Kōtetsu appears in a discussion of the Battle of Hakodate after beginning life as Stonewall for the Confederacy. Its change of ownership was characteristic of several ironclad warships that moved around the world in this period. The same hull therefore belongs to more than one national naval story and carries different meanings under successive owners. Kōtetsu offers a compact example of how a warship's career can connect otherwise distant conflicts and fleets.
Notable Point · 22:00-22:28
Kōtetsu, Stonewall, and an ironclad's global career
The former Confederate ironclad Stonewall reappears as Japan's Kōtetsu, illustrating how early armoured warships moved between states and conflicts.