{"product_id":"promotion-or-the-bottom-of-john-m-stickney-9781611170658","title":"Promotion or the Bottom of the River: The Blue and Grey Naval Careers of Alexander F. Warley, South Carolinian","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eDetailed accounts of the career of a United States and Confederate naval officer\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSouth Carolinian Alexander F. Warley (1823-1895) was an exceptional naval officer who enjoyed a robust life of far-flung adventures at sea during several dramatic periods in American maritime history. Warley's career began in the 1840s, when he served as a midshipman on Old Ironsides and later took part in the Mexican War. His military exploits reached their zenith when he commanded the CSS \u003ci\u003eManassas\u003c\/i\u003e--the first ironclad ship to engage in combat--at New Orleans in October 1861. John M. Stickney's richly detailed biography of Warley as an officer first in the United States Navy and later in the Confederate navy offers a representative example of America's professional military class during the nineteenth century.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn ambitious youth of little means, Warley secured an appointment as a midshipman at the age of seventeen through the influence of John C. Calhoun. Over the next two decades of maritime adventures, Warley faced four courts-martial, combat and capture in the Mexican War, and the challenges of rising in the ranks. After South Carolina seceded in December 1860, Warley joined the newly formed Confederate navy and gained recognition for his service at New Orleans, commanding the \u003ci\u003eManassas\u003c\/i\u003e until the Confederate defeat there in 1862. Warley's career in the Confederate navy ended with his command of the CSS \u003ci\u003eAlbemarle\u003c\/i\u003e and its destruction at Plymouth, North Carolina.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWith vivid details and rich narration, Stickney portrays one young man's struggle for glory and success in a divided nation. Using ships' logs and naval records, Stickney unravels Warley's naval career and explores the Civil War naval actions that unfolded in New Orleans, Charleston, Galveston, Savannah, and Plymouth during this critical time in American history, revealing the pluck and fortitude of a previously unknown combatant.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e John M. Stickney\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1611170656\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781611170658\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of South Carolina Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/12\/2012\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 185\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.95lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.10h x 6.00w x 0.90d","brand":"John M. Stickney","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48748351914239,"sku":"9781611170658","price":34.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/promotion-or-the-bottom-of-john-m-stickney-9781611170658","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}