Five Flags - The Warship that Reshaped the World

From the American Civil War to the Meiji Restoration, one ironclad warship shaped the fate of three nations across four decades of global conflict.

Five Flags tells the story of a Confederate ironclad built in secret, discovered by Union spies, sold to Denmark, returned to France, and ultimately delivered to Japan. Intended to break the Union blockade, the ship never fought for the Confederacy but instead moved through European powers before reaching Japan, where it played a role in the Meiji Restoration.

Armed with a 300-pounder cannon, five inches of armor, and a twenty-foot ram, the vessel traveled from French shipyards to Spanish harbors, through Atlantic storms, and across the Pacific to become part of Japan’s modernizing fleet.

“This is a riveting history that details the evolution of warfare… Stuart Buxton provides a wealth of information on maritime history here, told in both fact and personal stories of the crew members who served onboard. Five Flags is a fascinating chronicle of the international relationships that determined the ship’s fate.” —Independent Book Review

The book follows the ship’s path through the civil wars of the United States, Germany, and Japan, showing how one warship connected key turning points in modern history.