DOC Rebels and Yankees: Naval Battles of the Civil War by Chester G. Hearn in History

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Good selection of images; but don't rely on the text.By ReadsALotAuthor Chester Hearn deserves credit for a great coffee table book; and an interesting telling of the naval campaigns of the Civil war. The illustrations include many new-to-print views of the ships and men; and the maps are well-chosen to locate the action. I would give this book five stars except for the many factual errors (initial examples: p.8 and p.17: the purpose-built 90-day gunboats are called purchased commercial vessels; p.31: Hearn gives the sailing frigates USS Congress and Cumberland steam power for their battle with the CSS Virginia) and the occasional nonsensical comment (p.7: "...none [of the pre-war US Navy's warships] was capable of performing missions of war."). Sadly; because of the many obvious errors in well-covered areas; you have to doubt the new information that Hearn provides. The book has a large bibliography; but no source list for its fine photos and engravings. Also; I wish they had not chosen to bleed so many illustrations across the gutter; or to favor such large renditions of some photos that granularity is the primary impression. With all that; this book (2000 edition) is well worth borrowing from the public library; and naval history buffs won't mind paying 6 or 8 dollars for a copy in very good condition.4 of 6 people found the following review helpful. Battles of the Civil War by Chester HearnsBy Dr. Joseph S. MarescaThis book is perfect for a school project. It contains many full color pictures of historic Civil War battles; equipment andcombat weaponry. There are memorable pictures of war-torn recruits. This rendition very much captures the history of theperiod. Since there was no definitive resolution of the slavery question in the American Constitution; the question remained open to interpretation. The Emancipation Proclamation and theCivil War resolved the question of slavery in favor of the Union.The Hearns book depicts the Monitor; CSS Virginia; Merrimac and the USS New Hampshire in full view. Sample swords and guns of theperiod are depicted for history buffs. Each state is listed withthe dates of admission and secession from the Union. This book will complement your personal library. The pictures containedin the volume will assist in crafting any class project throughthe middle and high school years. The volume depicts the cities and towns of the period; as well as waterways and major thoroughfares of the time. Pictorially; the engineering featsof the period were considerable. The ironclad ships and weaponrywere quite advanced for the period. The book is worth the price of admission.6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. A Good ReferenceBy Kyle P. DaltonChester G. Hearn is a pretty good author. Not the greatest; to be sure; but he writes his books knowledgably (see "Tracks in the Sea" for his greatest work; in my opinion). In "Naval Battles of the Civil War" he rounds out the series of "Rebels and Yankees" books by William C. Davis. Davis is a fantastic historian with excellent writing skills. Nonetheless; he is obviously biased when it comes to the naval aspect of the Civil War. In the "Rebels and Yankees" series there are several errors in the artistic representation of sailors as well as factual eroors in the pring itself. Davis considers the Navies of the Civil War to be inconsequential because they did not see as much combat as the Army; and thus does not put much effort into recording them.Hearn; a naval historian; does a much better and much more thorough job than the usually adept Davis. There are a few small errors (a U.S. Marine button is erroneously declared a Naval officer's button); but "Naval Battles of the Civil War" is an otherwise fine and worthwhile book.