Success Is All That Was Expected: The South Atlantic Blockading Squadron During the Civil War Review

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(More customer reviews)One of the first measures imposed by the North on the South during the War was to establish a blockade. The United States Navy was ill prepared to enforce such a blockade. Officially the U.S. Navy consisted of ninety vessels. Only forty-two of these were in commission, the rest were in moth balls, or as it was called then 'in ordinary,' or they were on foreign station, or patrolling the Gulf coast. Nor were the ships that were available suited for blockade use. The Navy primarily had ships designed for deep water operations, not the shallow coastal areas typical of the southern coast.
As the title says, success was expected. The blockade of course lasted throughout the war. By the end the Navy was not only prepared, but was indeed able to effectively blockade these ports.
The particular area covered by the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron covered from Cape Fear to Cape Canaveral. This book joins the authors previous bookon the North Atlantic Blockading Squadron and presumably there is at least one more book to come in the series.

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Success Is All That Was Expected is a comprehensive operational history of the Union naval blockade that monitored the southern Atlantic coast from South Carolina to Florida during the American Civil War. Created in 1861 by the order of President Abraham Lincoln and charged with halting Confederate maritime commerce and closing Southern ports, the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron was the largest of the four Union coastal blockading squadrons for much of the conflict. This story covers the harrowing engagements between ships and forts, daring amphibious assaults, the battles between ironclad vessels, the harassment of Confederate blockade runners, and the incredible evolution of underwater warfare in the form of the CSS Hunley.The world's leading scholar of Union naval blockades during the Civil War, historian Robert Browning, reveals the squadron's numerous tactical accomplishments. He also illustrates how its success was constantly hampered by indecisive leaders in Washington who failed to express their strategic vision as well as by reputation-conscious naval commanders who were reluctant to press the fight when the specter of failure loomed. Despite lost opportunities, unfulfilled expectations, and failures along the way, the bravery, sacrifice, and vigilance of these fighting men played a crucial role in the Union's ultimate victory.

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