Going South: U.S. Navy Officer Resignations & Dismissals On the Eve of The Civil War

Washington DC: Naval Historical Foundation, 1981. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Wraps. v, [1], 55, [3] pages plus covers. Illustrations. Tables. Footnotes. Appendix: Data on Officers Resigning, Accepted and Dismissed. William Sheldon Dudley (born 14 July 1936 in Brooklyn, New York, USA) is a naval historian of the United States Navy, who served as Director of Naval History[1][2] and Director, Naval Historical Center, Washington, D.C. from 1995 to 2004. In 1970, Southern Methodist University appointed him assistant professor of history. He remained there until 1977, when the Naval Historical Center appointed him a supervisory historian. Dudley began work on the series "Naval Documents of the American Revolution," beginning with volume 8, under its editor Dr. William J. Morgan. In 1982, Dudley succeeded Morgan as Head, Early History Branch from 1982–1990, during which period he initiated a similar series for the War of 1812, and then succeeded Morgan again as Senior Historian, 1990-1995. In 1995, the Navy Department selected Dudley for a Senior Executive Service appointment to succeed Dr. Dean C. Allard as Director of Naval History. Dudley held this post until his retirement in December 2004. Dudley served as president of the American Revolution Roundtable in 1987, president of the Society for History in the Federal Government in 1989-1990, and president of the North American Society for Oceanic History, 1999-2003. He has been elected a corresponding member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, a director of the Annapolis Maritime Museum, and a member of the Maryland Advisory Committee on Archaeology. While still less than a hundred years old in 1861, the nation stood on the brink of catastrophic civil war as states in the lower south followed South Carolina in seceding from the Union. These dire times confronted officers of Southern origin in the country's military service with an agonizing decision whether to remain under the "Old Flag" or leave and follow their section. Local, state and family ties ran very deep. Men of the highest principles from young midshipmen at the Naval Academy to the most senior officers who had devoted their lives to the Navy---Raphael Semmes, Josiah Tattnall, Matthew Fontaine Maury, for example, resigned their commissions to cast their lot with the Confederacy. In this unique and interesting study, Dr. William S. Dudley of the Naval Historical Center has examined in depth how President Lincoln, Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles, and the Navy Department reacted to and handled the almost 400 Navy and Marine Corps officers who resigned to "Go South." The author has included a comprehensive appendix listing the name of each officer by rank. The Naval Historical Foundation is deeply indebted to Dr. Dudley for making the results of his invaluable research available to the Foundation members. Condition: Very good.

Keywords: Civil War, United States Navy, Naval Officers, Confederate Navy, Raphael Semmes, Josiah Tattnall, Matthew Fontaine Maury, Isaac Toucey, Gideon Welles, Gustavus Fox, Harwar Parker, James Wadell, John Kell

[Book #82060]

Price: $50.00

See all items in Civil War
See all items by