Civil War Navy Timeline
Civil War Naval Chronology
Civil War Timeline of Events
SOME SIGNIFICANT EVENTS OF 1861
12 April
Fort Sumter fired on by Confederate batteries -- the conflict begins.
19 April
President Lincoln issued proclamation declaring blockade of Southern ports
from South Carolina to Texas.
20 April
Norfolk Navy Yard partially destroyed to prevent Yard facilities from falling
into Confederate hands and abandoned by Union forces.
24 May
Commander S. C. Rowan, U.S.S Pawnee, demanded the surrender of Alexandria,
Virginia; an amphibious expedition departed Washington Navy Yard and occupied the town.
3 August
John LaMountain made first ascent in a balloon from Union ship Fanny
at Hampton Roads to observe Confederate batteries on Sewell's Point, Virginia.
29 August
Union forces under Flag Officer S. H. Stringham and General B. F. Butler received
the unconditional surrender of Confederate-held Forts Hatteras and Clark, closing Pamlico Sound.
1 October
Confederate naval forces, including CSS Curlew, Raleigh, and
Junaluska, under Flag Officer W. F. Lynch, CSN, captured steamer Fanny (later CSS Fanny) in Pamlico Sound
with Union troops on board.
7 November
Naval forces under Flag Officer S. F. Du Pont captured Porr Royal Sound. U
S S Tyler, Commander H. Walke, and USS Lexington, Commander R. Stembel, supported 3,000 Union troops under General
Grant at the Battle of Belmont, Missouri, and engaged Confederate batteries along the Mississippi River
8 November
USS San Jacinto, Captain C. Wilkes, stopped British mail steamer Trent
in Old Bahama Channel and removed Confederate Commissioners James Mason and John Slidell.
11 November
Thaddeus Lowe made balloon observation of Confederate forces from Balloon-Boat
G. W. Parke Curtis anchored in Potomac River.
12 November
Fingal (later CSS Atlanta), purchased in England, entered
Savannah laden with military supplies -- the first ship to run the blockade solely on Confederate government account.
21 December
Congress enacted legislation providing for the Medal of Honor.
SOME SIGNIFICANT EVENTS OF 1862
9 January
Flag Officer D. G. Farragut was appointed to command the Western Gulf Blockading
Squadron -- the beginning of the New Orleans campaign.
16 January
Seven armored river gunboats were commissioned, thus providing the naval force
for the overwhelming combined operations in the west.
6 February
Naval forces under Flag Officer A. H. Foote captured strategic Fort Henry
on the Tennessee River. This breached the Confederate line and opened the flood gates for the flow of Union power deep into
the South.
7-8 February
Joint amphibious expedition under Flag Officer L. M. Goldsborough and Brigadier
General A. E. Burnside captured Roanoke Island -- the key to Albemarle Sound.
14 February
Gunboats under Flag Officer A. H. Foote attacked Fort Donelson on the Cumberland
River in conjunction with troops under Brigadier General U. S. Grant. The fort capitulated on 16 February.
3 March
Forces under Flag Officer S. F. Du Pont took Fernandina, Florida, and the
surrounding area in joint operations against the South Atlantic coast.
8 March
Ironclad ram CSS Virginia, Captain F. Buchanan, destroyed wooden blockading
ships USS Cumberland and Congress in Hampton Roads.
9 March
USS Monitor, Lieutenant J. L. Worden, engaged CSS Virginia,
Lieutenant C. ap R. Jones, in the historic first battle of ironclads.
14 March
Joint amphibious assault under Commander S. C. Rowan and Brigadier General
A. E. Burnside captured New Bern, North Carolina -- "an immense depot of army fixtures and manufactures, of shot and shell...''
17 March
CSS Nashville, Lieutenant R. B. Pegram, ran the blockade out of Beaufort,
North Carolina -- a "Bull Run of the Navy.''
4 April
USS Carondelet, Commander H. Walke, dashed past Confederate batteries
on Island No. 10 to support Major General J. Pope's assault on the island.
7 April
Island No. 10, vital to the Confederate defense of the upper Mississippi,
surrendered to the naval forces of Flag Officer A. H. Foote.
24 April
Flag Officer D. G. Farragut's fleet ran past Forts Jackson and St. Philip,
destroyed the defending Confederate flotilla below New Orleans, and, next day, compelled the surrender of the South's largest
and wealthiest city.
10 May
Confederates destroyed the Norfolk and Pensacola Navy Yards in actions caused
by the forced Southern withdrawal from her coasts.
11 May
CSS Virginia was blown up by her crew off Craney Island to prevent
her capture by advancing Union forces.
15 May
The James River Flotilla under Commander J. Rodgers advanced unsupported to
within eight miles of Richmond before being turned back at Drewry's Bluff by batteries manned in part by Confederate Navy
and Marine personnel.
6 June
Gunboats under Captain C. H. Davis and rams under Colonel C. R. Ellet Jr.,
destroyed the upper Mississippi portion of the Confederate River Defense Fleet under Captain J. E. Montgomery at the Battle
of Memphis. The Tennessee city surrendered.
28 June
Flag Officer D. G. Farragut's fleet successfully passed the heavy Vicksburg
batteries; three days later, 1 July, his forces were joined by those of Flag Officer C. H. Davis: the fresh and salt-water
fleets met for the first time.
1-2 July
Flag Officer L. M. Goldsborough's fleet covered the withdrawal of Major General
G. B. McClellan's army after the battle of Malvern Hill.
15 July
CSS Arkansas, Lieutenant I. N. Brown, engaged and ran through the Union
fleet above Vicksburg, partially disabling USS Carondelet and Tyler.
16 July
David Glasgow Farragut promoted to Rear Admiral, the first officer to hold
that rank in the history of the U.S. Navy.
24 August
Commander R. Semmes assumed command of celebrated raider CSS Alabama.
26 August
Franklin Buchanan promoted to Admiral, ranking officer in the Confederate
Navy.
25 September
USS Kensington and Rachel Seaman and mortar schooner Henry
James bombarded Sabine City, Texas, and forced Confederate troops to withdraw from the city.
1 October
The Western Gunboat Fleet was transferred from the War Department to the Navy.
31 October
During October the Confederate Torpedo Bureau was established under Lieutenant
H. Davidson, continuing work pioneered by Commander M. F. Maury.
3 November
CSS Cotton and shore batteries engaged Union squadron at Berwick Bay,
Louisiana. The squadron suffered considerable damage before the gallant Confederate gunboat expended all its ammunition and
was compelled to withdraw.
12 December
USS Cairo, Lieutenant Commander T. O. Selfridge, was sunk in the Yazoo
River, the first ship to be destroyed by a Confederate torpedo.
31 December
USS Monitor, Commander J. P. Bankhead, foundered and was lost at sea
off Cape Hatteras.
SOME SIGNIFICANT EVENTS OF 1863
1 January
CSS Bayou City and Neptune engaged the Union fleet at Galveston,
forcing the North's withdrawal from that foothold on the Texas coast. USS Harriet Lane was captured and USS Westfield
was destroyed.
9-11 January
Gunboats under Rear Admiral D. D. Porter, with troops embarked, compelled
the surrender of Fort Hindman (Arkansas Post) on the Arkansas River.
11 January
CSS Alabama, Captain R. Semmes, engaged and sank USS Hatteras,
Lieutenant Commander H. C. Blake, off Galveston.
14 January
Joint Army-Navy forces attacked Confederate positions at Bayou Teche, Louisiana,
compelling a Southern withdrawal and the subsequent destruction of gunboat CSS Cotton.
17 January
CSS Josiah Bell and Uncle Ben captured USS Morning Light
and Velocity, temporarily lifting the blockade of Sabine Pass, Texas.
30 January
USS Commodore Perry and Army troops severed Confederate supply lines
to Richmond via the Perquimans River, North Carolina.
31 January
CSS Palmetto State and Chicora attacked the blockading fleet
off Charleston; USS Mercedita and Keystone State were heavily damaged and struck their flags.
14 February
USS Queen of the West grounded in the Black River and was abandoned
under heavy fire.
24 February
CSS William H. Webb and Queen of the West engaged and sank ram
USS Indianola below Warrenton, Mississippi.
28 February
USS Montauk, Wissahickon, Seneca, and Dawn shelled and destroyed
blockade runner Rattlesnake (formerly CSS Nashville) under the guns of Fort McAllister, Georgia. For more than
a month, Union ironclads had been bombarding the fort guarding the approaches to Savannah.
