Gray Phantoms of the Cape Fear: Running the Civil War Blockade

Mr. Carr does a terrific job with this book, it gives a lot of detail about the blockade runners that kept the South alive through the war between the states. If you have an opportunity to visit the North Carolina coast take this book along.

If you've never read anything about the Blockade or the ships which used to evade it you really should read this one. Dawson Carr does a great job discussing the role of Wilmington, the primary destination for blockade runners during the Civil War, and discusses the cat and mouse game between Union warships and the unarmed transports which used to try to slip in and out of the Cape Fear River. Carr supports his book with sidebars which has stories of individual ships and also has an excellent collection of maps and diagrams which makes the material really easy to comprehend. The blockade of the Confederacy and recent changes in naval technology made for unique vessels for running it. Carr brings the subject alive.

I found this book a great read. Dr. Carr did an excellent job in writing a book that was very informative on the blockade runners and the blockaders. I enjoyed the separate stories through out the book on actual events. This really gave the reader a fill for what tactics the blockade runners used and the tacitics used by the US Navy. These little mini stories also were idea for showing the ever changing tactics used by both sides.As a sailor who served on PBR's in Vietnam I related to the blockaders but admired the skill and daring of the blockade runners. Dr. Carr did an excellent job in showing how both sides tactics evolved during the war with the changes in technology and as more blockading vessels were used. I highly recommend this book to all readers interested the civil war or naval history. I would like to see Dr. Carr write a book about the blockaders.

The American Civil War has provided countless authors with material for nearly one hundred fifty years. Still, with the thousands of books and articles written about this war, some aspects of the struggle are often overlooked. I have in fact seldom run across a book, which has for its entire subject the blockade of a single southern port. I am sure other such works exist but I haven't seen them. But no matter what other books are out there I doubt they can hold a candle to this work. In fact, I have seldom ever been so enthralled with a book. Dawson Carr has provided us with a concise, thrilling, well-researched, and very understandable look at the wartime activities along the Cape Fear coast. The writing is absolutely wonderful and the story draws the reader in like a classic novel. You will not want to put this book down until you have finished it.Carr begins his narrative with the early efforts of North Carolina to secure its coast and proceeds from there. The stories of the building of the coastal fortifications are well told and informative but it is his stories of the blockade-runners and their pursuers that will grab the reader's attention. One can almost feel the tension on the decks as the runners try to slip by the Union blockade, which grows in strength every month. As the pilots strain to make out landmarks in the total darkness the runners used for cover one can almost imagine being there and trying to make out some form on land, hoping the first thing you see isn't an enemy ship.All of Carr's stories aren't of the blockade-runners though, for he also covers events in Wilmington, Richmond, Liverpool, and many other locations that are involved in this story. In one instance for example there is a tense confrontation between Governor Vance and Confederate authorities during which the Carolina Governor is basically placed under house arrest for a short time. Of course all good things must come to an end and for the Confederacy their last port fell shortly after Braxton Bragg was sent to take charge of the area. Infighting in Richmond, squabbles with state authorities, war profiteers, and three plus years of a union navel blockade couldn't close Wilmington, but it only took Bragg a short time to lose the Confederacy's last port. If you are a civil war enthusiast, are interested in navel history, or just like a well-told story I highly recommend this book. If a six star rating existed this book would easily deserve that rating. Well done Dr. Carr, well done!