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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
GREAT OVERVIEW OF THE UNION NAVAL VICTORY AT PORT ROYAL, March 7, 2010
This review is from: The Battle of Port Royal (SC) (Civil War Sesquicentennial) (Paperback)
I have read so much on the American Civil War, but my knowledge of the naval history of the conflict is basic to put it charitably. This is the first book I have read about the fall of Port Royal, South Carolina in late 1861, but it really got me interested in the Union blockade and combined army/navy coastal operations against the Confederacy. The book is short (128 pages) and deals with the Union Fleet under flag officer Samuel Dupont departing Hampton Roads, Virginia on 29 October, 1861 and the storm tossed transit south that ends off the coast of Port Royal, South Carolina where the scattered fleet reformed and successfully attacked the two Confederate forts (Walker and Beauregard) defending the entrance to Port Royal on November 7, 1861. Throughout the book the information in the well written text is expanded and complimented by sidebars dealing with background information, biographical sketches of key participants, and all kinds of other information related to the battle and its aftermath including even poems written about the Northern victory. The book is nicely illustrated with 34 photos and drawings that help bring the story to life. The book ends with a Selected Bibliography that I intend to check out since the author got my interest up about the Naval involvement in the Civil War. The maps (four total) were insufficient in some respects. There is no Theater of Operations map so if you are not familiar with this part of the East Coast of the United States you will have to look elsewhere to get the big picture. There is a period map of the Port Royal vicinity that works pretty good as an Area of Operations map, but it is a little small and could have been enlarged for ease of comprehension. The book has a map for each Confederate fort, and these were not too bad, but could have had more detail. I found the map of the battle to be plain but very sufficient for comprehension of what happened. The book does not have an Order of Battle for forces engaged but this information is pretty well covered in the text. There are no footnotes, or an index, and I wish there had been both. But I have to say, this book is a fine overview of the Battle of Port Royal told mostly from participants first hand accounts that should appeal to anyone wanting to learn about this important Civil War action.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Now I Know About the Battle of Port Royal., December 13, 2009
This review is from: The Battle of Port Royal (SC) (Civil War Sesquicentennial) (Paperback)
To start things off I live in Charleston, SC; I have a degree in American History from the College of Charleston; and I wrote my senior thesis on the Confederate Navy. There was, in fact, no reason - or excuse - for my knowing as little as I did about the battle of Port Royal. (For those of you not from the area Port Royal is about an hour's drive from Charleston.) Thankfully, I had the opportunity to attend the author's inaugural book signing at the Charleston Historical Society last Thursday evening, talk to him about the battle and his love of Charleston's often colorful history. The Battle for Port Royal is a well thought out, bautifully illustrated testament to Mr. Coker's devoted and encompassing knowledge of local history. The book provides the reader with a detailed explanation of the battle, of course, but also of the different personalities involved in it. I especially enjoyed the numerous sidebars that provided ancillary information on various related topics - they definitely increased my understanding of the battle and the time it was fought in. Kudos to Mr. Coker for doing an outstanding job with this book. I have read his other book "Charleston Curiousities" (pick it up!) and look forward to more books from this new, and emerging historian.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice battle summary, more tactical depth needed, June 15, 2011
This review is from: The Battle of Port Royal (SC) (Civil War Sesquicentennial) (Paperback)
Port Royal is an early battle that deserves more study and attention, but has received little. Coker's contribution is a good start in the right direction. I admit that upon first examination of this slim work (125 pages of main text) I had doubts about whether it would be sufficiently useful to warrant a favorable review. Despite a number of limitations the author presents a fine overview of the operation to take the forts defending Port Royal. There are many period illustrations and local background is provided. Unfortunately, the "select bibliography" is extremely thin and there are no foot or end notes. The writing itself is smooth, but the style of the presentation is one that can be troublesome. Interspersed in much of the text are information boxes (sometimes several pages long) of background information. These are well-written, entertaining, and/or informative, but they interrupt the flow of the text. In many cases they could or should have been incorporated as chapter sections. Nevertheless, the book still proved an easy read. The battle narrative is somewhat brief, but explains the key elements of the engagement well, particularly the enfilading fire that soon made Fort Walker untenable. An interesting facet revealed was the disabling of several of the heaviest Confederate guns due to loading problems with oversized or misshapen ammunition. Some greater detail/explanation of the heavy guns used by both sides would have been useful to readers here. A fuller treatment would include: 1. A good tactical map (or maps) of the engagement. 2. Orders of battle for both sides (including primary armament of the vessels.) 3. Foot/end notes with expanded references. Normally I would only rate a work like this at 3 stars because of the missing elements, but because this one covers new ground it rates a 4.
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