This is the first published comprehensive survey of naval action on the Mississippi River and its tributaries for the years 1863–1865. Following introductory reviews of the rivers and of the U.S. Navy’s Mississippi Squadron, chronological Federal naval participation in various raids and larger campaigns is highlighted, as well as counterinsurgency, economical support and control, and logistical protection. The book includes details on units, locations and activities that have been previously underreported or ignored. Examples include the birth and function of the Mississippi Squadron’s 11th District, the role of U.S. Army gunboats, and the war on the Upper Cumberland and Upper Tennessee Rivers. The last chapter details the coming of the peace in 1865 and the decommissioning of the U.S. river navy and the sale of its gunboats.

Prolific author Myron J. Smith, Jr., is emeritus library director and professor at Tusculum University, Greeneville, Tennessee.

Myron J. Smith, Jr.
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 327
Bibliographic Info: 118 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2021
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7220-5
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4370-0
Imprint: McFarland

Abbreviations: Individual Rank or Status (Listed Alphabetically) viii
Introduction 1
1. The Western Waters, Topography, Towns, and Navigation 7
2. Setting the Stage: The U.S. Mississippi Squadron, Summer 1863 29
3. Isaac Newton Brown and John Hunt Morgan 51
4. Harrisonburg, Little Rock, and Chattanooga, 1863 61
5. Gunboats in the Cumberland Mountains, 1863–1864 73
6. The Red River Campaign, 1864 90
7. Forrest Visits Paducah and Fort Pillow, 1864 113
8. War on Mississippi River Commerce, 1863–1865 128
9. The White River After Little Rock, 1863–1865 152
10. The Tennessee River, 1864–1865 171
11. Nashville, 1864–1865 199
12. War’s End, Squadron’s End, 1865 223
Chapter Notes 253
Bibliography 281
Index 309

• “Fills a surprisingly rare gap in Civil War historiography with in-depth analysis of naval warfare in the Western Theater after the Vicksburg campaign. Smith captures the comprehensiveness of the US Navy’s efforts after July 1863 in all the various theaters west of the Appalachians in support of major land campaigns and other logistical and irregular endeavors. He also effectively examines the Confederacy’s commitment to countering Union naval superiority on Southern rivers with both regular and irregular forces….detailed depth of research…readers benefit from countless photographs and illustrations of the crafts and key individuals from the various campaigns…this book offers tremendous value for any Civil War scholar…recommended”—Choice

• “If it sailed on the brown water of America’s Western rivers during the Civil War and flew the Stars and Stripes of the Union Navy, Myron Smith more than likely knows about it”—America’s Civil War

• “Historians’ focus on the wars’ Western Theater has for too long come up short compared with Eastern events, with naval actions on the Western Rivers often the most overlooked—but no longer. Myron J. Smith, Jr. has admirably filled that gap with his important and enjoyable new book…Insightful coverage of underexamined issues…This is a must-read book for serious students of Civil War naval history or late-war Western Theater riverine events and one more in the author’s considerable body of work.”—Naval Bookshelf