Sea Wolf of the Confederacy : The Daring Civil War Raids of Naval Lt. Charles W. Read - David W. Shaw

eBOOK

Sea Wolf of the Confederacy

The Daring Civil War Raids of Naval Lt. Charles W. Read

By: David W. Shaw

eBook | 24 March 2004

At a Glance

eBook


$19.99

or 4 interest-free payments of $5.00 with

Instant Digital Delivery to your Booktopia Reader App

Read on
Android
eReader
Desktop
IOS
Windows

In June 1863, just days before the epic clash at Gettysburg ended the last rebel land invasion of the North, a small party of the Confederate Navy mounted a devastating series of raids on the New England coast, culminating in a battle off Portland, Maine. Veteran author David W. Shaw brilliantly re-creates this almost forgotten chapter of the Civil War in rich narrative detail drawn from accounts of the participants.
At the center of the conflict were two men: the hotheaded young adventurer Charles W. Read, who resigned his commission as a Union midshipman to become a lieutenant in the Confederate Navy; and Secretary of the United States Navy Gideon Welles, a well-connected politician who ably oversaw the explosive growth of the fleet -- including the revolutionary ironclads -- during the war despite his lack of maritime experience. Serving aboard CSS Florida off the coast of Brazil, Read hatched a daring plan to sail a captured brig directly into the Union's home waters and wreak havoc on their shipping lanes. Burning or capturing more than twenty merchant vessels in less than three weeks, and switching ships several times to elude capture, Read's rampage caused widespread panic in Northern cities, made headlines in the major daily newspapers, and brought enormous pressure on Welles to "stop the rebel pirate." At one point there were nearly forty Union ships sent to hunt down Read in a cat-and-mouse game that finally led to his dramatic capture off the coast of Maine.
Sea Wolf of the Confederacy brings to light this fascinating yet little known episode of the war, combining Shaw's flair for powerful storytelling with extensive research culled from contemporary newspapers, journals, and official war records. Taking readers to the heart of the action on the decks of the burning ships, Shaw offers a compelling portrait of the complex Read and an insightful new perspective on the divisions splitting North and South during this dark time in American history.

Industry Reviews
James M. McPherson Professor of History at Princeton and author of The Illustrated Battle Cry of Freedom This gripping story of rebel commerce raiders under the command of the intrepid twenty-three-year-old Lieutenant Charles W. Read has all the exciting elements of a Patrick O'Brian novel -- and it is all true! Capturing or destroying twenty-one American merchant ships and fishing boats during the same June 1863 days that the Army of Northern Virginia was invading Pennsylvania, Read created a panic along the Atlantic seaboard and brought the war home to the North on water as Lee was doing on land. This is a book for all Civil War and naval-war buffs.
Read on
Android
eReader
Desktop
IOS
Windows

More in History

The Menzies Era - John Howard

eBOOK

$9.99

Sweet Poison : Why Sugar Makes Us Fat - David Gillespie

eBOOK

RRP $14.99

$12.99

13%
OFF
Because He Could - Dick Morris

eBOOK

$12.99

The Bitter Sea : Coming of Age in a China Before Mao - Charles N. Li

eBOOK

God and Ronald Reagan : A Spiritual Life - Paul Kengor

eBOOK

RRP $37.39

$29.99

20%
OFF