PERHAPS A GIFT VOUCHER FOR MUM?: MOTHER'S DAY
Neil P. Chatelain is an adjunct professor of history at Lone Star College-North Harris and a social studies instructor at Carl Wunsche Sr. High School in Spring, Texas. The former US Navy Surface Warfare Officer is a graduate of the University of New Orleans, the University of Houston, and the University of Louisiana-Monroe. Neil researches U.S. Naval History with a focus on Confederate naval operations. He is the author of Fought Like Devils: The Confederate Gunboat McRae (2014), and many magazine, journal, and online articles. He lives with his wife Brittany in Humble, Texas.
The narrative, richly sourced from archives, newspapers, and memoirs, is supported by footnotes and excellent maps. Recommended. All levels. --M. J. Smith Jr., emeritus, Tusculum University Choice, July 2021 Vol. 58 No. 11 Chatelain has written a detailed, useful synthesis of the naval war in the Mississippi Valley. -- Michigan War Studies Review This book is well-written and researched. This is a useful contribution to the Civil War's literature, and anyone interested in the Western Theater should consult it for information concerning naval operations along the Mississippi River. -- Sea History Magazine Chatelain has written a solid study of the Confederate war effort on the Mississippi River which enhanced my knowledge of the Civil War. The book is carefully written and organized with thorough research and use of source material. Chatelain explores the centrality of the Mississippi River to the Civil War and the manner in which the Confederacy tried to defend the River in the face of many obstacles, most crucially its initial lack of a navy. -- Midwest Book Review Nothing short of a monumental achievement. --Tennessee Valley Civil War Roundtable The book is a fast paced read, well written, and demonstrating careful research, with extensive documentation. There are several excellent maps by Edward Alexander and a useful glossary. A great read. -- The NYMAS Review Neil Chatelain's Defending the Arteries of Rebellion is special because of its comprehensive coverage of how the Confederate Army and Navy tried to work together to defend the interior waterways while threatened on several fronts and suffering from chronic shortages of men, resources, and skilled laborers. Despite these problems the Confederates created a navy from scratch, constructed navy yards in remote places such as the Yazoo River, constructed warships throughout most of the war, and won a surprising number of riverine victories. This well-researched and written study is grounded in primary sources, includes numerous original maps, and does not overwhelm the reader with tactical minutia. Chatelain tells his story in an easy-to-read and entertaining style. --Terry L. Jones, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of History, University of Louisiana-Monroe, and the author of Lee's Tigers: The Louisiana Infantry in the Army of Northern Virginia and The Civil War Memoirs of Captain William J. Seymour: Reminiscences of a Louisiana Tiger Neil P. Chatelain delivers a comprehensive, well-referenced narrative of the Confederacy's naval efforts and actions to defend the Mississippi River and its tributaries during the Civil War from the Confederate perspective--a welcome view rarely presented and certainly not at this level of detail. His writing style, grounded in deep scholarship, makes reading Defending the Arteries of Rebellion a pleasure. --Gary McQuarrie, Managing Editor, Civil War Navy - The Magazine
