CONFEDERATE NAVAL HISTORY

The task of researching, studying, and writing about the naval exploits of the Confederacy for more that fifteen years has been an interesting, rewarding, and sometimes exhaustive experience. Collected during this period, are many essays and stories written by Southern naval participants of the war. These narratives traverse the field from both the fond and not so fond memories written by veterans who may, after forty or fifty years since the “Late Unpleasantness,” be approaching senility, to the carefully worded report of an officer claiming a victory or the loss of his ship. They lend information and color for us as we try to understand and appreciate just what these naval heroes of the South faced during this momentous period in our nation's history.

The veterans who wore the navy gray are all gone now. All we have are their words that speak to us from the written page. It is only through these accounts that we can ever hope to understand the courage that they displayed and the hardships and trials that they faced.