Course Description

Instructor: Michael Shaffer

At the outbreak of war, the United States had a minimal number of ships, the Confederacy had none. Over the course of four years, both sides ramped-up their floating forces with each adopting different tactics. During this course, we will explore various actions on the high seas as the Federals attempted to strengthen the blockade and capture Southern ports, while the Confederacy deployed commerce raiders to wreak havoc upon Northern merchant ships. In addition, we will also look at various brown water naval engagements - action, which occurred on rivers instead of at sea.

Required Book: War on the Waters, James McPherson, University of North Carolina Press, 2012. ISBN 9780807835883.

Bio: Civil War historian, instructor, lecturer, and author. Shaffer is a member of the Society of Civil War Historians, Historians of the Civil War Western Theater, and the Georgia Association of Historians.