The Alabama, British Neutrality, and the American Civil War.

The Alabama, British Neutrality, and the American Civil War. By Frank J. Merli. Edited by David M. Fahey. (Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, c. 2004. Pp. xxii, 225. $29.95, ISBN 0-253-34473-5.)

Frank J. Merli, recognized as one of the most knowledgeable scholars on Civil War British neutrality and naval diplomatic issues, died while still in the process of preparing multiple volumes based on forty years of exhaustive research and study. David M. Fahey, a professor of history at Miami University in Ohio, revived Merli's works in progress, compressed and combined chapters, and worked to complete the notes. Still, much of Merli's unfinished work remains in draft form and unpublished. What Fahey has produced, however, is a recovery of some of the final and well-nurtured thoughts of one of the most important Civil War scholars.

Most of the text in this book comprises draft chapters and the notes of unfinished books. Fahey also included material from one co-edited and unpublished memoir and a reprinted essay from a conference proceeding. Cobbled together from such diverse source material, Fahey has managed to form an almost seamless work that argues the points almost as convincingly as if Merli had completed the book himself.

Merli, known for his analysis of the Confederacy's failed attempts to build a navy in Europe, adeptly assesses the diplomatic situations during the war. Always driven by analysis of the chronology of the events, Merli dispels the findings of several earlier historical works. Throughout the volume, James D. Bulloch gets a great deal of credit for his management of the purchasing operations in Europe. Merli viewed Bulloch as an unsung hero, certainly a figure that many historians have never given the attention that he deserves--of course, few could see Bulloch in the same light as Merli.

The English are often portrayed as pro-southern, and Merli's research corrects the misconceptions concerning the British government's neutrality. He painstakingly examined the Alabama's escape from British control. Merli dispels the notion, through careful scrutiny of the documentation, that there was a conspiracy by the British specifically to aid the South. He instead blames the Americans for delays that allowed this cruiser to go to sea. His research, based on carefully reconstructed chronological events, extricates the foreign secretary and the prime minister of any collusion.

Merli intended to expand the last chapter of the book, which deals with the Chinese fleet, into a book-length monograph. The British built a fleet of warships to sell to the Chinese government to fight pirates. After the fleet reached China, however, the deal that offered the Confederates an opportunity to buy the ships fell apart. Had the Confederates managed to purchase this small British-built flotilla of gunboats, the war might have taken an interesting turn. To keep this from happening, the British government tightened its views on neutrality and kept the fleet out of southern hands.

David Fahey has done an excellent job of editing Merli's work. Fahey admitted that Merli would have produced a much different book. I am sure, however, that Merli would be pleased with the results. The Alabama, British Neutrality, and the American Civil War is a fitting memorial volume to Merli's lifetime of scholarship. It is a welcomed and beneficial study that adds to our diplomatic knowledge of the Civil War.

ROBERT M. BROWNING JR.

Dumfries, Virginia