Reviews All Standing: The Remarkable Story of the Jeanie Johnston, the Legendary Irish Famine Ship by Ka thryn M iles (Free Press, a di vision of Simon & Schuster, Inc. , New
wo rk touches o n British political history, economic theory, biology, and other avenues of inves tigatio n rhar paint a vivid- if at rimes tragic-picture of li fe and death in York, 201 3, 25 6pp, notes, index, ISBN 978- mid-1 9 th-century Ireland. ALL Standing, as a result, is a wonderful tool for learning about 978- 1-45 16- 101 3-0; $26hc) In this slim and eminentl y readable ac- mo re than just the experiences of those who count, Kathryn M iles attempts to put a face built and sailed rhe Jeanie Johnston: it is a to the tragic migracompelling narrative rhat has much to offer to those who are interested tion that was spawned by the Irish Po tato in a wide range of fields. Famine of the midTIMOTHY G. LYNCH, PHD 19 th century. While Vallejo, California others have written at length about the war on the waters: The Union and "coffin ship s" a nd Confederate Navies, 1861-1865 the perilous journeys by James M . M cPherson (Univ. of faced by the desperate North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, emigrants, few have 2012, 296pp, illus, m aps, notes, used the episode of biblio, index, ISBN 978-0-8078a particular ship to 3588-3; $3 5hc) rell rhe general story The nam e James M cPherson has in as illuminating a fashion as Miles does become synonymo uswirh C ivil War history. here. Her crisp writing style a nd eye for a Awarded rhe Pulitzer Prize for his landmark good story allow her to move beyond the Battle Cry of Freedom, he has delved into particulars of transArlantic migration and use rhe lives of soldiers in For Cause and Comthe story of the Jeanie Johnston as a vehicle rades and examined rhe role of Abraham to dissect economic, political, and other Lincoln as a wartime commander-in-chief strands within the larger context of Irish, in Trial By Fire. In his laresr work, Wtzr on Anglo-Irish , and Irish-American history. the Wtzters: The Union & Confederate Navies, The result is a compelling account rhar suc- 1861-1 865, Dr. M cPherson explo res the ceeds on m any levels. role of C ivil War navies and derails how The Jeanie Johnston is unique am ong th e Union navy, which only constirured rhe innumerable vessels rhar fe rried famine five percent of all federal forces, contribrefugees across the Atlanti c, in that she ured so greatly to rhe success of rhe United never lost a single passenger. Though the Stares. This is no mere rehas h of naval ship encountered many difficult passages material from his earlier wo rks; Wtzr on the and countless obstacles, the tenacity of her Wtzters m elds rhe maritime co mpo nent into crew, diligence of her owners, and a healthy rhe overall srrucrure of rhe C ivil War and dose of good fortun e allowed h er to deliver provides an overview of how the war ar sea her human cargo whole in rhe face of over- paralleled the conflict on shore. whelming challenges . Miles focuses o n one The naval as pect has long been a nefamily, and how they traced their ultimate glected area of C ivil War histories . Earlier good fortun e and success in rhe U ni red Srares studi es, such as W illiam Fowler's Under Two and Canada to the luck they had in shipping Flags or Iva n Musicant's Divided Wtzters, out aboard the Jeanie Johnston. The scion provide only a general overview. Others of rhat family, N icholas Reilly, was bo rn examine narrow as pects, such as W illiam shortly after rhe Jeanie Johnston departed N . Still's Iron Afloat o r Robert Browning's Ireland en ro ute fo r Nor th America. wo rks on rhe blockading squadrons. RecentThe story of rhe Jeanie Johnston and ly there has been a renewed interest in rhe her remarkable record of success would be maritime dimension of rhe C ivil War, wirh wo rthy of a book on irs own. But M iles goes Spencer Tucker and C raig Symo nds leading further, using rhis single ship to provide a rhe effo rt. Their volumes have substantially larger co ntext that captures the experience increased rhe level of historical research , o f fa mine emigrants in full er d etail. H er raising rhe question: why wo uld Jam es SEA HISTORY 143 , SUMME R 201 3
M cPherson decide to examine this area? As he stares in his imroduction, "Knowledge of the dramatic role played by rhe navies in rhe C ivil War is essential to an understanding of irs outcome." M cPherson idemifies five key phases of th e C ivil War at sea and imegrares rheir evolution into rhe overall conduct of the war. This perspective m akes Wtzr on the Wtzters unique among all other naval histories, and McPherson interprets blockade- one of the most co ntroversial events in Civil War maritime historiography-as being effective in deterring rhe delivery ofcargo to the Confederacy. H e explains how rhe blockade forced the Union navy to shift from an offensive strategy early in rhe war -seizing po rts and anchorages-to a m ore defensive strategy to interdict rhe larger po ns. Long before rhe army had to deal with contraband slaves, rhe navy was faced with this issue. Irs solution to incorporate ex-slaves and integrate rhem into ship crews is markedly different rhan the one chosen by rhe army. Naval topics, such as asymmetrical warfare, the hunt for commerce raiders, brown-water operations along rhe coas ts and
THE GLENCANNON PRESS
NEW! THE LAST GREAT RAcE,¡
The
S.S. United States and the
Blue Riband. Historian Lawrence M. Driscoll brings to life this epic adventure of the fastest superliner to ever sail the North Atlantic. Hardcover, 8Yixll, 256 pp. 169 photos. $35 + $5 S&H. FREE CATALOG 1-800-711-8985 Online catalog at www.glencannon.com 51