The Timberclads in the Civil War

The Timberclads in the Civil War PDF Author: Myron J. Smith, Jr.
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786451955
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 561

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Book Description
In the most detailed history ever of Union warships on the western waters of the Civil War, the author recounts the exploits of the timberclad ships Lexington, Tyler, and Conestoga. Converted to warships from commercial steamboats at the beginning of the conflict, the three formed the core of the North's Western Flotilla, later the Mississippi Squadron. The book focuses on the activities of these wooden warriors while providing context for the greater war, including accounts of their famous commanders, their roles in both large and small battles, ship-to-ship combat, and support for the armies of Gen. U.S. Grant and Gen. William T. Sherman.

The Timberclads in the Civil War

The Timberclads in the Civil War PDF Author: Myron J. Smith, Jr.
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786451955
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 561

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Book Description
In the most detailed history ever of Union warships on the western waters of the Civil War, the author recounts the exploits of the timberclad ships Lexington, Tyler, and Conestoga. Converted to warships from commercial steamboats at the beginning of the conflict, the three formed the core of the North's Western Flotilla, later the Mississippi Squadron. The book focuses on the activities of these wooden warriors while providing context for the greater war, including accounts of their famous commanders, their roles in both large and small battles, ship-to-ship combat, and support for the armies of Gen. U.S. Grant and Gen. William T. Sherman.

Tinclads in the Civil War

Tinclads in the Civil War PDF Author: Myron J. Smith, Jr.
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 9780786435791
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Once the Union Army gained control of the upper rivers of the Mississippi Valley during the first half of 1862, slow and heavy ironclads proved ineffective in patrolling the waters. Hastily outfitted steamboats were covered with thin armor and pressed into duty. These "tinclads" fought Confederate forces attacking from the riverbanks, provided convoy for merchant steamers, enforced revenue measures, and offered tow, dispatch, and other fleet support services. This history documents the service records and duties of these little-known vessels of the Union fleet.

Where the South Lost the War

Where the South Lost the War PDF Author: Kendall D. Gott
Publisher: Stackpole Books
ISBN: 081173160X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
With the collapse of the Confederate defenses at Forts Henry and Donelson, the entire Tennessee Valley was open to Union invasion and control.

Sixteen Thirty Two

Sixteen Thirty Two PDF Author: Eric Flint
Publisher: Baen Books
ISBN: 0671578499
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 397

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Book Description
The Thirty Years War Meets the American WayWhen Grantville, W. Va., was suddenly hurled from 2000 back to 1632, they landed in the middle of the Thirty Years War. But they brought American Freedom and Justice -- and modern guns -- along with them. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.

The Battle of Belmont

The Battle of Belmont PDF Author: Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes Jr.
Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press
ISBN: 0807866814
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 329

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Book Description
The battle of Belmont was the first battle in the western theater of the Civil War and, more importantly, the first battle of the war fought by Ulysses S. Grant. It set a pattern for warfare not only in the Mississippi Valley but at Fort Donelson and Shiloh as well. Grant's 7 November 1861 strike against the Southern forces at Belmont, in southeastern Missouri on the Mississippi River, made use of the newly outfitted Yankee timberclads and all the infantry available at the staging area in Cairo, Illinois. The Confederates, led by Leonidas Polk and Gideon Pillow, had the advantages of position and superior numbers. They hoped to smash Grant's expeditionary force on the Missouri shore and cut off the escape of the Illinois and Iowa troops from their boats. The confrontation was a bloody, all-day fight that a veteran of a dozen major battles would later call "frightful to contemplate." At first successful, the Federals were eventually driven from the field and withdrew up the Mississippi to safety. The battle cost some twenty percent of his troops, but as a result of this engagement Grant became known as an audacious fighting general. Using diaries and letters of participants, official documents, and contemporary newspaper accounts, Nathaniel Hughes provides the only full-length tactical study of the battle that catapulted Grant into prominence. Throughout the narrative, Hughes draws sketches of the lives and fates of individual soldiers who fought on both sides, especially of the colorful and enormously dissimilar principal actors, Grant and Polk.

