The Last Shot: The Incredible Story of the C.S.S. Shenandoah and the True Conclusion of the American Civil War

by Lynn Schooler

Book Overview

In the autumn of 1864, at the height of the American Civil War, the Confederate raider Shenandoah received orders to "seek out and utterly destroy" the whaling fleets of New England as part of an effort to bleed the Union of its economic strength -- an undertaking that met its greatest success when the raider fell upon a fleet of whalers working the waters near Alaska's Little Diomede Island and sank more than two dozen ships in a frenzy of destruction.

Before...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060523336
• ISBN13: 9780060523336
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: Ecco Press
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

CIVIL WAR/PACIFIC HISTORY

The story is totally interesting and gives the reader not only part of the history of the Big War, but also an insight to how people lived and how the sailors fared. The writer is easy to follow and it is a relaxing fun read. I shared it with my friends in the Pacific, e.g., Pohnpei and the story coincided with some of the verbal histories and particular harbors pointed out by the older local people. It is also a remarkable story in that the CSS Shenandoah was able to sail around the world, and not be apprehended by the Union gunships. Incredible voyage - excellent writer. I would have appreciated an index and maybe some footnotes. Overall, I enjoyed it and passed it along to my son - he's already into it, being a longtime resident of the Pacific Islands. Kaselhlia from Ascenion Island.

A wonderful book to read.

The Last Shot by Lynn Schooler is one of the most fascinating books that I have recently read. From page one to the end, it grabs your interest and moves swiftly through the many facets of this attempt by the Confederacy to wreck a part of the economy of the North. It is rich in detail without being pedantic. It brings to life the many men involved in this relatively little known part of the Civil War, their strengths and failings, their interactions with each other in the closed world of a ship at sea. This is well worth reading.

The Last Shot

I bought this book for my husband who reads this kind of non-fiction for pleasure. He found it well written and fascinating; and, in fact, recommended it as a summer reading for high school students and also found it so appealing that he passed it on to his newphew who is a history buff and a college professor.

A Remarkable Voyage

The author, Lynn Schooler, has written an account of the Confederate raider Shenandoah; most published works on Confederate commerce raiders cover only the Alabama or the Florida. The text opens narrating the 1864 under-cover operation to purchase a commerce raider in Britain. The ship, named the Sea King, sailed to Madeira where it met a cargo ship, loaded guns and military gear. Its title was transferred to the Confederacy and its name changed to the CSS Shenandoah. Orders to Captain James Waddell were to "seek out and utterly destroy the whaling fleets of New England as part of an effort to bleed the Union of its economic strength...." The ship had to leave Madeira with only a fraction of the crew needed so that Waddell recruited his crew from captured Yankee ships as he sailed. Many Yankee crews joined the Shenandoah, amazingly, including a black man volunteering for duty aboard a Confederate Ship. After commissioning, the Shenandoah sailed around the Cape of Good Hope to Melbourne, Australia, encountering enroute heavy weather. The author gives an fascinating account of the Shenandoah's Australian visit where the American consul attempted to have the ship seized as being in violation of Britain's Neutrality Act. The war was running against the South, and England wanted to distance herself from the loser; nevertheless, the Shenandoah was ultimately able to leave Australian and sail to the Artic whaling grounds. In an amazing display of seamanship the Shenandoah entered the Artic, traveling north of the Aleutian Islands, ravaging the American whaling fleet until weather and ice conditions forced the Shenandoah to travel south.. Not knowing the Confederacy had collapsed, they continued to attack Union whalers. The capture of the whaler, named Harvest, on April 10,1865 was "the last arguably legitimate target for the raider." Isolated with no reliable information on the Confederacy surrender, Waddell continued to attack Union whalers. Finally on August 2, the English master of a vessel convinced the Shenandoah officers that their war had ended. "The last shot fired in defense of the South had been fired from her deck on June 22 (1865)". Schooler gives a most interesting account of the attacks on the Yankee whalers in northern waters. The Shenandoah now began her trip home, but where was home as the Confederacy was gone; the Union may convict them as pirates and in Australia, the logical choice, their possible reception was unclear. Waddell set a course for the South Atlantic but the ultimate final port was in dispute. Two petitions were signed by some of the officers advocating Cape Town, but the crew preferred Britain (Waddell's choice). "The Shenandoah entered St. George's channel, leading to Liverpool, on the morning of November 5, 122 days after passing through the Aleutian Islands" making the Shenandoah the only Confederate ship to circumnavigate the globe. Before her voyage ended, the raider had captured or sunk thirty-eight ships.

Great story, but the telling is even better

That pretty much says it all. Lynn Schooler's first attempt at history is perfect, like a long-distance cannon shot across the bow of a Yankee whaler. As a fellow writer, I'm always compelled more by the voice than the story, and I'm picky when it comes to style. Schooler blends scholarship with a relaxed, conversational tone that is a pleasure to "listen" to. And that's what history is all about--a great tale, well told. Highest marks all around.