Under the Blue Pennant: or Notes of a Naval Officer - Hardcover

Grattan, John W.

3.86

7 ratings by Goodreads

9780471240433: Under the Blue Pennant: or Notes of a Naval Officer

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0471240435 ISBN 13: 9780471240433

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 1999

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"Rare ...gives us insights into how Union naval officers thought, how they lived ...entertaining and informative for the general reader and a mine of material for the specialist."-Journal of Military History "A small, long-submerged treasure that will reward those willing to give in to the unfamiliar waters of the Civil War's naval history."-Civil War Book Reviews "A surprisingly lively and modern read ...a welcome addition to our knowledge of the lives of men who served in the Civil War."-Kirkus Reviews "Fresh and highly revealing." -Richmond Times-Dispatch Now available in paperback, this highly acclaimed eyewitness account of the Civil War at sea provides fascinating insights into command decisions made on the bridge as well as life below deck. Recently discovered in the Library of Congress archives, this memoir was written just after the Civil War by John Grattan, an ensign in the Union navy who witnessed some of the war's most significant naval operations. Under the editorship of acclaimed naval historian Robert Schneller, Grattan's account of the crucial struggle for control of the Atlantic seaboard bristles with the tension of combat. With sharply etched details of blockade running, guerrilla warfare, fierce underwater battles, the brutal advance on Richmond, and visits to the front lines by President Abraham Lincoln, this rare memoir includes personal observations of key naval and military leaders and rescues less-celebrated heroes from obscurity. Sparkling with Victorian wit, this from-the-front report opens a window into the lives of ordinary soldiers and the men who led them into war.

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Review:

"Most entertaining and highly informative...I highly recommend it."--William N. Still, author of Why the South Lost -- William N. Still, author of Why the South Lost

From the Back Cover:

"Most entertaining and highly informative ? I highly recommend it." ?William N. Still, author of Why the South Lost "A find. It provides us with new insights into Mr. Lincoln?s navy, and no student of the Civil War will want to be without it. A wonderful read." ?Nathan Miller Author of War at Sea: A Naval History of World War II "The Civil War has many stories that have never been told, and this is not surprising, considering the depth of that struggle and the millions of people who were involved. As Robert Schneller, Grattan?s editor, comments (in agreement with Walt Whitman), ?history notes battles and leaders, but not the seething hell involving the actual soldier.? Here, in this book, we have the honest feelings of a junior officer of the navy during the last eighteen months of our Civil War, as detailed in his diary at the time and reproduced shortly after the end of the war. It is not the full story of that war, but a participant?s reaction to part of it, combined with his frank and unvarnished evaluations of his superiors. For Civil War buffs, especially navy buffs, this is a must read." ?Edward L. Beach, Captain, USN (Ret.) Author of Run Silent, Run Deep

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