Book excerpt: There was more fighting along the coast of North Carolina then in all other parts of the state combined. The reason for this was simple: there were important strategic objectives to be won along the coast, and they were within easy striking distance of the main federal naval base at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. North Carolina's well protected coastline offered a perfect refuge for privateers who sailed for and captured so many union merchant vessels in the early days of the war that maritime insurance companies in the North went into a panic, forcing the government to mount an expedition against Cape Hatteras, North Carolina's coastal counties, and the state's coastal railroad systems, were vital to the feeding and resupply of Robert E. Lee's Army. And even after the tightening blockade and powerful federal assaults closed off the ports of Charleston, New Orleans, and Mobile, the city of Wilmington continued to provide a haven for the blockade runners. The city eventually became the most strategically important location in the entire Confederacy, more so even than Richmond itself. The campaign's that resulted from this strategic situation are exceptionally interesting since they foreshadow the amphibious campaigns of WW II. There was so much fighting along the sounds and rivers of North Carolina that the U. S. Navy ordered crash courses in those Civil War campaigns when it became involved in riverine warfare during the Vietnam conflict. In these pages, the reader will encounter such men as William Cushing, often referred to as "Lincoln's commando," who led raid after raid deep into Confederate territory and whose bravery was matched by his good luck; and handsome, gallant young William Lamb, a journalist by trade who designed and commanded Fort Fisher, the largest earthwork fortress in the world, and defended it heroically against the mightiest armada the U.S. Navy had ever launched to that point in its history. The story of the coastal war is one of frustration, missed opportunities for both sides, lopsided victories and heartbreaking defeats, illuminated at every turn by flashes of extraordinary bravery and tactical brilliance. This book tells the story in more detail than it has ever been told before.