Rockets, Tanks and Submarines: The Ingenuity of Civil War Texans

Few topics have fascinated American readers more than the Civil War. Occurring as it did at the beginning of a new industrial age, it fostered a wide variety of strange and innovation contraptions that shaped the course of the conflict. Texans were among the most creative in their designs, and added their talents to the mix, creating a variety of war machines and devices that are remarkable for their ingenuity. Ed Cotham is a veteran Civil War author, and his list of publications continues to grow. This latest offering takes the reader through a remarkable ride complete with all sorts of schemers, spies, tinkerers, and dreamers, trying to harness technology to help them win the war. In an age where innovation happens in real time, and new weapons like drones and cellphones are changing the nature of the battlefield, Cotham’s Rockets, Tanks, and Submarines reminds us that this process has been going on for a very long time! And Texans were there all along, adding their imaginations to the problems their comrades faced under fire.