Research Catalog

Title

Rebel reefers : the organization and midshipmen of the Confederate States Naval Academy / James Lee Conrad.

Author

Conrad, James Lee

Publication

[Boulder, Colo.] : Da Capo Press, 2003.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

x, 214 p., [8] p. of plates : ill.; 24 cm.

Summary

"Devising a method for training and educating junior naval officers is a challenge every nation faces - and one that the Confederate States of America faced in 1860. Initially, the Confederate States trained its young midshipmen on warships under the supervision of the ship's captain. But in 1863, under the leadership of Secretary of the Navy Stephen R. Mallory, the Confederate navy established a formal naval academy. The Confederacy's first - and only - national service academy was anchored in Virginia's James River aboard the CSS Patrick Henry. There a group of dedicated faculty educated young men in basic academic courses, such as mathematics, English, and foreign languages, and trained them in the naval arts of gunnery, seamanship, and steam engineering." "Confederate midshipmen saw more active service than would be expected for students at an academic institution. While their Federal counterparts at the U.S. Naval Academy studied at a safe distance from the deadly fighting of the war, the midshipmen of the Confederate States Naval Academy bent over their books as part of the defense of one of the Confederate nation's most strategic waterways. Their story is one of dedication and sacrifice that has - until now - avoided the historian's pen."--BOOK JACKET.

Subjects

• Patrick Henry (Ship)
• Confederate States of America > Navy > History
• Midshipmen > Confederate States of America > Biography
• Confederate Naval Academy History
• United States > History > Civil War, 1861-1865 > Naval operations

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 199-205) and index.

Contents

1. "The Proper Education of Naval Officers" -- 2. "A Floating Academy" -- 3. "The Best Place for a Young Man Is at Sea" -- 4. The Exhibition of "Good Discipline, Conduct, and Courage" -- 5. Watchword: "Guard the Treasure" -- 6. "A Most Realistic War College" -- App. A. List of Midshipmen of the Confederate Stats Naval Academy, July 1863 to April 1865 -- App. B. Regulations for the Confederate States School-Ship Patrick Henry -- App. C. Regulations for the Interior Police of the Confederate Slates School-Ship Patrick Henry.

ISBN

0306812371 (alk. paper)

LCCN

2003009888

OCLC

• ocm52214502
• SCSB-4824751

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries