Under Two Flags
The American Navy in the Civil War
-
- $23.99
-
- $23.99
Publisher Description
Vividly written and well researched by a noted historian of the period, this succinct history credits the Union Navy as an essential element in the northern victory. Neither ponderous nor hagiographic, the work presents characters and events that have been previously neglected and offers candid assessments of officers, men, and material. Originally published in 1990, when it was a Military History Book Club selection, the work is considered a must for Civil War buffs. It is an authoritative and gripping story of the battles waged. The author provides a rare look at the war fought by primitive northern gunboats drifting through Louisiana's muddy bayous, Yankee merchantmen captured by rebel privateers at sea, and Union ironclads subduing hotly defended Southern forts. Nor does William Fowler neglect the subtler sparrings behind the scenes: War Secretary Stanton and Navy Secretary Welles competing for Lincoln's favor and Welles's fierce duel of strategies with his Confederate counterpart, Stephen Mallory. Finally, the author describes the astonishing transformation of the Navy itself from a ragtag fleet of aging steamers and paddleboats to one of the most powerful waterborne forces in the world.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
By the author of Jack Tars and Commodores , this is a lively popular account of Union and Confederate naval operations during the War Between the States. Fowler describes how the Union blockade of Southern ports isolated the Confederacy and the subsequent struggle for inland waterways as control of the Mississippi became a crucial strategic factor. He reveals how Confederate naval secretary Stephen Mallory squandered the South's slender resources on the impractical raiding of Federal merchant shipping on the high seas. He explains why both sides were slow to recognize the usefulness of the ironclad warship which, with the appearance of John Ericsson's Monitor , revolutionized naval warfare. The narrative hangs on a series of vivid accounts of naval campaigns and battles, including David Farragut's victories at New Orleans and Mobile Bay and David Porter's contribution to Ulysses S. Grant's Vicksburg campaign. Without a powerful navy, Fowler argues, the North could not have won the war. Photos.
