From Baird Maritime:
The author tells us that Franklin Buchanan's transfer to the Confederate Navy and his rise to command of it was a rather hot-headed, spur-of-the-moment decision. He could just as easily have fought on the Union side in the American Civil War.
Apart from the Civil War that capped it, Buchanan's was a most interesting seaman's life. His life span covered much of the nineteenth century and, for his times, he saw much of planet Earth. He was, for example, the first American to set foot in Japan.
Entering the US Navy in 1815, he was still aboard (the Confederate Navy) in 1865. His was a long and very eventful career. Two navies, innumerable battles, plentiful long voyages.
All this and more is well and colourfully described in this first rate and very welcome biography.
Ordering Information:
Naval Institute Press Annapolis, USA Web: www.nip.org