Confederate Naval Forces on Western Waters: The Defense of the Mississippi River and Its Tributaries

ISBN-13: 9780786464173 / Angielski / Miękka / 2011 / 280 str.

R. Thomas Campbell

Opis

No body of water was more vital to the Confederacy's efforts in the Civil War than the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Though the Confederate Congress declared the Mississippi free and open to all states north and south, the Union launched plans for an effective blockade of the 1700 miles of Southern coastline, coupled with a strong naval and army thrust down the Mississippi Valley from Cairo, Illinois, to the Gulf of Mexico. To defend the river and to prevent Union forces from advancing, the South would require a strong naval force. There was only one problem with the strategy: The Confederacy had no navy.