Public-domain ebook
Language: en2,493 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
In: History - American·History - Warfare
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #71797.
John Randolph Spears’s fourth volume of The History of Our Navy is a sprawling reference work that chronicles the United States Navy from its colonial beginnings through the Civil War and up to the dawn of the “new navy” in the 1890s. The book opens with a vivid account of the final naval actions of the Civil War, describing Butler’s failed powder‑boat scheme and the subsequent capture of a fort by General A. H. Terry’s forces. From there it launches into a sweeping survey of naval technology, illustrated by a lengthy list of engravings, photographs, and maps that document everything from 32‑pound carronades on the Constitution to Holland’s experimental submarines of 1897. The narrative is interspersed with detailed captions that situate each image within the broader story of American maritime development, making the volume as much a visual archive as a textual history.
The prose reflects the late‑19th‑century style of a seasoned naval officer‑historian, combining formal description with occasional rhetorical flourish. Spears writes with a measured, authoritative tone, often drawing comparisons between early wooden fleets and the ironclads of the Civil War, while peppering the text with technical specifications and anecdotal observations. Readers who enjoy meticulous military histories, maritime enthusiasts interested in ship design evolution, and scholars seeking primary‑source illustrations of 19th‑century naval warfare will find this volume rewarding.
The opening · free to read
It was One of the Best Works in the South, though not well Located-- Butler’s Powder-boat Scheme, and what he Expected to Accomplish by it--Throwing 15,000 Shells at the Fort Disabled Eight Great Guns out of a Total of Thirty-eight--Butler Thought the Fort still too Strong and would not Try--He did not even Make Intrenchments According to Orders--Gen. A. H. Terry, with 6,000 Soldiers and 2,000 from the Ships, Easily Took the Fort Three Weeks Later--The Navy’s Last Fight in the Civil War.
CHAPTER XVIII. STORY OF THE NEW NAVY 523
The Folly of Allowing other Nations to Experiment for us--In Spite of what we Learned from their Mistakes, we were Unable, when we First Began for ourselves, to Build even a First-class Cruiser--The Result of Ten Years of Earnest Work--Battle-ships whose Power is Conceded by Foreign Writers--Cruisers that Awakened the Pride of the Nation-- Three “Newfangled Notions”--A Yankee Admiral at Rio Janeiro and a Yankee Lieutenant on the Coast of Mexico--The One Important Fact about the New Navy.
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