War on the Waters sheds light on the critical participation of the Federal Navy in the American Civil War. At the commencement of hostilities with the bombardment of Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor, President Lincoln ordered the blockade of the entire southern coast. This would be the primary duty of the navy for which they were totally unprepared. The rivers and any naval vessels on them that traversed the nation were under the control of the army. The army used the vessels primarily for the transportation of troops and supplies, not for military action against the enemy; that would come when naval vessels on the rivers were put under control of the Navy Department. The actions of the navy on the rivers when melded with the army achieved some stunning victories: Forts Henry and Donelson, the captures of Roanoke and Island #10 and Hatteras Inlet were instrumental in crushing the Confederacy.