Synopsis
A naval history of the Civil War uses the words of the men who were there--taken from primary sources such as diaries, letters, and memoirs--to the tell the story from an often forgotten point of view.
Reviews
Musicant (Battleship at War) draws on the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion and a broad spectrum of published primary and secondary sources for this history of the Civil War's naval operations. He focuses on the responses of both combatants to unfamiliar challenges. New ship types?ironclads and submersibles?were merely the most visible characteristics of a general flexibility and originality. This account is an operational narrative, not a strategic analysis. Musicant is at his best when describing the duel between the Kearsarge and the Alabama, or Admiral David Farragut's forcing of Mobile Bay. He demonstrates as well the vital role of Union sea power in such combined-arms riverine operations as the siege of Vicksburg. His final conclusion, that the Union blockade ultimately deprived the Confederacy of the commercial and political contacts it needed to survive, is well supported in this highly readable volume. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
The struggle to control the American coastline and inland waterways was a critical and perhaps even decisive factor in the Civil War. There are some military historians who regard the surrender of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, as far more damaging to Confederate prospects than the defeat at Gettysburg on the previous day. Musicant, a distinguished scholar of naval conflict, has spelled out the chronology and significance of the major naval campaigns in an incisive and engrossing work. Despite relative obscurity, the war at sea had its fair share of gallantry, idiocy, and tragedy. Musicant has the knack for translating relatively complicated military maneuvers into lay terms. He does a deft job of explaining the often Machiavellian political posturing that goes on in the upper echelon of any military endeavor. His examination of the Trent affair, which nearly led to war with Great Britain, is particularly illuminating. This is a fine piece of historical scholarship that both specialists and general readers should enjoy. Jay Freeman
Any number of books on the Civil War cover the major land campaigns in one volume, and many more detail certain aspects of naval actions of the war. Few, however, contain the entire nautical history of the Civil War between their covers, as does this work by Musicant (Banana Wars, Macmillan, 1990). Musicant here details the high seas operations, the blockade of the Confederacy, the futile Union attempt to take Fort Sumter by sea, the clash of the ironclads, and the many riverine operations of the war. Unfortunately, the Confederate navy receives scant credit for having made many innovations and having accomplished what it did despite shortages and overwhelming opposition. Otherwise, this is a welcome addition to any Civil War collection.?Robert A. Curtis, Taylor Memorial P.L., Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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