Defending the Arteries of Rebellion

This thorough account of the South’s efforts to hold the Mississippi River is “fast-paced, easy to read, and well supported by archival research” ( The Civil War Monitor ). Most studies of the Mississippi River focus on Union campaigns to open and control it, while overlooking Southern attempts to stop them. This book tells the other side of the story—the first modern full-length treatment of inland naval operations from the Confederate perspective. Jefferson Davis realized the value of the Miss