11 March
Ships of the Yazoo Pass Expedition, begun in February with the objective of
cutting off Vicksburg in the rear, engaged Fort Pemberton, Mississippi. The expedition ultimately had to retire without achieving
its purpose.
14 March
Rear Admiral D. G. Farragut passed the heavy batteries at Port Hudson with
USS Hartford and Albatross to establish an effective blockade of the vital Red River supply lines.
31 March
Confederate troops opened a sustained attack on Union forces at Washington,
North Carolina, but Northern warships, moving swiftly to the support of the soldiers, halted the assault.
7 April
Rear Admiral S. F. Du Pont's ironclad squadron engaged strong Confederate
forts in Charleston harbor in an attempt to penetrate the defenses and capture the city. The ironclads were heavily damaged
and the attack was broken off; USS Keokuk sank the next day.
16-17 April
Gunboats under Rear Admiral D. D. Porter escorting Army transports successfully
passed the Vicksburg batteries preparatory to attacking Grand Gulf.
3 May
Rear Admiral Porter's force and troops under Major General U. S. Grant forced
the evacuation of Grand Gulf. Porter reported: ''The Navy holds the door to Vicksburg.''
17 June
CSS Atlanta, with two wooden steamers in company, engaged USS Weehawken
and Nahant in Wassaw Sound, Georgia. The heavy Confederate warship grounded and was compelled to surrender.
4 July
Vicksburg surrendered after a lengthy bombardment and siege by Union naval
and land forces. President Lincoln wrote: ''The Father of Waters again goes unvexed to the sea.''
9 July
Port Hudson, Louisiana, surrendered after prolonged attack by Northern sea
and land forces. The Union had won the war in the West.
10 July
Rear Admiral J. A. Dahlgren's ironclads renewed the bombardment of Charleston
defenses, opening on Fort Wagner, Morris Island.
13 July
Yazoo City, Mississippi, was captured by a joint Army-Navy expedition.
1 August
Rear Admiral D. D. Porter relieved Rear Admiral D. G. Farragut of command
of the lower half of the Mississippi and assumed command of the River from New Orleans to the headwaters.
5 August
USS Commodore Barney was severely damaged by Confederate electric torpedo
in the James River above Dutch Gap, Virginia.
29 August
Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley, Lieutenant J. A. Payne, CSN, sank
for the first time in Charleston harbor after making practice dives preparatory to attacking the blockading fleet.
6 September
Morris Island, Charleston harbor, was evacuated by Confederate forces after
nearly 2 months of intensive bombardment from afloat and ashore.
8 September
CSS Uncle Ben and shore batteries turned back a Union expedition to
take Sabine Pass, Texas. USS Clifton and Sachem were disabled and surrendered.
5 October
CSS David, Lieutenant W. T. Glassell, exploded a spar torpedo against
USS New Ironsides in an attempt to destroy the heavy blockader off Charleston. New Ironsides was damaged but
not destroyed.
15 October
Submarine H. L. Hunley sank for the second time in Charleston harbor.
The part owner for whom she was named and a crew of seven perished in the accident, but she was again recovered and a third
crew volunteered to man her.
31 October
During October, instruction began for 52 midshipmen at the Confederate States
Naval Academy on board CSS Patrick Henry in the James River.
2-4 November
Naval forces convoyed and supported Army troops at Brazos Santiago, Texas,
where the Union secured a valuable position on the Mexican border. As a result of this operation, Brownsville, Texas, was
also evacuated.
7 December
Steamer Chesapeake en route Portland, Maine, was seized off Cape Cod
by Confederates disguised as passengers and carried to Nova Scotia.
SOME SIGNIFICANT EVENTS OF 1864
2 February
Confederate boat expedition led by Commander J. T. Wood captured and destroyed
USS Underwriter in the Neuse River, North Carolina.
17 February
Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley sank Union blockader Housatonic
off Charleston -- the first submarine to sink a ship in combat.
12 March
Ships of Rear Admiral D. D. Porter's Mississippi Squadron moved up the Red
River to commence the unsuccessful Army-Navy campaign to gain a foothold in the Texas interior.
19 April
CSS Albemarle, Commander J. W. Cooke, sank USS Southfield and
forced the remainder of the Union squadron at Plymouth, North Carolina, to withdraw. Having gained control of the waterways
in the area, the Confederates were able to capture Plymouth on 20 April.
