A good Civil War naval story in which northern ships try to track down Confederate ships, both trying to destroy the other and all ships they find during the search. Locations stretch from the United States coast, inland waters, South America, Africa, Europe, and points in between. You must remember that in those days there was no way to search for a ship except by word of mouth or accidentally finding that ship while transcending the world. Also in those days the sailors, as well as their captain, were very rude and uncouth men who would most likely kill the captured crewmen of the ships, burn the ships after looting all the goods on board, and hand over the few captured crewmen. to the first possible place on land or sea.
Raphael Semmes was the captain of the Confederate ship, the USS Alabama. The Alabama was a strong and powerful ship. Semmes would take no quarter from any opposing ship and would kill and/or destroy almost any other ship along with his crew just to get a “worse” reputation. Seahawk Burning mainly takes you by sea to many areas of land to fight others, get supplies, make repairs on the ship, unload crew members who have run out of time, and find new crew members, while making those stopovers. Most of the ships’ officers and crews in those days were not very healthy, some from not eating properly, drinking too much alcohol, associating with wild women who gave them more than they bargained for, and of course the normal brawls of the men. sailors.
The many areas traversed by the USS Alabama took them through many storms that heavily damaged the ships and their crews. Climate; another item they knew little about and had no idea what was in store for them. Meanwhile, in Washington, DC, President Lincoln, the various government leaders including the Secretary of the Navy, the Yankee leaders, and all their henchmen plotted how to capture and destroy this Confederate ship that was wreaking havoc on their ships. So far, Semmes has eluded them, but word of mouth was beginning to narrow his path of travel. The ship closest to his trail now was the USS Kearsarge captained by a former shipmate of Semmes’s, John Winslow, who was very fond of his former friend and opponent. Winslow was not in good health, having only one eye and it hurt most of the time. Semmes had his girl, Maude, constantly on his mind. The Yankee government was also tracking her for information on Semmes. Maude had two babies with her, one white and one black. She loved them both, as did Semmes. She had to continue on the run across the eastern United States and Canada to avoid capture.
The action is great as are the characters, some of whom were actually involved in the war and in the leadership of our nation. You will learn the history and some facts about some of these men and women as the author introduces and removes them from the story. If you like stories of marine adventures intertwined with history, you will love this book, as I did.