Civil War at Sea

Children's Literature

For most people, thoughts of Civil War battles turn to places such as Shiloh, Gettysburg or Antietam. While most of the actual combat occurred between the huge armies mobilized for those struggles, there was also a significant amount of action on the rivers, lakes, and oceans by the respective navies. This often-overlooked element of the Civil War is recapped in this excellently written and illustrated work. Relying heavily upon period photographs and illustrations, the author carefully describes key elements of the naval campaigns that helped to shape the war. Beginning with the blockade of Confederate ports and ending with the capture of Mobile Bay and Fort Fisher this story is indeed a captivating one. At the war's outset, neither side was prepared to undertake the mission at hand. In the North, the U.S. Navy was ill equipped to bottle up the thousands of miles of Confederate coast. In the Confederacy, the absence of raw materials and men made the development of an effective navy problematic. However, on both sides, innovation achieved amazing results. Topics including ironclads, the use and pursuit of Confederate raiders, and the daily life of sailors are each presented in a clear manner. The photographs and illustrations that appear on most pages are a wonderful augmentation of the author's message. 2001, Twenty-First Century Books, . Ages 10 up. Reviewer: Greg M. Romaneck

School Library Journal

Gr 6-10-Every student of the Civil War can recite facts about the famous battle between the ironclad ships Monitor and Merrimac. However, very few could tell you about the battle of the Union ship Kearsarge and the Confederate Alabama that took place in the English Channel in 1864 or about Admiral Farragut and the Battle of Mobile Bay. In this interesting and well-written book, Sullivan seeks to rectify this situation. He lays part of the blame for this lapse in knowledge on the dearth of action photographs of the battles. Photographers such as Mathew Brady couldn't get pictures of naval battles as they occurred simply because no one knew when or where they might take place. Thus, tales of the heroics at sea have often been lost. The illustrations and reproductions included here and the lively text will appeal to every Civil War buff, and will be an excellent source of information for reports.-Elizabeth M. Reardon, McCallie School, Chattanooga, TN Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

In this companion to Portraits of War: Civil War Photographers and Their Work (1998), Sullivan presents an album of the prominent ships and men who fought on both sides, matched to an engrossing account of the war's progress: at sea, on the Mississippi, and along the South's well-defended coastline. In his view, the issue never was in doubt, for though the Confederacy fought back with innovative ironclads, sleek blockade runners, well-armed commerce raiders, and sturdy fortifications, from the earliest stages the North was able to seal off, and then take, one major southern port after another. The photos, many of which were made from fragile glass plates whose survival seems near-miraculous, are drawn from private as well as public collections, and some have never been published before. There aren't any action shots, since mid-19th-century photography required very long exposure times, but the author compensates with contemporary prints, plus crisp battle accounts, lucid strategic overviews, and descriptions of the technological developments that, by war's end, gave this country a world-class navy. He also profiles the careers of Matthew Brady and several less well-known photographers, adding another level of interest to a multi-stranded survey. (source notes, index) (Nonfiction. 10-13)