This book examines the impact of naval battles on the outcome of the American Civil War. The author draws on primary sources, including the personal diaries, letters, and journals of the combatants, to bring to life the capture of Fort Hatteras--the first Union victory of the war; the 1861 assault on Port Royal, South Carolina, America's largest amphibious operation until World War II; the dramatic high-seas showdown of the USS Kearsarge and CSS Alabama; the daring mission of the world's first true submarine, the CSS Hunley; and the first historic duel between ironclad warships, the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia.