Chesapeake Bay in the Civil War

by Eric Mills

At the start of the great Civil War, the Chesapeake Bay was a crucially important piece of watery real estate, with North and South struggling for its control. Up the Potomac, the Chesapeake's second-largest tributary, lay the capital of the United States; up the James, the Chesapeake's third-largest tributary, lay the Confederate capital. Whoever controlled the Bay would determine the course of the war.
On the Rappahannock and other rivers of the region, fierce and tragic battles were fought. Down the Bay, the greatest American army ever assembled waged war. In Chesapeake waters, naval warfare was transformed forever, and on the rivers and the open Bay, the Civil War was finally won.
This thoroughly readable narrative covers events in Chesapeake country, from the months preceding the conflict to shortly after the death of Lincoln. Throughout the war the Bay was a marshy danger zone crawling with privateers, smugglers, and spies. It was a place where classic army-navy operations were carried out, where runaway slaves became contraband, where brother literally fought brother, and where freedom was denied, for the sake of preserving freedom.

Genres: Civil War, History

315 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1995

Reviews

[Manray9]

Hundreds of books have been written about America's Civil War, but Chesapeake Bay in the Civil War provides an interesting look at an important but neglected theater of operations. Unfortunately, Eric Mill's book is not well-written and contains a number of awkward sentence constructions and confusing phraseology. What do editors do anymore?

[Gregory Ashe]

Having grown up in Virginia Beach and spent much of my life on or near the Chesapeake Bay, I found this book fascinating. In addition, as a (very) amateur Civil War historian (in that I have read many books on the Civil War), I have always been interested in the theaters that, although not as famous as the Army of the Potomac v. the Army of Northern Virginia or Sherman v. Johnson, were critical in their own way to the Union victory over the Confederacy. It was very interesting to learn how the Chesapeake was actually an active theater of war for the entire duration and not just a transportation route.

[Suzanne]

Fascinating in many places learned a lot about our region but a little dry of course.