Civil War Torpedoes and the Global Development of Landmine Warfare

Earl J. Hess

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Year: 2023
• eBook ISBN: 9781538174296
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: American Civil War History
• Index: History

Civil War Torpedoes and the Global Development of Landmine Warfare recounts the use of landmines in the American Civil War from their predecessors before 1861 through their legacy in the post-Cold War era. A handful of Confederates pioneered the use of torpedoes, as landmines were commonly called in the 1860s, burying them in front of fortifications, along roads, and as booby traps. Federal troops quickly learned how to deal with them, often using Confederate prisoners to dig them up. The first doctrine of landmine use in global history appeared during the Civil War. Hess discusses not only the technical and tactical aspects of the Civil War torpedo, but the morality and doctrine that surrounded this weapon in ways that illuminate how modern landmines have shaped international conflicts to our own time. Through intensive research in archival institutions, published primary sources, and technical literature, Hess has created the definitive account of Civil War era landmine warfare within its global context.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Dedication
• Contents
• Abbreviations
• Preface
• Chapter 1: Before the War: “A Popular Aversion to Their Use”
• Chapter 2: Lexington, Port Royal, Columbus: “All That Is Really Cowardly, Treacherous, Base and Brutal”
• Chapter 3: Yorktown: “The Horrible Realities of War”
• Chapter 4: Vicksburg, Port Hudson, Jackson: “Legitimate Weapons of Warfare”
• Chapter 5: Fort Wagner, Fort Esperanza: “Scarcely Civilized Warfare”
• Chapter 6: Sheridan’s Raid, Petersburg: “These Shells Are Now Appreciated”
• Chapter 7: March to the Sea, Pooler Station, Fort McAllister: “This Was Not War, but Murder, and It Made Me Very Angry”
• Chapter 8: Fort Fisher, Sister’s Ferry, Carolinas: “This Low and Mean Spirit of Warfare”
• Chapter 9: Mobile: “A Thundering Report, a Flash, and the Groans of Wounded Men”
• Chapter 10: Attacking Communications: “He Did Not Want the Matter to Become Public”
• Chapter 11: Developments in the United States after the Civil War: “The Weapon the Father Prepared, May Turn Against the Son”
• Chapter 12: Global Developments after the Civil War: “The Effective Stigmatization of the Weapon”
• Conclusion
• Appendix: A Medical Perspective on Landmine Injuries
• Notes
• Bibliography
• About the Author