… 1861-1865.
"In recent years, academic Civil War publishers have taken a real shine to the sub-200 page study, but there will always be room for the massive tome. Maurice Melton's The Best Station of Them All: The Savannah Squadron, 1861-1865 is certainly that. With Confederate naval squadron studies so rare [the only other full length work being John Coski's excellent Capital Navy: The Men, Ships, and Operations of the James River Squadron (Savas Woodbury, 1996)], when a historian's rare vision meets rare opportunity it is more than appropriate that no effort be spared. This study is clearly a project near and dear to the author, and University of Alabama Press also deserves a great deal of credit for offering Melton such free reign.
Though it was organized and built for the protection of one of the South's premier deep water port cities, the Savannah Squadron actually saw little in the way of heavy combat let alone brief periods of dramatic action. The early U.S. capture of port guardian Fort Pulaski severely limited the squadron's range of operations, primarily to a short stretch of Savannah River below the city and a number of rivers, creeks, and bayous surrounding a handful of adjacent sea islands.
Beginning with the Savannah Squadron's origins as a state navy composed of weakly armed converted steamers, Melton describes 1861-64 operations afloat, as well the actions of those responsible for planning, supporting, and executing them, in minute fashion. Although the roles of the auxiliary steamers (e.g. Isondiga, Sampson, Resolute, Firefly, and Macon) are fully fleshed out, the major focus is upon the ironclad vessels. The story of the CSS Atlanta, from its beginnings as the blockade runner Fingal to its ironclad conversion and embarrassing surrender to Union monitors after running aground in 1863, is related at length, as is that of the CSS Savannah. The Milledgeville was never completed, and the disappointing Georgia only serviceable as a floating battery. Beyond the Atlanta's brief and disastrous foray, none of the other armored vessels were able to engage enemy blockading vessels in any meaningful way, and all were destroyed after the city surrendered to Sherman's approaching army in 1864.
The squadron's one bright moment, the successful small boat boarding assault and capture of the blockader USS Water Witch, is presented at great length over several chapters. Melton also covers the squadron's efforts to deny the Union army use of the ferry crossings far upriver from Savannah (as well as the skirmish at Argyle Island in December 1864). The squadron's war did not end with the destruction of its ships, however, and the book continues with accounts of the sailors's land service at Augusta, Charleston, and Wilmington before finally meeting their end at Sailor's Creek in Virginia.
In the book, there is little in the way of sociological study of the crews, but the biographical material for the officers (men like Josiah Tattnall, William McBlair, William Webb, Thomas Pelot, J.T. Scharf, and a host of others) is first rate and another of the book's major strong points. It is also through these men that readers become most acquainted with the civilian population of Savannah. Melton also describes the frustrations felt by a succession of squadron commanders, as they witnessed a constant stream of competent officers and trained sailors transferred to other commands. Instead of a destination posting, Savannah was treated like a manpower reserve for Confederate European naval missions and the Charleston and James River commands…"
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Amicalement
Armand
completes a Confederate river ironclad.