5 May
USS Sassacus, Wyalusing, and Mattabesett engaged CSS Albemarle
off the mouth of the Roanoke River as the Union sought in vain to regain control near Plymouth.
6 May
Confederate torpedo destroyed USS Commodore Jones in the James River,
Virginia, one of several losses the Union suffered from torpedoes during the year.
13 May
The last of Rear Admiral Porter's squadron, after being trapped by low water,
dashed through the hurriedly constructed Red River dams to safety below the Alexandria rapids.
19 June
USS Kearsarge, Commander J. A. Winslow, sank CSS Alabama, Captain
R. Semmes, off Cherbourg, France, ending the career of the South's most famous commerce raider.
5 August
Rear Admiral D. G. Farragut's fleet steamed by Forts Morgan and Gaines, through
the deadly torpedo field blocking the channel, and into Mobile Bay. In the fierce engagement with the forts and Admiral F.
Buchanan's small squadron, Farragut won a victory worthy of his great name.
6 August
CSS Tallahassee, Commander J. T. Wood, put to sea from Wilmington,
launching a brief but highly successful cruise against Northern shipping.
23 August
Fort Morgan, the last of the three forts at Mobile Bay to remain in Confederate
hands, capitulated.
7 October
USS Wachusett, Lieutenant N. Collins, captured CSS Florida,
Lieutenant C. M. Morris, at Bahia, Brazil. Thus, in the same year were the cruises of the dread raiders Alabama and Florida
ended.
19 October
CSS Shenandoah, Lieutenant J. I. Waddell, commissioned off the Madeira
Islands.
27 October
Torpedo launch commanded by Lieutenant W. B. Cushing destroyed ram CSS Albemarle
in the Roanoke River, assuring the North of renewed control of the waters around Plymouth, North Carolina.
4 November
Confederate raiders captured small gunboats USS Key West, Tawah, and
Elfin near Johnsonville on the Tennessee River.
13 December
Rear Admiral Farragut arrived in New York City, for a period of rest after
his arduous duty in the Gulf of Mexico and was acclaimed as a conquering hero. Ten days later he was promoted to the newly
established rank of Vice Admiral.
21 December
Flag Officer W. W. Hunter destroyed the last of the Confederate Savannah Squadron
to prevent its capture by the advancing forces of General W. T. Sherman.
24-25 December
A joint Army-Navy operation under Rear Admiral Porter and Major General B.
F. Butler unsuccessfully attempted to take the Confederate stronghold of Fort Fisher, Wilmington, by amphibious assault.
SOME SIGNIFICANT EVENTS OF 1865
13-15 January
The joint amphibious assault under Rear Admiral David D. Porter and Major
General Alfred H. Terry took Fort Fisher, the key in the defense of Wilmington, North Carolina, which was the last port by
which supplies from Europe could reach General Lee's troops at Richmond.
23-24 January
The Confederate fleet under Flag Officer John K. Mitchell attempted to dash
down the James River to attack General Grant's headquarters at City Point, Virginia. The bold attack was thwarted when the
heaviest of the ironclads ran aground.
17-18 February
Charleston, confronted by General William T. Sherman's soldiers approaching
from the rear and a Navy-supported amphibious assault from Bull's Bay, was evacuated.
18 February
CSS Shenandoah, Lieutenant James I. Waddell, departed Melbourne to
resume her commerce raiding career in the Pacific.
22 February
Wilmington, North Carolina, was evacuated as Rear Admiral Porter's ships steamed
up the Cape Fear River and General Terry's soldiers marched on the city.
24 March
CSS Stonewall, Captain Thomas J. Page, put to sea from Ferrol, Spain,
en route to Havana. The ironclad was intended to raise the blockade of one or more southern ports.
28 March
Rear Admiral Porter joined Generals Grant and Sherman for a conference with
President Lincoln on board steamer River Queen at City Point, Virginia. They discussed the strategy to be followed
in the closing days of the war and how the South would be treated at the close of the conflict.
2-4 April
CSA Secretary of the Navy Stephen R. Mallory ordered the destruction of the
Confederate James River Squadron and directed its officers and men to join General Lee's troops then in the process of evacuating
Richmond and retreating westward toward Danville.
