Over one hundred articles on the topic of the American Civil War are contained within the pages of the U. S. Naval Institute Proceedings.
The tradition of Civil War scholarship began with Volume One, Number One, with an article by Commodore Foxhall A. Parker, U. S. Navy, entitled “The Monitor and the Merrimac.” Originally given as a speech, the prose is from another era: “On the Monitor not a word was spoken; but each man registered a vow of vengeance, on the tablets of his heart, against the ruthless Merrimac.”
The Proceedings also published two fine and scholarly articles by non-Americans, written prior to the turn of the century. W. Laird Clowes, Fellow of King’s College London, wrote an excellent scholarly article in which he presents a good case for the undesirability of ramming. In “The Ram in Action and in Accident,” (1882) he substantiates his thesis with several examples from the Civil War. He includes a chart listing all rammings or attempted rammings, the date, and the amount of damage done to the ram and its target. The author documents the danger of ramming, not only to the ram but also to any ships that happen to be in consort with a ram. He cites several cases where rams have sunk ships of their own navies. In 1880, Lieutenant T. B. M. Mason, U. S. Navy, translated an article by Lieutenant Charles C. Arnault which originally appeared in Révue Maritime et Coloniale. In his paper, entitled “The Employment of Torpedoes in Steam Launches Against Men of War,” Lieutenant Arnault examines the following Civil War naval battles: the destruction of the Housatonic (17 February 1864) and the Albemarle (27 October 1864). In addition, he examines other non-Civil War naval encounters.
Captain Alfred T. Mahan, U. S. Navy, in 1895, had an article reprinted in the Proceedings which originally appeared in the Journal of the Royal United Services Institution. The article, entitled “Blockade in Relation to Naval Strategy” (1885), is an historical examination of blockades. Part of his article is devoted to comments about the Union Blockade in the War of Secession. The Institute devoted the entire publication which appeared in 1885 (Whole Number 34) to Maritime International Law. Part of that edition deals with the blockade. Commander Henry Glass, U. S. Navy, in a well-researched article, studied the objectives, the establishment, the organization, and the legal aspects of the blockade with several references and examples taken from the Civil War naval blockade of the South.
President Theodore Roosevelt, while Assistant Secretary of the Navy, published two articles in the Proceedings. The first, “Washington’s Forgotten Maxim” (1897), was originally given as an address at the U. S. Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island. Roosevelt reminded his audience of Washington’s quote, “. . . to be prepared for war is the most effectual means to preserve the peace.” He then proceeded to examine America’s wars in light of this quote. He commented on the War of Secession by saying that in the Civil War none of these conditions applied, “In 1861 we had a good fleet and the Southern Confederacy had not a ship.” “The Naval Policy of America as Outlined in the Messages of the Presidents of the United States, From the Beginning to the Present Day” (1897) was the second article the Assistant Secretary of the Navy wrote. It consists of a short essay on each of the President’s naval policies, and as such contains a short commentary on the policy of Lincoln. This article may be of more value as an indicator of the future political aspirations of the author than as a scholarly contribution to the field of naval history.
Cleveland’s Secretary of the Navy, Hilary A. Herbert, also contributed an article, “The Sea and Sea Power as a Factor in the History of the United States” (1896). This was originally a speech given at the Naval War College. He states, “Had the Confederacy instead of the United States been able to exercise dominion over the sea . . . it is not too much to say that such a reversal of conditions would have reversed the outcome of the Civil War.”
For those interested in ships, two fine articles were published prior to the turn of the century and one just after. Lieutenant B. W. Loring, U. S. Navy, wrote an article carrying the title, “The Monitor Weehawken in the Rebellion” (1886), which can be classified as a first-rate primary source. Lieutenant Loring’s article published posthumously is really a collection of his letters which, prior to his death, he had authorized to be published. They constitute an excellent first-person account of the heroic activities of the Weehawken. In 1894, Lieutenant Burns T. Walling wrote an interesting short account of the destruction of the Kearsarge, the famous Union ship. Another short and interesting article dealing with the machinations connected with the building of the Monitor was published in December 1901 by G. Totten McMaster.
Two other articles written around the turn of the century are valuable for the student of the Civil War. Captain C. F. Goodrich, in “Naval Raids: A Cursory Examination and a Concrete Example” (1898), examines the successful Confederate raids and the havoc they caused in the northeastern states. Three years later, Lieutenant James H. Spears, U. S. Navy, wrote “The Coast in Warfare” (September-December 1901). In this lengthy, two-part article, Spears studied the raids on the northeast coast during the Civil War and the attempts by the Union to protect that coast.
Having established itself in the 19th century as a scholarly journal investigating and reporting naval history, the Proceedings continued to expand in the 20th century and consequently gave greater treatment to Civil War naval history.
Several fine primary source articles are carried in the Proceedings. In September 1912, William B. Cushing’s reminiscences appeared under the title of “Outline Story of the War Experiences of William B. Cushing as Told by Himself.” In this first-person article, Cushing gave a very detailed account of his activities from his arrival in the Minnesota at Hampton Roads in May of 1861, to his arrival at Norfolk for the purpose of having torpedoes fixed to the ships in expectation of the arrival of Rebel ironclads from Europe.
Those interested in the naval contributions of Lieutenant Cushing will find Lieutenant Commander Glenn Howell’s article, “Picnic With Cushing” (August 1936) and G. W. Stewart’s lengthy biography simply titled “William Barker Cushing,” rich with detail and primary sources (June and September 1912).
Charles Post, in his article (October 1918), shares with readers the experiences of a 19-year-old boy serving on board the Florida, blockading off the North Carolina coast in 1863. Post, in his later years, came across a diary he had kept and letters he had written to his mother while engaged in blockading. In the tradition of Richard Henry Dana (Two Years Before the Mast), he had left Columbia University to serve in the Union Navy. His article constitutes a fine primary source and a contribution to the literature on the blockade.
In the tradition of Post, Captain J. M. Ellicott, U. S. Navy, wrote “A Child’s Recollections of the Potomac Flotilla” published in the February 1935 Proceedings. Ellicott had established friendly relationships with some of the officers. His contributions, aside from his map, “Potomac Flotilla Base 1864-65,” describe the effect the Flotilla had on the community and set forth his comments on the goings and comings of Union ships.
When still a young Lieutenant, S. Dana Greene, following the encounter of his ship, the Monitor, with the Merrimac, wrote a letter to his mother describing the Monitor’s historic voyage from New York to Hampton Roads and the subsequent battle on 9 March 1862. Through the efforts of his son George Greene, this letter was published after his death. The article, “The ‘Monitor’ at Sea and in Battle” (November 1923), was written as a first-person, in-depth account of the activity in the Monitor during her struggle with the Merrimac.
In May 1927, Rear Admiral John C. Watson, U. S. Navy, published “Farragut and Mobile Bay—Personal Reminiscences,” which verified two sometimes disputed facts connected with Farragut and the action at Mobile Bay. He states:
He [Farragut] gradually mounted higher as the smoke grew denser, until he found himself in the Futtock Shrouds, just under the main top, where he was secured by a lashing which Knowles, the signal quarter master carried up to him by direction of Captain Drayton . . . I was standing on the poop deck at the time and heard the admiral shout, on the instant it seemed: Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead, Drayton!
The article is exceptional for its detail and for the praise it gives to the victor at Mobile Bay.
“Some Autobiographical Notes Concerning the Service of the Late O. W. Farenholt, Rear Admiral, U. S. Navy, Retired,” appeared in the Proceedings of December 1928. This deals with Farenholt’s activities during the Civil War including involvement in the blockade, an amphibious attack upon a Southern railroad, a “foolhardy and disasterous” attempt to capture Fort Sumter, and later, the Fort Fisher Campaign. His memoirs are somewhat different from others because he did not hesitate to criticize the Navy bureaucracy and the promotion system.
Edward Carey Gardiner made available to the Institute a manuscript written by his grandfather, Henry Clay Baird. Published in July 1933, “Narrative of Rear Admiral Goldsborough, U. S. Navy” is an interview with Goldsborough conducted in Philadelphia on 5 October 1862, in which he, in a frank manner, reacts to the conduct of the war up to that time. The following is a sample of Goldsborough’s candidness, “Admiral Goldsborough expressed in the most unreserved manner the opinion that the entire conduct of the war had been a fearful piece of mismanagement . . . that what we now needed was more strategy and less fighting.”
