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National Archives Lecture: War on the Waters, The Union and Confederate Navies, 1861–1865

National Archives, William G. McGowan Theater 700 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, Washington

Even though the two navies represented a small percentage of the Union and Confederate fighting forces, they were crucial to the war's outcome. Civil War historian James M. McPherson recounts the war's naval campaigns, their leaders, and military innovations such as ironclad vessels, naval mines, and the first submarine to sink an enemy vessel. A