A Civil War Gunboat in Pacific Waters

“An epic shipwreck tale. Sacrifice and heroism are recounted in a comprehensive study of a ship that embodied America’s role in the nineteenth-century Pacific as Yankee enterprise helped open Asia to trade. Well-researched, well-written, this book also takes readers for the first time into Saginaw’s long-lost grave beneath the sea.”—James P. Delgado, president, The Institute of Nautical Archaeology

“An impressive study of a naval vessel from construction to destruction.”—William Still Jr., author of Crisis at Sea

“Saginaw’s story is expertly told. . . . [The] book will appeal to anyone who has an interest in steam boating history, the history of the United States Navy and its activities in the Pacific Ocean, the history of the American Civil War, as well as economic, technological, and social history.”—Journal of Maritime Archaeology

“Utilizing the ship’s logs and letters written by its crew members, Van Tilburg provides a detailed picture of life in the early US steam navy. . . . This is an exceptionally fine, thorough study.”—International Journal of Maritime History

“An excellent overview of a largely, and undeservedly, forgotten aspect of the Union navy’s wartime operations. . . . A fine contribution to our understanding of the Civil War in the Pacific theater.”—Civil War Books and Authors

“Van Tilburg brings to light the important roles the Saginaw fulfilled in the Pacific in the mid-nineteenth century [and] illuminates the importance of the Pacific world to national and international events. . . . Engaging and informative.”—Northern Mariner

“Where this book really shines is in its presentation of the gunboat’s life at sea, especially the final, thrilling tale of shipwreck on a remote atoll in the north Pacific.”—Journal of Southern History