Several interesting articles have been carried in the Proceedings dealing with the Confederate Navy and its activities. One sub-category under this topic is Confederate submarines. Valuable articles include Lieutenant Carvel Hall Blair’s “Submarines of the Confederate Navy” (November 1952)—a summary of the Southern effort with examples, as well as the Union military reaction to the submarines. David Whittet Thompson confines his treatment of the subject to the following article: “Three Confederate Submarines,” describing the efforts of the Confederacy at New Orleans, Mobile, and Charleston. He covers the activities of Lieutenant George E. Dixon and the CSS Hunley in detail to their appointment with destiny when, on the night of 17 February 1864, the USS Housatonic was written into the history books as the first warship to be torpedoed by a submarine. The Housatonic sank, but the attacker, the Hunley and her crew, also joined her on the bottom. Thompson comments on the bravery that day by stating, “I believe that Captain Dixon and his crew were fully aware that for them, success would mean death. Realizing that, I can only say the torpedoing of the Housatonic was an act of great daring, of superb, blind courage.”
A short, but very worthwhile article, “Confederate Blockade Runners” (April 1933), was written by Lieutenant Commander Paul Hendren, U. S. Navy, in which he emphasized the enormous profits that served as motivation despite the risks for the runner and he highlighted the exciting and successful career of Captain J. Wilkinson, the blockade runner.
Carlos C. Hanks, newspaperman and marine editor of a Providence newspaper, contributed several articles on the Confederacy. His article on the Shenandoah titled “The Last Confederate Raider” (January 1941) traces one of the most famous Southern ships and her successful commander James I. Waddell from purchase in England to surrender in England. Continuing in the same vein, an article by Hanks headed “Commerce Raider Off New York” appeared in September 1940. It deals with the exploits of the Tallahassee off the coast of New York and New England, relating the successes of the little known Confederate ship. Hanks continues his flair for obscure Civil War naval incidents with an article titled “The Confederacy’s Only Foreign War” (April 1941), in which he relates the unsuccessful diplomatic attempts of the officers of the CSS Georgia. He then proceeds to examine some of the adventures of the Georgia. In a short, four-page treatise entitled “Mines of Long Ago” (November 1940), Hanks—after a short comment on the role of mines being used in World War II and those successfully used in World War I—informs his reader of the development and use of the mine by the Confederacy giving some examples of their effectiveness. “Blockaders Off the American Coast” (February 1941) serves as the title for a short three-page article in which Hanks briefly explains the organization and the effectiveness (or ineffectiveness) of the blockade.
The possibility of direct Australian involvement in the American Civil War had seemed remote until, in January 1865, the Confederate raider Shenandoah slipped unannounced into Melbourne Harbor. Celia Woodworth, in “The Confederate Raider Shenandoah at Melbourne” (June 1973), describes in detail the dramatic effect the raider, and her Captain James I. Waddell, had on Australian politics, the press, and the populace in general.
Professor Richard S. West, Jr., who taught naval history at the U. S. Naval Academy and who wrote several books concerning the Navy during the Civil War, (Mr. Lincoln’s Navy; The Second Admiral: A Life of David Dixon Porter—1813-1918; Gideon Welles, Lincoln’s Navy Department), published several scholarly papers in the Proceedings. Two of his articles deal with Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles. In his essay titled “The Morgan Purchases” (January 1940), he draws heavily upon primary sources and strongly supports Welles as being an extremely virtuous man and guilty of no wrongdoing in his involvement with the purchase of ships for the government by his brother-in-law, George D. Morgan. His concluding paragraph reads: “Far from resigning his Secretaryship, honest Gideon Welles with his reputation firmly established for an eagle eye in looking out for the government’s interest and a wrathy temper which no profiteer could want to antagonize. Quite properly he held on to his important job.”
West’s respect and praise for Welles is seen in another article written four years earlier, “Watchful Gideon.” In it, West reviews what Welles’s contemporaries thought of him and how historians have treated him, quoting from both sources. West’s examination finds the Secretary to be “honest,” “humane,” “dignified,” and “moral.” He also includes in his article a biography of Welles’s activities before and after his service as Secretary as well as primary sources of information on Welles. West wrote another article titled “The Navy and the Press During the Civil War” (January 1937).
The Naval Academy professor’s concern with naval biographies led him to comment on the writings of Lewis (Buchanan, Maury), Alden (Perkins), Soley (Porter), and Mahan (Farragut). Asking for more naval biographies, he argued that they are just as valuable a contribution and as enjoyable to read as military (Army) biographies. Professor West’s interest in naval personalities can be seen in his “The Relations Between Farragut and Porter” (July 1935). In this, he examines not only the relationship between Porter and Farragut, but also the strong though sometimes awkward friendship between Porter and Grant. Of interest are the machinations surrounding the choice, by Welles and his “inner Circle,” of Farragut to head the Mobile Bay adventure.
It is interesting to contrast West’s article in the Proceedings of May 1937, “(Private and Confidential) My Dear Fox,” with that of Rear Admiral John D. Hayes, titled “Captain Fox—He Is the Navy Department” (September 1965). Both authors are strong in their praise of Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Gustavus Vasa Fox. Hayes begins his article with a quote from John S. Barnes’s critical appraisal of the Diary of Gideon Welles: “Little or no credit is given to the real Secretary of the Navy, and the master-mind of the Navy Department—Gustavus V. Fox—without whose professional assistance and advice in all matters relating to the Navy, Mr. Welles would have been like the master of a ship without compass or rudder.” Hayes continues his analysis of Fox relating mainly biographical data but now beginning to question his behavior. In his final statement he suggests that “Gustavus V. Fox was both good and bad for the Union Navy in the Civil War. Neither Secretary Welles nor any naval officer could have accomplished what he did in the first year but no man is indispensable and, by the middle of 1862, Fox thought he was, and then his usefulness was over.” West included in his article an examination of sources on Fox, stating that the Confidential Correspondence of Gustavus V. Fox is the best. He is laudatory in his comments and in his final evaluation strongly disagrees with the Hayes analysis. West states, “From the testimony of the Confidential Correspondence one must conclude that Fox’s sympathetic understanding, shrewd handling of personnel, tireless activity, and abounding confidence—in short that Gustavus Fox himself was an essential factor in winning the Civil War.”
Only one article appearing in the Proceedings concerns itself directly with the Coast Guard and our topic. Hymen R. Kaplan’s, “The U. S. Coast Guard and the Civil War,” (August 1960). In his fine essay, Mr. Kaplan summarizes the activities of the Revenue Cutter Service pointing out that because of its successes during the war, the service “Had greatly increased in stature and public acceptance,” the public realizing “that this was an organization with a wartime as well as a peacetime potential.”
Students of maritime history naturally enjoy studying about famous ships: their construction, their military adventures, successes, and failures. In addition to those articles on ships already mentioned, several other fine articles appear. The Monitor-Merrimac encounter occupies the most attention. Albert L. Demaree’s article, “Our Navy’s Worst Headache, the Merrimack” (March 1962), is a lengthy investigation as rich in detail as in pictures of ships and personalities involved. In particular he examines the press and public clamor over Union unpreparedness in the encounter with the Merrimack. While Demaree’s paper can be marked as a significant contribution, Alan Cornwall Smith’s essay, “The Monitor-Merrimac Legend” (March 1940), merely recounts their building and the events of that historic day. Harrison P. Martin’s, “When The Monitor Went Down” (July 1941) is a short, interesting little essay that covers the demise of the Northern ironclad. He eulogizes that ship thusly, “Her career afloat lasted just eleven months and one day, but in that brief period of less than one year she influenced naval science more than has any other ship ever built and won for herself a place in the affections of the nation not second even to that occupied by ‘Old Ironsides’ himself.”
Roxanna White’s article, “Taps for a Famous Beauty of the Navy” (May 1940) and Professor Lee Kennett’s article, “The Strange Career of the Stonewall” (February 1968) should elicit the interest of Navy buff and Civil War student alike. In his treatment of this ironclad, he examines the activities which began her career as the CSS Stonewall. She eventually flew the flag of six nations and “wherever she went, she left in her wake a swirl of international crisis and courtroom battles.” In her examination of the America, Miss White gives a fine detailed account of her construction and success as a racing yacht as well as her adventures serving on both sides during the War of Secession.
