The Rebel Raiders: The Astonishing History of the Confederacy's Secret Navy

Book Description

During its clandestine construction in Liverpool, it was known as “Number 290.” When it was finally unleashed as the CSS Alabama, the Confederate gunship triggered the last great military campaign of the Civil War; a maritime adventure unparalleled in our history; an infamous example of British political treachery; and the largest retribution settlement ever negotiated by an international tribunal: $15,500,000 in gold paid by Britain to the United States. This riveting true story of the Anglo-Confederate alliance that led to the creation of a Southern navy illuminates the dramatic and crucial global impact of the American Civil War.

Like most things in the War between the States, it started over cotton: Lincoln’s naval blockade prevented the South from exporting their prize commodity to England. In response, the Confederacy came up with a unique plan to divert the North’s vessels and open the waterways–a plan that would mean covertly building a navy in Britain, a daring strategy that involved an unforgettable cast of colorful characters.

James Bulloch–Northerner by circumstance, Southerner by birth, he risked his life to enter England and build a fleet under the very noses of Northern spies; Lord John Russell–the British foreign secretary who was suspected of subverting his own legal system to allow the secret ships; Charles Francis Adams–son and grandson of presidents, who exhausted every avenue to stop the Confederate-British collusion; Raphael Semmes–the fanatically loyal Southern captain who disabled or destroyed sixty Northern ships before meeting his match near Cherbourg, France; and The Alabama–a wooden gunship that took to the sea named for a Southern state to wreak havoc on the Northern cause.

With The Rebel Raiders, naval historian James Tertius deKay brings to dazzling life an amazing, little known piece of history that is at once an important work of Civil War scholarship and a suspenseful tale of military strategy, international espionage, and a legal crisis whose outcome still affects the world.

Customer Reviews:

One ship, sixty-four captures.......2007-04-09

This is truly the story of the CSS Alabama (nee 290) that was commissioned to be built in Liverpool in 1862 for the exact purpose of being a raider and to search for and destroy members of the Northern Merchant Marine. Along with it's sister ship CSS Florida (nee Oreto), it was built and mostly crewed by Englishmen. Under the Queen's Foreign Services Act, when Britain was neutral it was illegal to build men-of-war for either side.

But there was a weakness in the law such that you could build 'ships' as long as they weren't armed; but you could sell them weapons separately. This is exactly what was done to launch the two raiders, who were then outfitted in the Azores. The rest of the story centers on the efforts of the Alabama and it's crew, and the US Ambassador to the Court of St.James to get the English government to admit they broke their own laws.

DeKay does a fine job in describing the Alabama's effect on the US merchant marine and the popularity of the ship and it's crew in the minds of the world public. In the end, the Alabama causes over $5 million in damages (about $100 million in today's money), and makes the buying of insurance to be prohibitive to drive a large part of the fleet to be sold or kept in port.

He also gives plausible reasons for why the anti-slavery British would be pro-Confederacy. The splitting of the american nation would insure that England would remain the premiere merchant marine for years to come and insure the continued supply of cheap (slave grown) cotton for it's textile mills in central England. There was talk of eventually weaning the South away from Slavery (which was abolished in the Empire in 1818) but it was just lip service.

Amazing History.......2006-12-14

The confederacy's navy during the civil war is a very impressive display of piracy on the high sees. While most of the attention always focuses on the iron ships it is often forgotten that there were several others out there raiding the north's commerce. This book puts quantifiable numbers and daring high sees escapades onto the same page. It is a very fast read and one that gives a new perspective on the civil war. The South's daring strikes and the north's eventual efforts to hunt down and put a stop to these raiders are cataloged here and make for interesting reading. There is also a very interesting subset that looks at European policies towards the United States during this time period and a perspective that is not often gathered can be seen here. This is a must have for true civil war buffs.

