|
Gray Phantoms of the Cape Fear John F. Blair, Publisher In mid-1863, the small city of Wilmington, North Carolina, found itself facing a difficult task: it had to supply Robert E. Lee's army if the South was to continue the Civil War. Guns, ammunition, clothing, and food had to be brought into the Confederacy from Europe, and Wilmington was the last open port. Knowing this, the Union amassed a formidable blockading force off storied Cape Fear. What followed was a contest unique in the annals of warfare. The blockade runners went unarmed, lest their crews be tried as pirates if captured. Neither did the Union fleet wish to sink the runners, as rich prizes were the reward for captured cargoes. The battle was thus one of wits and stealth more than blood and glory. As the Union naval presence grew stronger, the new breed of blockade runners got faster, quieter, lower to the water, and altogether more ghostly—and their crews more daring and resourceful. Today, the remains of nearly three dozen runners lie beneath the waters of the Cape Fear, their exact whereabouts known only to a few fishermen and boaters. Built for a special mission at a brief moment in time, they faded into history after the war. There had never been ships like the blockade runners, and their kind will never be seen again. Gray Phantoms of the Cape Fear tells the story of their captains, their crews, their cargoes, their opponents, and their many unbelievable escapes.
Reviews “The American Civil War has provided countless authors with material for nearly one hundred fifty years. Still, with the thousands of books and articles written about this war, some aspects of the struggle are often overlooked. I have in fact seldom run across a book, which has for its entire subject the blockade of a single Southern port. I am sure other such works exist but I haven't seen them. But no matter what other books are out there I doubt they can hold a candle to this work. In fact, I have seldom ever been so enthralled with a book. Dawson Carr has provided us with a concise, thrilling, well researched, and very understandable look at the wartime activities along the Cape Fear coast. The writing is absolutely wonderful and the story draws the reader in like a classic novel. You will not want to put this book down until you have finished it. Carr begins his narrative with the early efforts of North Carolina to secure its coast and proceeds from there. The stories of the building of the coastal fortifications are well told and informative but it is his stories of the blockade-runners and their pursuers that will grab the reader's attention. One can almost feel the tension on the decks as the runners try to slip by the Union blockade, which grows in strength every month. As the pilots strain to make out landmarks in the total darkness the runners used for cover, one can almost imagine being there and trying to make out some form on land, hoping the first thing you see isn't an enemy ship. All of Carr's stories aren't of the blockade-runners though, he also covers events in Wilmington, Richmond, Liverpool, and many other locations that are involved in this story . . . If you are a civil war enthusiast, are interested in navel history, or just like a well-told story, I highly recommend this book. If a six-star rating existed this book would easily deserve that rating. Well done Dr. Carr, well done!” “If you've never read anything about the blockade or the ships which used to evade it you really should read this one. Dawson Carr does a great job discussing the role of Wilmington, the primary destination for blockade runners during the Civil War, and discusses the cat-and-mouse game between Union warships and the unarmed transports which used to try to slip in and out of the Cape Fear River. Carr supports his book with sidebars that have stories of individual ships and also have an excellent collection of maps and diagrams which makes the material really easy to comprehend. The blockade of the Confederacy and recent changes in naval technology made for unique vessels for running it. Carr brings the subject alive.”
|
