Decisions on Western Waters

The Twenty-Seven Critical Decisions That Defined the Operations

The long-running Decisions Series tackles the Brown Water Navy.

At the outset of the Civil War, General Winfield Scott drafted the Anaconda Plan, an ambitious strategy to blockade southern ports and use army forces supported by naval gunboats to secure control of the Mississippi River for the Union, effectively dividing the Confederacy in two. Over the course of the campaign, General Grant's ground forces closely cooperated with river forces under the leadership of Flag Officers Andrew H. Foote and David Dixon Porter, as well as Rear Admiral David Farragut, to successfully seize Confederate strongholds along the Mississippi River and its tributaries. Their gunboats and ironclads became known as the Brown Water Navy. This long, successful Federal campaign succeeded in opening the Mississippi River with the capture of New Orleans and the Confederate capitulation of Vicksburg.

Decisions on Western Waters explores the critical decisions made by Confederate and Federal politicians and commanders during the campaign that shaped its outcome. Rather than offering a linear history of the campaign, Michael D. Becker homes in on decisions made by both sides of the contest to provide a clear blueprint of the campaign development and conduct at its tactical core. Exploring the decisions in this manner allows students of the campaign to progress from a knowledge of what happened to a mature grasp of why events happened.

Complete with maps and a driving tour, Decisions on Western Waters is an indispensable primer to the campaign on the western waterways, and readers looking for a concise introduction to the battles can tour this sacred ground—or read about it at their leisure—with key insights into the campaign and a deeper understanding of the Civil War itself.

Decisions on Western Waters is the twenty-third in a series of books that explores the critical decisions of major campaigns and battles of the Civil War.

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