Astonishment upon Astonishment.......2003-03-15

Astonishing revelations fill this book. Perhaps you thought that the American civil war was fought in America and was decided at Gettysburg. The story is not so simple. The English ruling class favored the South so strongly that they flaunted their own laws and found ways for the Confederacy to build and outfit raiders in England. These few raiders destroyed the American whaling fleet and ran insurance rates so high that the American mercantile fleet was driven from the seas (and suffers to this day). The cotton textile industry in England was in disaster. Workers were naked and hungry. The ruling class was on the verge of recognizing the South and forcing an armistice on the two parties. Then the North launched the most effective barrage of the war. Charity in the form of food and clothing came from the North to the unemployed textile workers in England. The English under class, against their own short-term interest made its voice heard, and England remained neutral.

Chap 1. Montgomery: Mallory, the Confederacy's Secretary of the Navy selects James Bulloch to build a raider navy in England. Mallory has never met nor heard of Bulloch, but on the recommendation of a mutual friend (Judah Benjamin, the Attorney General) and a brief interview decides Bulloch is the man. It was an excellent choice. Astonishing.

Chap 2. Liverpool: Bulloch arrives in Liverpool unexpected and with no credentials. He presents himself to a man he has never met, Charles Prioleau, the managing director of the Confederacy's unofficial English bank, who agrees to fund the venture. Astonishing. Prioleau introduces Bulloch to an English lawyer who sets about gutting English law to allow the building of warships, on the grounds that warships without guns aren't warships. Astonishing. Do these guys know a secret handshake?

Chap 3. Number 290: Bulloch contracts the building of warship 290. Obviously a warship, but without weapons, the customs inspector ignores it.

Chap 4. Nemesis: American Quaker, Thomas Dudley comes to England to oppose Bulloch.

Chap 5. The Enrica: 290 is named Enrica. Dudley and Bulloch vie.

Chap 6. The Passmore Affidavit: William Passmore, English able seaman attests that he was recruited to join the 290, with clear understanding that it was a warship for the South. This is clearly against English law.

Chap 7. Escape: The English drag their feet and Bulloch barely gets Enrica out of England.

Chap 8. Terceira: Enrica receives her guns and supplies in a neutral port. Semmes takes command. The ship becomes CSS Alabama.

Chap 9. First Blood: American whalers around Azores are destroyed by Alabama.

Chap 10. The Grand Banks: more destruction.

Chap 11. Off the Georges Bank: and more destruction.

Chap 12. The Pirate Semmes: battle in the press.

Chap 13.'An Instance of Sublime Christian Heroism' : England is close to meddling in US affairs. Not so astonishing if you are the biggest baddest nation on the planet. America sends charity to England. The English working class wins one for Lincoln. Astonishing.

Chap 14. USS Hatteras: Semmes lures Union gunboat USS Hatteras out into the Gulf of Mexico, sinks it, and rescues survivors.

Chap 15. Straws in the Wind: CSS Florida joins the war.

Chap 16. Brazil: more ships seized. CSS Georgia joins the battle. Semmes turns a captured ship into his auxiliary vessel.

Chap 17. The Laird Rams: At Laird's, Bulloch is building two seagoing ironclad rams that could pulverize the Union Navy's wooden ships, shell Union harbors, and turn the tide of the war. Congress debates whether to authorize a raider war on British mercantile shipping. The British begin to wonder about the beast they unleashed. They need not worry for about half a century. The US cabinet considers sending a squadron of ships to destroy the rams at dock. US envoy Adams informs Lord Russell that there will be war if the rams put to sea. Russell detains the rams. Astonishing.

Chap 18. Simon's Bay: CSS Alabama is getting worn out and the crew is getting surely. The Sea Bride is captured and sold. Semmes infuriates the crew by using the proceeds for operating funds instead of paying it out as prize money.

Chap 19. Singapore: Semmes finds that the American mercantile fleet won't come out of harbor.

Chap 20. To Cherbourg: Semmes takes Alabama to Cherbourg in France, looking for a dry dock and intending to pay off the crew and request replacement.

Chap 21. Battle: No dry dock facilities are available and the USS Kearsarge shows up. Semmes figures if he waits that more Union ships will show up, so that his best chance is to fight now. The CSS Alabama badly needs repair, is leaking, has moist powder, defective fuses, and broken machinery, but Semmes chooses to fight. Alabama is lost.

