Customer Reviews

Rebel Gibraltar: Fort Fisher and Wilmington, C.S.A.

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

Great book bringing together Walkers personal experience of the area with historical fact to create a more comprehensive angle on the topic. Having read other books on Ft. Fisher, this one ranks high on its appeal to the informed reader.

In 1991, Rod Gragg gave us the story of the battle for Fort Fisher. In 1997, Chris Fonvielle gave us the Wilmington Campaign. Perhaps some of us wondered what James L. Walker could possibly add to these two fine books. Well, the answer is quite a lot. Walker not only covers the final campaign and battle from late 1864 to early 1865 but he goes back to the very beginning and gives us a panoramic view of the forts amazing history from start to finish. The parade of fascinating characters, the colorful stories of human interest and military derring-do will captivate any reader who loves North Carolina or Civil War history. I have taught both for 35 years and I give this book my very highest recommendation.

This is a very informative book and reveals a portion of North
Carolina history with which I was not too familiar. From this
book I learned a lot about the history of the battles of Fort
Fisher and Wilmington during the War Between the States. It is
obvious that the author spent considerable time on research and
the result is this wonderful book about these battles and the
true stories from his ancestors of the times during the war
in this part of the South. Betty T.

I was especially interested in Mr. Walker's book, having once lived in Wilmington, NC and visited Ft. Fisher on frequent occasions. REBEL GIBRALTAR is an inspiring educational contribution to the history of the Lower Cape Fear.

Without a doubt, the reader can tell that many,many years of research was done by Larry Walker in order to write this book. It is the best one that has been written on Fort Fisher and Wilmington, N.C. Anyone that is interested in TRUE facts of history should read this book.

Anne-Charlotte, N.C.

I have been a avid student of the Civil War for over 40 years. I currently have a personal library of books on the war that number in excess of 300 volumes. Without a doubt, Mr. Walker's history of Wilmington, NC during the war is a master piece of research and writing. It ranks at the top of any history that I have read and I recommend it highly to anyone interested in the subject. Best of all, it reads extremely well, very much like a novel. [...]

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in Civil War history. I found it to be well written and thoroughly
researched. It is full of fascinating details of the significance of the Wilmington area and Fort Fisher to the outcome of the Civil War. The photographs, maps, quotations, and the interesting personal connection that the author has to the Wilmington area, all combine to bring history alive for the reader. I would rate this book among the very best. You will be taken on an unforgettable journey to a time and place of great significance in the history of our country. The author has done a remarkable job.

Mr. Walker's unique approach to this topic is his concentration on how well Ft. Fisher and the port city of Wilmington, N.C., worked together to maintain the Confederate war effort. While other excellent authors have dealt mostly with the attacks on Ft. Fisher and its fall, Walker has also told the success-story of the partnership between the fort and the city. As the Confederacy was slowly strangled by the U.S. military's Anaconda Plan, Wilmington and Ft. Fisher became increasingly more vital to the Confederacy's survival. Toward the end of the war, the city and fort were the only significant source of support for Lee's army. Without Ft. Fisher, Wilmington could not be held. Without Wilmington, Robert E. Lee's army was doomed.

Larry Walker's well documented book brings to life the actions of the "flying batteries" that operated on the beaches above Ft. Fisher to protect the blockade runners that were so vital to the Confederacy. Lots of first hand quotes and details from the soldiers involved. A very interesting book on that important port of Wilmington and nearby area of North Carolina.

Having been a CW buff for many years, I was thrilled to read Mr. Walker's in-depth account of the entire Fort Fisher campaign with emphasis on commanders, units involved and eyewitness reports. Of special interest to the true historian is discovering how successful this massive coastal defensive system was in allowing many valuable sorties by blockade runners for two years leading up to the 1865 final battle.
A must-read for serious CW devotees.