Customer Reviews (3)

Errors mar an otherwise useful work
Warships of the Civil War Navies consists of data tables listing and describing Union and Confederate naval vessels. These tables are taken directly from post-war government publications. There is very little original material in the book. Its value, however, is in bringing this information into a single volume.

It would also be of value for the numerous photographs illustrating the major ship classes, but this is where the problem lies. Some of the photos are incorrectly identified. The photo on p. 159 that is labeled as the USS Conestoga is actually the Tyler. On the following page the photo identified as the Lexington is in reality the Conestoga. Below it is a correctly labeled second photo of the Tyler. I'm not familiar enough with the other ship classes to say if there are additional mistakes, but on the basis of these rather blatant errors I would not want to trust or recommend the book as a pictorial reference.

Great reference
It is a general description on nearly all vessels of the ACW.Format entry for all vessels including small tugs.I found it to be a great reference for tabletop wargaming the ACW navy period. Many authors of game rules should read this.It lists all the guns and modifications to the number and type of guns during the war.However, early sailing vessels used in the war are lightly covered and can be found in detail in another book for that period.

General descriptions of Civil War Ironclads

Mr. Silverstone gives a general description of Civil War ironclads with a few pictures included in the book.The descriptions are the same layout for each ship describing the same characteristics, but if a basic general reference of almost all ironclads used during the civil war is what you are looking for, this is the book.
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Product 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.

Tucker then takes a close look at the war itself, including the Union blockade of the Confederate Atlantic and Gulf coasts, riverine warfare in the Western theater, Confederate blockade running and commerce raiders on the high seas, and the Union campaigns against New Orleans, Charleston, Vicksburg, and on the Red River. Tucker covers the major battles and technological innovations, and he evaluates the significance of the Union blockade. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A wide-ranging but tedious account of the naval war between the states
Though overshadowed by the famous campaigns on land, the naval battles fought between the Union and the Confederacy was just as significant in determining the outcome of the Civil War.In this book, Spencer Tucker seeks to rectify this imbalance, not just by giving the fighting on the sea and the rivers their due, but by going beyond the usual focus on the famous ironclad duels and the commerce raiders to provide a comprehensive study that includes many neglected aspects of the naval war between the states.

Tucker succeeds in this aim.His book is a comprehensive account of the war, one that looks not just at the battles, but the people, vessels, logistics, and technologies involved in the combat between the two sides.Yet much of the drama is missing from the story.The first part of the book, where Tucker addresses the organization, ships, and personnel of the navies, reads like an extended encyclopedia entry; it is not until Tucker reaches the famous battle between the Monitor and the Virginia that the book is truly engaging, and much of the rest of the text struggles to emulate these pages.For those readers seeking to understand the naval aspects of the Civil War, how it was fought, and the role that it played in the broader struggle this is a minor quibble, but anyone seeking a dramatic narrative of ironclad ships battling one other should turn elsewhere. ... Read more

Product 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. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good Overview.
Concise and clearly written, Under Two Flags is a good review on the Navel engagements fought during the Civil War. It is at once an interesting overview for knowledgeable students of the war and a very good introduction to those unfamiliar with this dimension of the conflict. Fast paced, easily read, there are passages and fascinating history I have found nowhere else.

Covering confederate raiders, the river campaigns, the blockade and the various assaults upon Confederate ports by combined Union Navy and Army amphibious operations, Fowler delivers a very even handed discussion of this often forgotten aspect of the war. This is worth your time!
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Product Description
Civil War Navies 1855-1883 is the second in the five-volume US Navy Warships encyclopedia set. This valuable reference lists the ships of the U.S. Navy and Confederate Navy during the Civil War and the years immediately following - a significant period in the evolution of warships, the use of steam propulsion, and the development of ordnance. Civil War Navies provides a wealth and variety of material not found in other books on the subject and will save the reader the effort needed to track down information in multiple sources.

Each ship's size and time and place of construction are listed, along with particulars of naval service. The author provides historical details that include actions fought, damage sustained, prizes taken, ships sunk, and dates in and out of commission, as well as information about when the ship left the Navy, names used in other services, and its ultimate fate. 140 photographs, including one of the Confederate cruiser Alabama recently uncovered by the author further contribute to this indispensable volume. This definitive record of Civil War ships updates the author's previous work and will find a lasting place among naval reference works. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

US Navy ships
I good reference source for early navy ships of the US Navy. As a shelf book i prize it highly I am familar with Paul Silvertstone for the naval Photos obtained from him in earlier years.

Definitive reference, the "Jane's" of Civil War ships
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!
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
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. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Great buy
I have read this book and feel it is very well done.I feel that Mr. Fields has done an excellent job in researching and presenting a subject matter that seems to have been long overdue.In-depth articles, excellent photographs and a narrative make this more than just an ordinary reference book.Being a collector of CDVs for some time now, I found this book to be very helpful and very enjoyable at the same time. A well documented and visually stunning account makes this a must-have for any Civil War buff out there. Simply excellent.

Excellent
This is the best book on Civil War Navy Uniforms for a long time.It is especially good because it goes into detail about what the enlisted men wore instead of concentrating on just officers.In particular the author has teased out information from the 1820's onwards on the development of the enlisted sailors clothing, which I have not seen before.That alone makes this book stand out.Also from a genealogical point of view many of the captions are valuable because not only do they give the sailors uniform details but also personal details like where they were born and where they were living.I would love to see more like this in print.The quality of illustrations is also outstanding. Well researched and a great reference tool. Excellent.

A valuable reference book
I found Bluejackets well researched. The introduction states that the research is based on previous work which has been moved forward to a fuller understanding of both officer's and enlisted men's Civil War naval uniforms.

