Under the Blue Pennant: or Notes of a Naval Officer

"Rare . . . gives us insights into how Union naval officers thought, how they lived . . . entertaining and informative for the general reader and a mine of material for the specialist."-Journal of Military History

"A small, long-submerged treasure that will reward those willing to give in to the unfamiliar waters of the Civil War's naval history."-Civil War Book Reviews "A surprisingly lively and modern read . . . a welcome addition to our knowledge of the lives of men who served in the Civil War."-Kirkus Reviews


"Fresh and highly revealing." -Richmond Times-Dispatch


Now available in paperback, this highly acclaimed eyewitness account of the Civil War at sea provides fascinating insights into command decisions made on the bridge as well as life below deck. Recently discovered in the Library of Congress archives, this memoir was written just after the Civil War by John Grattan, an ensign in the Union navy who witnessed some of the war's most significant naval operations.

Under the editorship of acclaimed naval historian Robert Schneller, Grattan's account of the crucial struggle for control of the Atlantic seaboard bristles with the tension of combat. With sharply etched details of blockade running, guerrilla warfare, fierce underwater battles, the brutal advance on Richmond, and visits to the front lines by President Abraham Lincoln, this rare memoir includes personal observations of key naval and military leaders and rescues less-celebrated heroes from obscurity. Sparkling with Victorian wit, this from-the-front report opens a window into the lives of ordinary soldiers and the men who led them into war.

JOHN W. GRATTAN was an acting ensign in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War, serving in the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron. ROBERT J. SCHNELLER, Jr. is a naval historian with the U.S. Naval Historical Center in Washington, D.C. He is the author of A Quest for Glory: A Biography of Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren.