Last Flag Down: The Epic Journey of the Last Confederate Warship [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio CD]

John Baldwin (Author), Ron Powers (Author), Ron McLarty (Reader)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2007

As the Confederacy felt itself slipping beneath the Union juggernaut in late 1864, the South launched a desperate counteroffensive to shatter the U.S. economy and force a standoff. Its secret weapon? A state-of-the-art raiding ship whose mission was to prowl the world’s oceans and sink the U.S. merchant fleet. The raider’s name was Shenandoah, and her executive officer was Conway Whittle, a twenty-four-year-old warrior who might have stepped from the pages of Arthurian legend. Whittle would share command with a dark and brooding veteran of the seas, Capt. James Waddell, and together with a crew of strays, misfits, and strangers, they would spend nearly a year sailing two-thirds of the way around the globe, destroying dozens of Union ships and taking more than a thousand prisoners, all while continually dodging the enemy.

Then, in August of 1865, a British ship revealed the shocking truth to the men of Shenandoah: The war had been over for months, and they were now being hunted as pirates.

What ensued was an incredible 15,000-mile journey to the one place the crew hoped to find sanctuary, only to discover that their fate would depend on how they answered a single question. Wondrously evocative and filled with drama and poignancy, Last Flag Down is a riveting story of courage, nobility, and rare comradeship forged in the quest to achieve the impossible.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Thriller writer Baldwin (The Eleventh Plague et al.) joins forces with the prolific Powers (coauthor of Flags of Our Fathers et al.) to come up with a fast-reading Civil War true adventure saga centered a on young CSA navy lieutenant. The 24-year-old Conway Whittle, an ancestor of Baldwin's, was assigned as first lieutenant and executive officer on the Confederate raider Shenandoah late in the war. The ship sailed from London disguised as a merchant vessel and underwent a memorable cruise round the globe, attacking and destroying Yankee merchant ships and whalers. Whittle and company kept up their daring sea raids until August of 1865, when they learned that the war had ended five months earlier. The ship returned to England, having flown the last Confederate flag at sea in defiance of the U.S. Baldwin and Powers recount their tale in a lively, evocative style and may be forgiven for being overly fond of their hero. Whittle, they say, "was as good a man as history seems able to produce: a warrior of courage inconceivable to most people; a naval officer of surpassing calm and intelligence; a seeker after Christian redemption; a steadfast lover; a student of human nature; a gentle soul; a custodian of virtue." (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

By late 1864, it seemed clear that the Confederacy had only a short time to live. In the west, the Army of the Tennessee was a spent, shattered force. In the east, Lee's Army of Northern Virginia was besieged at Petersburg, and the depredations of Sherman and Sheridan brought Southern soldiers to the brink of starvation. In the midst of this gloom, a Confederate ship, the Shenandoah, left Britain and launched a series of remarkably successful raids on Union shipping across vast expanses of open sea. However, cut off from communication with the Southern homeland, the crew was unaware of the surrender of Confederate armies in April 1865. Since the Shenandoah continued raiding, in strictly legal terms the sailors on board were now pirates. When the officers realized this, they began a heroic effort to find a refuge for themselves and their crew. Baldwin and Powers have written a stirring account of one of the more obscure episodes of the Civil War, filled with stunning examples of personal courage in the face of adversity. Jay Freeman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Random House Audio; Abridged edition (May 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0739342940
• ISBN-13: 978-0739342947
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,453,205 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars COULD NOT PUT THIS DOWN!, May 29, 2007

By 

R. Essex "Fact & Truth Rule" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Last Flag Down: The Epic Journey of the Last Confederate Warship (Hardcover)

