Jamie Malanowski - Commander Will Cushing: Daredevil Hero of the Civil War

O N JANUARY 6, 1961, LIFE MAGAZINE, the most popular weekly magazine of its era, and a great patron of illustration and photography, began a six-part series marking the centennial of the Civil War. In that issue, the editors published ten full-color paintings of notable moments that took place during the war. Among the ten, spread across two pages, was C. E. Monroe Jr.s dramatic painting of the moment William Cushing exploded the torpedo under the Albemarle. That was my introduction to Will Cushing, and I vividly remember sitting in my parents basement studying that painting. I am thrilled that it has been included on the cover of the book. Mr. Monroe, who died in 1998, was best known as an accomplished illustrator of hunting, fishing, and nature scenes, but Im grateful that he accepted this assignment (he also contributed a brilliant painting of a cavalry charge at Brandy Station for the issues cover). I thank him for the inspiration, and I also thank his son, Buck Monroe, for agreeing to let us use the picture.

Thanks to Tom Mayer and the team at W. W. Norton for their work in making this a better book. Thanks also to my agent, David McCormick, for the dedicated support and wise advice he has given me over the years.

Thanks very much to the resourceful and conscientious Katelyn Fossett, who undertook a number of research assignments for me. She delivered every time. Thanks to my friend Ken Smith, for his excellent work on the Web site.

David DOnofrio, Special Collections Librarian of the Nimitz Library at the United States Naval Academy, responded swiftly and patiently to what must have seemed like ceaseless pestering. Very helpful as well were Randall Fortson of the Navy Library, Chris Killilay of the National Archives, Simone Munson of the Wisconsin Historical Society, and Mimi Carter and Lisa Strong of the Corcoran Gallery of Art. I am grateful to all of them for their assistance.

Many thanks to Kim McCray, the curator of the Port OPlymouth Museum in Plymouth, North Carolina, who led me through the museums collection of Albemarle relics, and to Jimmy Hardison, a member of the board of directors of the Washington County Historical Society, who took time out of his day to share his extensive knowledge of Plymouth, the Roanoke River, and the Albemarle.

Finally, thanks to my wife Ginny and daughters Molly and Cara. Its all for you.

ALSO BY JAMIE MALANOWSKI

The Book of Levon:
The Trials and Triumphs of Levon Helm (2013)

And the War Came:
The Six Months That Tore America Apart (2011)

The Coup (2007)

Mr. Stupid Goes to Washington (1992)

Documents and Papers

United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD:

Documents related to William Cushings undergraduate career and resignation from the Naval Academy

National Archives, Washington, DC:

Documents related to William Cushings resignation from the Naval Academy

United States Navy Library, Washington, DC:

Documents related to Cushings military service

Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, WI:

Cushing family papers and letters

Books and Articles

Bradford, Richard H. The Virginius Affair. Boulder: Colorado Associated University Press, 1980.

Brown, Kent Masterson. Cushing of Gettysburg: The Story of a Union Artillery Commander. Lexington: University of Kentucky Press, 1993.

Browning, Robert M., Jr. From Cape Charles to Cape Fear: The North Atlantic Blockading Squadron During the Civil War. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1993.

Carr, Dawson. Gray Phantoms of the Cape Fear: Running the Civil War Blockade. Winston-Salem, NC: John F. Blair, 1998.

Carter, Alden R., ed. The Sea Eagle: The Civil War Memoir of Lt. Cdr. William B. Cushing U.S.N. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2009.

Dudley, William S. Going South: U.S. Navy Officer Resignations & Dismissals on the Eve of the Civil War. Washington, DC: Naval Historical Foundation, 1981.

Edwards, Eliza Mary Hatch. Commander William Barker Cushing, Of the United States Navy. Memphis, TN: General Books, 2012.

Elliott, Robert G. Ironclad of the Roanoke: Gilbert Elliotts Albemarle. Shippensburg, PA: White Mane Publishing Co., 1994.

Foote, Shelby. The Civil War: A Narrative. New York: Vintage Books, 1986.

Goodwin, Doris Kearns. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005.

Hunter, Mark C. A Society of Gentlemen: Midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy 18451861. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2010.

McFeely, William S. Grant: A Biography. New York: W. W. Norton, 1981.

McPherson, James M. War on the Waters: The Union and Confederate Navies, 18611865. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2012.

McPherson, James M., and Patricia McPherson, eds. Lamson of the Gettysburg: The Civil War Letters of Lieutenant Roswell H. Lamson, U.S. Navy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.

McQuiston, Julian R. William B. Cushing in the Far East: A Civil War Naval Hero Abroad 18651869. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2013.

Miller, William Lee. President Lincoln: The Duty of a Statesman. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2008.

Musicant, Ivan. Divided Waters: The Naval History of the Civil War. New York: HarperCollins, 1995.

Naval Enterprise, Illustrative of Adventure, Heroism and Endurance. London: Frederick Warne and Co., c. 1860.

Parker, David. A Chautauqua Boy in 61 and Afterward. Boston: Small, Maynard, 1912.

Quarstein, John V. A History of Ironclads: The Power of Iron over Wood. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2006.

Roske, Ralph J., and Charles Van Doren. Lincolns Commando: The Biography of Commander William B. Cushing, U.S.N. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1957.

Schneller, Robert J., Jr. Cushing: Civil War SEAL. Washington, DC: Brasseys Inc., 2004.

Slotkin, Richard. The Long Road to Antietam: How the Civil War Became a Revolution. New York: Liveright, 2012.

Smith, Gene A. Iron and Heavy Guns: Duel Between the Monitor and the Merrimac. Abilene, TX: McMurray University, 1998.

Stempel, Jim. The CSS Albemarle and William Cushing: The Remarkable Confederate Ironclad and the Union Officer Who Sank It. Jefferson, NC, and London: McFarland, 2011.

Stewart, Charles. William Barker Cushing. Annapolis, MD: Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute, vol. 38, issues 12 (June 1912).

Still, William N. Iron Afloat: The Story of the Confederate Armorclads. Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 1988.

Sweetman, Jack. The U.S. Naval Academy: An Illustrated History. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1979.

Todorich, Charles. The Spirited Years: A History of the Antebellum Naval Academy. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1984.

Wert, Jeffry D. General James Longstreet: The Confederacys Most Controversial Soldier. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1993.

. Gettysburg Day Three. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001.

O N DECEMBER 12, 1860, eight days before a convention in Columbia, South Carolina, would decide whether or not the state would secede from the Union, Acting Midshipman William Cushing, a First Classman at the United States Naval Academy, sent a letter to his cousin Mary, back home in Fredonia, New York.