Neil P. Chatelain's Books

Fought Like Devils

By: Neil P. Chatelain

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An often overlooked aspect of the American Civil War was the effort by the Confederate Navy to defend the Mississippi River in 1861 and 1862. Confederate officials struggled to build a navy from nothing, converting steamers into gunboats while working to build several ironclad warships from the keel up along the banks of the Mississippi River. The CSS McRae, originally a Mexican ship involved in the Reform War, was among the vessels acquired by the Confederacy at the start of the war. The McRae was originally intended to roam the seas as one of the first commerce raiders with a secret mission to travel to England and gather much-needed supplies for the new Confederacy. Instead, circumstances kept her on the Mississippi River, where she fought from the river's mouth to the banks of Kentucky. Most notably, the McRae participated in the defense of New Orleans in April of 1862. Fought Like Devils shows how the Confederacy worked to build a navy and defend the most important waterway in North America. Drawing on government records, newspapers, personal letters, diaries, and reminisces; Neil P. Chatelain tells the story of the CSS McRae and its crew in their struggle to defend the Mississippi River for the Confederacy.

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171

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ISBN 10

1496915313

ISBN 13

9781496915313

Treasure and Empire in the Civil War

The Panama Route, the West and the Campaigns to Control America's Mineral Wealth

By: Neil P. Chatelain

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Treasure and Empire in the Civil War

The Panama Route, the West and the Campaigns to Control America's Mineral Wealth

By: Neil P. Chatelain

Across North America's periphery, unknown and overlooked Civil War campaigns were waged over whether the United States or Confederacy would dominate lands, mines, and seaborne transportation networks of North America's mineral wealth. The U.S. needed this wealth to stabilize their wartime economy while the Confederacy sought to expand their own treasury. Confederate armies advanced to seize the West and its gold and silver reserves, while warships steamed to intercept Panama route ships transporting bullion from California to Panama to New York. United States forces responded by expelling Confederate incursions and solidified territorial control by combating Indigenous populations and enacting laws encouraging frontier settlement. The U.S. Navy patrolled key ports, convoyed treasure ships, and integrated continent-wide intelligence networks in the ultimate game of cat and mouse. This book examines the campaigns to control North America's mineral wealth, linking the Civil War's military, naval, political, diplomatic and economic elements. Included are the hemispheric land and sea adventures involving tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt, admiral and explorer Charles Wilkes, renowned sea captain Raphael Semmes, General Henry Sibley, cowboy and mountain man Kit Carson, Indigenous leaders Mangas Coloradas and Geronimo, writer and miner Mark Twain, and Mormon leader Brigham Young.

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285

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McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

1476651523

ISBN 13

9781476651521

Defending the Arteries of Rebellion

Confederate Naval Operations in the Mississippi River Valley, 1861–1865

By: Neil P. Chatelain

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Defending the Arteries of Rebellion

Confederate Naval Operations in the Mississippi River Valley, 1861–1865

By: Neil P. Chatelain

This thorough account of the South’s efforts to hold the Mississippi River is “fast-paced, easy to read, and well supported by archival research”(The Civil War Monitor). Most studies of the Mississippi River focus on Union campaigns to open and control it, while overlooking Southern attempts to stop them. This book tells the other side of the story—the first modern full-length treatment of inland naval operations from the Confederate perspective. Jefferson Davis realized the value of the Mississippi River and its entire valley, which he described as the “great artery of the Confederacy.” This was the key internal highway that controlled the fledgling nation’s transportation network. Davis and his secretary of the navy knew these vital logistical paths offered potential highways of invasion for Union warships and armies to stab their way deep into the heart of the Confederacy, and had to be held. They planned to protect these arteries of rebellion by crafting a ring of powerful fortifications supported by naval forces. Different military branches, however, including the navy, marine corps, army, and revenue service, as well as civilian privateers and even state naval forces, competed for scarce resources to operate their own vessels. A lack of industrial capacity further complicated Confederate efforts and guaranteed the South’s grand vision of deploying dozens of river gunboats and powerful ironclads would never be fully realized. Despite these limitations, the Southern war machine introduced many innovations and alternate defenses including the Confederacy’s first operational ironclad, the first successful use of underwater torpedoes, widespread use of army-navy joint operations, and the employment of extensive river obstructions. When the river came under complete Union control in 1863, Confederate efforts shifted to its many tributaries, and a bitter, deadly struggle to control these internal lifelines. Despite a lack of ships, material, personnel, funding, and unified organization, the Confederacy fought desperately and scored many localized tactical victories—often at great cost—but failed at the strategic level. Written by a former Navy Surface Warfare Officer, this study, grounded in extensive archival and firsthand accounts, official records, and a keen understanding of terrain and geography, “very astutely gets to the heart of the main internal factors that lay behind the CSN's catastrophic failure to defend the strategic waterways of the Mississippi River Valley” (Civil War Books and Authors).

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447

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Savas Beatie

Published Date

ISBN 10

1611215110

ISBN 13

9781611215113

Defending the Arteries of Rebellion

Confederate Naval Operations in the Mississippi River Valley, 1861–1865

By: Neil P. Chatelain

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Defending the Arteries of Rebellion

Confederate Naval Operations in the Mississippi River Valley, 1861–1865

By: Neil P. Chatelain

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447

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Savas Beatie

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1611215110

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9781611215113

Fought Like Devils

The Confederate Gunboat Mcrae

By: Neil P. Chatelain

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Fought Like Devils

The Confederate Gunboat Mcrae

By: Neil P. Chatelain

An often overlooked aspect of the American Civil War was the effort by the Confederate Navy to defend the Mississippi River in 1861 and 1862. Confederate officials struggled to build a navy from nothing, converting steamers into gunboats while working to build several ironclad warships from the keel up along the banks of the Mississippi River. The CSS McRae, originally a Mexican ship involved in the Reform War, was among the vessels acquired by the Confederacy at the start of the war. The McRae was originally intended to roam the seas as one of the first commerce raiders with a secret mission to travel to England and gather much-needed supplies for the new Confederacy. Instead, circumstances kept her on the Mississippi River, where she fought from the rivers mouth to the banks of Kentucky. Most notably, the McRae participated in the defense of New Orleans in April of 1862. Fought Like Devils shows how the Confederacy worked to build a navy and defend the most important waterway in North America. Drawing on government records, newspapers, personal letters, diaries, and reminisces; Neil P. Chatelain tells the story of the CSS McRae and its crew in their struggle to defend the Mississippi River for the Confederacy.

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168

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AuthorHouse

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ISBN 10

1496915305

ISBN 13

9781496915306

Treasure and Empire in the Civil War

The Panama Route, the West and the Campaigns to Control America's Mineral Wealth

By: Neil P. Chatelain

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Treasure and Empire in the Civil War

The Panama Route, the West and the Campaigns to Control America's Mineral Wealth

By: Neil P. Chatelain

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Solve jigsaw puzzle

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Page Count

285

Publisher

McFarland

Published Date

ISBN 10

1476693811

ISBN 13

9781476693811

Book's by Neil P. Chatelain

Fought Like Devils

Fought Like Devils

Treasure and Empire in the Civil War

Treasure and Empire in the Civil War

Defending the Arteries of Rebellion

Defending the Arteries of Rebellion

Defending the Arteries of Rebellion

Defending the Arteries of Rebellion

Fought Like Devils

Fought Like Devils

Treasure and Empire in the Civil War

Treasure and Empire in the Civil War

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