Customer Reviews

Union Jacks: Yankee Sailors in the Civil War (Civil War America)

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

 

 

After reading on the civil war for 40 years or more, one complaint I've had is that no one writes of the Union navy beyond the officers from admirals downward. Since I served in the U.S. Navy from 1961-1967, it isn't strange that I would hold some interest in these earlier shipmates. So I eagerly awaited the University of North Carolina to issue this book. I purchased a copy and was not disappointed.

I feel the book to be well worthwhile if one is interested in the union jack or blue jackets of that era. Some reviewers may have found the book not quite to their liking, but my humble opinion is that with the paucity of books available on this subject, one should be thankful for almost anything that is written on the area.

One of the more interesting items in this book are the pictures and illustrations. What did these men really look like? The appearance of their hats and uniforms? Here and there, some photographic books do give a clue. But I've encountered few that had as their entire subject the blue jacket of that day. It would seem from the pictures, that one need was to have had at least one banjo on board the ship. And curiously the numbers of navy men barefoot on board. And it was also of interest the number of African American sailors serving on board many of these ships. The Navy welcomed their service at least a year before the Union army, and by war's end upwards of 18% of all Union Navy men were African Americans, honorably serving their country.

With the author's notes covering almost the final 100 pages of this book, it appears very well documented. And as with any Civil War America book from Chapel Hill, you know it is solid history. I applaud this attempt by my fellow Ohioian for his efforts to give these mostly ignored and forgotten men an open hearing. Sadly, they too seemed aware their efforts were lost to history, with the combat armies often being remembered at their expense.

For me, this book is a very good first step in the direction of revealing these men and their naval service to our contemporary readers. I await even more of their stories.

Semper Fi.

Northern Sailors don't get much respect. While they certainly didn't attain the glory that soldiers did during the war, and while they didn't see nearly as much combat as most soldiers, they did their duty. Yet, they are underepresented. Of the thousands upon thousands of books written about the Civil War, this is the first to actually examine the psyche, background, physical characterisitics, and everyday life of Union sailors. Bennett does a good job of it, too.
His examination of the average sailor isn't simply rehashing known facts, it's delving into the reasoning behind the actions and events in sailor's lives. It's as much a psychological research work as a historical narrative. For anyone interested in Naval history, Civil War history, or simply looking to beef up their nautical knowledge, this book is absolutely and undeniably invaluable.

A beautiful, hardback book, well written. One of the best resources I have seen, it has 1/3rd of the pages in references and sources for more specific info, bookwide and chapter by chapter. The wonderful historical prose portions give such rich and realistic descriptions of the various daily lives and trials of the men on these fightings vessels, it puts you right on board! Highly recommended to any Civil War afficianado. A.Norman

I have not finished the book but find the author's assessments so far harsh. He spends a great deal of the first chapter commenting on the stupidity and ignorance of the sailors while quoting extensively from letters and diaries written by the sailors. The description of the dirt and filth he provides don't jibe with his talk of the efforts to clean the ships. He says the sailors are personally dirty and then describes what, in a later day, would be called a ki-yi bath when the dirty sailor was bathed by his shipmates using their clothing scrub brushes. It seems inconsistent to me.

This book is chock full of information. Unfortunately, the author's 21st century attitudes prevail over the information. He persisted in interpreting attitudes and behaviors in a modern context which created a negative impact on the reader.