The Civil War on the Mississippi: Union Sailors, Gunboat Captains, and the Campaign to Control the River Paperback – April 19, 2022

This is an excellent book--but be aware that it is not a military history or an account of naval actions. The title includes sailors and gunboat captains, and that's much of the book. It's based on diaries, letters and memoirs of just that, officers and sailors, and uses these to paint a vivid picture of the Mississippi squadron (originally under Army command, it became part of the Navy in 1862).The book covers actions up to the Vicksburg campaign when the river was finally opened for Union navigation all the way to the Gulf. It gives a vivid sense of dueling with Confederate batteries, which were formidable. There's also an undercurrent of "contrabands," that is escaping slaves who often escaped to naval vessels. The book doesn't explore this systematically but does give a sense of the importance of African Americans--labor and a good deal of help on ship.There's one useful map, but more maps would make this a better book. The illustrations are helpful. What would also have been helpful would be a chapter early on giving more detail about what life was like on board--surely those details could be patched together from the same sources used in the book. Were the watches the same as on the oceanic navy? How big was a gun crew and how did they lift some of that very heavy ammunition for the big guns. And what is a Parrot or a Dahlgren artillery piece? What did they eat, and did they sleep in hammocks, naval-style? The book may get the reader curious about these details.And perhaps a diagram of one or more of the ship classes. The river gunboats were more or less armored steamboats, and yet once armored were able to absorb a good deal of punishment--despite those paddlewheels which would seem to be delicate and vulnerable.Overall though, it's a good read.

I don’ t think it would be too much of an exaggeration if I claim to have read almost every available book on the operations of the Union’s brown water navy in the Civil War. This one is, quite simply, one of the best. Ms. Tomblin, ( I apologize in advance if she should be addressed as doctor, she certainly writes a great deal better than most of those I have known,) in addition to being a consummate researcher, is an extremely enjoyable author. Although I could probably recite the facts of each naval action from memory, she was able, through the outstanding use of primary source material in the form of journals and memoirs, to show me a view I haven’t seen before. If you have any interest in this aspect of the Civil War you must read this book. You will not be sorry!

There are some interesting factual nuggets contained within; but the presentation and organization of the those factual nuggets were disappointing, as were the editing & proofreading issues.

This book is filled with interesting facts and stories about the campaign for the Mississippi River. The details in the accounts of the various operations are excellent. However, I found the book difficult to read. As a narrative it seemed dis-jointed and difficult to read. I found the inclusion of so many quotes from letters and other communications destroyed the narrative. The obvious wealth of research material deserves praise, I just found it hard to read. I enjoyed Shelby Foote's description of these campaigns much more.

A summary of the review on StrategyPage.Com'Tomblin, the author of "Bluejackets and Contrabands: African Americans and the Union Navy", gives us a look at the riverine side of the Union’s effort to secure the Mississippi and adjacent streams from the start of the Civil War through the fall of Vicksburg and Port Hudson in mid-1863. Although her primary interest is the organization and operations of the Union’s river fleet – “A Mongrel Service” in the words of one officer – and the role of the regular Navy in the campaign, she gives appropriate attention to land operations and to Confederate efforts to develop a riverine capability. Tomblin discusses the origins of the riverine campaign, inherent in Winfield Scott’s “Anaconda” plan, the problems of creating and manning a river fleet, interservice squabbling, and, of course, operations, from Forts Henry and Donelson through Island No. 10, New Orleans, the gunboat battle at Memphis, operations in Arkansas, and Grant’s attempts to secure Vicksburg, and with it effective control of the river. Tomblin weaves into her account the actions of many individuals – the Ellets, Grant, Pemberton, Farragut, Porter, and more – to help clarify the why of particular events. This is a good account of the war on the western waters for the novice, which may be read with profit by the more the serious student of the Civil War or riverine operations. "For the full review, see StrategyPage.Com

This is the tale of the creation of a "Brown Water" navy in the early days of the civil war. It starts with the creation of Ironsides and ends with Grant's capture of Vicksburg on July 4th 1863. This is a great history, well-written and well-researched. If you like history, as I do, this book is a great read

As with most accounts of Civil War battles this is often confusing about which side are we talking about now. But it does a pretty good job of avoiding that as much as possible. This is a unique account of the war in the west from the perspective of the navy in the Mississippi River.

The author did her homework in this effort to document this arena of the ACW.