Chap 22. The Shenandoah: Bulloch purchases Bombay trader Sea King to be christened CSS Shenandoah, which destroys the American Pacific whaling fleet.

Chap 23. The Claims: the war is over and Britain finds that the side it did not support now has the largest, most-modern, most experienced Navy and Army in the world. The USN has double turreted sea going monitors that could destroy any British vessel without being scratched. The upstart is angry and dangerous and wants reparations. Congress passed a watered down neutrality act, based on the British act, that would allow Irish Republicans to outfit of merchant raiders in America and operate against Britain. Astonishing. Britain's government will not settle, but wealthy interests in England begin to consider that maybe they had more to loose by not settling.

Chap 24. Sumner's Speech: Senator Sumner gives a rousing speech in the senate attributing half the cost of the war to British perfidy. The speech is a sensation.

Chap 25. Geneva: Bismarck's German Confederacy emerges. Britain sees two dangerous upstarts that might unite against her. It looks like a really good idea to settle the Alabama claims.

Chap 26. l'Envoi: The precedent set by the Alabama tribunal eventually becomes international law. Astonishing.

Author of the Monitor does it again.......2002-07-24

James Tertius (is that Ter-tee-us, or Ter-shus?) de Kay is one of the most fun writers of military history alive. He's only hurt by the fact that he writes things on obscure and unusual topics, or treats them from an unusual angle. One of his books (Chronicles of the Frigate Macedonian) is essentially a biography of a ship, and another (Monitor) is that combined with a portrait of the man who designed her. One book mainly recounts a battle (The Battle of Stonington) in which no one was killed. The Rebel Raiders recounts the Confederacy's efforts to build commerce raiders in Britain, and the American authorities' attempts, largely unsuccessful, to stop them.

The first portion of the narrative is devoted to the construction of the ships in Britain, and James Bulloch's efforts in this regard. The second portion recounts Raphael Semmes' cruise in command of the Alabama, culminating in the famous battle off Cherbourg. A third part, shorter than the other two, recounts the efforts of the American government after the war to recoup the losses suffered by the American merchant marine because of the Alabama's cruise. Many ships that weren't sunk were sold to the British, who wouldn't, of course, pay full price or sell them back after the war.

De Kay is especially good at personalities, and this story abounds with them. Bulloch and Semmes are portrayed as interesting characters, and Charles Francis Adams, the American minister in London (a 19th Century ambassador) is active throughout the story. It's fascinating.

I do have a few criticisms. There's no index, and the one map given is inadequate. There was an attempt to recount all of the vessels purchased in Britain during the war, but the Stonewall, which made it out of port, and wound up in Cuba only to find out the war was over, isn't mentioned. Perhaps he's left that out for another book.

Book Description

Vividly written and well researched by a noted historian of the period, this succinct history credits the Union Navy as an essential element in the northern victory. Neither ponderous nor hagiographic, the work presents characters and events that have been previously neglected and offers candid assessments of officers, men, and material. Originally published in 1990, when it was a Military History Book Club selection, the work is considered a must for Civil War buffs. It is an authoritative and gripping story of the battles waged.

The author provides a rare look at the war fought by primitive northern gunboats drifting through Louisiana's muddy bayous, Yankee merchantmen captured by rebel privateers at sea, and Union ironclads subduing hotly defended Southern forts. Nor does William Fowler neglect the subtler sparrings behind the scenes: War Secretary Stanton and Navy Secretary Welles competing for Lincoln's favor and Welles's fierce duel of strategies with his Confederate counterpart, Stephen Mallory. Finally, the author describes the astonishing transformation of the Navy itself from a ragtag fleet of aging steamers and paddleboats to one of the most powerful waterborne forces in the world.

