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The Civil War #3

The Blockade: Runners and Raiders

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Describes the U.S. Navy's blockade of the ports of the South and the Confederacy's efforts to overcome the blockade

176 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1983

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Time-Life Books

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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
Profile Image for Brett C.
886 reviews201 followers
May 2, 2021
This is the third book in the Time-Life Civil War series and it focuses on the Federal Naval blockade in the attempts to strangle the Confederacy. Also in the book are various maritime engagements between the two sides. Most of this stuff I believe is overlooked and I enjoyed this one.

The photographs and paintings in the book are great as they accompany the reading. I enjoyed this book as well as the others I have read so far.

Short and to-the-point books that focus on a subject or timeline of the American Civil War. Highly recommended for Civil War history fans. Thanks!
Profile Image for Heinz Reinhardt.
346 reviews43 followers
September 3, 2019
A decent overview of the Federal Naval blockade of the Confederacy, the various Rebel attempts to break the blockade, and the saga of the CSS Alabama, the most successful American commerce raider in American history.
Beyond that, this is a bare bones overview of a very broad, highly interesting, complex topic that is only superficially dealt with here. There is, however, several very interesting side bar discussions such as the CSS Florida and Shenandoah, the building of blockade runners, and best of all, the visit of the Russian Navy to New York harbor (turns out Russians then, as now, love a good party and will do anything on a dare while intoxicated. Swear, that is part of their incredible charm).
This is only a cursory look, and can stand only as a primer.
192 reviews6 followers
April 14, 2022
The Time/Life Civil War books are good introductions to the war. This book presents the story of the Union blockaders and the Confederate blockade runners. Another chapter tells the story of the first ironclad battle between the Monitor and the Merrimack. Another chapter presents the diplomatic maneuvering that went on in Britain and France, with the Confederates attempting to procure combat vessels and Union officials attempting to block them. The book concludes by discussing the great Confederate commerce raiders.
Profile Image for Fredrick Danysh.
6,844 reviews183 followers
June 1, 2013
The South never had extensive maritime investments. When the American Civil War broke out and the Union blockade started becoming effective, the Confederacy turned to small, fast ships to smuggle out cotton and bring in goods from Cuba and the Bahamas. Several fighting ships were built to hunt down Union merchant ships and make it so costly to import goods that the Northern merchants would press suit for peace.
Profile Image for Jimmy.
770 reviews18 followers
June 20, 2024
Pretty good overview of the coastal naval war; however, the book doesn't go into a lot of detail. The parts covering the blockade concentrate on the east coast, ignoring the Gulf coast; the final chapter focuses almost exclusively on Raphael Semmes, with only brief mentions of other raiders.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews

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