The Confederate Navy: The Ships, Men And Organization, 1861-65

by William N. Still Jr. (Editor)

This comprehensive guide to the Confederate Navy, covers the ships and men, the organization and facilities, the strategy and tactics, and compiles the operations, including those on the Western rivers. Although short-lived, the Confederate States Navy was one of the most innovative of all time, introducing the ironclad, the spar torpedo, a nd the submersible to naval warfare, and re-defining classic strategies, such as commerce raiding for the steam age. It was a scratch force, created almost overnight and always short of resources, but its achievements were considerable.

Genres: History

Hardcover

First published December 3, 2005

About the author

William Norwood Still, Jr., was an American maritime historian, who was the first director of the program in maritime history at East Carolina University and a noted author of works on U.S. Civil War history and U.S. naval history.

Reviews

[Ginger Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating book. I know a lot about Confederate history, but I didn't know much about the Confederate Navy. This book provides a lot of information about people, ships, and places that I did not know. I never knew that the Confederates were concerned about breaking the Union blockade at Appalachicola, FL. They started building ships in Columbus, GA, with the goal of sailing down the Chattahoochee River to reach Applachicola. They made it as far as Blountstown, then ran into problems, the boat exploded, then a category 2 hurricane hit. There was definitely a lot more going on during the War Between the States than what happened in Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia.

If you would like to understand more about the Confederacy, and its contributions to naval history (first ironclad, first submarine, etc.), I would definitely recommend this book.