Secessionville: Assault On Charleston

by Patrick Brennan

The fierce June 16, 1862, fighting on the bloody and smoking ramparts of the Tower battery on James Island, South Carolina, took place on the very doorstep of the city of Charleston - "The Cradle of the Confederacy." Unfortunately, the firsts battle to capture one of the Confederacy's most critical seaports has long been overshadowed by other events in distant theaters of the war. Author Pat Brennan's skilful pen strokes brush away the obscuring shadows in Secessionville: Assault on Charleston, the first full-length treatment of this important and long-neglected early-war battle.

Genres: Civil War, Civil War History, Military History

392 pages, Hardcover

First published September 21, 1996

Reviews

[Sean Chick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by a musician, this book is dry but thorough with excellent maps. Although it was a small battle, a Union victory at Secessionville would have meant the fall of Charleston and gone a long way to bringing about a quicker Union victory. Instead, the best chance to take Charleston passed and the city held until 1865.

[William Olenick · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the civil War's missed battles get a full book length coverage. There are lots of maps to cover the actions of the book. Aside from several editorial errors, i.e. repeated sentences or a unfinished page, it does not distract from the story.
It is interesting to see the familiar names and units of the war in their early campaigning. It is an essential book for understanding the siege of Charleston by the Union. Recommend all get to read this excellent book.