The CSS Albemarle and William Cushing ─ The Remarkable Confederate Ironclad and the Union Officer Who Sank It

Stempel, a historian who specializes in the Eastern campaigns of the American Civil War, tells the story of how during the war, William B. Cushing was charged to destroy the Confederate ironclad CSS Albemarle. Drawing on modern and historical sources, including official records, biographies, and the construction document, he describes Cushing's naval career, the context of the war, the fears of the Federal government that the Albemarle would regain all the waters of the outlying sounds of North Carolina, other efforts to destroy it, and Cushing's final sinking of the ship on what was considered to be a futile mission. Annotation c2011 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Jim Stempel is an authority of the Eastern campaigns of the American Civil War. His articles on psychology, human development, and warfare have also appeared in the New Times, Concepts In Human Development, and North & South. He lives in western Maryland.