Neil P. Chatelain

Neil P. Chatelain is assistant professor of history at Lone Star College-North Harris who specializes in researching naval activity of the U.S. Civil War

Having spent nine years in the US Navy, Neil deployed around the world, earning a surface warfare officer designation. He has also earned a MA in history from the University of Louisiana-Monroe, a MEd in history and social studies curriculum and instruction from the University of Houston, and a BA in history and political science from the University of New Orleans.

Neil is the author of the forthcoming Treasure and Empire in the Civil War: The Panama Route, the West and the Campaigns to Control America’s Mineral Wealth and has authored the books Defending the Arteries of Rebellion: Confederate Naval Operations in the Mississippi River Valley, 1861-1865 and Fought Like Devils: The Confederate Gunboat McRae. He has also written for numerous peer-reviewed journals and popular magazines, and has spoken at history conferences, history organizations, and Civil War round tables.

A native of New Orleans, Louisiana, Neil and his wife Brittany live in Humble, Texas. They enjoy travelling across the United States and around the world. More information about Neil’s research interests and publications can be found at his website: www.neilpchatelain.com.

A full listing of Neil’s Emerging Civil War articles can be found here.

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Neil is also a member of the Emerging Civil War Speakers Bureau. His available presentations are listed below:

Treasure and Empire in the Civil War
A shadow conflict was fought across the periphery of the U.S. Civil War, both on land and sea, for control over the North American continent and its vast mineral wealth. On land, Confederate armies advanced into the far West seeking new territories and routes to California and its stockpiles of gold. United States armies countered to eject Confederates and battle Indigenous populations to open the continent to settlement. At sea, Confederate raiders, privateers, and special operators worked to disrupt the sea lanes shipping bullion from California to Panama to New York. United States naval forces countered with convoys, networked intelligence, and unconventional approaches. Dive into these forgotten theaters of the Civil War and learn how the far West and Latin America were vital locations sought after by both sides in efforts to expand influence, control territory, and stabilize wartime economies.

The Panama Route in the U.S. Civil War
A vital component of the U.S. war effort during its Civil War was a secure economy backed by a continuous flow of bullion along the Panama route. Gold and silver from California and the western territories was transported by sea from San Francisco to Panama, across the isthmus, and thence to New York, stabilizing Lincoln’s economy and limiting wartime inflation. Confederate efforts at sea, including privateers, commerce raiders, and teams of naval agents fought to interdict this supply line, all while the United States used diplomatic agents, naval convoys, and its own intelligence to keep this vital route open.

Defending the Arteries of Rebellion
Most studies of the Mississippi River overlook Confederate attempts to maintain control over this internal highway. Confederate strategy called for fortifications supported by naval forces. A lack of industrial capacity, coupled with a dearth of skilled labor, complicated these efforts. Nevertheless, the Confederacy introduced numerous innovations and alternate defenses to control the Mississippi River valley, including their first operational ironclad, the first successful use of underwater torpedoes, widespread use of Army-Navy joint operations, and the employment of extensive river obstructions.

Fought Like Devils: The Confederate Gunboat McRae
The flagship of the Confederate Navy’s Mississippi River Squadron, CSS McRae was one of the country’s first warships. Manned by some of the Confederacy’s most experienced officers, the vessel and its crew fought from the Mississippi River’s mouth to Columbus, Kentucky, including at Ship Island, the battle of the Head of Passes, the siege of Island Number Ten, and the battle of Forts Jackson and Saint Philip, where the vessel was crippled and soon after lost.

Postwar Identity Crisis of the Confederate Navy’s Officer Corps
At the end of the Civil War, a large percentage of Confederate naval officers were excluded from receiving a wartime pardon from President Andres Johnson. Facing this postwar challenge, as well as the loss of careers at sea, one-third of the Confederate Navy’s commissioned line officers rejected U.S. reconstruction policies by challenging them directly through postwar writings and activity, or by leaving the South and working in foreign navies, organizing filibustering expeditions, or living abroad in exile.

Ambitions and Challenges of a Confederate Navy European Ironclad Squadron
To break the blockade, secure a steady stream of international supplies, and attain international recognition, the Confederacy sought to acquire and deploy a naval squadron of powerful European-built ironclads. Using diplomacy, deception, and a small team of naval officers and agents, the Confederacy secured contracts for ironclads and wooden steamers built in yards across Europe. The United States retaliated with their own agents, seeking to withhold their delivery, successfully preventing the realization of such a naval force.

Charleston 1863: Evaluating Command, Control, and Technology
Charleston was secession’s birthplace and the Confederacy’s second largest city, making it an important industrial center that received scores of blockade runners. Pioneering ideas, innovative tactics, and technologies were implemented in 1863 campaigns for the city including ironclad squadrons, underwater mines, landmines, minesweepers, torpedo boats, amphibious assaults, and even combat photography. The city’s geography meant military and naval forces needed to cooperate effectively to ensure success. The side whose leadership could cooperate and implement new technologies and ideas more effectively would successfully control Charleston.

Annual Freshet Impacts on 1862’s Mississippi River Campaigns
In 1862, battles raged to control the Mississippi River Valley. The rivers became independent actors in these naval battles as spring snowmelt raised them to flood stage. To control the Mississippi River valley, naval commanders on both sides had to win battles against riverine geography, a geography that likewise continues to impact battle sites and how people today interpret those actions.

The Battle of the Head of Passes
In October 1861, a makeshift Confederate naval squadron attacked and drove back the United States naval blockade at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Amidst a comedy of errors made by both sides, it was the first battle in the Western Hemisphere involving an ironclad warship and reintroduction of ramming attacks, one of the Confederate Navy’s first victories, and an engagement rife with lessons learned for blockading forces that would be put to use for the remainder of the war.

Lost Silver of the Benjamin F. Hoxie
In March 1863, CSS Florida captured and burned the U.S.-flagged merchant Benjamin F. Hoxie. Unlike the other ships captured by Confederate commerce raiders, this merchant was packed with Pacific-coast silver. Florida’s crew quickly transferred the silver to their own vessel, taking it to Bermuda so it could be forwarded to agents for use supporting the Confederate war effort, but the silver was lost thanks to conflicting reports, court challenges, and postwar claims. Come along on this journey across the northern Atlantic hunting for this lost Civil War treasure.