Derring-do of a legendary mariner
A Scottish Blockade Runner in the American Civil War, by John F Messner
When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, there were many people who were sympathetic to the Confederate cause, and many more who looked to profit from the conflict. The only issue: the United States Navy was quickly able to establish a blockade of the South, which was desperately in need of war materiel and money from the cotton trade.
Enter the blockade-runners: men willing to risk imprisonment or death to make their fortune. 'John' Wyllie, one of the most successful, became a legend in his native Scotland, later delighting audiences with his tales of danger and cunning aboard the paddle-steamer Ad-Vance.
Inspired as a boy by the tales of Sir Walter Scott, Wyllie gave up a career as a teacher to go to sea. A literate man, he wrote gripping and surprisingly modern accounts of his experiences during a long maritime career, something that Messner takes full advantage of in this biography. As well as plentiful facts and background, we get the mariner's first-person descriptions of yellow fever outbreaks, burials at sea, sinkings, plots for revenge and much more.
But best of all in this page-turner of a book are the accounts of the blockade-running itself, which are like something from a classic adventure story:
'"We are seen, full speed ahead!" Then the fiddlers play up, and the dance becomes lively. A flash and a roar. A shot passes between their masts. "Well fired," shouts the captain. "Now give it her, stokers and enginemen." The sky is all scored with pencils of fire. The cannon boom. The hunt is up. The dogs close about the hare. The iron rain continues; but, thank goodness, not a drop has fallen on the engines. The Advance has cleared the circle of death… There is light in every eye, triumph on every brow.'
A Scottish Blockade Runner in the American Civil War: Joannes Wyllie of the Steamer Ad-Vance
By John F Messner
Whittles Publishing, £18.99
ISBN: 978 18499 54822
Buy this book in the Nautilus Bookshop
While you're there, why not browse the rest of the titles in our unique maritime bookshop, which sells all the books reviewed on these pages.
Buy nowMore Books
Well-informed story of 1960s seafaring
c/o Cunard House: 88 Leadenhall Street, London EC3 by Bill FergusonFormer seafarer Bill Ferguson has come up with an intriguing book in c/o Cunard House, which blurs the lines between memoir and novel, reflecting his time with Port Line, a Cunard cargo liner subsidiary.
Shining a light on our maritime past
Lightships by Anthony Lane and Martin AugustusIn their new illustrated guide, Anthony Lane and Martin Augustus, showcase a crucial, but often forgotten part of British maritime history.
Legendary Lusitania brought to life
Lusitania: Life of a Greyhound, by J. Kent Layton et alNo less than five authors, Titanic experts and artists have come together to create two definitive (and rather beautiful) coffee table books about the Lusitania.
New edition of cargo-handling classic
Thomas' Stowage 10th edition, revised by Captain Graham PepperThe weighty textbook Thomas' Stowage has become the bible of cargo handling, with fresh editions periodically issued to take account of new legislation, new commodities and improved methods of handling and carriage.