As a result, from a purely legal perspective, they were pirates. They unknowingly (or, perhaps more accurate, unbelievingly) continued fighting for four months after the official end of the Civil War-this despite having been told by several sources that the war was indeed over. Perhaps most interesting, the book closely examines the legal situation in which the ship, captain, and crew found themselves after the war. The book includes excellent maps of the entire 13-month trip, including a detailed look at the successful cruise through the Bering Sea preying on American whalers in June 1865. In all, Shenandoah took more than 1,000 prisoners and destroyed nearly $1.5 million in Union shipping-the third most successful Confederate commerce-raiding voyage.

In crisp, rapidly moving prose, he tells the story of a successful 58,000-sea-mile voyage around the world that included the sinking of 32 Union merchant and whaling ships. This first and final war voyage of the Shenandoah is the subject of a highly readable and well-researched volume by naval historian Tom Chaffin. Her propulsion was provided both by sail under three tall masts as well as by an auxiliary coal-fired boiler and engine that gave her a top speed of 12 knots. She was a recently refitted vessel of nearly 1,200 tons and 220 feet, soon to be armed with four 8-inch shell guns and twin rifled 32-pounders forward. Near the end of the Civil War, on 8 October 1864, the Confederate States of America warship Shenandoah slipped out of her berth in London under her previous name, Sea King. Reviewed by Vice Admiral James Stavridis, U.S.

Sea of Gray: The Around-the- World Odyssey of the Confederate Raider Shenandoah

Sea of Gray by Tom Chaffin