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Military Profiles
Cushing: Civil War Seal
Dismissed from the U.S. Naval Academy in early 1861, William Barker Cushing nonetheless managed to emerge from the Civil War as one of the Navy's greatest heroes.
Transforming himself from a renowned rabble-rouser into a living legend, Cushing embodied the special qualities that the Navy demands of those who undertake its most hazardous and secret a readiness to volunteer for dangerous assignments, an unflagging devotion to duty, and more than his fair share of good fortune. Before embarking on his most daring mission - his celebrated destruction of the Confederate ironclad Albemarle - he bragged that he would "come out victorious or 'toes up' ". By the end of the war, he had amassed four commendations from the Navy Department and earned the thanks of Congress and President Lincoln - tremendous accomplishments for a man who was only twenty-two years old when Lee surrendered at Appomattox.
Employing his customary readable style, Schneller focuses on Cushing's meteoric naval career and those aspects of his personality that affected it. His concise account of this remarkable man reveals some of the most astonishing combat missions of the American Civil War.
Transforming himself from a renowned rabble-rouser into a living legend, Cushing embodied the special qualities that the Navy demands of those who undertake its most hazardous and secret a readiness to volunteer for dangerous assignments, an unflagging devotion to duty, and more than his fair share of good fortune. Before embarking on his most daring mission - his celebrated destruction of the Confederate ironclad Albemarle - he bragged that he would "come out victorious or 'toes up' ". By the end of the war, he had amassed four commendations from the Navy Department and earned the thanks of Congress and President Lincoln - tremendous accomplishments for a man who was only twenty-two years old when Lee surrendered at Appomattox.
Employing his customary readable style, Schneller focuses on Cushing's meteoric naval career and those aspects of his personality that affected it. His concise account of this remarkable man reveals some of the most astonishing combat missions of the American Civil War.
128 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2003
About the author
Robert J. Schneller Jr.
14 books1 followerRobert John Schneller, Jr. is an official historian in the Contemporary History Branch of the U.S. Navy’s Naval Historical Center and holds a Ph.D. in military history from Duke University.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 17, 2025
A biography of a daring, courageous and, somewhat, reckless naval officer. His daring raid on a Confederate ironclad won him the nickname of "Albemarle" Cushing. Brother of Alonzo Cushing (Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery, Cemetery Ridge) who gave his life for his country on the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg.
October 7, 2018
Nice short (100+ pg) military biography of the man who sunk the Albemarle.
September 12, 2013
3 and a half really. I suppose it is a function of the South's continually refighting the Civil War whilst the rest of the Union moved on, but I find it puzzling that Forrest, Morgan, etc have entered popular lore whereas people like the daring Cushing, who fought for the Union, seem forgotten.
August 3, 2014
quick , easy read. Cushing was a young energetic Naval Officer, who did many daring (crazy) acts.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews