Mr. Lincoln's Brown Water Navy: The Mississippi Squadron

by Gary D. Joiner

The Union inland navy that became the Mississippi Squadron is one of the greatest, yet least studied aspects of the Civil War. Without it, however, the war in the West may not have been won, and the war in the East might have lasted much longer and perhaps ended differently. The men who formed and commanded this large fighting force have, with few exceptions, not been as thoroughly studied as their army counterparts.

The vessels they created were highly specialized craft which operated in the narrow confines of the Western rivers in places that could not otherwise receive fire support. Ironclads and gunboats protected army forces and convoyed much needed supplies to far-flung Federal forces. They patrolled thousands of miles of rivers and fought battles that were every bit as harrowing as land engagements yet inside iron monsters that created stifling heat with little ventilation. This book is about the intrepid men who fought under these conditions and the highly improvised boats in which they fought. The tactics their commanders developed were the basis for many later naval operations. Of equal importance were lessons learned about what not to do. The flag officers and admirals of the Mississippi Squadron wrote the rules for modern riverine warfare.

Genres: Civil War, Military Fiction, History

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Cropredy · Rating 2 out of 5]

My wife's great, great grandfather built the Ozark, a river monitor actually used in Mr. Lincoln's Brown Water Navy. Hence, I bought this book to learn more.

Two stars - well, it was "OK". The good points were:

- lots of photos and engravings of the various rams, tinclads, timberclads, and ironclads that served on the Mississippi and its tributaries. As I had the paperback of this book, these pictures were small and of course printed on coarser paper than the presumptive hardback. But, many of these images I had never seen.
- the author listed all of his notes at the end of each chapter which I find to be helpful. The book was clearly deeply researched

The not so good points:

Because of the book's scope (the entire war), it tended to be heavy on the what happened at each battle (Ft. Henry, Ft. Donelson, Island No. 10, etc) that has been oft-repeated and better-told in individual books on each battle or campaign. Thus, the story has no new slant, no vivid writing, or any particular analytical focus that exposed new ways of looking at the conflict. In the rare sections where first person accounts are reproduced, it got better.

There's also no analytic synthesis as to how the Union Navy got better as the war progressed. By way of contrast, there are good accounts of how the Union Army, especially in the East, got more professional and their weaponry, tactics, and logistics evolved.

As constructive criticism, a story not yet told was on how Porter and his staff managed the logistics of the fleet. How were ships repaired? How often were they out-of-service?

While the construction of the initial ships is detailed, there are many unanswered questions - like why two smokestacks and why so tall? What were the advantages and disadvantages of screw versus paddle wheel propulsion? Did the wooden enclosures around the paddle wheels make a difference?

I'd recommend reading individual battle/campaign books which will include the naval element in as much or greater detail than in this book. Otherwise, if you are interested in how the various ships looked like across types, this book shines.

[Stephen Neal · Rating 4 out of 5]

While admittedly history books are not for everyone, anyone who has an interest in Civil War history owes it to themselves to read this book. I'll start with the pros/cons.

Pros: There is a lot of information in this book on the inland navy and how it proved to be an asset to the Union victory. MLBWN is written well and is concise, moving chronologically through the inland navy's conception, implementation, and dismantlement after the war's conclusion.

Cons: It has a habit of getting a little too technical and bogged down in the numbers instead of simply moving through the narrative, making it pretty dry in some spots.

That being said, dry spots aside the book is one I would highly recommend. I'm a budding history buff and getting an in-depth look at a piece of history I knew nothing about. The history is thoroughly researched and it's obvious that Mr. Joiner knows what he's doing and that he's passionate about his subject. MLBWN is written to cater to a specialized audience, but it doesn't require a PhD in history to understand. A familiarity with some key historical figures is certainly helpful, but not required as Mr. Joiner makes a point of providing the reader with a brief snippet about each person after they're introduced.

The reason I knocked it down from 5 stars to 4 is because of the parts where it lacks. In a work of fiction I can forgive lagging a little because of the rest of the plot, but in a work of history where a lot of people know something about the events surrounding it I find that a lagging narrative detracts more from the overall experience. History books have a bad reputation for being as interesting as watching paint dry so it's even more important to keep the audience's attention. On the whole however Mr. Joiner does a good job and the fact that he really knows his information is why this is one book I intend to keep.

[Jay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mr. Joiner does an excellent job of covering in some detail an era and theater on which very little detail exists. Although this volume comes in at a fairly slim 160-some pages of narrative (the remaining pages are endnotes and bibliography), it is nevertheless the most complete, focused history of the gunboat war to date.

Mr. Joiner's prose is strained, every now and then, but in general, he does an excellent job turning the history into interesting reading.

Overall, thumbs up: a wonderful piece of history by an expert in the field.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Smoothly-written but largely mediocre history of the operations of the Western Gunboat Flotilla/Mississippi Squadron during the Civil War. This material has been covered before (and better), particularly by Fletcher Pratt's 'Civil War on Western Waters' and John Milligan's 'Gunboats Down the Mississippi.' However, the section on the Red River campaign stands head and shoulders above the rest of the book; this is likely because that particular campaign is the author's area of specialty.

[Olean Public Library · Rating 3 out of 5]

-It was interesting to learn so much about the Navy history so far back. Our waters have always been guarded it seems. Learning about the old maps was interesting.