I was stranded in Houston Hobby airport at the beginning of Memorial Day Weekend due to bad weather so bought something just to occupy my time until they could finally put me on a plane. Wow, I could not walk away from this book over the holiday weekend. The farther in I got the better it was...and the fascinating thing was that this is a true story. Whittle is one of the absolute best real life hero's you'll ever read about and you find yourself pulling hard for him. I can't recommend this book enough for a host of reasons. You will actually learn some valuable life lessons about effectively dealing with adversity, dealing with others, etc. while going on this truly exciting adventure.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping saga of the year long, around the world trek of the Shenandoah., June 5, 2007

By 

Paul Tognetti "The real world is so much more... (Cranston, RI USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Last Flag Down: The Epic Journey of the Last Confederate Warship (Hardcover)

The vessel had begun life as "Sea King". That would all change in the fall of 1864 when a wealthy British industrialist named Richard Wright purchased the sleek three-masted racing clipper with a very specific purpose in mind. You see Richard Wright had made his fortune in the textile business in England. Like so many other businessmen of his day his success depended on an uninterrupted flow of the cotton that was grown in what was at that time the fledgling Confederate States of America. Prospects for a Confederate victory in the Civil War had dimmed considerably by this time and Wright concocted a plan in a desperate attempt to turn the tide in favor of the Confederacy. And so it was that on October 8, 1864 the good ship "Sea King" slipped out of London. Within days the vessel would be turned over to the Confederate Navy and renamed "Shenandoah". Her mission: to wreak havoc with Yankee shipping interests all over the world. "Last Flag Down: The Epic Journey of the Last Confederate Warship" is the compelling account of the journey of "Shenandoah" that would take her all the way around the world and last for an entire year. It is a book that I could simply not put down.

Much of the source material for "Last Flag Down" comes from the meticulously written journals of the Executive Officer of the "Shenandoah" Conway Whittle. At just 24 years of age Whittle was already a seasoned veteran having served with distinction on the CSS "Nashville". His journal entries reveal the exact nature of the mission of the "Shenandoah" as well as the hardships and triumphs that the officers and crew would experience over the next twelve months. To me this is absolutely the best kind of history. I would compare it most favorably to a pair of very important books from the past few years. David McCullough's sensational "John Adams" was based largely on the copious letters written by John and Abigail Adams. Likewise Charles Rappleye's splendid "Sons of Providence" features the letters between the brothers John and Moses Brown. Such source material is really invaluable because it not only reveals what went on but also helps to explain why things happened the way they did.

Prior to reading "Last Flag Down" I had never even heard of the "Shenandoah". I am not quite sure if this is simply ignorance on my part or if there has not been all that much written about this incredible ship. In any event, I found "Last Flag Down" to be absolutely spellbinding. John Baldwin and Ron Powers have certainly done an admirable job of bringing to life an important piece of American history here. This is a book that history buffs will relish and general audiences will enjoy. Very highly recommended!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars High adventure, true adventure on the seas., May 15, 2007

By 

Robert Busko (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Last Flag Down: The Epic Journey of the Last Confederate Warship (Hardcover)

Last Flag Down: The Epic Journey of the Last Confederate Warship may be one of the best historical books I read in 2007. The authors, John Baldwin and Ron Powers, using primary sources, manage to spin a great story about one of histories here-to-fore unknown episodes.

The CSS Shenandoah was purchased in London in 1864 by the confederacy. Converted out to a warship while at sea, the Shenandoah managed to sail around the world while picking off American ships on the high seas. Nabbing 38 vessels, mostly whaling ships and nearly 1000 prisoners, the Shenandoahs Captain, James Waddell and his crew managed to significantly impact Americas merchant fleet. Though having virtually no impact on the ultimate outcome of the war, the story of the CSS Shenandoah is one worth reading.

Eventually the ship returned to England where it was surrendered to English authorities and ultimately to the American government.

Well researched (Baldwin is distantly related to Lt. Conway Whittle, the Shenandoah's executive officer), and written for the general reader, Last Flag Down is certain to be one of your favorite reads of the year.

As I read Last Flag Down I kept wondering why this story never made it to the silver screen. Perhaps a movie might eventually be made.

A terrific read.