With the ascendancy of Ulysses S. Grant in late 1863, the command tone of the United States Army underwent a dramatic change. While Grant's predecessor George McClellan had been overly cautious about committing troops and resources to fight the South, Grant held the philosophy that a war fought for total ends required total means. Philip Sheridan set about reorganizing the army to reflect Grant's new style. During the last six months of the war, he relieved three generals of their commands because of their inability to follow his orders precisely. William Averell, Alfred Torbert and Gouverneur Warren found themselves and their careers casualties of Sheridan's intense determination to bring an end to the hostilities. Only Ranald S. Mackenzie managed to survive Sheridan's search for effective leaders, proving himself the ideal subordinate.
For nearly a century and a half most historians of the Civil War have accepted the claim by Confederate Colonel John S. Mosby that George Armstrong Custer bears all of the guilt associated with the summary executions of six of Mosby's Rangers at Front Royal, Virginia on September 23, 1864. This book challenges that view through a comprehensive look at the events of the day and a history of the persons involved, contending that Custer was not responsible for these executions, being neither present on the scene nor the initiating officer.
I am satisfied that, with the means at our control. and in view of the overwhelming force of the enemy at the outset of the struggle, our little navy accomplished more than could have been looked or hoped for...and, yet, not 10 men in 10,000 of the country, know or appreciate these facts." --Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen R. Mallory One of the most overlooked aspects of the American Civil War is the naval strategy played out by the North and the South. Only recently have documents come to light that reveal the forgotten story of Confederate efforts to secure naval assets in Europe that could not be secured at home in the face of Federal advances on Southern coasts and waterways. Much is said of the ironclad initiatives played out at Hampton Roads and on the Mississippi in the spring of 1862, and some attention is given to the commerce raiders and blockade-runners. In general, however, the ships and sailors of the Civil War have been overshadowed by the soldiers who fought at Manassas, Shiloh, Antietam, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and other locations. In this overview of the Civil War navies, Jay W. Simon looks first at the two men who determined the policies of their respective governments: Stephen R. Mallory and Gideon Welles. He portrays Welles as a component of a unified Federal war strategy who knew when to adapt and improvise in order to overcome the enemy. Mallory, however, is forced to constantly rethink, refine, and rework his resources at home and abroad. Interestingly, Mallory found a workable scheme by adopting several measures devised by Robert E. Lee during the general's early tenure as overseer of the coastal defenses of South Carolina and Georgia. The evolving Confederate strategy also introduced most of the modern roles carried out by commerce raiders, submarines, and naval mines. A keen distinction between Mallory and Welles is apparent in terms of the cooperation they received from their army counterparts. For the North, this led to several successful army-navy operations along the Southern coast and on the Mississippi. For the South, the lack of resources boded ill for such inter-departmental efforts. In the end, Simson finds that flexible organization tended to succeed whereas desperate, although creative, measures usually failed.
Thank you for visiting our website. Would you like to provide feedback on how we could improve your experience?
This site does not use any third party cookies with one exception — it uses cookies from Google to deliver its services and to analyze traffic.Learn More.