Life in Mr. Lincoln's Navy [Hardcover]

Dennis J. Ringle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 28, 2008

Every aspect of the common sailor's life in the Union navy - such as recruiting, clothing, training, shipboard routine, entertainment, wages, diet, health, and combat experience - is addressed in this study, the first to examine the subject in such detail. The wealth of new facts provided here offers a fresh look at nineteenth-century social history, including such issues as racial integration in the military. As he examines daily life in the Union navy, Dennis Ringle also calls attention to the enlisted sailor's enormous but often overlooked contributions to the development of the U.S. Navy as it moved from wood and sail to steam and iron.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 202 pages
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press (October 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557507368
• ISBN-13: 978-1557507365
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #920,895 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well-researched and full of in-depth facts, February 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Life in Mr. Lincoln's Navy (Hardcover)

Lieut. Ringle is among the first to examine the many aspects of sailors' lives during the American Civil War. He examines topics such as the recruiting efforts of the U.S. Navy, compensation and promotion, training, entertainment, and disease to name but a few. This book is not the most eloquently written piece, but the extensive research and sheer fact that this is one of the first books to examine this aspect of CW naval history makes it a must for any American naval library. I find it valuable as a reference for topics that are difficult to find sources on (recruitment, etc.).

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid treatment on naval experience, November 5, 2007

By 

N. Smith "castle_stormer" (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Life in Mr. Lincoln's Navy (Hardcover)

Endless treatments on the Civil War touch on everything about the armies, the men, and the campaigns they fought. Few books exist examining the naval facet of the war; an unforgivable omission since the navy played an integral component in the war's outcome. Dennis Ringle's Life in Mr. Lincoln's Navy is the first monograph to delve into examining the Yankee seaman. He discusses a variety of issues, from the type of men who enlisted, their training, food, medical care, social activities, integration with African Americans, shipboard and battle routine, and most importantly, their role in proving the new technological innovations of the ironclad.

Dennis Ringle's book is a good, though brief, view of the Union seaman, his role in the war, and the evolution of naval technology. He provides a tantalizing glimpse into the hardships endured by the naval leadership to build and recruit a fighting force. The seaman endured periods of boredom, punctuated by happy social times and terrifying bouts of battle horror. Ringle points out several areas where the army failed, but where the navy succeeded. One is in medical care and he makes a blanket statement that army surgeons had lacked in professional reading and competency. This is not true. Having read extensively Alfred Bollet's "Civil War Medicine: Challenges and Triumphs," H.H. Cunningham's "Doctors in Gray," and George Adams' "Doctors in Blue," the army dwarfed the navy in size and, thus, naturally (proportionally) incurred higher casualties and disease (amongst other issues). The army did possess a core of incompetent doctors, but eventually weeded them out through examination boards. Additionally, many surgeons were well read. Many were aware of scurvy, the use of hypodermic needles, and many instituted very remarkable treatments for disease and wounds. Ringle's statement leads a reader to believe army surgeons were generally incompetent. Historians today continue to try and counter this fallacy (as evidenced by the three previously mentioned books, which are exceptional treatments on Civil War medicine). What should be challenged was not competency, but the willingness of army leadership to actually listen to the surgeon and sanitary aid commissions' recommendations on health care, something that would happen, but only after the passage of some time.

Nevertheless, Ringle's book is an excellent primer on understanding the navy seaman. Incorporating a variety of diaries, correspondence, and official records, the reader departs with several important views. One, the tenacity and determination of those charged with outfitting and testing the dangerous new technologies of steam and ironclad laid the framework for war's success. It also laid the framework for the modern day navy. Second, the monitor-class warships were the war's greatest naval innovation, spawning further technical innovation and experimentation. Third, that racial integration amongst men could work. The navy needed the black man and in turn gave them equal footing with their white shipmates. Overall, the seaman was similar to his army brethren and can lay rightful claim in having performed just a vital a role in the war's outcome as the infantryman.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very regular, August 27, 2008

By 

J. Johnson (in my house) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Life in Mr. Lincoln's Navy (Hardcover)

The book is good, but it a lot flatter than I had hoped. Perhaps a few personal stories could give its heartline a little beat. It is interesting and easy to read, but too matter-of-fact. This book is not begging me to pick it up - but its history now.