Mr. Lincoln's Brown Water Navy

Mr. Lincoln's Brown Water Navy PDF Author: Gary D. Joiner
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 9780742550988
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 220

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Book Description
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. They patrolled thousands of miles of rivers and fought battles that were every bit as harrowing as land engagements yet inside iron monsters that created stifling heat with little ventilation. This book is about the intrepid men who fought under these conditions and the highly improvised boats in which they fought. The tactics their commanders developed were the basis for many later naval operations. Of equal importance were lessons learned about what not to do. The flag officers and admirals of the Mississippi Squadron wrote the rules for modern riverine warfare.

Joseph Brown and His Civil War Ironclads

Joseph Brown and His Civil War Ironclads PDF Author: Myron J. Smith, Jr.
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786495766
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 395

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Book Description
A Scottish immigrant to Illinois, Joseph Brown made his pre-Civil War fortune as a miller and steamboat captain who dabbled in riverboat design and the politics of small towns. When war erupted, he used his connections (including a friendship with Abraham Lincoln) to obtain contracts to build three ironclad gunboats for the U.S. War Department--the Chillicothe, Indianola and Tuscumbia. Often described as failures, these vessels were active in some of the most fer"documents the life and career of Joseph Brown, a miller and steamboat captain who built three ironclad gunboats for the US War Department"ocious river fighting of the 1863 Vicksburg campaign. After the war, "Captain Joe" became a railroad executive and was elected mayor of St. Louis. This book covers his life and career, as well as the construction and operational histories of his controversial trio of warships.

Mississippi River Gunboats of the American Civil War 1861–65

Mississippi River Gunboats of the American Civil War 1861–65 PDF Author: Angus Konstam
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472800613
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 129

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Book Description
At the start of the American Civil War, neither side had warships on the Mississippi River and in the first few months both sides scrambled to gather a flotilla, converting existing riverboats for naval use. These ships were transformed into powerful naval weapons despite a lack of resources, trained manpower and suitable vessels. The creation of a river fleet was a miracle of ingenuity, improvisation and logistics, particularly for the South. This title describes their design, development and operation throughout the American Civil War.

Union River Ironclad 1861–65

Union River Ironclad 1861–65 PDF Author: Angus Konstam
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 178200839X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 87

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Book Description
At the start of the American Civil War, neither side had warships on the Mississippi River, which was a vital strategic artery. In what would prove the vital naval campaign of the war, both sides fought for control of the river. While the Confederates relied on field fortifications and small gunboats, the Union built a series of revolutionary river ironclads. First commissioned in January 1862, these ironclads spent the next two years battling for control of the Mississippi, fighting in a string of decisive engagements that altered the entire course of the war. This book explains how these vessels worked, how they were constructed, how they were manned and how they were fought.

War on the Waters

War on the Waters PDF Author: James M. McPherson
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 0807837326
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Although previously undervalued for their strategic impact because they represented only a small percentage of total forces, the Union and Confederate navies were crucial to the outcome of the Civil War. In War on the Waters, James M. McPherson has crafted an enlightening, at times harrowing, and ultimately thrilling account of the war's naval campaigns and their military leaders. McPherson recounts how the Union navy's blockade of the Confederate coast, leaky as a sieve in the war's early months, became increasingly effective as it choked off vital imports and exports. Meanwhile, the Confederate navy, dwarfed by its giant adversary, demonstrated daring and military innovation. Commerce raiders sank Union ships and drove the American merchant marine from the high seas. Southern ironclads sent several Union warships to the bottom, naval mines sank many more, and the Confederates deployed the world's first submarine to sink an enemy vessel. But in the end, it was the Union navy that won some of the war's most important strategic victories--as an essential partner to the army on the ground at Fort Donelson, Vicksburg, Port Hudson, Mobile Bay, and Fort Fisher, and all by itself at Port Royal, Fort Henry, New Orleans, and Memphis.