Average customer rating:

Uniforms of the Civil War

Excellent overview

Uniforms of the Civil War
Robin Smith , and Ron Field
Manufacturer: The Lyons Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
General | Civil War | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
Confederacy | Civil War | United States | Americas | History | Subjects | Books
Pictorials | Military | History | Subjects | Books
Uniforms | Military | History | Subjects | Books
Military | Antiques & Collectibles | Home & Garden | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Don Troiani's Regiments and Uniforms of the Civil War

The Civil War / Box Set

Illustrated Catalog of Civil War Military Goods: Union Weapons, Insignia, Uniform Accessories and Other Equipment

The Civil War Reenactors' Encyclopedia

American Civil War Armies (1) : Confederate Troops (Men at Arms Series, 170)

ASIN: 1585744220

Book Description

Hundreds of photographs and paintings illustrate this definitive guide to the uniforms worn by both sides during this important conflict.

Customer Reviews:

Uniforms of the Civil War.......2007-05-12

Very good, very detailed, by unit. Lots of good photography. For the novice like myself, a great starting point.

Excellent overview.......2006-02-24

Excellent overview of uniforms and equipment of the Civil War. Book is broken into Union Epuipment and Confederate Epuipment and further subdivided into States. Especially notable are the many photos and color plates throughout the book.

Average customer rating:

Incandescent, Brilliant, Compelling, BUY IT TODAY
Incandescent, Brilliant, Compelling, BUY IT TODAY
An Excellent History of the CSN
THE single book to read about the CS Navy

A History of the Confederate Navy
Raimondo Luraghi
Manufacturer: US Naval Institute Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Naval | Military | History | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Confederate Navy: A Pictorial History
Confederate Shipbuilding (Studies in Maritime History)
The Rebel Raiders: The Astonishing History of the Confederacy's Secret Navy (American Civil War)
Under Two Flags: The American Navy in the Civil War
Gray Raiders of the Sea: How Eight Confederate Warships Destroyed the Union's High Seas Commerce

ASIN: 1557505276

Amazon.com

A History of the Confederate Navy is probably the only important book on the U.S. Civil War that was first written in Italian and then translated into English. Nonetheless, historian Raimondo Luraghi offers the fullest account to date of the South's naval activity. He challenges the popular notion that the Confederate navy was a failure because it did not break the North's blockade. Busting the blockade was not its main goal, Luraghi argues. Instead, the Confederate navy primarily wanted to prevent an amphibious invasion of the South--a mission in which it mostly succeeded. This particular interpretation is disputable, but the facts and figures of Luraghi's history are not. He shows how an agrarian people built a navy that managed to continue fighting several months after Lee's surrender at Appomattox, and on the whole made a good showing on the seas against an industrial superpower.

Customer Reviews:

Incandescent, Brilliant, Compelling, BUY IT TODAY.......2001-10-16

Truly great histories are few and far between. This is one. How many historians can claim to have twenty years of hard research in a book, and not put you to sleep in the first 20 pages? The Confederate Navy was one of the most extraordinary enterprises in all of military history. Tactics and developments fit cleanly within well explained strategy. The personalities, resources, plans and timetables are well integrated and despite all the detail nothing gets lost in the detail. Written by someone who genuinely understands what happened, then told so anyone who wants to can understand it too, this is a gift. Follow Secretary Mallory's herculean task of forming a navy from nothing, employing technology and to changing naval warfare forever with mines, ironclads, and commerce raiders. This one is worth every penny you pay.

Incandescent, Brilliant, Compelling, BUY IT TODAY.......2001-10-16

An Excellent History of the CSN.......2001-01-28

Written by an Italian no less, this is the best book I have found on the CSN. It is written in a style that is easy to follow, and touches on all aspects of the CSN from shipbuilding, to supply to espionage. Reading this book gave me a full image of the odds going against the CSN and the amazing accomplishments they achieved despite them.

Luraghi is clearly enthusiastic about his subject. His enthusiasm resonates throughout the book. It is clear that he admires the CSN for it's acomplisments despite the incredible odds.

In addition, the sheer amount of research he must have done is breathtaking. The endnotes take up more than 1/3 of the printed pages. What's interesting is that many of the endnotes are annoted with comments about the sources from the author. In my own research, those annotations have been a great asset.

This is definately a MUST read for the Civil War naval history buff.

