Union Combined Operations in the Civil War
Despite a wealth of books on the campaigns of the American Civil War, the subject of combined or joint operations has been largely neglected. This revealing book offers ten case studies of combined Army–Navy operations by Union forces. Presented in chronological order, each essay illuminates an aspect of combined operations during a time of changing technology and doctrine.
The essays cover the war along the “rebel coast,” including the operations in the North Carolina Sounds in 1861, the Union thrusts up the York and James rivers during the Peninsular Campaign in 1862 and 1864, and the various Union efforts to seize rebel seaports from the Texas coast to Charleston and Wilmington in 1863–65. Concluding the volume are two essays that evaluate the impact of Union combined operations on
subsequent doctrine in both the United States and England.
The contributors offer fresh and incisive insights into an overlooked and
---—Stephen Taaffe, Stephen F. Austin State University
undervalued facet of the Civil War by examining the complicated and often
stormy relationship between the Union army and navy in combined operations
along the Confederate coast.
Scholarly thinking on different aspects of a topic of little-considered but lasting interest, this seacoast-oriented work has great virtue . . . Recommended.---—Choice
The articles in this volume are consistently thoughtful, thought provoking, well written, and thoroughly researched.---—The Journal of Southern History
A most important work. It will appeal to historians in a variety of fields
---—James C. Bradford, Texas A&M University
including specialists in the Civil War, naval, and military history.
. . . the authors have treated this frequently overlooked topic in a stimulating manner. This book is a starting place for further discussion on this important subject.---—Naval History
Prize-winning historian Craig Symonds has assembled a compelling collection of essays that clearly illustrate the importance of combined operation during the Civil War. Focusing on Union operations along the rebel coast that helped determine the outcome of the war, the authors reveal that success depended not only on technology, arms, and operational plans, but also on the personalities and the people involved.---—Gene Allen Smith, author of Thomas ap Catesby Jones: Commodore of Manifest Destiny
Pulls together information from a diverse set of scholars to discuss an oft-overlooked aspect of Civil War history.---—Robert M. Browning, Historian, US Coast Guard