By Sea And By River (Da Capo Paperback) [Paperback]

Bern Anderson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Da Capo Paperback | Publication Date: August 22, 1989

Less bloody and less known than the land campaigns of the Civil War, the naval battles—and especially the naval blockade of the South—were crucial factors in the outcome of the war. The spectacular battle between the Monitor and the Merrimack marked the debut of ironclads, a revolution in naval warfare. Ships supported McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign and Grant’s conquest of the Mississippi Valley. The raiding of the Confederate cruisers Sumter, Florida, and Alabama, Farragut’s capture of the forts in Mobile Bay, and the interception of foreign ships on their way to trade with the South all led to the North’s eventual triumph. Bern Anderson, a retired admiral, provides sketches of many of the leading characters in the action: Gideon Welles, David Farragut, Stephen Mallory, Andrew Foote, and the Confederate commander Raphael Semmes. Anderson delineates the new kind of war being born in the rivers and oceans of the U.S. during these years, in this first effective joint action by military and naval forces in American history.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Rear Admiral Bern Anderson (U.S. Navy, retired) was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1900, attended the United States Naval Academy, and became a commissioned officer in 1920. From 1952 to 1960, he was technical adviser and assistant to Samuel Eliot Morison in the preparation of the 14-volume History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. He is the author of Surveyor of the Sea: The Life and Voyages of Captain George Vancouver, published in 1960.

Product Details

• Paperback: 342 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; Revised edition (August 22, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306803674
• ISBN-13: 978-0306803673
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,402,073 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent reading but primarily written from a Union view., May 26, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Tampa, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: By Sea And By River (Da Capo Paperback) (Paperback)

Admiral Bern is an entertaining writer of history and manages to include a lot of personal anecdotes from letters and diarys. From my knowledge and visits to Civil War forts around the country the author appears to be historically accurate. I would coution that the author seems to be writing primarily from a Union viewpoint. I am sending the book to some of my Navy friends.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Sea Saga of War and Diplomacy, January 3, 1999

By 

James Gallen (St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: By Sea And By River (Da Capo Paperback) (Paperback)

"By Sea and by River" by Bern Anderson, is an excellent, easy to read story of the Naval History of the Civil War. Without going into detail which would bore the amateur historian, Anderson provides the reader wth an excellent overview of Naval aspects of the war.

This book covers the major naval theatres of the war. In the war on the western rivers the Union Navy played a major role in support of the Army attacks along the rivers, such as at Forts Henry and Donelson and Vicksburg. The assault on Island Number Ten in the Mississipi River makes an interesting read.

Much attention is directed toward the Blockade, which was, probably, the major naval contribution to the war. All aspects of the blockade are examined. Anderson explains the purpose of the blockade and its role as one of the major methods of strangling the South economically. He details the amphibious operations and how they fit into the blockade. In opposition to the blockade Confederate iron-clad rams had spectacular moments of success but were of little overall significance. The book explains the efforts and limitations of blockade runners and Confederate raiders. The diplomatic entanglements occasioned by the blockade and raiders are presented from all sides.

At the conclusion, Anderson sums up the significance of the naval aspect of the war, a significance which many Civil War students will overlook. "By Sea and by River" is an excellent introduction to a very important and, perhaps, decisive, aspect of the Civil War.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the Best One Volume Summaries of the Naval Civil War, March 16, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: By Sea And By River (Da Capo Paperback) (Paperback)

Bern Anderson's "By Sea and By River" is still perhaps the best one-volume history of the naval side of the Civil War. Strongly recommended for first-time readers on the topic.