27 September 1864. Engraved silver nameplate affixed; photocopy of the original patent declaration included. Approx. 6 x 6in.
A Civil War–era naval innovation proposing the introduction of a water layer between heavy iron armor and its structural backing, designed to create a “perfectly-fitting and practically incompressible” cushion behind the plates. Its inventor, Charles H. Hudson, contended that contemporary armor systems were vulnerable, observing that high-velocity projectiles could penetrate even the thickest iron plates then in use and shatter their supports. His invention sought to remedy this defect by distributing the force of impact through an interposed layer of water.
The orange patent application ticket, signed by Hudson and dated 26 May 1862, likely reflects inspiration drawn from the March 1862 Battle of Hampton Roads, the landmark engagement between the ironclads CSS Virginia and USS Monitor. That clash captured international attention and signaled the obsolescence of traditional wooden warships, spurring a wave of experimentation in naval armor technology. Although Hudson’s patent was formally granted in September 1864, rapid advances in compound and Krupp steel armor soon rendered such intermediary systems less practical, and his design fell out of favor.
[Civil War, Union, Confederate] [Relics, Accouterment, Equipment, Ordnance, Artillery, Ammunition, Arms & Armor, Guns]
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