Every known ship of both Navies and most of the major sea battles of the Civil war are documented. 275 Illustrations.

Though some doubt the accuracy of Gibbons' side view drawings of important vessels of the American Civil War, I am still attracted to the book. There are few enough portrayals of these ships that we are forced to rely on speculative sources. There is no reason to be more skeptical of Gibbons' informed effort than the imaginative drawings in Harpers Weekly. You go with what you've got.

This week covers raiders and cruiser, frigates and sloops, gunboats and ironclads. It is a handy reference if one is looking for colors or appearance of a particluar ship. It covers all the well known vessels, and many of those we don't know quite so well. ( )