Civil War Horror: Today in history: The USS Essex defeats the CSS Arkansas

Monday, August 6, 2012

Today in history: The USS Essex defeats the CSS Arkansas

On this day 150 years ago the Confederate gunboat CSS Arkansas was defeated on the Mississippi by the USS Essex, two other Union gunboats, and her own bad luck. You can read about this exciting naval battle over at the Civil War Daily Gazette.

I've written about the USS Essex before. It features prominently in the sequel to my Civil War novel A Fine Likeness. The story takes place in late 1864, shortly after the events of that book, and follows the adventures of Allen Addison, the son of Captain Richard Addison, one of the protagonists in A Fine Likeness. This Library of Congress photo shows the USS Essex. I'm thinking of incorporating it into my cover.

Reading about the battle again has given me some ideas for my novel. . .

3 comments:

Alex J. CavanaughAugust 6, 2012 at 9:31 AM
I'm still amazed those boats floated.
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UnknownAugust 8, 2012 at 11:45 PM
That picture is a photograph? I'm surprised it's so clear. I hope your research gives you lots of new ideas for your books! :-)
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Monday, August 6, 2012

Today in history: The USS Essex defeats the CSS Arkansas

3 comments: