Commander Will Cushing: Daredevil Hero of the Civil War

by Jamie Malanowski

The lead writer of the New York Times ’s award-winning “Disunion” series introduces William Barker Cushing, the Civil War’s most celebrated naval hero. October 1864. The confederate ironclad CSS Albemarle had sunk two federal warships and damaged seven others, taking control of the Roanoke River and threatening the Union blockade. Twenty-one-year-old navy lieutenant William Barker Cushing hatched a daring plan: to attack the fearsome warship with a few dozen men in two small wooden boats. What followed, the close-range torpedoing of the Albemarle and Cushing’s harrowing two-day escape downriver from vengeful Rebel posses, is one of the most dramatic individual exploits in American military history. Theodore Roosevelt said that Cushing “comes next to Farragut on the hero roll of American naval history,” but most have never heard of him today. Tossed out of the Naval Academy for “buffoonery,” Cushing proved himself a prodigy in behind-the-lines warfare. Given command of a small union ship, he performed daring, near-suicidal raids, “cutting out” confederate ships and thwarting blockade runners. With higher commands and larger ships, Cushing’s exploits grow bolder, culminating in the sinking of the Albemarle. A thrilling narrative biography, steeped in the tactics, weaponry, and battle techniques of the Union Navy, Commander Will Cushing brings to life a compelling yet flawed figure. Along with his three brothers, including one who fell at Gettysburg, Cushing served with bravery and heroism. But he was irascible and complicated―a loveable rogue, prideful and impulsive, who nonetheless possessed a genius for combat. In telling Cushing’s story, Malanowski paints a vivid, memorable portrait of the army officials, engineers, and politicians scrambling to win the war. But he also goes deeper into the psychology of the daredevil soldier―and what this heroic and tragic figure, who died before his time, can tell us about the ways we remember the glories of war. 8 pages of illustrations

Genres: Civil War, Biography, History, Nonfiction, Military Fiction, American Civil War, American History

304 pages, Hardcover

First published October 20, 2014

About the author

JAMIE MALANOWSKI IS A WRITER AND EDITOR. A member of the original staff of Spy, where he worked seven years, Jamie has also been an editor at Time, Esquire and Playboy, where he was Managing Editor. Jamie has also written for The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, The Washington Monthly, and The New York Times, where he was the lead writer for Disunion, the award-winning series about the Civil War. He is also the author of the novels Mr. Stupid Goes to Washington (Birch Lane, 1992) and The Coup (Doubleday, 2007); the author of And the War Came, a history of the six months that preceded the start of the Civil War (Byliner, 2011); the author of The Book of Levon: The Trial and Triumphs of Levon Helm, an e-single about the life of the musician Levon Helm (Bolt Books, 2013); co-author with Kurt Andersen and Lisa Birnbach of the play and book Loose Lips; co-author, with Martyn Burke, of the HBO movie Pentagon Wars; and co-author, with Susan Morrison, of the humor book Spy High. His articles have been anthologized in Spy: The Funny Years, by Kurt Andersen, Graydon Carter and George Kalogerakis; Killed: Great Journalism Too Hot To Print, edited by David Wallis; Mirth of a Nation, Volume II: The Best Contemporary Humor, edited by Michael J. Rosen; The Playboy Book of True Crime; The Fun Never Stops!: An Anthology of Comic Art 1991-2006, edited by Drew Friedman, Daniel Clowes, and Ben Schwartz; and Lincoln: A President for the Ages, edited by Karl Weber. Jamie lives in Westchester County NY with his wife, Virginia, and daughters Maria and Cara.

Reviews

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to write a paper about a civil war hero for my American History class and i wanted to use someone who was not really famous. An unsung hero of sorts. This book was a great read and very helpful to me. I had never heard of William Cushing before and was fascinated by his story. He was so brave and courageous. He took a huge risk to destroy a major weapon of the Confederacy and succeeded. Commander certainly was the daredevil hero of the civil war!

[Sully Augustine · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars out of 5 - I read this over the past few evenings after running across it during a fruitless search for another book about a Nelsonian era naval daredevil. It was a flawed retelling of the almost unbelievable US Navy career of Will Cushing. He was kicked out of Annapolis for outrageous behavior, sent to the fleet as a Midshipman by the Secretary of the Navy, commissioned a Lieutenant after a couple of daring deeds, promoted to independent command of a ship by the age of 20. After having that small ship sunk under him he took a couple dozen men upriver by night, crashed his boat into the barrier about a Confederate ironclad, put a mine in place more or less by hand and detonated it with a rope just as his jacket was being ripped off his back by the muzzle blast of an six inch gun directly over his head. To escape he swims to the opposite shore while the whole harbor is alive with Confederates trying to hunt him down, steals a boat and returns downriver to the Union Fleet. His doings after that never quite reached the same level, but not for lack of trying. Four stars for the story, 2 stars for the sometimes ponderous prose. I can't believe I never heard of this guy.

[Brendan (History Nerds United) · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you look at Cushing’s actions with the Albermarle in a vacuum, then you see a man who performed a heroic action in a very difficult time. However, Cushing was not a one hit wonder.