3 April
Midshipmen at the Confederate Naval Academy, under the command of Lieutenant
William H. Parker, escorted the archives of the government and the specie and bullion of the treasury from Richmond to Danville
and southward.
4 April
Rear Admiral Porter accompanied President Lincoln up the James River to Richmond
on board flagship Malvern. Vice Admiral David G. Farragut had already arrived in the Confederate capital.
9 April
General Lee met General Grant at Appomattox Courthouse and formally surrendered
the Army of Northern Virginia.
11-12 April
Batteries Tracy and Huger, up the Blakely River from Spanish Fort, fell to
Union forces and Confederate troops evacuated Mobile, which was surrendered by the mayor.
14 April
President Lincoln was shot shortly after 10 p.m. while watching "Our American
Cousin'' at Ford's Theatre, Washington. He died at 7:22 a.m. the next morning.
14 April
Major General Anderson, Commander of the Union Army garrison at Fort Sumter
on 14 April 1861, raised above Sumter's ruins "the same United States flag which floated over the battlements of that fort
during the rebel assault...."
23-24 April
CSS Webb, Lieutenant Read, dashed from the Red River and entered the
Mississippi in a heroic last-ditch effort to escape to sea. Trapped below New Orleans, Webb was grounded and fired
to avoid capture.
27 April
The body of John Wilkes Booth, President Lincoln's assassin, was delivered
on board USS Montauk, anchored in the Anacostia River off the Washington Navy Yard.
3 May
CSA Secretary of the Navy Mallory submitted his resignation to President Davis
at Washington, Georgia.
10 May
President Jefferson Davis was captured by Union troops near Irwinville, Georgia.
19 May
CSS Stonewall, Captain T. J. Page, was turned over to Cuban officials
at Havana.
2 June
Terms of surrender of Galveston were signed on board USS Fort Jackson
by Major General E. Kirby Smith on behalf of the Confederacy.
22 June
Secretary Welles announced to the naval forces that France and Great Britain
had "withdrawn from the insurgents the character of belligerents'', and that the blockade of the coast of the United States
would soon be lifted.
28 June
This date marked the most successful single day CSS Shenandonh, Lieutenant
Waddell, enjoyed as a commerce raider during her long cruise that spanned 13 months and covered 58,000 miles. On this field
day, Waddell captured 11 American whalers near the narrows of the Bering Strait.
18 July
Rear Admiral Louis M. Goldsborough arrived at Flushing, in the Netherlands,
where he hoisted his flag on USS Colorado and assumed command of the reinstated European Squadron. The East India Squadon
was reactivated on 31 July.
2 August
Lieutenant Waddell, CSS Shenandoah, spoke the English bark Barracouta
and for the first time learned positively that the war was over. He determined to make a nonstop voyage to Liverpool, England,
via Cape Horn.
12 August
Brazil Squadron reactivated under Rear Admiral Godon in flagship Susquehanna.
11 September
Emperor Maximilian approved the "Regulations and Instructions'' prepared by
Matthew Fontaine Maury to encourage emigration of Southerners to Mexico. The Emperor also appointed Maury director of the
proposed National Observatory.
3 November
Secretary Welles ordered all naval vessels to resume rendering honors when
entering British ports and to begin again exchanging official courtesies with English men of war.
6 November
CSS Shenandoah, Lieutenant Waddell, arrived at Liverpool, England,
123 days and 23,000 miles from the Aleutians. Waddell lowered the last official Confederate flag, and his ship was ultimately
turned over to American authorities.
4 December
Secretary Welles announced that the West India Squadron was to be re-established
under Commodore James S. Palmer, in that area ''where we have so large a trade, owing to the proximity of the islands to our
shores, it is essential that we cultivate friendly relations."
31 December
In his annual report to the President, Secretary Welles wrote: ''It is still
wise -- the wisest -- economy to cherish the navy, to husband its resources, to invite new supplies of youthful courage and
skill to its service, to be amply supplied with all needful facilities and preparations for efficiency, and thus to hold within
prompt and easy reach its vast and salutary power for the national defence and self- vindication."
This chronology of events from the American Civil War was extracted from
Civil War Naval Chronology, 1861-1865, published in 1971 by the Naval Historical Center. This volume is out of print
but copies are available for use at large university or public libraries, and at Government Depository libraries (Catalog
No. D207.2 :C 49/Comp).
