• War on the Waters

  • The Union and Confederate Navies, 1861–1865
  • By: James M. McPherson
  • Narrated by: Joe Barrett
  • Length: 8 hrs and 55 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (378 ratings)

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War on the Waters

By: James M. McPherson
Narrated by: Joe Barrett
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Publisher's summary

Although previously undervalued for their strategic impact because they represented only a small percentage of total forces, the Union and Confederate navies were crucial to the outcome of the Civil War. In War on the Waters, James M. McPherson has crafted an enlightening, at times harrowing, and ultimately thrilling account of the war’s naval campaigns and their military leaders.

McPherson recounts how the Union navy’s blockade of the Confederate coast, leaky as a sieve in the war’s early months, became increasingly effective as it choked off vital imports and exports. Meanwhile, the Confederate navy, dwarfed by its giant adversary, demonstrated daring and military innovation. Commerce raiders sank Union ships and drove the American merchant marine from the high seas. Southern ironclads sent several Union warships to the bottom, naval mines sank many more, and the Confederates deployed the world’s first submarine to sink an enemy vessel. But in the end, it was the Union navy that won some of the war’s most important strategic victories - as an essential partner to the army on the ground at Fort Donelson, Vicksburg, Port Hudson, Mobile Bay, and Fort Fisher, and all by itself at Port Royal, Fort Henry, New Orleans, and Memphis.

James M. McPherson taught US history at Princeton University for 42 years and is the author of more than a dozen books on the Civil War era. His books have won a Pulitzer Prize and two Lincoln Prizes.

©2012 the University of North Carolina Press (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

"McPherson, professor emeritus of Princeton and dean of Civil War historians, enhances our knowledge with this history of the conflict’s naval aspects. As definitive as it is economical, the work establishes beyond question the decisive contributions of maritime power to Union victory." ( Publishers Weekly)
"With martial verve, McPherson’s prose dramatizes their battles and places those within strategic contexts, such as the US Navy’s campaigns to control the Mississippi River. As always, McPherson’s latest is a sound collection-development investment." ( Booklist)
"With all the narrative grace, original scholarship, and equal grasp of both big picture and telling detail, Civil War historian nonpareil James McPherson has provided his admirers with another authoritative entry in his roster of essential books. McPherson never argues that the Union navy won the Civil War, but readers will argue that no Civil War library will ever be complete without this volume." (Harold Holzer, award-winning author and chairman of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Foundation)

What listeners say about War on the Waters

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From Offshore, This War Looks Completely Different

Whether the fault of historians or--much more likely--my own misperceptions, Civil War naval operations have always seemed a sideshow to me, with even the capture of New Orleans overshadowed by the “real” war on dry land. As James McPherson makes clear, people at the time saw things very differently. News of New Orleans sent our otherwise sober-sided ambassador to Britain dancing about his office.

It’s easy to see why the navy’s role in victory is so overlooked; after all, there were no commodores at Appomattox. Be that as it may, McPherson’s narrative, uninterrupted by maneuvers on land (except when they correlate with naval operations), makes it clear just how much the sailors did to bring Appomattox about. Between hard fighting and tedious blockade duty, they managed to hand in a record of more successes than failures--in sharp contrast to the army, at least in the eastern Theater--and were a year ahead of the soldiers in the recruitment of freed slaves, whose services as pilots and gunners were highly prized and praised.

On both sides, there’s an entirely different cast of characters to meet, too; McPherson does a fine job of bringing each, with their particular fortes and failings, into sharper focus. While not the only book ever written about the naval side of the Civil War, this certainly has to be one of the most engaging and intelligent. Joe Barrett, whom I’ve known as a reader of fiction, hands in his usual excellent performance. True, his voicing of certain figures may, at times, seem a little over-the-top, but his air of comfortable affability makes you feel as if you and he are in this thing together.

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Mainly Union. Good Info. Enjoyable Reader.

Would you consider the audio edition of War on the Waters to be better than the print version?

I didnt read the print version

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed learning about how Lincoln and his admirals interacted. And how the evolution of the ships of war changed the landscape

Have you listened to any of Joe Barrett’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is my first

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

How technology & good Leadership won a war

Any additional comments?

I wouldnt get this book if the idea of a history book might seem boring to you. I knew nothing about the naval histories of the Civil War's belligerents outside of the Monitor and the Merrimac. So, most of the book was a learning experience for me. And, since history is one of my favorite subjects, it was an enjoyable experience.

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Quick review of War on the Waters

An interesting review of US and confederate naval operations. The focus is more on strategy and broad movements with a moderate level of detail on distinct battles and key individuals. The book provides an understanding of the challenges faced by the union in blockading a tremendously long coast and some of the technological innovations developed during the war. The reader will likely leave the story with a better understanding of the difficulties faced by each side and how the Union ultimately strangled the confederate states naval and trade efforts.

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excellent starting off point

excellent starting off point for those with an interest in Civil War naval ops. Well written and briskly narrated, I highly recommend this for the casual civil war buff.

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Good study on naval civil war influence

This a great, somewhat concise study in the navy's influence on tw civil war, the maritime technology that came out of the conflict, and the responsiveness of each side to the complications of a country fighting itself: mainly becoming a naval war largely on the rivers instead of the seas. I intend on reading(listening) to another of McPherson's books.

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Good overview

Good performance, nice overview of the topic. Subject matter is a bit repetitive eg Union Navy shelled fort so-and-so then general whoever attacked fort. In this war not much fleet action but a lot of support of the Army and blockade duty. This was interesting to a point but got a little boring by the end. Overall a good book though.

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War on the Waters

I have read many books on the Civil War but I had no idea that the Navy played such an important part. Most books concentrate on the army troops on the ground. I came across this book by accident but so glad I chose to include it in my library. Mr. Barrett did a fine narration of Mr. McPherson’s excellent capture of Naval history from 1861-1865.

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Excellent

Enjoyed listening. Very informative on an important area that is often or looked when discussing the Civil War.

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great overview of the sea war.

it's a solid book that is included in the Premium membership, so why not listen if you're interested.

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Very easy to listen but very educational

Excellent perspective on a VERY overlooked part of the war. I’ve read dozens of civil war books over the decades but this one educated me

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