He typified the term “suicide mission.” In fact, by the end of the book I really wanted to know if he suffered from some sort of mental illness where all regard for personal safety is snuffed out. It worked out pretty well for him. He was the youngest at that time to ever be promoted to Commander in the U.S. Navy.

Malanowksi has both a lot to work with and at the same time not all that much. Cushing only lived to be 32 years old. He packed a lot of (suicidal) life into those 32, though.

[Tom Darrow · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good biography of a somewhat lesser known Civil War figure. It is a very quick read, with lots of short chapters (55 of them shoved into a 280 page book). You get the feeling that the author or editor does this to pad the page count, but it does cause the reader to want to keep reading, because the next chapter is only like four pages long.
The author does a good job at explaining concepts of naval warfare without getting bogged down in detail.
Another minor criticism is the tangents he goes off on occasionally telling stories about Cushing's brothers and acquaintances. Again, this feels a bit like page count padding.
Overall, though, a quick, educational and entertaining read.

[Bob Rosenbaum · Rating 2 out of 5]

A very average biography

One hundred percent of what I know about Will Cushing comes from this clunky telling, so there is a debt of gratitude. But I can’t help feeling it must have failed to add much new to what is understood about the man from the previous biographies written about him.
And the giant stretch of the epilogue - to suddenly, after 300 pages, spend just 3 or 4 trying to “type”his personality - struck me as a shallow injustice to Cushing as well as to 150 years worth of psychological scholarship.

[Doug Hohbein · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a worthwhile book, and I learned quite a bit about a historical figure of the Civil War era. While reading I felt the author built Will Cushing up to a status not fully deserved. Yes, he carried out some remarkable missions, but he also seemed a bit petulant and received preferential treatment through his connections. It was an interesting read, but the details are slipping away from me already.

[michael butts · Rating 5 out of 5]

In depth history of a leader who is seldom mentioned in civil war books. Exceptionally good read for anyone who likes military history

. The detail given of Cushing's planning and completion of his daring attempts to take the war to the enemy make it a page turner that's hard to put down.

[Artie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost a five just because the subject is someone with one of the most extraordinary lives you'll ever read about. There are a couple parts that aren't as clear as they should be where it seems like expository material was edited out. Also, maps would be very useful, especially in the account of the sinking of the Albemarle and ensuing escape.

[Edward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Swashbuckling biography. A docent at the Chautauqua historical society related the story of the Cushing Brothers, which piqued my interest. You get a sense of the man's character -- a "daredevil", who was likely difficult to get along with, but quite accomplished

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was introduced to Will Cushing while reading BIG BAD IRONCLAD, the second book in the graphic novel series Nathan Hale’s Hazardous Tales. Even though Will was a minor part of the narrative of that book, the accounts of his creative and daring heroics held my curiosity long after finishing that book, and I searched for more about this man. But the pickings were slim. I have to say I was surprised. Now I know I didn’t come across Cushing's story until the last year, but Will Cushing has been credited as being the father of the modern Navy SEAL, so I expected to find something substantial written about him, and felt more than a little cheated when I couldn't find much. I preordered this title and waited patiently for the void to fill.

Malanowski has done an admirable job of piecing together the history of Will and his brothers. Detailing the strategies in each battle or confrontation, and digging deeply into Will’s motivations, the book recounts more than just his dangerous exploits. Will was certainly a human being, flawed and beautiful, and I felt like the book was true to the many sides of his character. I was also amazed at how young he was when he accomplished these things. Young adult readers will likely relate easily with him, especially if they also have an interest in military or the Civil War.

Highlights of Will’s career involve being kicked out of the Naval Academy for numerous pranks, rubbing many a stiff-shirted instructor the wrong way, and then using his outside-of-the-box problem solving (and substantial political connections) to find his way back to the Navy where he quickly rose in the ranks by doing things others thought impossible or too dangerous. He’s mostly credited with sinking the ALBEMARLE, approaching the Confederate ironclad ship on a raft and placing a grenade (mine) directly under the ship’s unprotected underbelly. Once he managed to make it to the ship without being noticed, avoided accidentally setting off the mine, and got it into place, he would still be dangerously close to the blast.

I felt like there were places the narrative dragged a bit, but overall, the book is concise at under 300 pages, so even the slower portions passed quickly. I appreciated the short chapters, as well. There are pictures included in the center pages, which are always a nice touch.

In all, I feel like the void has started to be filled, and I’m grateful to this author for taking on Will Cushing’s story. Now, when I have students who read BIG BAD IRONCLAD and fall in love with Will Cushing like I did, I have the next piece of the puzzle to put in their hands.

• Mild language, racial slurs in the context of time period
• No sexual content
• Violence includes battle violence
• No drinking/drug use

[Stuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading another perspective on the Civil War, Cushing was a hero for the North and survived many battles (both naval and on land), his brothers were not as fortunate with two being killed in battle.

Having sailed in the North Carolina waters mentioned, I especially enjoyed the perspective from the late 1800's, especially with the need for shoal draft ships ... and the battle of the first iron clads featuring the Monitor vs the Merrimack.

If you are a Civil War buff, this is a good book for you!

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book about a nearly forgotten naval hero of the Civil War.