Commander Will Cushing: Daredevil Hero of the Civil War
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- $19.99
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
“Superbly entertaining.”—S. C. Gwynne, best-selling author of Empire of the Summer Moon
October 1864. The confederate ironclad CSS Albemarle had sunk two federal warships and damaged seven others, taking control of the Roanoke River and threatening the Union blockade. Twenty-one-year-old navy lieutenant William Barker Cushing hatched a daring plan: to attack the fearsome warship with a few dozen men in two small wooden boats. What followed, the close-range torpedoing of the Albemarle and Cushing’s harrowing two-day escape downriver from vengeful Rebel posses, is one of the most dramatic individual exploits in American military history.
Theodore Roosevelt said that Cushing “comes next to Farragut on the hero roll of American naval history,” but most have never heard of him today. Tossed out of the Naval Academy for “buffoonery,” Cushing proved himself a prodigy in behind-the-lines warfare. Given command of a small union ship, he performed daring, near-suicidal raids, “cutting out” confederate ships and thwarting blockade runners. With higher commands and larger ships, Cushing’s exploits grow bolder, culminating in the sinking of the Albemarle.
A thrilling narrative biography, steeped in the tactics, weaponry, and battle techniques of the Union Navy, Commander Will Cushing brings to life a compelling yet flawed figure. Along with his three brothers, including one who fell at Gettysburg, Cushing served with bravery and heroism. But he was irascible and complicated—a loveable rogue, prideful and impulsive, who nonetheless possessed a genius for combat.
In telling Cushing’s story, Malanowski paints a vivid, memorable portrait of the army officials, engineers, and politicians scrambling to win the war. But he also goes deeper into the psychology of the daredevil soldier—and what this heroic and tragic figure, who died before his time, can tell us about the ways we remember the glories of war.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Most Americans know the major figures of the Civil War Lincoln, Lee, Grant while it seems like only the hardcore Civil War buffs know about naval action during that war. Fortunately, journalist Malanowski (And the War Came) remedies that with this gripping, accessible biography of Union naval officer Lt. Cdr. William Barker Cushing. Reckless and fearless at the most opportune moments, Cushing possessed traits that enabled him to rise from class clown at the Naval Academy to a famed lieutenant commander by the end of his short life. He became a national hero known for his dangerous exploits, perhaps the most famous of which was taking down the seemingly invincible Confederate ironclad Albemarle, surviving the battle by crawling through a swamp and reappearing after everyone thought he was dead. Malanowski's nimble prose serves the action scenes perfectly and gives Cushing's battles the weight and presentation they deserve. At these points, the book no longer feels like the typical historical read, but has the page-turning excitement of a thriller. Malanowski ends with a brief reflection on what this hero could have become had he lived longer than his 32 years. Readers will admire both Cushing's daring and genius as well as the author's talent for capturing the full scope of them.
