On August 10, 1813, with the British navy advancing up the Chesapeake Bay to destroy the shipyards in St. Michaels, Maryland, young Henry Middle thinks of a way to save his home town from British cannons.
Examines the life and military career of naval hero David Farragut, discussing his early life and influences in the American South, his decision to fight for the Union during the Civil War, and the achievements that led the U.S. Navy to create the rank of full admiral in his honor.
Coombe takes us inside the suffocating hulls of steam-powered ironclads shuddering under the impact of cannonballs and gunboat rams, into nights lit by the fires of burning ships, and harrowing battles as gunships hammer away at each other from virtually point-blank range, often unable to tell friend from foe.
This book tells of the Civil War's naval actions which were pressed with at least the same passion as the battles on land and with considerably more improvisation.
Relates selected exploits chosen from the four years of the Civil War that illustrate the Confederate Navy's activities as a whole, with quotes from the writings of participants in the events.
