On April 12; 1861; the Civil War began when shots were fired on an unfinished fort in Charleston Harbor. From that thunderous opening salvo; the naval battles to control the Atlantic coast that followed–daring; savage; and often deadly–were not only crucial in determining the outcome of the war and the fate of a nation; but would change the face of naval warfare forever. GUNSMOKE OVER THE ATLANTICHistorian Jack D Coombe; author of the critically acclaimed Thunder Along the Mississippi and Gunfire Around the Gulf; combines brilliant research with a novelist’s flair for re-creation to put us directly into the action of the Civil War on river; on shore; and at sea. In this vivid account; we experience the soul-gnawing terror of a bombardment; the claustrophobic confines of a still-unproven submarine; and the smoke-choked chaos of a harbor in the grips of a full-bore naval engagement between two desperate enemies. Coombe focuses on the Civil War as it was fought along the Atlantic coast; a fierce contest of blockaders and blockade-runners; ironclads; wood-hulled battleships; land cannon; submarines; and the first underwater antiship weapons.For the North; the challenge was to implement a blockade over 3;500 miles of Confederate coastline; from Virginia to Texas. To do so; they would have to modernize an ineffective and outdated U.S. Navy fallen into incompetence and disrepair. For the South; the challenge was to create a fledgling navy from whatever meager resources were at hand. The Confederacy patched together a navy of river runners and converted battleships; turned cornfields into shipyards; and put the first ironclad battleship into action. And it was the South that introduced the new concept of underwater weaponry; sending spar torpedoes; mines; submarines–and a few incredibly brave men willing to deploy them–into battle against the North.Gunsmoke over the Atlantic chronicles the key engagements; from the Monitor and the Virginia dueling at Hampton Roads to the ill-fated campaign against Fort Fisher. Along the way; we meet a remarkable cast of naval strategists and warriors on both sides of the battle; witness the crucial; often deadly role played by the weather and the sea itself; and get a vivid view of such important events as the first amphibious landing in history; at Cape Hatteras in 1861. An important work for students of the Civil War and of naval history; this book fills in missing pieces of America’s most tragic war and shows why; when the guns finally fell silent; a new era had begun. Four years after the fall of Fort Sumter; a once divided country had the beginnings of the most powerful navy in the world.
#228795 in Books 2011-06-02 2011-06-02Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.00 x .86 x 5.31l; .87 #File Name: 0547521871512 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. The founding generation in their time and placeBy Mark PaulFor the better part of a century; Americans have alternated between idolizing the nation's revolutionary generation and muckraking it. One moment the revolutionaries are portrayed as demi-gods; the instruments of Divine Providence; the next moment; they are reactionaries; fighting to protect property and slavery.In Revolutionaries; Jack Rakove's beautifully written group portrait of the founding generations; they are placed where they belong: in their own time and their own place. Rakove shows how two generations of American provincials got swept up by history and came to make history of their own. And through their stories he delivers a smart and readable account of the revolutionary crisis; the war itself; the chaos of the 1780s; the making of the Constitution; and the first years of the early Republic. Each of the major players; from John Adams to Alexander Hamilton; come vividly to life in his account; with all their strengths and flaws. (And for those who have imbibed the John Adams worship of the last decade; Rakove's more nuanced account will be a particularly useful elixir.)If you've always wanted to know something more about the revolutionary generation and its challenges than the cartoon versions offered by our politics and popular culture; Rakove's Revolutionaries is the perfect place to start.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A different view of those involved with our journey to independence.By Richard H. LandryA somewhat different explication of our journey to independence than what is traditionally taught in school highlighting those Founding Fathers whose political agenda was somewhat more conservative; e.g. John Jay; Patrick Henry; Richard Henry Lee; Robert Livingston; James Madison then those of the more liberal persuasion; e..g. John Adams; Samuel Adams; Thomas Jefferson; Benjamin Franklin; and so many others whose impact is not fully recognized.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. not an ordinary's scholar's tome; it's a page turner for anyone who loves Early American HistoryBy sandytigerThis author's previous works are heavily academic. This book; though clearly the result of a scholar's research and discipline; is very readable. The insights into what our Founding Fathers brought to the debate about independence; the form of government and the rights of all men in the new America are fascinating. Rakove so recreates collective and individual thinking of the times that one sees the magnitude of the political and economic revolutions as I never viewed them before. The portraits of the individual actors on this stage show their strengths; flaws and interpersonal rivalries. ENJOY!!!