THE single book to read about the CS Navy.......1998-08-14

The book is the best, single book written about the CS navy that I've ever come across. It's written in an entertaining way that even non-history buffs will find themselves being engrossed in the titanic struggles waged by the tiny southern navy against the Union juggernaut. Mr. Luraghi shows that he did his homework in dredging up the most obscure and interesting facts including the contributions of Blacks in Confederate service (example: Moses Austin, a free black who died in the attack on the U.S.S. Water Witch). The only downside to the book is the sections that go into overwhelming detail on the ships of Dixie. Other than that, it is an excellent book and it is essential reading for anyone wishing to know about the Confederate Navy.

Naval Strategies of the Civil War: Confederate Innovations and Federal Opportunism

Average customer rating:

A much appreciated contribution to Civil War studies

Naval Strategies of the Civil War: Confederate Innovations and Federal Opportunism
Jay W. Simson
Manufacturer: Cumberland House Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

Naval | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Strategy | Military | History | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

By Sea and by River: The Naval History of the Civil War (Da Capo Paperback)
Under Two Flags: The American Navy in the Civil War
Confederate Shipbuilding (Studies in Maritime History)
Iron afloat;: The story of the Confederate armorclads
A History of the Confederate Navy

ASIN: 1581821956

Customer Reviews:

A much appreciated contribution to Civil War studies.......2001-12-13

Journalist and Civil War expert Jay Simson's Naval Strategies Of The Civil War: Confederate Innovations And Federal Opportunism is the first book to compare and contrast the strategies of the Southern Secretary of the Navy, Stephen R. Mallory, against his rival in the North, Gideon Welles. Mallory had to use technological innovation and the skill of individuals to bolster the South's seapower against the Union Navy's superior numbers. Meanwhile, Welles had to adapt to the more bureaucratic dictates of the Union's White House. One of Welles' first tasks was the naval blockade of the South, but he did not limit himself to just that. Naval Strategies of the Civil War looks at the very different approaches of two men, with historical lessons about the art and the horror of war to be derived from close study. Naval Strategies Of The Civil War is a much appreciated contribution to Civil War studies and very highly recommended for both Civil War and American naval history buffs.

Average customer rating:

Uniforms of the Civil War: In Color
Philip J. Haythornthwaite
Manufacturer: Sterling Pub Co Inc
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Painting | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Uniforms | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Military Science | History | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Uniforms of the Civil War: An Illustrated Guide for Historians, Collectors, and Reenactors

ASIN: 0806958464

Blue & Gray Navies: The Civil War Afloat

Average customer rating:

Blue & Gray Navies: The Civil War Afloat
Spencer C. Tucker
Manufacturer: US Naval Institute Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Americas | History | Subjects | Books

General | Military | History | Subjects | Books

Naval | Military | History | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy
By Sea and by River: The Naval History of the Civil War (Da Capo Paperback)
Battle Line: The United States Navy, 1919-1939
Oliver Hazard Perry: Honor, Courage, and Patriotism in the Early U.s. Navy (Library of Naval Biography) (Library of Naval Biography)
Naval Strategies of the Civil War: Confederate Innovations and Federal Opportunism

ASIN: 1591148820

Book Description

Though the land war dominates the Civil War historic literature and imagination, the war at sea was equally dramatic and a vital contributor to the Union victory.

Drawing on recent scholarship, official records, and the memoirs of participants, Spencer Tucker looks at the important roles played by the Union and Confederate navies during the Civil War. Tucker opens with an overview of the U.S. Navy's history to 1861 and then closely examines the two navies at the beginning of the war, including the senior leadership, officers and personnel, organization, recruitment practices, training, facilities, and manufacturing resources. He discusses the acquisition of ships and the design and construction of new types, as well as their armament and the development of naval ordnance, and Northern and Southern naval strategies.

Book Description

This second book in the series lists the ships of the U.S. Navy and the Confederate Navy during the war between the North and South and the years immediately following--a significant period in the evolution of warships, the use of steam propulsion, and the development of ordnance. Other books on the subject simply do not provide the wealth or variety of information brought together here by Paul Silverstone. Each ship's size and time and place of construction are given along with particulars of naval service. Historical details include actions fought, damage sustained, prizes taken and ships sunk, dates in and out of commission, as well as when the ship left the navy, names used in other services, and the ultimate fate of each ship. Close to 150 photographs, including one of the Confederate cruiser Alabama recently uncovered by the author, bring the ships to life. Accurate and up-to-date, the coverage provided in this single volume saves readers time and the inconvenience of trying to track down information located in numerous books.

