Midshipman in Gray

[aggie80]

Midshipman in Gray: Selections from Recollections of a Rebel Reefer
By James Morris Morgan

A light and entertaining read, this is the Civil War portion of James Morgan's longer autobiography. A veteran Civil War aficionado will appreciate the little connections and comments that weave ‘Shorty Morgan” into the fabric of the Confederacy. He provides all too brief glimpses into the social and personal side of the Southern cause. Having entered the Naval Academy, he resigned at the start of the war and went South. Much of the book deals with the adventures of the CSS Georgia, a small steamer that spent many months patrolling and capturing Federal vessels.

The personalities he works with are well known to Civil War buffs, but could introduce even a novice to this chapter of American History. One of his last sets of orders directed Passed Midshipman Morgan to escort Confederate First Lady Varina Davis as she and the family fled Richmond at the end of the war. A few other bits and pieces include his attending the wedding of General John Pegram, (remember the trivia question?), delivering the Great Seal of the Confederate States of America and marrying the daughter of Confederate Secretary George A. Trenholm.

I must confess to being a bit disappointed in having bought the book, only to discover that the entire text of the original “Recollections of a Rebel Reefer” is available on line at the University of North Carolina http://docsouth.unc.edu/morganjames/morgan.html


(Message edited by aggie80 on September 27, 2002)

[hoosier]

Thanks for the informative review, Aggie80.

Have to admit, when I first saw the title, I thought it had something to do with those Mary G. Wanna brand cigarettes.

[aggie80]

Yeah, I suppose there are those land lubbers that wouldn't know the term reefer in any other sense than the illicit use for plant that so many of the seamen's lines were made from.