Ironclads and Columbiads: The Coast (Civil War in North Carolina) [Paperback]

William Trotter (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 456 pages
• Publisher: John F. Blair Publisher (March 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895870886
• ISBN-13: 978-0895870889
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #209,326 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Highly readable popular history, May 25, 2004

By 

Edison McIntyre (Durham, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ironclads and Columbiads: The Coast (Civil War in North Carolina) (Paperback)

The books in Trotter's trilogy, "The Civil War in North Carolina" (the other volumes are "Silk Flags and Cold Steel: The Piedmont" and "Bushwhackers: The Mountains"), were published as independent volumes and can be enjoyed as such. But one can't get a good understanding of the Civil War in North Carolina by reading only about a single region. I strongly suggest that serious students of the war, or of North Carolina, take time to read the entire trilogy.

Aside from John G. Barrett's "The Civil War in North Carolina," Trotter's trilogy is the only modern comprehensive account of the war in the Tar Heel state. (See also my review of Barrett's book at Amazon.com.) Unlike Barrett's rather academic, formal approach, Trotter is as concerned with telling some good stories as he is with documenting North Carolina's role in the war. He includes a fairly extensive bibliography in each volume, but apparently he relied mainly on published sources, and the footnotes are very sparse. This is not to say that his work is inaccurate or invalid, but it is hardly the ultimate account of the war in North Carolina.

His geographical division of the three volumes also presents some problems. Much information about the state's entry into the war and about its poltical aspects is found in the volume on the Piedmont, "Silk Flags and Cold Steel," but the most important battles in the first three years of the war -- which had an influence on these political events -- are covered in "Ironclads and Columbiads." These two volumes also contain many later events that "interact," for example, the closing battles in March and April of 1865. And some events in "Bushwhackers" - most notably, Stoneman's cavalry raid in the final weeks of the war - also lap over into Piedmont. Again, a full understanding requires reading all three of these books. Trotter, while adopting a mildly pro-Confederate tone like Barrett's, doesn't do as good a job of tying events in North Carolina to those of the wider war.

"Ironclads and Columbiads" covers the most important battles in the state. In January 1862, Union forces began in earnest to occupy crucial points on the North Carolina coast. Within six months, Union army and naval forces effectively controlled coastal North Carolina from the Virginia line south to present-day Morehead City. Union setbacks in Virginia, however, led to the withdrawal of many federal soldiers from North Carolina, leaving only enough Union troops to hold coastal strongpoints like New Bern, "little" Washington, and Plymouth. Had the Union pressed harder in North Carolina in 1862 - e.g., reinforcing their units there and occupying Wilmington and Goldsboro (a vital railroad junction on the Wilmington-Weldon line) - the armies of the Confederacy might have been stretched much thinner than they were by the ineffective Union campaigns against Richmond, and may well have lost their principal port. Union control of eastern North Carolina would have been a major military and economic disaster for the Confederacy. Instead, the Union forces on the coast had to remain in fortified garrisons until 1865, occasionally venturing out to raid and forage in the rich farmlands of eastern North Carolina. Confederate forces retook Plymouth and Washington in 1864 but lost them again before the year was out.

One failing that Trotter shares with Barrett is the poor quality of his maps and the lack of description of battle sites, roads, and other places in modern terms. A copy of DeLorme's "North Carolina Atlas and Gazetteer" is a vital supplement to these three books; modern place names and locations of battles and other events should have been located using modern landmarks, included as footnotes.

Trotter's trilogy is "popular" history, entertainingly related and highly readable. (He doesn't hesitate to have occasional fun with purple prose -- "The obsidian mountain night engulfed them like wraiths" -- but the writing usually is lively and flows well.) There may be more recent and more thorough books about various aspects of the Civil War in North Carolina, but Trotter's trilogy presents an introductory survey in a convenient package.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ironclads and Columbiads: The Coast, May 25, 2001

By 

Evan McKearn (Beloit, WI U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ironclads and Columbiads: The Coast (Civil War in North Carolina) (Paperback)

This is one of the most excellent books I have ever read on the subject to the Civil War in North Carolina or any other theatre. It easily grabs your attention early on and holds on to it throughout the remainder of the book. It reads splendidly and the author does an excellent job in describing all aspects. Trotter definitely deserves serious recognition. It should be considered a major contribution to the Civil War reading community and a must for any serious student of the Civil War.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A trip to my childhood..., July 5, 2001

By 

Clark D. Tew "C. D. Tew, Esq." (Mooresville, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ironclads and Columbiads: The Coast (Civil War in North Carolina) (Paperback)

Growing up in NC, I saw all of the sights along the coast of Civil War importance. I tramped across Fort Fisher and loked out to sea over the ramparts of Fort Macon. I visited Roanoke and climbed the earthworks left over from the burnside expedition. I live in a state which the Civil War changed forever. North Carolina contributed the most soldiers (besides Virginia) to the Southern cause, and quite a few for the North. It is wonderful to see such a well-written book about this state. Even if you are not a North Carolinian, this book will tell you a lot about the Southern war effort. Wilmington, NC was the only port that blockade runners could enter during the latter half of the war, and so most of the South's supplies came through there. This book is a wonderful read, and has a novel-like feel. Great for all Civil War Buffs.