Customer Reviews:

Definitive reference, the "Jane's" of Civil War ships.......2007-04-02

As others have noted, Paul Silverstone's book is not a study of the U.S. and Confederate navies themselves, but rather of the many vessels that constituted the navies. Every known vessel is listed and organized by type and class. The format is both pictorial and tabular. The encyclopedic nature of the work makes it an excellent reference companion when studying any American Civil War naval action.

Silverstone begins with a brief introduction, then a section explaining the presentation format of the data, provides a list of abbreviations, and then includes a section on naval ordnance by W.J. Jurens before proceeding to the bulk of the work. Civil War Navies is divided into two parts. Part I covers U.S. Navy warships and is divided into the following chapters: Armored Vessels, Unarmored Steam Vessels, Acquired Combatant Vessels, Service Vessels, Sailing Ships, The Mississippi River Fleet, The U.S. Revenue Cutter Service, and the United States Coast Survey. Part II presents the Confederate States Navy warships and includes the following chapters: Introduction, Armored Vessels, Unarmored Steam Vessels, Area Defense Forces, Privateers, Blockade Runners, and Tenders. The book concludes with an appendix list of shipbuilders, a bibliography, and index of ship names.

Typical entries are arranged by class with a short table of names, builders, lay down date, launch date, and commissioning. Photographs of the actual vessels are included where available. Below the vessel name list for the class are tonnage, dimensions, machinery (propulsion), ship's complement, and armament. Differences between vessels of the same class are noted here, and rearmament is also listed where known. Further notes are then provided, then the service records, (sometimes with mention of casualties), and known captures of enemy vessels.

I highly recommend Mr. Silverstone's work as an indispensable reference to those studying American Civil War naval warfare

Finally - a "Jane's" for the Civil War!.......2004-12-20

This book has practically everything you need to know about Civil War naval ships in an easy to read "Jane's" type format - sorted into categories such as armored vessals, unarmored steam vessals, sailing ships, etc. and listing tonnage, armaments, complement, and a brief service record for each ship. As far as I can tell, the research is impeccable - quite a few photos never seen before. A real labor of live. The book is a little overpriced at $50, especially since it does not include other country's navies, have any maps, or include any other "goodies", but is really the only resouce of its kind for Civil War naval buffs.

Excellent supplementary book.......2001-04-22

This book is an ideal companion to other histories of the Civil War. Its title, however, is a bit misleading. It is a book about ships, not about navies. It gives the vital statistics and brief service records for all the Union and Confederate ships but contains little else. Its real value is that it "puts a face" to the ship names in most civil war histories.

Sea Wolf of the Confederacy: The Daring Civil War Raids of Naval Lt. Charles W. Read

Average customer rating:

A Brave Man Does What He Can for His Country
Well-written account of a forgotten episode of the Civil War

Sea Wolf of the Confederacy: The Daring Civil War Raids of Naval Lt. Charles W. Read
David W. Shaw
Manufacturer: Sheridan House
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Military & Spies | Professionals & Academics | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Naval | Military | History | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

The Sea Shall Embrace Them: The Tragic Story of the Steamship Arctic

ASIN: 1574092073

Book Description

In June1862, just days before the epic clash at Gettysburg, a small party of the Confederate Navy mounted a devastating series of raids on the New England coast. At the center of the conflict was the hotheaded young adventurer, Charles W. Read. Serving aboard the CSS FLORIDA off the coast of Brazil, Read hatched a daring plan to sail a captured brig directly into the Union's home waters and wreak havoc on their shipping lanes. Burning or capturing more than twenty merchant vessels in less than three weeks, Read's rampage caused widespread panic in Northern cities, and brought enormous pressure to "stop the rebel pirate." At one point there were nearly forty Union ships sent to hunt down Read in a cat-and-mouse chase that finally led to his dramatic capture off the coast of Maine. SEA WOLF of the Confederacy brings to light this fascinating yet little known episode of the war, combining Shaw's flair for powerful storytelling with extensive research. Taking readers to the heart of the action on the decks of the burning ships, Shaw offers a compelling portrait of the complex Read and an insightful new perspective on the divisions splitting North and South during this dark time in American history. â€œâ€¦[a] lively accountâ€¦â€ â€”Booklist

