The partial destruction and abandonment of the Gosport Navy Yard by the United States Navy on April 20-21, 1861, represented the loss of arguably the country's best navy yard and ten million dollars’ worth of public property. A Crisis of Loyalties examines the actions of March and April 1861 leading up to this event and attempts to explain what happened and who was responsible. At the end of this very thorough and detailed accounting, readers may be left with just as many questions as answers.
There can be no doubt that the commander at Gosport, Captain Charles Stewart McCauley faced significant challenges in the spring of 1861. The Pensacola Navy Yard had been seized by southern forces in January, proving that Gosport would certainly be a target if Virginia seceded from the Union. Uncertainty surrounding Virginia’s secession and the resignation of the majority of the yard’s officers, most of whom were from Virginia or had family ties in the region, placed McCauley in an unenviable position. Adding to the uncertainty was a newly inaugurated presidential administration still trying to get on its feet, including Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles. Both ships and manpower were in short supply, making it difficult to send personnel or aid to Gosport.
Throughout the early days of April, officers and staff at the Navy Yard and Navy Department tried to discern the correct course of action. Any attempts to remove ships or property or attempts to reinforce the yard to any significant extent might arouse the suspicions of Virginia’s secessionists. An increase in defensive posture might also cause concern among the residents of Portsmouth and Norfolk. The timeline of events accelerated with the secession of Virginia and the Virginia militia’s seizure of Fort Norfolk and its vast stores of gunpowder the following day. Navy officials feared that attempts to seize Gosport were imminent.
The author examines the ruminations and actions of all involved, from McCauley and Welles to Captain Hiram Paulding, who made the decision to abandon the yard, and many other officers and officials involved along the way. He assesses the information available to them, as well as what they didn’t or couldn’t have known. He asks a lot of what-if questions. Though stopping short of blaming anyone, he seems to hold McCauley and Welles most responsible for the actions at Gosport. He also believes that the loss of the yard was only significant for what happened in the aftermath, the Confederate conversion of the USS Merrimack into the ironclad CSS Virginia. He argues that had this not occurred, the loss of Gosport might have been a footnote in the history of the war. Some may not agree with that argument because the loss of Gosport resulted in much more gain for the Confederacy than just that single vessel.
Crisis of Loyalties is an excellent addition to the field of Civil War naval history. The book is well-researched and well-written. The author uses a trove of primary sources, reputable secondary sources, museum collections, and several useful online sources. The book is very readable, in part because on average the chapters are about ten pages long, making it easy to read a chapter or two, put the book down, and return to it later without stopping mid-chapter. The author’s evaluation of people and events is thorough and detailed. The author answers most of his own questions, while leaving the door open to new questions or further interpretation. This is a unique look at a pivotal event in the first year of the Civil War.
