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Naval Strategies in the Civil War: Confederate Innovations and Federal Opportunism

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Journalist and Civil War expert Jay Simson's Naval Strategies Of The Civil War: Confederate Innovations And Federal Opportunism is the first book to compare and contrast the strategies of the Southern Secretary of the Navy, Stephen R. Mallory, against his rival in the North, Gideon Welles. Mallory had to use technological innovation and the skill of individuals to bolster the South's seapower against the Union Navy's superior numbers. Meanwhile, Welles had to adapt to the more bureaucratic dictates of the Union's White House. One of Welles' first tasks was the naval blockade of the South, but he did not limit himself to just that. Naval Strategies of the Civil War looks at the very different approaches of two men, with historical lessons about the art and the horror of war to be derived from close study. Naval Strategies Of The Civil War is a much appreciated contribution to Civil War studies and very highly recommended for both Civil War and American naval history buffs.

This book, which is not a definitive history of either the Union or Confederate navies but goes into detail with the personalities and the overall strategies of leaders of each navy and how each strategy was implemented, using both successes and failures of each strategy. The subject matter paints an overall portrayal of how life in the south and the north was affected by both the victories and defeats of both sides.