From the Fresh Water Navy: 1861-1864: The Letters of Acting Master's Mate Henry R. Browne and Acting Ensign Symmes E. Browne, and: Civil War Naval Chronology, 1861-1865 (review)

book reviews357 didates with steady support? Which did not? Where were shifts likely to occur? Only once, and then in passing (p. 454, note 20), does Mushkat deal specifically with ward-level ethnic voting patterns. He even introduces the Know-Nothing party without referring to the massive influx of Irish and German Catholic immigrants that began in 1847 and touched off the politically significant nativist and temperance agitation of the 1850's. If, then, one expects an analysis of the genesis of the urban political machine in New York City, Tammany is a disappointing book. If, on the other hand, one wishes a detailed account of New York City politics in its state and national settings, Mushkat's work provides just such coverage. Samuel T. McSeveney Brooklyn College From the Fresh Water Navy. 1861-1864: The Letters of Acting Master 's Mate Henry R. Browne and Acting Ensign Symmes E. Browne. Edited by John D. Milligan. (Annapolis: U.S. Naval Institute, 1970. Pp. xx, 327. $13.50. ) Civil War Naval Chronology, 1861-1865. Compiled by the Naval History Division, Navy Department. (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1971. Pp. 1122. $9.75.) The two young men who wrote the letters were born in Cincinnati, Ohio. Henry, the elder, enlisted as an ordinary seaman and soon became an acting master's mate. Soon after his enlistment, on November 1, 1861, Henry urged his younger brother, Symmes, to follow his example . Apparently, Commander John A. Winslow, who was later to command the Kearsarge and sink the Alabama, visited Cincinnati in October, 1861, and suggested to the brothers that they join the fresh water navy. Henry and Symmes had the virtues of the pioneer settlers, and their doings are illustrative of the men and women who built up the United States. The letters of the two are interesting from this standpoint. The brothers were in the Mound City (Cmdr. A. H. Kilty), which was advancing up the White River of Arkansas, on June 17th, 1862, when a shot from a masked battery passed tiirough the steam drum, scalding many men, including Henry Browne. Of 175 officers and men, 25 escaped uninjured, and another 25, including Kilty, were severely injured. Symmes took his brother's body home, and, afterwards, continued in service until about July 16, 1864. The reader will learn little from this book concerning the great achievements of the fresh water Navy of 1861-1864. The Naval Chronology brings to the user a valuable collection of data concerning the operations of the two navies of our Civil War. On 358CIVIL WAR HISTORY the whole, it is excellent, and reflects credit on the Naval History Division. One of the outstanding features is the Introductory Essay, was prepared by Rear Admiral Ernest M. Eller, U.S.N., (Ret.). It includes a brief but effective account of the naval operations, including the blockade, the struggle for the control of the inland rivers, and the damage to Federal shipping caused by the spectacular activities of the Confederate raiders. The account which Eller quoted was a reproduction of one prepared by the late Commodore Dudley W. Knox, U.S.N., ( Ret. ), some years ago. Anyone using this volume will find that this introductory material serves to furnish a background which makes the naval contributions to the outcome of the civil struggle understandable. In the opinion of this reviewer, the inclusion of Appendix III was an error. Charles O. Paullin has a good reputation for his writings concerning earlier periods of naval history, but this article by him, entitled "President Lincoln and the Navy," follows the viewpoint of Welles and others who attempted, with considerable success, to distract attention from the "Do Nothing Policy" of Welles himself. It is evident that the compilers failed to make a correct interpretation of the facts, in the matters which were neglected by Welles in March 1861 and in April. In the Chronology itself, an entry for 31 March, 1861, page 1-6, records that Welles ordered that 250 men be sent to Norfolk from the New York Navy Yard. No entry explains why the men were not sent. There is no Chronology entry for 28 March, 1861, although Welles ordered that the steam...