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In the spring of 1864, as the armies of Grant and Lee waged a highly scrutinized and celebrated battle for the state of Virginia, a no- less important, but historically obscured engagement was being conducted in the pine barrens of northern Louisiana. In a year of stellar triumphs by Union armies across the South, the Red River Campaign stands out as a colossal failure. General William Tecumseh Sherman's scathing summation describes it best, "One damn blunder from beginning to end." Taking its title from Sherman's blunt description, One Damn Blunder from Beginning to End: The Red River Campaign of 1864 is a fresh inspection of what was the Civil War's largest operation between the Union Army...
Did you know ... ... the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley was a privately owned vessel and not built by the Confederate government? ... the owners of the H.L. Hunley were given a Letter of Marque by the Confederate government to sink Union shipping for a profit? ... the original investment to build the H.L. Hunley was $15,000 ($300,000 in today's currency)? ... the Confederacy put a value of $27,500 on the submarine ($550,000 in today's currency)? ... the submarine made many patrols for it sank the USS Housatonic, including three its first week in Charleston? ... the submarine sank three times, killing members of its crew each time? ... for more than 100 years searchers were looking in the wrong location for the H.L. Hunley because of a misunderstood 19th century term? ... the transcripts of an official United States Navy Inquiry prove the H.L. Hunley survived the attack on the USS Housatonic? ... two men, prominent in their respective fields, both claim they found the H.L. Hunley?
In 2001, while vacationing on Panama’s Pacific coast, maritime archaeologist James P. Delgado came upon the hulk of a mysterious iron vessel, revealed by the ebbing tides in a small cove at Isla San Telmo. Local inquiries proved inconclusive: the wreck was described as everything from a sunken Japanese "suicide" submarine from World War II to a poison-laden "craft of death" that was responsible for the ruin of the pearl beds, decades before. His professional interest fully aroused, Delgado would go on to learn that the wreck was the remains of one of the first successful deep-diving submersibles, built in 1864 by Julius H. Kroehl, an innovator and entrepreneur who initially sought to devel...
England's support of the Confederacy triggers war with the Union-and World War I.
Through the Howling Wilderness is replete with in-depth coverage on the geography of the region, the Congressional hearings after the Campaign, and the Confederate defenses in the Red River Valley.
William Henry King began war service in 1862 in Louisiana and ended it in 1865 in Camden, Arkansas. During this period he chronicled action in the Trans-Mississippi theater, producing a diary that yields one of the most important accounts from a Confederate enlisted man. No Pardons to Ask, Nor Apologies to Make is a gritty look into the life of a soldier, with no romantic gloss. While most journals record the mundane day-to-dayroutine, King's consistently detailed entries-notable for their literary style, King's venomous wit, and his colorful descriptions-cover a wide array of matters pertaining to the Confederate experience in the West. King's observations about his superiors, the Confedera...
The Union inland navy that became the Mississippi Squadron is one of the greatest, yet least studied aspects of the Civil War. Without it, however, the war in the West may not have been won, and the war in the East might have lasted much longer and perhaps ended differently. The men who formed and commanded this large fighting force have, with few exceptions, not been as thoroughly studied as their army counterparts. The vessels they created were highly specialized craft which operated in the narrow confines of the Western rivers in places that could not otherwise receive fire support. Ironclads and gunboats protected army forces and convoyed much needed supplies to far-flung Federal forces....
The confiscated Yankee diary that ran in the Confederate press, fully annotated and illustrated with drawings by a fellow Civil War Marine. On September 28, 1863, the Galveston Tri-Weekly News included an item headlined “A Yankee Note-Book.” It was the first installment of a diary confiscated from U.S. Marine Henry O. Gusley, who had been captured at the Battle of Sabine Pass. It was so popular, the newspaper made an ongoing series of the entire diary, running each excerpt twice. For Confederate readers, Gusley's diary provided a rare glimpse into the opinions and feelings of an ordinary Yankee, an enemy whom—they quickly discovered—it would be easy to regard as a friend. This book c...
This is the first published comprehensive survey of naval action on the Mississippi River and its tributaries for the years 1863-1865. Following introductory reviews of the rivers and of the U.S. Navy's Mississippi Squadron, chronological Federal naval participation in various raids and larger campaigns is highlighted, as well as counterinsurgency, economical support and control, and logistical protection. The book includes details on units, locations and activities that have been previously underreported or ignored. Examples include the birth and function of the Mississippi Squadron's 11th District, the role of U.S. Army gunboats, and the war on the Upper Cumberland and Upper Tennessee Rivers. The last chapter details the coming of the peace in 1865 and the decommissioning of the U.S. river navy and the sale of its gunboats.
From 1861 to 1865, the Civil War raged along the great rivers of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys. While various Civil War biographies exist, none have been devoted exclusively to participants in the Western river war as waged down the Mississippi to the mouth of the Red River, and up the Ohio, the Tennessee and the Cumberland. Based on the Official Records, county histories, newspapers and internet sources, this is the first work to profile personnel involved in the fighting on these great streams. Included in this biographical encyclopedia are Union and Confederate naval officers down to the rank of mate; enlisted sailors who won the Medal of Honor, or otherwise distinguished themselves or...