As with my other books, I did most of the research for this one at Firestone Library of Princeton University, where I taught American history for forty-two years and have been an emeritus professor for eight years. The efficient interlibrary loan services of Firestone obtained several obscure but important nineteenth-century publications containing letters and diaries of naval personnel, and the Rare Books and Manuscripts Division at Firestone facilitated my research in the Blair-Lee Papers and the Roswell H. Lamson Papers. Next to Firestone, I have done more research over the past thirty-five years at the Huntington Library in San Marino, California, than anywhere else, and that remained true for this book, which has been enriched by the David Glasgow Farragut Papers and the David Dixon Porter Papers at the Huntington.
I have long been convinced that to understand—and write about—Civil War battles, one must go to the places where they occurred and walk the ground. The same is true for naval battles, where one can walk the ground of the forts and shore sites where fighting took place but must traverse the waters by ship and boat. I have been fortunate to traverse the Mississippi River from St. Louis to New Orleans, the Tennessee River from Paducah to Chattanooga, and the Cumberland River from Smithland to Nashville on the classic steamboat the Delta Queen as a guide on tours of the naval and land battles along these rivers. For these opportunities, I express my appreciation to the Alumni Council of Princeton University, the sponsor of the tours. I have also walked the grounds and, in some cases, sailed the waters of Charleston Harbor and its environs; Mobile Bay and the forts guarding its entrances; Fort Fisher and the Cape Fear River; the inland waterway and coastline from Wilmington, North Carolina, to Jacksonville, Florida; and Hampton Roads, where the famous clash between the CSS Virginia and USS Monitor took place. For these opportunities, I thank again the Princeton Alumni Council, HistoryAmerica Tours, and the Monitor Center of the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Virginia.
At Newport News and at other places and times, I have learned a great deal from conversations with, lectures by, and the writings of Craig Symonds, one of America’s preeminent Civil War and naval historians. Louis Masur offered helpful advice about sources and illustrations for this book. Gary Gallagher, T. Michael Parrish, and Howard Jones read the entire manuscript and offered many helpful suggestions for improvements. My wife, Patricia McPherson, served as an able research assistant for part of the project and, as always, provided a loving and warm environment as my research and writing went forward. Her coeditorship of the letters of Union naval officer Roswell H. Lamson quickened my interest in the naval history of the Civil War. And my three grandchildren—Gwynne, James, and Annie—helped provide the welcome diversions and distractions so necessary to keep an author’s mind sane and healthy. For her skills in distraction, this book is dedicated to Annie.