Describes the Civil War role of the Confederate warship Shenandoah, which prowled international waters destroying dozens of Union ships, until, in August 1865, the crew discovered that the war had been over for months and they were being hunted as pirates.

Two award-winning historians bring to life the greatest Civil War battle at sea, which was fought off the coast of France in 1864 and effectively ended the threat of the Confederacy on the high seas. On June 19, 1864, just off the coast of France, one of the most dramatic naval battles in history took place. On a clear day with windswept skies, the dreaded Confederate raider Alabama faced the Union warship Kearsarge in an all-or-nothing fight to...

"Big Bad Ironclad! covers the history of the amazing ironclad steam warships used in the Civil War. From the ship's inventor, who had a history of blowing things up and only 100 days to complete his project, to the mischievous William Cushing, who pranked his way through the whole war, this book is filled with surprisingly true facts and funny, brave characters that modern readers will easily relate to"--Publisher's web site.