By Myron J. Smith, Jr., McFarland, Henderson, NC, (2012). Reviewed by John Grady Myron Smith has delivered a wonderfully detailed account of the stubborn fighting that continued along the Yazoo River for much of the Civil War. For the Union Navy, in particular, it was a sometimes brutish brawl that continued after the fall of
By John M. Stickney, University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, SC, (2012). Reviewed by Larry A. Grant The culmination of work done over a forty-year period, Promotion or the Bottom of the River: The Blue and Gray Naval Careers of Alexander F. Warley, South Carolinian is the naval biography of a long-service officer of the
By James P. Delgado, Texas A&M University Press, College Station: TX, (2012) Reviewed by Phillip G. Pattee, Ph.D When I saw the title of James P. Delgado’s most recent book, I mistakenly believed it would chronicle the storied life of the CSS Hunley simply because this was the only Civil War submarine with which I
By James M. McPherson, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill NC, (2012). Reviewed by Kenneth J. Blume, Ph.D. Do we need yet another book about the naval side of the Civil War? When the book has been written by the nation’s preeminent scholar of the Civil War, the answer is certainly yes. James M.
By Chuck Veit, Self-Published, United States (2010) Reviewed by Nathan Albright Chuck Veit, the President of the Naval & Marine Living History Association and founder of the U.S. Naval Landing Party, has managed an impressive feat in A Dog Before A Soldier. In this self-published collection of essays, Veit has written something that will be
By Mark Lardas, Osprey Publishing, (2011) Reviewed by Thomas P. Ostrom The author, Mark Lardas, brings a degree in naval architecture and marine engineering to his analysis of this epic American Civil War naval battle; as well as experience in writing as a military historian, and ship modeler. The book is enhanced with magnificent illustrations
By Craig L. Symonds. Oxford University Press, New York, NY. (2012) Reviewed by William Whyte Renowned historian Craig Symonds, Professor of History Emeritus at the U.S. Naval Academy, has penned a compact, topical overview of the naval effects on the U.S. Civil War. Symonds has written a number of works on the Civil War, most
By Gary McKay, Birlinn Limited, Edinburgh, (2009) Reviewed by John Grady James Iredell Waddell is long overdue for a full-blown biography; and Gary McKay comes close to providing it. In the last five years, the commerce raider he commanded, CSS Shenandoah, and its around-the-world attacks on Union shipping -particularly the North Pacific whaling fleet —
By Paul Williams, Fantascope Pty. Ltd., Australia (2012) Reviewed by Diana L. Ahmad, Ph.D. Missouri University of Science and Technology In the 2012 edition of The Shenandoah Affair, author Paul Williams provides lay historians with an expanded edition of his 1992 historical novel about the adventures of CSS Shenandoah in Australia. There are basically two
By John D. Broadwater, foreword by James P. Delgado. Texas A&M University Press, College Station, TX (2012). Reviewed by Kenneth J. Blume, Ph.D. Although she had a career of less than one year, USS Monitor is arguably America’s most famous warship. Furthermore, locating and recovering Monitor form one of the great stories of maritime archaeology
By MC2 Gina Morrissette and MC1 Amy Kirk As part of the 150th Anniversary of the USS Monitor and the legendary Battle of Hampton Roads, the U.S. Navy Memorial in Washington, D.C., hosted a commemorative program in collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office (NOAA) of National Marine Sanctuaries, the Naval History and
Last fall we learned about an exciting new publication about the American Civil War. This brand new quarterly magazine is called the Civil War Monitor, and it looks to bridge the gulf between academic and popular history. According to the magazine, it is “devoted to the belief that popular history need not be superficial or
We hope you had a safe and happy New Year’s celebration. We here at the Naval Historical Foundation are excited about 2012, as it promises to be a year full of commemorations of naval history. There will be an opportunity for the public to not only read and learn about the history of the U.S.
In September we told you about “Wings for the Navy,” a documentary celebrating the Centennial of Naval Aviation, produced by R.H. Rositzke & Associates. The film-making team recently completed production on their newest documentary, about the American Civil War. “Civil War At Sea” is a 26 minute documentary about the U.S. Navy’s often-overlooked role in
