Andrew Foote: Civil War Admiral on Western Waters (Library of Naval Biography)

In this revealing portrait, Spencer Tucker describes Foote as emblematic of a period of great change in the American navy. Although very much an officer schooled in the tradition of the Old Navy, Foote considered himself first and foremost a staunch Christian and agent of Divine Will. An ardent social reformer, he crusaded zealously for abolition of the daily grog ration in the navy, and during his command of the brig Perry in the African squadron, he also became a leading advocate of the government's use of forceful measures to end the slave trade. In the 1850s Foote's career exemplified America's emerging international policy in the Far East when, in support of U.S. interests in China, he led a shore party to destroy coastal forts that had fired on U.S. ships.