In the September 1967 Proceedings, Joseph C. Bruzek, Curator of the Naval Academy Museum, wrote a definitive article on “The U. S. Schooner Yacht America—Being an Account of her Entire Career with Emphasis on the Details of her Naval Service, Published on the Occasion of the Twentieth Contest for the America’s Cup.” In this well-documented, 28-page monograph, the longest Proceedings Old Navy to date, Mr. Bruzek included a foldout of the famous schooner’s sail plan, lines, deck profile, and deck plan drawn to scale.
Fletcher Pratt’s paper, “The Rebel Rams” (July 1938) provides the reader with a nice summary of the rams that served the South. S. B. Coleman and Paul Stevens follow this up with an article titled, “A July Morning With Rebel Ram Arkansas” (July 1962), a lengthy, in-depth treatment of the role of the Confederate ship and the siege of Vicksburg.
The treatment of historic ships was an interest of Robert W. Neeser. Two of his short essays deal with vessels that saw service during the Civil War. He examines the building dimensions, activities, and wartime encounters of the “Constellation” (April 1935) and the “Powhatan” (April 1940).
Commander Arthur Gordon, U. S. Navy, wrote an interesting paper, “The Great Stone Fleet, Calculated Catastrophe” (December 1968) in which he describes the Union attempt to blockade the Confederate harbors of Savannah and Charleston with a sunken fleet of old ships known as the “Stone Fleet.”
The “Old Navy” department of the Proceedings carries short, two- to four-page articles often dealing with historic vessels and battles. The following are examples that come under our topic of Civil War Naval History: James Merrill’s “USS Weehawken—Gallant Iron Ship” (October I960) and “The Battle For Elizabeth City” (March 1957). Articles dealing with Confederate ships are: Ensign Donald B. Campbell’s “The Confederate Gunboat Arkansas” (July 1962), “Again the Alabama” (June 1964) by Captain Stanley W. Handford, and an extremely interesting article by Anthony Preston titled “The Raider That Never Made It” (March 1968), concerning the screw steamer Rappahannock. W. T. Adams has written two papers that are of particular interest, “Red Rover: First Hospital Ship of the U. S. Navy” (November 1968) which deals with the activities of the nation’s first ship providing quality medical care and “The Birth of the Aircraft Carrier” (April 1967) which treats the unique activities of the George Washington Parke Custis, a balloon-launching ship used by the Union Navy that is considered by the author to be the precursor of the modern aircraft carrier. Other articles of interest are Lieutenant George R. Kolbenschlag’s “Harvest Moon, Yankee Landmark in Carolina” (March 1967), Paul H. Paist’s “The Keokuk’s Guns” (June 1966), and “The U. S. Monitor Patapsco” (December 1968) by Captain E. K. Thompson.
The Proceedings has made a significant contribution to the literature on the Civil War. Naturally the articles contained within vary in quality. For example, Lieutenant Commander W. L. Rodgers’ lengthy article, “A Study of Attacks Upon Fortified Harbors” (September 1904), can be considered a scholarly contribution, whereas Louis H. Bolander’s works “Civil War Annapolis” (November 1937) and “The Naval Academy in Five Wars” (March 1945), as well as Lieutenant Winston Folk’s essays titled “The Confederate States Naval Academy” (September 1934) and “A Treasure Hunt in Reverse” (March 1937) (also about the Confederate Naval Academy) can be considered contributions of interesting, but little-known sidelights of the War. If there seems to be repetition of subject matter, an examination of these articles reveals historiography, not redundancy. The rich diversity of the authors also aids the quality of the journal. Some of the authors have shared their personal experiences providing excellent primary sources; other contributors include professional naval officers such as Rear Admiral John D. Hayes, mentioned earlier, who also wrote “Sea Power in the Civil War” (November 1961), professional historians like Harry Williams “The Navy and the Committee on the Conduct of the War” (December 1939), professional librarians like Louis H. Bolander, mentioned earlier, who also wrote, “A Civil War Parallel,” (February 1934), and even relatives writing about their namesakes—Richard C. McKay writing about Donald McKay, “A Famous Shipbuilder Acts as Peacemaker at Home and Abroad” (October 1939).
The Proceedings will continue to be an important source of information for students of the Civil War naval history. This will be true for the serious researcher as well as the casual reader.