free hosting   image hosting   hosting reseller   online album   e-shop   famous people

RESOURCES AND LINKS

Putting a list of links on a Web site is always a chancy thing, since sites tend to appear and disappear like morning fog. But I'm doing it anyway. This is not a comprehensive list; it's a very selective list of a few sites I find particularly worth visiting. Many, many more can be found by visiting the two sites listed in the Site Directories section, then following links from the sites they link, and on and on. As of now, I have not included sites devoted to individual ships, people, theaters of battle, or museums -- just sites of more general coverage. Maybe later. Also, there are a few direct (or as direct as possible) links to significant period documents.

Site Directories

There are three directories of Civil War Web sites that are absolute musts for the link collections of every Civil War scholar, student or buff. The lists are huge, generally well maintained, and nicely organized. Two have substantial sections devoted to naval warfare.

     The U. S. Civil War Center at Louisiana State University (Naval and Maritime Information).

     The American Civil War, maintained by Jim Janke at Dakota State University (The Navies).

     The American Civil War Homepage, created by George Hoemann and Mary Myers at the University of Tennessee. This one doesn't have a specific section dedicated to naval matters, but it's another fine resource.

Primary Sources

There are a number of Web sites that feature on-line copies of important historical documents concerning Civil War navies. Here are just a few items I found particularly worthwhile.

     Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion, Series I, vols. 1-27; Series II, vols 1-3 (1894 - 1922). Part of the Making of America Project at Cornell University.

     United States Official Register 1861: The Names, Force, and Condition of All Ships and Vessels Belonging to the United States, When and Where Built as of September 30, 1861, and Index to Captains, with Duty or Station and Place of Birth. Part of Bill Roddy's American Hurrah site.

     Officers of Navy Yards, Shore Stations, and Vessels, 1 January 1865, presented by the Naval Historical Center.

     Uniform for Officers of the United States Navy: As Prescribed in Regulations for the Uniform of the U.S. Navy, Jan. 28, 1864. Also presented by the Naval Historical Center.

Other Fine Sites

     The Naval Historical Center is an indispensible resource for anyone interested in the history of the American sea services and contains a good bit of Civil War material. One of the best historical sites I've seen.

     U.S. Civil War Navies, maintained by Terry Foenander, is "A Collection of Articles, Muster Rolls and Images of the Union and Confederate Naval Services". A number of contemporary documents plus some interesting original research. Very nicely done.

If you're interested in exploring books and journals from pre-war, war, and post-war times, there's a magnificent resource that you don't want to miss: The Making of America Project. It presents digitized copies of the full texts of an incredible number of items, all accessible on-line. There are two separate sites, one at Cornell University and the other at the University of Michigan. The Cornell site features 109 monographs (267 volumes) and 22 journals (955 volumes) with imprints primarily between 1840 and 1900, and the Michigan site has approximately 1,600 books and ten journals with imprints primarily between 1850 and 1877. As you can imagine, there's much material about naval matters scattered among this stuff. Find some spare time, make a pot of coffee, and start searching.

     Naval Chronololgy of the Civil War at the History Central site. A detailed timeline of developments in the naval war.

     The Confederate States Navy site, maintained by John E. Ellis, has a variety of interesting items in its "Assorted CSN Topics" section. Includes transcriptions of several period documents -- reports, listings, etc.

     Mark F. Jenkins maintains the Ironclads and Blockade Runners of the American Civil War site with quite a bit of information on ironclads of both navies and the men who sailed them.

     This site is mentioned a couple of times on the NAQ page, but I thought it deserved another mention here. Justin Broderick's History of United States Naval Uniforms and Insignia site is an excellent resource for anyone trying to make sense out of US Navy ranks and insignia over the years. The Civil War period is amply covered.

For discussion of Civil War naval topics, check out...