The "war" in this exciting and exceptionally readable book is again
the Civil War; "the night it was lost", in the opinion of the
perceptive author, was April 24, 1862, when a naval force under
Farragut and Porter captured both New Orleans and the control of
the Mississippi River, thereby "severing the Confederacy". The
author places the blame for the loss of the South's largest and
most important city squarely on the blunders of the Richmond
government. Not until four months after secession did Richmond send
an ancient and incompetent general, Twiggs, to command New Orleans,
a task beyond his abilities; the reports of the efficient but
unpopular General Lovell, who replaced him, were ignored or altered
by Jefferson Davis. Deaf to warnings, certain that New Orleans
would be attacked from up-river, Richmond neglected the city's
down-stream defenses and sent its fleet up the Mississippi, while
in the city itself work on two great ironclads, Mississippi and
Louisiana, each capable of ending the Northern blockade, was so
delayed that when Farragut attacked they were still unfinished. The
capture of New Orleans, vividly described by the author, was a blow
from which the South never recovered: the Confederacy was cut in
two; cotton exports and food supplies dwindled; the blockade was
intensified, and foreign aid, on which Richmond depended, failed to
materialize. Carefully annotated and brilliantly written, this fine
study does for one of the South's major tragedies what Moorehead
did in his memorable Gallipoli. This should override the surfeited
feeling of most readers in regard to the Civil War, and is a must
for the buffs. (Kirkus Reviews)
"Long before the Confederacy was crushed militarily, it was
defeated economically," writes Charles L. Dufour. He contends that
with the fall of the critical city of New Orleans in spring 1862
the South lost the Civil War, although fighting would continue for
three more years. On the Mississippi River, below New Orleans, in
the predawn of April 24, 1862, David Farragut with fourteen
gunboats ran past two forts to capture the South's principal
seaport.
Vividly descriptive, "The Night the War Was Lost" is also very
human in its portrayal of terrified citizens and leaders
occasionally rising to heroism. In a swift-moving narrative, Dufour
explains the reasons for the seizure of New Orleans and describes
its results.
General
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