(Continued below)
Recommended
Reading: Civil War Navies, 1855-1883 (The
U.S. Navy Warship Series) (Hardcover).
Description: Civil War Warships, 1855-1883 is the second in the five-volume US Navy Warships encyclopedia set. This valuable
reference lists the ships of the U.S. Navy and Confederate Navy during the Civil War and the years immediately following -
a significant period in the evolution of warships, the use of steam propulsion, and the development of ordnance. Civil War
Warships provides a wealth and variety of material not found in other books on the subject and will save the reader the effort
needed to track down information in multiple sources. Continued below…
Each ship's
size and time and place of construction are listed along with particulars of naval service. The author provides historical
details that include actions fought, damage sustained, prizes taken, ships sunk, and dates in and out of commission as well
as information about when the ship left the Navy, names used in other services, and its ultimate fate. 140 photographs, including
one of the Confederate cruiser Alabama recently uncovered by the author further contribute to this
indispensable volume. This definitive record of Civil War ships updates the author's previous work and will find a lasting
place among naval reference works.
Recommended
Reading: Naval Campaigns of the Civil War.
Description: This analysis of naval engagements during the War Between the States presents the action from the efforts at
Fort Sumter during the secession of South Carolina in 1860, through the battles in the Gulf of Mexico, on the Mississippi
River, and along the eastern seaboard, to the final attack at Fort Fisher on the coast of North Carolina in January 1865.
This work provides an understanding of the maritime problems facing both sides at the beginning of the war, their efforts
to overcome these problems, and their attempts, both triumphant and tragic, to control the waterways of the South. The Union
blockade, Confederate privateers and commerce raiders are discussed, as is the famous battle between the Monitor and the Merrimack. Continued below…
An overview
of the events in the early months preceding the outbreak of the war is presented. The chronological arrangement of the campaigns
allows for ready reference regarding a single event or an entire series of campaigns. Maps and an index are also included.
About the Author: Paul Calore, a graduate of Johnson and Wales University,
was the Operations Branch Chief with the Defense Logistics Agency of the Department of Defense before retiring. He is a supporting
member of the U.S. Civil War Center and the Civil War Preservation Trust and has also written Land Campaigns of the Civil
War (2000). He lives in Seekonk, Massachusetts.
Recommended
Reading: Rebels and Yankees: Naval Battles of the Civil War (Hardcover). Description: Naval Battles of the Civil War, written by acclaimed Civil War historian Chester G. Hearn,
focuses on the maritime battles fought between the Confederate Rebels and the Union forces in waters off the eastern seaboard
and the great rivers of the United States
during the Civil War. Since very few books have been written on this subject, this volume provides a fascinating and vital
portrayal of the one of the most important conflicts in United States
history. Naval Battles of the Civil War is lavishly illustrated with rare contemporary photographs, detailed artworks, and
explanatory maps, and the text is a wonderful blend of technical information, fast-flowing narrative, and informed commentary.
Recommended
Reading: A History of Ironclads: The Power of Iron over Wood. Description: This
landmark book documents the dramatic history of Civil War ironclads and reveals how ironclad warships revolutionized naval
warfare. Author John V. Quarstein explores in depth the impact of ironclads during the Civil War and their colossal effect
on naval history. The Battle of Hampton Roads was one of history's greatest naval engagements. Over the course of two days
in March 1862, this Civil War conflict decided the fate of all the world's navies. It was the first battle between ironclad
warships, and the 25,000 sailors, soldiers and civilians who witnessed the battle vividly understood what history would soon
confirm: wars waged on the seas would never be the same. Continued below…
About the Author: John V. Quarstein is an award-winning author and historian. He is director
of the Virginia
War Museum in Newport News and chief historical advisor for The Mariners' Museum's new USS Monitor Center
(opened March 2007). Quarstein has authored eleven books and dozens of articles on American, military and Civil War history,
and has appeared in documentaries for PBS, BBC, The History Channel and Discovery Channel.
Recommended
Reading: Lincoln and His Admirals (Hardcover).
Description: Abraham Lincoln began his presidency admitting that he knew "little about ships," but he quickly came to preside
over the largest national armada to that time, not eclipsed until World War I. Written by prize-winning historian Craig L.
