Now for the Contest: Coastal and Oceanic Naval Operations of the Civil War (review)

William Roberts is a retired U.S. Navy commander who holds a Ph.D. from Ohio State University. Now for the Contest is his third book in six years. The first two—USS Ironsides in the Civil War and Civil War Ironclads: The U.S. Navy and Industrial Mobilization in the Civil War—treat Union ships and ship construction. Now for the Contest is a short (173 pages of text) study of the war on the high seas, concentrating on the U.S. Navy blockade of the South, Confederate commerce raiding and Union efforts to hunt down and destroy the Southern cruisers, and Union amphibious operations along the Confederate coastline.

Now for the Contest is the ninth book in the Great Campaigns of the Civil War series edited by Anne Bailey and Brooks Simpson and published by the University of Nebraska Press. These books are touted as "concise syntheses of the major campaigns of the war, reflecting the findings of recent scholarship." Roberts's work fulfills that promise admirably. It is based on the latest scholarship, tightly written, and filled with much useful information. Profusely endnoted (citations include a plethora of primary sources) and containing a bibliographical essay, the book boasts nine maps and a like number of illustrations. Throughout, Roberts does not shrink from expressing his opinions regarding strategies, policies, and key leaders.

Roberts begins by providing a useful overview of the two navies. He notes the tremendous advantages enjoyed by the Union side in manpower and ships but also in such important technological areas as engineers and effective steam engines. He points out that Confederate Secretary of the Navy Stephen Mallory sought to offset crushing Union advantages in manpower and ships by exploiting new technology, most notably ironclads, mines, and submarines.

Roberts discusses problems facing each side at sea, the leaders, and their strategies. He believes that the broad latitude Lincoln extended to his cabinet members abetted the general lack of close cooperation between the Union army and navy. Unlike his Union counterpart, Confederate President Jefferson Davis had little interest in naval affairs, and his "Cotton Diplomacy" proved a disaster for the South.

Roberts presents the reasons why the Union never attempted to mount a large-scale land campaign from the sea. He then discusses in turn the Union blockade, Confederate commerce raiding, the fixation of the North with monitor-type ironclads, and the major Union naval campaigns. He concludes with a chapter on the effects of the war on the U.S. Navy.

Overall, this is an excellent introduction to the Civil War on the high seas and along the coasts. While not the fault of the author, the scope of the book does not allow for treatment of the war on inland waters, and thus the reader is left with an incomplete picture of the naval Civil War.