Really Bad Union Player with some questions..

[mjmooneywi]

First question...its a long one..

Can you tell me the uses of each of the Union ship types? I seem to use them very badly..

[Durk]

Great question and one to which I will give some insight, but there will be more which I missed.
The Union has at least four tasks for its ships:
1. Close blockade of Southern ports
2. Distant blockade of Southern commerce
3. Protecting Union commerce
4. Supporting land units in river and ocean invasions.

For the blockade, most Union ships help. For close blockade, look at what the region requires in combat ships, type does not matter.
For distant blockade (I am on shaky ground) each Frigate or Sloop helps stop the Rebel import.
In the Union shipping block, you want to chase away CSA raiders. So Frigates and if you build them, armored frigates.
For landings, use your transports which you must guard with combat ships. Most vessels protect transports. Build sufficient Wooden ships, Tin Clad and Ironclad vessels to best what the CSA builds.

If you think of ship by purpose, any non-transport units are fighting ships. Look to their qualities and costs.
Transport ships need other ships to protect them.
An odd Union type is the Mortarboat. This is purpose built to bombard forts. In historical terms, these helped take New Orleans.
The other odd type is Flatboat. These are cheap transport and can be used to build depots.

Quick take.

[mjmooneywi]

OK some follow up questions.
Steam Frigate vs. Sail Frigate Vs. Armored Frigate...what should I be building?
Brigs Brigs and more Brigs..why do people think they should be built in great numbers?
Will I be able to actually use Mortar boats?
Why should I have a transport with a blockade Flotilla?
Monitors? And River Ironclads..are these my only true 'Battleships'?

[Gray Fox]

You don't need to build any warships. You have more than enough. I build every one of the ocean transports and put them all (along with the starting OTs) in the shipping box. You'll get a lot of WS and Cash from trade.

Mortar boats add +1 to a adjacent siege during a land attack.

If your blockade sqyadrons are set to Green/Green, then they will blockade the CSA and stay on station for several game years without the need to resupply from a transport. If they fight a lot, they may have to return to port for ammo.

[mjmooneywi]

SO what is the best way to handle the shipping box..lots of transports and what for escorts?

[Captain_Orso]

The Shipping Box only needs protection if there are Raiders in it. If there are Raiders in it, even if they don't appear on the map, you should get a message stating that raiders were spotted. When the Alabama event fires there will definitely be Raiders in the Shipping Box.

The most effective way to fight Raiders is to send patrols into and out of the Shipping Box each turn. Each time a fleet enters or exits the box there seems to be a far greater chance of them finding a Raider than if the patrol simply remained there. This requires a fair amount of management.

A patrolling fleet should have at least 1 Sail Frigate--they have the best detection rating--and a couple of Steam Frigates for their offensive values. It's not really necessary to give them a transport, because all the sailing in and out of the Shipping Box costs on cohesion, and you'll want to keep the cohesion high, so you'll have to send each patrol back to harbor to recover after a couple of months at sea. So you will need at least 2, better 3 or 4 such patrols to always have the Shipping Box covered.

[mjmooneywi]

Thanks guys for the insight..I am sure I will have follow up topics.