Symonds, Lincoln and His Admirals unveils an aspect of Lincoln's presidency unexamined by historians until now, revealing
how he managed the men who ran the naval side of the Civil War, and how the activities of the Union Navy ultimately affected
the course of history. Continued below…
Beginning with
a gripping account of the attempt to re-supply Fort Sumter--a comedy of errors that shows
all too clearly the fledgling president's inexperience--Symonds traces Lincoln's
steady growth as a wartime commander-in-chief. Absent a Secretary of Defense, he would eventually become de facto commander
of joint operations along the coast and on the rivers. That involved dealing with the men who ran the Navy: the loyal but
often cranky Navy Secretary Gideon Welles, the quiet and reliable David G. Farragut, the flamboyant and unpredictable Charles
Wilkes, the ambitious ordnance expert John Dahlgren, the well-connected Samuel Phillips Lee, and the self-promoting and gregarious
David Dixon Porter. Lincoln was remarkably patient; he often
postponed critical decisions until the momentum of events made the consequences of those decisions evident. But Symonds also
shows that Lincoln could act decisively. Disappointed by the
lethargy of his senior naval officers on the scene, he stepped in and personally directed an amphibious assault on the Virginia coast, a successful operation that led to the capture of Norfolk.
The man who knew "little about ships" had transformed himself into one of the greatest naval strategists of his age. A unique
and riveting portrait of Lincoln and the admirals under his command, this book offers an illuminating account of Lincoln and the nation at war. In the bicentennial year of Lincoln's birth, it offers a memorable portrait of a side of his presidency
often overlooked by historians.
Recommended
Reading: Last Flag Down:
The Epic Journey of the Last Confederate Warship. From Publishers Weekly: Thriller writer Baldwin (The Eleventh Plague et al.) joins forces with the prolific Powers
(coauthor of Flags of Our Fathers et al.) to come up with a fast-reading Civil War true adventure saga centered a on young
CSA navy lieutenant. The 24-year-old Conway Whittle, an ancestor of Baldwin's, was assigned
as first lieutenant and executive officer on the Confederate raider Shenandoah late in the war. The ship sailed from London disguised as a merchant vessel and underwent a memorable cruise
round the globe, attacking and destroying Yankee merchant ships and whalers. Whittle and company kept up their daring sea
raids until August of 1865, when they learned that the war had ended five months earlier. The ship returned to England, having flown the last Confederate flag at sea in
defiance of the U.S. Baldwin and Powers recount their tale in a lively, evocative style and may be forgiven for being overly
fond of their hero. Whittle, they say, "was as good a man as history seems able to produce: a warrior of courage inconceivable
to most people; a naval officer of surpassing calm and intelligence; a seeker after Christian redemption; a steadfast lover;
a student of human nature; a gentle soul; a custodian of virtue."
Recommended
Reading: Lincoln's Navy: The Ships, Men and Organization, 1861-65 (Hardcover). Review: Naval historian Donald L. Canney provides
a good overview of the U.S. Navy during the Civil War, describing life at sea, weapons, combat, tactics, leaders, and of course,
the ships themselves. He reveals the war as a critical turning point in naval technology, with ironclads (such as the Monitor)
demonstrating their superiority to wooden craft and seaborne guns (such as those developed by John Dahlgren) making important
advances. The real reason to own this oversize book, however, is for the images: more than 200 of them, including dozens of
contemporary photographs of the vessels that fought to preserve the Union. There are maps
and portraits, too; this fine collection of pictures brings vividness to its subject that can't be found elsewhere.
Recommended
Reading: The Rebel Raiders: The Astonishing History of the Confederacy's Secret Navy (American Civil War). From Booklist: DeKay's modest monograph pulls together
four separate stories from the naval aspects of the American Civil War. All have been told before but never integrated as
they are here. The first story is that of James Bulloch, the Confederate agent who carefully and capably set out to have Confederate
commerce raiders built in neutral England.
The second is that of the anti-American attitudes of British politicians, far more extreme than conventional histories let
on, and U.S. Ambassador Charles Francis Adams' heroic fight against them. The third is a thoroughly readable narrative of
the raider Alabama and her capable, quirky captain, Raphael
Semmes. The final story is about the Alabama claims--suits for damages done to the U.S. merchant marine by Confederate raiders, which became
the first successful case of international arbitration. Sound and remarkably free of fury, DeKay's commendable effort nicely
expands coverage of the naval aspects of the Civil War.
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