Taaffee, Stephn R. Commanding Lincoln's Navy: Union Naval Leadership During the Civil War. U.S. Naval Institute Press. Ill. Maps. Notes. Bib. Index. 364p. ISBN 978-1-59114-855-5. $37.95. May, 2009.

A welcome addition to the literature on the United States Navy's role in the Civil War is Dr. Taaffee's Commanding Lincoln's Navy. This is a well-written overview of naval operations from the perspective of the leadership of the Union Navy and the problems they faced in quashing the rebellion.

At the center of the story is Navy Secretary Gideon Welles, his assistant Gustavus Fox and the senior naval officers they appointed to command the several squadrons operating around the country. These senior officers were all professionals – there were no political appointees in the Navy as there were in the Union Army. Herein lies Welles' initial obstacle – to restructure thew command hierarchy from one based on seniority to one based on performance and merit. Some of his earlier appointments proved to be washouts but as time progressed, his insight into selecting commanders got better as he “grew into” his job.

Welles began by dividing the Union Navy into six squadrons: North & South Atlantic; Mississippi; East and West Gulf; and the Pacific (later divided into North and South Pacific). In July, 1862, Congress created the naval ranks of commodore and rear admiral, both comparable to brigadier and major general in the army and giving parity to the two services (needful in the case of joint operations). These new ranks allowed Welles to pick and choose commanders from the list of captains, the Navy's previous highest rank. These choices make up the more colorful section of this book as these personalities range from the unknowns, such as Silar Stringham, William Mervine and William McKean, to the more famous, such as Frank DuPont, David Dixon Porter and David Farragut. Also discussed are the lesser known commanders, such as John Dahlgren, Samuel Phillips Lee, Louis Goldsborough, Charles Wilkes and Andrew Foote, who were by and large successful but had problems – either with their health, age or their personality, that led to their dismissal, retirement or transfer to a less active position.

Beginning with Farragut's successful assault on New Orleans in early 1862 and continuing through the assaults of Charleston, Mobile Bay and Fort Fisher, Taaffee illustrates the importance of these officers to the Navy's success while also pointing out their foibles and quirks. Making the whole a very informative story. He also touches on the Union blockade, a stressful, demanding duty that was also boring and definitely not conducive to glamorous newspaper headlines. This duty was performed without adequate ships and supplies while taking a toll on the health of officers and sailors alike. Blockade duty was one of those necessary, unglamorous jobs performed by the Union Navy.

The Union Navy's role in winning the war is probably the least known story of the conflict – outside of a few of the actions, such as Mobile Bay and the Monitor versus Merrimack. For students of the Civil War and for those with just a passing interest this book does its part in filling that gap.

David Lee Poremba