Notable Books of a Nautical Nature

By Roger Semplak and Marc Ramsey · Originally published November 2019 · pp. 1–5

When presented with the opportunity to write about books, one quickly realizes that new books are being published weekly dealing with the American Civil War, our favorite subject. Many books are reviewed in various publications, notably the Civil War News, but what is sometimes forgotten is that with each new publication some earlier works fall deeper into obscurity. Many early works are primary source material, but with the passage of time and the publication of so much new material, they become relegated to either being referenced through a snippet footnoted quote, or combined with multiple footnotes pulled together to support the new author’s theorem or perspective. Additionally, with the massive digitalization effort underway, today’s researchers can glean an immense amount of informative data without ever having to deal with a single work in its entirety. This ability to rack and stack data, to synthesize and impersonally analyze these points, sometimes results in the loss of the meaning and full intent expressed by the original author without fully appreciating the times and societal norms impacting that writer. There is currently a popular series of books that contain no form of recognizable citation. This lack of proper notation may potentially lead future generations into believing that these works contain original thought or experiences making them appear as the equivalent of the original primary information provided by actual participants. With each passing year more and more worthy books are produced and the primary originals continue to fade farther from existence either into special collections retained by colleges and libraries or in a digitalized format where the joy of reading is reduced to a blinking cursor. Given the present situation, we are going to look at a category of American Civil War literature that you might want to explore while the works are still available in book form. This article focuses on books associated with naval events during the Civil War, beginning with what is referred to as the blue water navy. Please note that the order and arrangement do not denote preferences by the authors but rather how these titles come into mind. Additionally, this listing should not be considered a definitive recommended reading list but rather some suggestions that we hope the reader will find rewarding, informative, and worth the time expended to read them. There are far fewer books on naval actions because fewer individuals were actually involved in naval activities. There were also far fewer major engagements to report, and when major naval engagements did occur they generally were limited to a small number of vessels. While overall naval operations played a major role in the conduct of the war, the navies rarely got the newspaper coverage associated with so many huge and bloody land engagements. We begin our voyage into the nautical realm with the three volumes that compose the Diary of Gideon Welles; Secretary of the Navy under Lincoln and Johnson, edited by Edgar T. Welles. Most readers look to Welles’ work for insight into the operation and thinking of the Lincoln cabinet during the war. The diaries record a vast amount of insider information on the inner workings, discussions, and political rivalries that took place within the cabinet, but are often overlooked for insightful information related to building the Federal Navy. Gideon Wells started his career as Secretary of the Navy with a relatively small force consisting of a limited number of steam-driven, ocean-going vessels along with some left over older, sail powered ships. By the middle of the conflict, he had modernized and expanded the Union fleet into the largest naval force in the world. This modernization effort included development of unequally designed vessels for both harbor and river use with many being armor plated and some with turrets. This force was not only capable of enforcing the blockade but also controlling interior rivers, thereby successfully limiting both Confederate internal movements and its ability to receive outside foreign support. A note of caution should be applied when using earlier additions of the diaries because the editing precluded derogatory comments about still living individuals. An excellent companion to the Well’s offering is the Confidential Correspondence of Gustavas Vasa Fox, Assistant Secretary of the Navy edited by Robert Thompson and Richard Wainwright. This volume provides an abundant source of information related to the Union Navy’s strategic and administrative operations while providing insights into the principal naval commanders. If these two offerings have not satisfied your craving for high level naval history then try Charles B. Boynton’s two volume The History of the Navy During the Rebellion. While providing something of a pro-union interpretation, the author can somewhat be excused in his bias when one remembers that he was Chaplin of the United States House of Representatives and an Assistant Professor at the U.S. Naval Academy. If the reader takes these facts into consideration, they should find this a worthwhile and informative read. Along the same lines is Craig L. Symonds’ study, Lincoln and his Admirals. This book covers the entire sphere of naval operations, both blue water and inland river activity, and the author provides interesting insight into how President Lincoln dealt with the various senior naval officers over the course of the war. While the turnover and internal controversies within the Navy nowhere reached the levels experienced by the Army, this does not mean all was harmonious and peaceful within the sea service. The reader will enjoy reading of some rather interesting senior commanders and the unique controversies that occurred both within the service itself and the president’s administration. Moving on to a more operational level, we first look at Loyall Farragut’s study The Life of David Glasgow Farragut, First Admiral of the United States Navy: Embodying his Journal and Letters. This work has often been quoted in other publications and while not a critical analysis of the admiral it provides fascinating observations related to his dealing with operational and administrative elements of naval operations. Another book along these lines is H.A. DuPont’s, RearAdmiral Samuel Francis Du Pont United States Navy, a Biography. Similar to the Farragut book, this offering allows readers to experience a lot of DuPont’s correspondence and his opinions of certain innovations occurring within the navy. Of particular interest is his feeling about orders from Welles to take Fort Sumter as a strictly naval operation using iron clad monitors. While DuPont sees the future value of these vessels, he is also aware of their operational shortfalls which he clearly expresses up the chain of command to no avail. The reader is provided with an understanding of some of the political forces being exerted upon the field commanders that resulted in less than satisfactory military outcomes and the associated professional fall-out, in his case being relieved of command. One final offering in this arena is Robert J. Schneller, Jr.’s work, Under the Blue Pennant which deals with the unpublished manuscript of Acting Ensign John W. Grattan and his service on the staffs of Rear Admirals Samuel Phillips Lee and David Dixon Porter. It also provides one of the few eye-witness accounts of Lincoln’s visit to Richmond the day after the Confederate capital fell. On the Confederate Navy side, we find that they were starting basically with nothing and as a result there is a lack of the high-level strategic writing and details found on the Federal side. We begin with a rather interesting book by Tom H. Wells, The Confederate Navy; A study in Organization, which covers the many challenges experienced by the South in its efforts to both establish a viable naval force and all necessary operational elements needed to field a viable response to Federal efforts to limit Confederate access to the sea. The Confederacy developed a three-prong approach to address their problems through the use of coastal and harbor defenses, the deployment of commerce raiders to disrupt the Union’s shipping, and the use of blockade runners to bring needed goods and materials into the Confederacy. Raimondo Luraghi’s 1996, A History of the Confederate Navy is an excellent, comprehensive accounting of the various efforts by which the Confederate government attempted to establish itself at sea. The author provides detailed analyses of the Southern strengths and weakness in conjunction with its overall strategic objectives and leadership in a very rewarding and worthwhile read. Of the three-pronged Confederate naval strategy, that of commerce raiding, blockade running, and coast and inland water defense, the first two are considered blue water naval operations; they will be the primary areas on which we will concentrate. Beginning with the blockade runners, Frank E. Vandiver’s, Confederate Blockade Running through Bermuda 1861–1865; Letters and Cargo Manifests provides a rewarding look at how a neutral island was used in a partnership between the Confederacy and Great Britain to provide material to the south. You also get a wonderful understanding of the nature of the items being transferred through the island depot and how the many speculators were willing to attempt to run the blockade for sizable profits. The stakes were very high indeed. A counterpoint to the Confederate experience is the book edited by Glen N. Wiche, Dispatches from Bermuda; The Civil War Letters of Charles Maxell Allen, United States Consul to Bermuda 1861– 1888. Consul Allen was definitely not a person viewed very highly by both the locals and the blockade running speculators because his efforts focused on trying to enforce British neutrality laws while keeping the United States Government informed of the various activities taking place on the island which, if successful, would negatively impact the local economy. Having established a base of operations, let us now look at a few of the blockade runners themselves, beginning with Augustus Charles Hobart-Hampden’s, Sketches from My Life by the late Admiral Hobart Pasha. Starting as a British naval officer on half pay due to downsizing the Royal Navy, Hobart decided to try his hand in running the Federal blockade, and after some research, selected a rather interesting cargo about which even he questioned its profitability. After making a first successful run, and quickly selling all his inventory, he realized a profit that not only covered all his costs but allowed for paying off all debts associated with the vessel’s acquisition and still left enough funds to purchase a second cargo. After six successful voyages, he was ready to retire and sold the vessel to his first mate, who was captured on his first attempt. While this book does not solely focus on the American Civil War, the lessons Hobart learned allowed him to continue a very exciting naval career and life. The next recommendation is

William Watson’s The Adventures of a Blockade Runner or Trade in Time of War, a book about blockade running from Cuba to Texas. Unlike Hobart who used steam propulsion, Watson used sailing vessels subject to the forces of nature to accomplish his mission. Thomas E. Taylor’s book, Running the Blockade, a Personal Narrative of Adventures, Risks and Escapes during the American Civil War is a delightful read that provides insight into the operations and motivations of the blockade runners. Taylor travels as a supercargo to the various vessels on which he sailed. The supercargo’s job was to manage the business aspects of the voyage, and as such Taylor’s account provides an insider’s glimpse of a blockade runner’s actual business management. Notably, after running aground off Fort Fisher and making it to shore, it was Taylor who discovered the lifeless body of Confederate agent Rose O’Neal Greenhow on the beach; her ship had also been chased ashore by a Yankee warship. Another successful blockade runner is J. Wilkinson. His The Narrative of a Blockade-Runner provides wonderful detail into his successful career and the various adventures witnessed. In his case however, unlike the other authors, he was actually a Captain in the Confederate States Navy and therefore doing this, not for profit, but to help the Confederate Cause. While most early war blockade runners were successful, as the war progressed and the blockade become better organized, failures and wrecks occurred at an increasing rate and Dave Horner’s book, published in 1968, The Blockade-Runners; True Tales of Running the Yankee Blockade of the Confederate Coast provides some fascinating insight into diving on the wrecks and narratives of what artifacts have been found at some wreck sites. The next series of books deals with Confederate attempts to establish a Naval Academy for the training of future officers. Capt. William Harwar Parker’s, Recollection of a Naval Officer, 1841–1865, while dealing with his naval career in total, its importance to Confederate naval history is his term as superintendent of the Confederate Naval Academy that provides valuable insight into the challenges and operations of establishing and operating this institution during war time conditions. R. Thomas Campbell’s, Academy on the James; The Confederate Naval School, written over one hundred years after the war, expands on the academy’s operations and provides a detailed look at those who attended the school. James Lee Conrad’s, Rebel Reefers, The Organization and Midshipmen of the Confederate States Naval Academy is about both the students who attended and their instructors and covers their active services in defense of the Confederacy even while in school. The last notable nautical narrative we recommend for this section is the excellent book by James Morris Morgan, Recollections of a Rebel Reefer. This firsthand account covers his career starting with the United States Naval Academy in 1860 through his resignation in 1861. He then became an acting midshipman on the CSS McRae 1861–62 and served on other vessels with the Charleston Squadron. His career included serving on the cruiser CSS Georgia 1863–64, then running the blockade on the Lilian in 1864, and finally that year getting into the Confederate Naval Academy aboard the CSS Patrick Henry. The book ends with his parole in Washington, Ga., in May 1865. Morgan’s insights and adventures make for an exciting and informative read for anyone wanting to get a better understanding of the Confederate Naval officer training program, and to experience some hair-raising high seas adventure. Morgan’s sister, Sarah Morgan Dawson, also penned a wonderful memoir entitled A

Confederate Girl’s Diary. Moving on to Confederate commerce raiders, one of the most dashing of all subjects in Civil War lore, where these colorful rascals had remarkable success and spine-chilling adventure, with few official assets backing them up. Beginning with Admiral Raphael Semmes’ Memoirs of Service Afloat During the War Between the States, the reader is provided a first-hand account of this officer’s command of both the CSS Sumter and then the CSS Alabama. This story sadly ends with the sinking of the Alabama off the French coast by the USS Kearsarge and the Admiral’s rescue by the British private yacht Deerhound. The exploits of the Alabama will be addressed again later in this article. Edward Boykin’s 1967 Ghost Ship of the Confederacy focuses only on Admiral Semmes’ time on the Alabama, and while quoting from the Admiral’s own work, also skillfully incorporates other sources to provide a compelling picture of this ship’s operations and adventures. One last book on the Alabama is Arthur Sinclair’s Two Years on the Alabama, which is considered to be a reliable accounting of the ship’s activities. Also, you might enjoy Edward Boykin’s Sea Devil of the Confederacy which deals with the first Confederate commerce raider, Captain John Maffitt and his career with the

CSS Florida and the blockade runners Owl, Lillian, and Tacony. A second book to consider if you are interested in the sailing career of the CSS Florida is Frank Owsley’s, C.S.S. Florida from construction through her career during which she destroyed 50 plus vessels. The last Confederate to fly the flag was the CSS Shenandoah, whose voyage is covered in Cornelius Hunt’s The Shenandoah: or the Last Confederate Cruiser, and James Horan’s C.S.S Shenandoah: The Memoirs of Lieutenant Commanding James I. Waddell. Prior to using commerce raiders, the Confederacy issued Letters of Marque that basically allowed private vessels to act as warring agents for the Confederate government. Their exploits are admirably covered in William M. Robinson’s, The Confederate Privateers. Since the Lincoln Administration refused to recognize the Confederacy as a belligerent, these activities generated some very unique legal and diplomatic questions that continued throughout the war. Initially Southern vessels using Letters of Marque were viewed by Northern courts as committing acts of piracy; their captured crews were tried in a United States Circuit Court. One trial is reported by A.P. Warburton, Trial of the Officers and Crew of the Privateer Savannah published. While this case resulted in the jury being unable to come to a verdict, detention of these individuals was eventually resolved when the Confederacy threatened to view captured Union prisoners in a similar legal status. Imposition of the Federal blockade was questioned as to its legality under international law because a warring nation can only blockade a belligerent. Since the Lincoln Administration refused to acknowledge the legality of the Confederacy’s existence, the blockade therefore became questionable; the issue was resolved by the administration’s reasoning that the action of the blockade was to collect legitimate trade duties owed the Federal Government. The battle of legal rights between the United States, Great Britain, and the Confederacy surfaced during the Trent Affair where the Confederate envoys to Europe, James Mason and John Slidell, were removed from a British steamer by a Federal ship and returned to the United States.

Norman Ferris’s, The Trent Affair; A Diplomatic Crisis, covers the events and resulting diplomatic fall-out from the incident, which was probably the closest Great Britain came to becoming directly involved in the American Civil War. The commerce raiders added an additional element to questions circling the definitions and applications of international rules pertaining to neutrality that resulted in a rather fascinating and drawn out series of damage claims. The arguments revolved around the actions of Great Britain allowing construction, outfitting, and support of Confederate vessels, while proclaiming to the world the steadfast neutrality of Great Britain. Stuart Bernath’s 1968 Squall Across the Atlantic: American Civil War Prize Cases and Diplomacy captures the many facets of the arguments both sides tried to use in making their claims and how they used experiences in other areas of the world to support their stance. Adrian Cook’s book, The Alabama Claims; American Politics and AngloAmerican Relations 1865–1872, gives one the feeling of not only the length of time this series of claims took to litigate but also the changes in both United States and British politics and positions that continually evolved during the duration of the claims. The last two books might be a little harder to find but are well worth the effort: Charles Summersell’s publication, The Journal of George Townley Fullam; Boarding Officer of the Confederate Sea Raider Alabama is more easily located. George Fullam, a British citizen, was one of the primary boarding officers on the Alabama, and he recorded every capture. From his records we learn that Admiral Semmes removed and retained every ship’s chronometer from the vessels seized. Fullam’s journal was originally partially published in South Africa and became one of the key documents available to the United States prosecutors as they made their case against Great Britain for aiding and abetting the Confederacy. Lastly, if you are really into the details of the case, there are the public records published by Richard Bentley and Son, London, titled, The Case of the United States to be Laid Before the Tribunal of Arbitration to be Convened at Geneva under the Provision of the Treaty between the United States of America and Her Majesty the Queen of Great Britain, concluded at Washington, May 8 1871. While a rather legalistic document, the information provided specifically on the internal laws pertaining to neutrality are both fascinating and intriguing especially when you realize that Great Britain had actually placed herself in a very poor position for a nation so dependent upon sea power. At the beginning of the Civil War, the United States merchant fleet was the second largest in the world; by 1865 it had been reduced by more than two-thirds of its pre-war size. Shortly after President Lincoln proclaimed a blockade of the Southern ports, the British government warned its subjects against violating either British or international laws on neutrality, an admonition that was greeted with a wink and a nod by many in the speculating class of merchants and entrepreneurs. The books annotated in this article show how the United States attempted to enforce its rights under these laws and how the Confederacy, with active external support, attempted, often successfully, to circumvent the same laws. They also represent some of the thumping best naval adventure stories available in print. Time to take a break from the dreary land campaigns, and head to sea, for at least one or two books. Hopefully your reading appetite has been whetted to a category of history that doesn’t always get a lot of exposure. If you find any of these books interesting or are looking for some other American Civil War naval topics please visit us at a show, on the website, or at our shop. We love navy books, and you can never know what will be lurking on our shelves, just waiting for you to drop by, and for your nautical naval reading adventure to commence! Roger Semplak lives in south central Pennsylvania with his wife and three very patient and pampered Bichon Frise who tolerate his reading habits. He occasionally provides insight and critiques to Owens and Ramsey on new Civil War book releases and has provided logistical support to the Owens and Ramsey tables at some major Civil War shows north of Richmond. Marc Ramsey is co-owner of Owens & Ramsey Booksellers, along with his lovely wife Jill. For the past 24 plus years they have specialized in the buying, selling, and trading of rare, collectible, and new books on military history, as well as artifacts and paper items. They provide appraisals for estate planning, charitable deductions, or insurance purposes. The Ramsey’s have an open shop at 2728 Tinsley Drive in Richmond, Va., 23235, send out monthly catalogs, and can be seen at many Civil War shows and conferences. throughout the year. Call Marc at 804-272-8888 or visit their website at www.owensandramsey.com.