In the mid-19th century, sailing ships of old were getting outdated very quickly, as new developments in alloys and machinery introduced the new king of the seas: the Ironclad. Those steam-powered beasts were the first warships made entirely of steel, as opposed to fragile wood which was very vulnerable to fire and explosions. The first Ironclad, The Gloire, was built for the French navy in late 1859, but it was the British navy who had the first battlefleet composed entirely of Ironclads. Such ships were crucial to many conflicts, including the American Civil War, as their advantage over the Ships of the Line was absolute. The very term "ironclad" was dropped towards the end of the 19th century, but the design remained in use and continued to evolve into later forms, such as the Battleship.