Lincoln's Trident

The West Gulf Blockading Squadron during the Civil War

By Robert M. Browning Jr.

University of Alabama Press

In Lincoln’s Trident, Coast Guard historian Robert M. Browning Jr. continues his magisterial series about the Union’s naval blockade of the Confederacy during the American Civil War. Established by the Navy Department in 1862, the West Gulf Blockading Squadron operated from St. Andrews Bay (Panama City), Florida to the Rio Grande River. As with the Navy’s blockade squadrons operating in the Atlantic, the mission of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron was to cripple the South’s economy by halting imports and disrupting cotton exports, the South’s main source of hard currency. The blockade also limited transportation within the South and participated in combined operations with Union land forces.

The history of the squadron comprises myriad parts and players, deployed in a variety of missions across the thousand-mile-wide Western Theater. From disorganized beginnings, the squadron’s leaders and sailors had to overcome setbacks, unfulfilled expectations, and lost opportunities. Browning masterfully captures the many variables that influenced the strategic choices of Navy commanders as they both doggedly pursued unchanging long-term goals as well as improvised and reacted to short-term opportunities.

Notable among its leaders was David Glasgow Farragut, believed by many to be America’s greatest naval hero, who led the squadron through most of the war and the climactic Battle of Mobile Bay. Under his legendary leadership, the squadron not only sealed Confederate sea ports, but also made feints and thrusts up the Mississippi River as far north as Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Knowing the Navy’s role in isolating the Confederate economy and preventing the movement of troops and supplies within the South is crucial to understanding of the outcomes of the Civil War, as well as the importance of naval power in military conflicts. With thirty-five maps and illustrations, Lincoln’s Trident expounds upon an essential part of the Civil War as well as naval and American history.

Reviews
Author

Browning describes every action of even the slightest significance in elegant yet unforced prose, vividly capturing both the minute detail and the overall spirit of events. His account is punctuated with illuminating character sketches of the most important actors. The magisterial breadth and thoroughness of Browning’s narrative reflects more than a decade of research in the private papers of individual participants, the published Official Records of the Union and Confederate Navies, Navy Department records in the National Archives, and a host of other archival resources. The University of Alabama Press has produced a volume of the highest quality, including nine helpful maps of the Gulf Coast, making Lincoln’s Trident: The West Gulf Blockading Squadron During the Civil War an essential resource for any serious researcher or library interested in Civil War naval history. [I]t is an engagingly written and informative treasure trove.’
—The Journal of Southern History

‘... This comprehensive work will stand as the definitive treatment of its topic. Recommended.’
—CHOICE

‘The herculean task of patrolling the one thousand miles of shoreline between St. Andrews Bay, Fla., and the Rio Grande fell to the West Gulf Blockading Squadron. In Lincoln's Trident, Browning presents what will surely be the definitive study for years to come, if not forever. The depth and breadth of his research is incredible. . . . In truth, I don't know that I have ever seen a more impressive documentary foundation. . . . How the blockade was maintained, and how under Farragut's superb leadership it helped shorten the war, are beautifully answered in this big and important book.’
—Alabama Review

‘The story of the Union blockade in our part of the world is beautifully and thoroughly told in a new book, Lincoln’s Trident: The West Gulf Blockading Squadron during the Civil War by Robert Browning Jr., chief historian of the U.S. Coast Guard and author of several books.’
—Mobile Bay

It is an extremely well-researched, highly readable book about the West Gulf Squadron, it informs, it engages and it educates. It explains the problems of blockading and of fighting in rivers, it praises when due and criticizes when necessary. It complements Browning’s other Civil War books on the blockading squadrons and is a welcome addition to the naval view of the war.’
—The Mariner's Mirror

‘In recent years, some of the most valuable contributions to the naval bookshelf have been authored by U.S. Coast Guard chief historian Robert Browning, whose Union blockading squadron studies remain unmatched in mgnitude of research and content. Each new release in his series is a significant event in Civil War publishing and Browning's newest book, Lincoln's Trident: The West Gulf Blockading Squadron during the Civil War, is more than the qualitative equal of its North and South Atlantic squadron predecessors.’
—CIVIL WAR BOOKS and AUTHORS

‘[...] Lincoln's Trident is a multi-faceted examination of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron's activities, actors, and achievements. [...] For all but Civil War naval specialists, this will be the only work on the squadron's doings that one need to consult.’
—Civil War Book Review

‘Until Browning’s trilogy, very little in-depth analysis had been devoted to this crucial aspect of the naval war. Now with his study of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron, the author continues in his same concise, pragmatic style. The book is well researched, with a copious bibliography and endnotes, and is an invaluable addition to Civil War scholarship.’
—Peter Kurtz, author of Bluejackets in the Blubber Room: A Biography of the William Badger, 1828-1865

‘The research and subject matter in Lincoln’s Trident are excellent and this book continues Browning’s series on the US blockade of the Confederacy. It is a comprehensive work that will be the standard on the subject for the foreseeable future.’
—Maurice Melton, author of The Best Station of Them All: The Savannah Squadron, 1861-1865

Robert M. Browning Jr. is Chief Historian of the United States Coast Guard and author of Success Is All that Was Expected: The South Atlantic Blockading Squadron during the Civil War and From Cape Charles to Cape Fear:The North Atlantic Blockading Squadron during the Civil War.

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