In fact a large percentage of the book deals with new research by Field which examines manufacture and distribution of all types of uniform and clothing over a period of time extending back to the early 19th century. As far as I know much of this material, particularly concerning enlisted men, has never been published before.

It is a well documented compilation of artifacts and images from leading collectors and institutions and it is an achievement to have collated this information under one set of covers. A valuable reference work which is highly recommended by this reviewer.

Bluejackets
This book is not much more than a collection of of photos of mostly American Civil War US Navy Sailors.There are also photos of post war Sailors.The text is for the most part taken from previous works from the 1960s and 1970s which more recent research has proven incorrect.The author confuses termonology concerning uniform parts.This book is basically a rehash of mostly inaccurate work available in other publications, has nothing new to offer and was not worth the price. ... Read more

Product Description
Alfred Thayer Mahan (1840-1914) was an American naval officer, considered one of the most important naval strategists of the nineteenth century. In 1885 he was appointed Lecturer in Naval History and Tactics at the US Naval War College, and served as President of the institution between 1886 and 1889. His series of books examining the role of sea power in history influenced the rapid growth of international navies in the period before World War I. This book, first published in 1883 and reissued here in its 1898 London edition, examines the role of the navy in the American Civil War of 1861-1865. It covers actions in the Gulf of Mexico and along the length of the Mississippi, where the Union's blockade starved the Confederate army of vital resources. Mahan himself had served on the Union side, and interviewed veterans in order to supplement the official naval records. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process.We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
Publisher: C. Scribner's sonsPublication date: 1883Subjects: United StatesHistory / Military / GeneralHistory / Military / United StatesHistory / Military / NavalHistory / United States / Civil War Period (1850-1877)Notes: This is an OCR reprint. There may be numerous typos or missing text. There are no illustrations or indexes.When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. You can also preview the book there. ... Read more

Product Description
The Gulf and Inland Waters - The Navy in the Civil War. Volume 3. is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by A. T. (Alfred Thayer) Mahan is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of A. T. (Alfred Thayer) Mahan then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Product Description
832 pages of the "United States Army and Navy Journal and Gazette of the Regular and Volunteer Forces," archived on CD-ROM.

Sometimes called "Army and Navy Journal" or "Armed Forces Journal," these 52 issues date from August 27, 1864 to August 19, 1865. The Army and Navy Journal was the nation's leading military journal of the time.

In 1863, the Army and Navy Journal, as it came to be called, began a long run. It was not just a professional journal like the others mentioned. The Army and Navy Journal, along with its social and other items about service personnel, carried articles, correspondence, and news of interest to military people that helped bind its readers together in a common professional fraternity. The Army and Navy Journal and Gazette first date of issue was August 29, 1863.

In addition to major Civil War events, the Army Navy Journal covered stories of court martials, obituaries, official dispatches from the War Department, appointments, list of AWOLs, foreign military matters, editorials and advertisements.

The Journal included reprints of articles from Confederate publications. Southern newspapers including the Greensboro Journal, Richmond Dispatch, Richmond Enquirer, Richmond Sentinel and Atlanta Constitutionist.

The disc contains a text transcript of all recognizable text embedded into the graphic image of each page of each document, creating a searchable finding aid. Searches can be conducted across all issues on the disc.

CD-ROM Requires Windows or MAC ... Read more

Product Description
After painstaking research, Stauffer Miller has put together the story of Cape Cod, Massachusetts' many ship captains and mates who put aside their careers as merchant seamen to don the uniform of Union Navy officers in the Civil War. What made them do it? What was the effect of their actions on their families, or themselves? Here is their story, often of conflict within a conflict.

In many cases, these men were close to great newsmakers of American history, as illustrated by two book excerpts. The first is an observation by Benjamin Dyer Jr. of Truro, on the gunboat Mahaska:

"City Point, Va, May 28, 1862. We are now quite close to famous Monitor, and a queer-looking craft she is. She looks like a raft with a circular tower amidships. She bears two of three deep dents in her turret and two ugly marks, one on each bow, received in her gallant encounter with the Merrimac. Altogether, she is a naval curiosity."

Sylvannus Nickerson of Yarmouth and on the gunboat Itasca witnessed something equally historic, described by the author:

"While patrolling the Mississippi River in October 1862, the Itasca encountered on the east bank a herd of 1,500 head of longhorn cattle which had been brought north from Texas in one of the first of that state's famed cattle drives. When examination of the drovers' passes revealed the cattle were for the Confederate Army, the drovers went to New Orleans under arrest, the cattle to Union possession. Sailor-turned-cowpuncher Nickerson went ashore with details of me to guard the longhorns from lurking guerillas while gunboats, transports and sailors drove the whole "wild and unmanageable herd" to New Orleans in what was termed "a novel act of duty for the Navy." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Must-Read
This is a must-read for anyone interested in the Civil War, its navy, ships, Cape Cod genealogy, biography and adventure.Author Miller has accomplished the nigh-unto-impossible by organizing tens of thousands of researched facts - ingeniously annotated and cross-referenced - into an immensely readable book about the 179 Cape Cod naval officers.It starts with "the transformation" (how Cape Codders became naval officers)and explains the uniforms, pay rates and ranks.A glossary of nautical terms,a list and description of the ships they served in, snippets of personal letters and newsy items from the papers of the day add a lot.Starting with Sandwich, Miller works his way down the Cape to Provincetown giving an overview of each town and mini-biographies of its naval officers.The reader will find heroes and scoundrels, tragic stories, bravado, illnesses and medical care, disciplinary actions, excess and deprivation, and encounters with famous people of the day.Miller breathed life into dusty military records and 179 Cape Cod men emerged.His marvelous dry wit enhances their virtues and foibles during this super-macho era.I would give this more than 5 stars if I could.It would make a great Christmas gift. ... Read more