The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1883-04-29

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Ths series Of monographs On the cam
paians Of the civil war which has boon pub
lished By the Scribners offers vivid and COM
prehensivs account Of the military operations
that took place ON Land. but the story Of tho
memorable struggle would have been plainly
incomplete without due recognition OF the
services rendered By our naval forces But for
the solution Of . problem which at tho outset
seemed impractlcabla and which was certainly
unprscedsnted-the maintenance OF an OBJECT
i've blockade along 5000 miles Of soacoast-the
duration OF tho contest must have boon consfd-
crably PROLONGED. and proportionateiy greater
sacrifices must have been imposed on Us. even II
We admit-whAt those who arc best acquainted
with the temper Of Europe ut the epoch may
decline to take for grsntsd-that the ultimate
result could not have boon materially changed.
In the first OF the three volumes which the
scribners announce will be allotted to the
naval history Of the rebeliion-71e blockade and
the Cruisers. by JAMs RUSSELL SoLEY-the con-
ditions Of tho task undertaken BY the navy are
discussed at len9th. a. vol a. the extremely
inadequate appliances forthcoming at the b.
ginning Of the conflict. Tho great achieve
ments performed By tho Atlantic and Gulf
sQuadrons in the capture Of fortified seaports.
and the scarcely less useful though less bril-
liant work accomplished upon inland waters.
are reserved for other volumes OF this
supplementary series. IN the book BE-
fore u Prot Solely devotes himself for
h. a. Nnl uHxaAv M
lucid explanation Of the dificultics cncoun-
tered. and finally surmounted. In the effort to
transform what long deserved the epithet Of .
paper blockade into an impenetrable wall.
within whose circle the Confederacy may be
said TO have bled to death. But while such IL
his main purpose. the author devotes an inter
estng chapter to the attempts to avert the
destruction Of American commerce BY the pur
suit and capture Of Confederate cruisers. As
regards tho literary execution OF the narrative
we shall award 1t high commentator whom
We say that the book deserves to rank In this
respect with the most exemplary members Of
the series to which It 10 appended or. in other
words. with the volumes contributed BY Gen.
Palfrey. Mr.. Ropes and Mr.. Pond.
Prot Solely brings out with tho desirable clear
ness and en- phasis the grounds on which. from
o scientific point OF view the naval contest in
American waters during the years 1S61-'65 will
always be regarded - a momentous epoch in
the development Of maritime warfare. 1t Is
true that steam vessels had been employed to
some extent in the war with Mexico. and dur
ing tho Crimean war. but there had been moth
ing In the nature OF those experiments caleu-
lated to reveal the decisive and transcendent
character Of tho revolution brought about by
steam In nautical operations; and In 1861
large part. not only Of the Ameri-
can navy. but OF all European naval
establishments. still consisted of sail
ing vessels. 1t Is true also that not any Of the
three great modern weapons which have COM
PEELED the reconstruction Of the principles OF
naval warfare was absolutely new. nor was the
employment OF defensive armor an innovation
In the strict sense Of the term. The ram. OF
course. was as old rs the sea fights OF the
Greeks and Romans; rified cannon had been
tested on the battle field three years before
| some armored floating batteries and q few iron
clad cruisers were in existence. and some use
OF tho torpedo had been made in Russian har-
bors. But each Of the cardinal elements OF
the essentially new system OF maritime CON-
tention was. rs Prof Solely says. in An expert
mental stage. and the practical importance OF
each Was. for the first time. determined during
our civil war by a people which. curiously
enough. entered upon the contest without a
| single torpedo. = single ram. a single rifled
cannon. and which At the beginning OF Lin
coins Administration. had at its immediate
disposal Just three wooden steam vessels-and
these not fricates. but sloops Of the second
and third class-with which to blockade a CONT
nent. An even more striking proof OF our total
want of preparation is furnished by the fact
that on March 10. 1861. there we're only 2O7
| trained seamen in all the ports and receiving
ships on the Atlantic coast OF superannuated
| commanders there was superabundance, but
of young and active officers below the grade o.
Lieutenant there were less than a hundred.
| Moreover. the adm Illustration OF the Navy De-
partment was utterly disorganized; upon this
point it is enough to say that not even the germ
| OF n genera!istaH was in existence.
Such was our extraordinary lack OF indis-
pensabe appliances when we ventured 10 as
| sumo responsibilities which Great Britain. In
the plenitude OF her naval power had never
dared to undertake. Nevertheless. the four
years that followed were marked by more
| rapid progress and a more radical transforma-
| ton in the science Of naval warfare than were
tho two preceding centuries. When the war OF
the rebellion ended sailing vessels had disap-
| peared forever from the list OF agencies avail
able for maritime hostilites the ram had
resumed its ancient place among the formid-
able Instruments OF nava! combat; tho value
| Of the torpedo. viewed as defensive weapon.
mad been demonstrated. ana tho even yet I'M
settled competition between the penetrating
power Of rihed cannon and the capacity
| Of resistance attainatie by armored vessels
had been pushed 50 far al to become the
object Of supreme attention and unwearied OK
pertinent Instead Of SO vessels. only three OF
| which. as We have seen. were at once available
for the purposes Of blockade at tho outset OF
the war We possessed at Its close ST.. nearly
one-third OF which had been built or begun
while hostilities were in progress. The num-
bar Of ofhees in the service at the close OF the
contest had risen to 1900. and the number OF
seamen exceeded $1,000. Certainly tho record
OF our navy during the war Of the rebellion Is
one OF extraordinary brlliancy II we keep In
view the point Of departure. and appreciate the
| obstacles that were SUCCESSFULLY overcome. II
would. however. as Prof. Solely is careful to re-
mind US be deplorabls mistake to draw from