When the Civil War is discussed, it is typically about land warfare, like those famous battles of Gettysburg, Antietam, or Fort Donelson, where Ulysses S. Grant earned the nickname “Unconditional Surrender Grant.” There are several naval battles that stand out, specifically the Battle of Hampton Roads (also known as Battle of Ironclads) and the Battle of Mobile Bay where Adm. David Farragut famously proclaimed “Damn the Torpedoes! Full speed ahead!”
But what about the battles of the in-between? Where land warfare and naval battles meet? British-born Ron Field, historian of the American military, has recently written a study of these battles in his “American Civil War Amphibious Tactics,” He’s highlighted some of the more important Union offensives of the war.
