Mobile Under Siege: Surviving the Union Blockade (Civil War)

On August 5, 1864, the Civil War arrived at Mobile's doorstep. The Union navy blockaded Mobile Bay and the city for eight months. Confederate general Dabney Maury fought to protect the city and its citizens who refused to leave, such as Octavia LeVert and Augusta Evans. Union admiral Farragut and General Canby slowly starved the city, knowing that the fall of Mobile could end the war. Author Paula Webb details the experiences of the ordeal and the defeat of a Confederate city that echoed through the entire country.

Paula Lenor Webb is a government documents reference and outreach librarian at the University of South Alabama. She has a master's in library and information science from the University of Alabama and a BA in English from Judson College. Paula is associated with the Mobile Genealogical Society, Mobile Historical Society and the History Museum of Mobile. Born in Mobile, the marriage of her library science degree and her love of research carried her deep into the history of her beloved home city.