Download Description

"In June 1863, just days before the epic clash at Gettysburg ended the last rebel land invasion of the North, a small party of the Confederate Navy mounted a devastating series of raids on the New England coast, culminating in a battle off Portland, Maine. Veteran author David W. Shaw brilliantly re-creates this almost forgotten chapter of the Civil War in rich narrative detail drawn from accounts of the participants. At the center of the conflict were two men: the hotheaded young adventurer Charles W. Read, who resigned his commission as a Union midshipman to become a lieutenant in the Confederate Navy; and Secretary of the United States Navy Gideon Welles, a well-connected politician who ably oversaw the explosive growth of the fleet -- including the revolutionary ironclads -- during the war despite his lack of maritime experience. Serving aboard CSS Florida off the coast of Brazil, Read hatched a daring plan to sail a captured brig directly into the Union's home waters and wreak havoc on their shipping lanes. Burning or capturing more than twenty merchant vessels in less than three weeks, and switching ships several times to elude capture, Read's rampage caused widespread panic in Northern cities, made headlines in the major daily newspapers, and brought enormous pressure on Welles to ""stop the rebel pirate."" At one point there were nearly forty Union ships sent to hunt down Read in a cat-and-mouse game that finally led to his dramatic capture off the coast of Maine. Sea Wolf of the Confederacy brings to light this fascinating yet little known episode of the war, combining Shaw's flair for powerful storytelling with extensive research culled from contemporary newspapers, journals, and official war records. Taking readers to the heart of the action on the decks of the burning ships, Shaw offers a compelling portrait of the complex Read and an insightful new perspective on the divisions splitting North and South during this dark time in American history. "

Customer Reviews:

A Brave Man Does What He Can for His Country.......2007-04-01

Charles W. Read was an inept student, he graduated last in his class at Annapolis in 1860 just before he re-signed his commission in the US Navy. What he showed (just like US Grant and a lot of other military minds) was that some people do best by doing, not studying. Having lost his steam ram in a battle on the Mississippi River near Vicksburg. He is called to work on a "Raider" out of Mobile Bay.

Once on the open ocean "Florida" sailed into the Caribbean where they attacked Union commerce and merchant marine. Taking a captured ship "Tacony" with one howitzer and some fake (Quaker) wood guns, Read proceeds to damage over twenty ships on his way up to Portland Maine where they are caught but only after they steal a US Revenue Cutter and blow it up. The story is a lot like that of the "Shenandoah" which had two books about it published in 2005; more interesting from an historical point of view but not that thrilling. (How exciting can it be to read about the capture and burning of fishing Schooners?)

Well-written account of a forgotten episode of the Civil War.......2005-06-28

Although a life-long Civil War buff I had never heard of this attempt by a young Confederate Naval officer to take the war to the seas off New England. Lt. Charles A. Read had previously served on the ironclad "Arkansas" and the commerce raider "Florida" and had seen a lot of hard fighting - which he seemed to relish. In February, of 1863, the "Florida" captured a Union merchant vessel and Read was given permission to take over and convert this captured ship into another commerce raider. Read promptly sailed to the North and with only one small cannon on board began to wreak havoc on the New England fishing industry. The Northern states then began beseeching Washington for more protection - threatening to divert resources from the bloackade of Southern ports. Shipping insurance rates started rising, too.

Shaw skillfully interweaves the two sides of the story - the motives and actions of the protagonist, Read, and his antagonist, Union Secretary of Navy Gideon Welles. The author may have a Northern bias but it does not ruin the story. There are many good accounts of Civil War naval actions - we can add this one to the list.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books