Frank on the Lower Mississippi

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Fosdick, Charles Austin. [As Harry Castlemon] Frank on the Lower Mississippi. Philadelphia: Porter & Coates, 1868. [The Gun-Boat Series] Out of print.

Frank Nelson, Union naval hero of five previous "Gun-Boat" novels, is promoted to higher and higher ranks after his exploits in the seige of Vicksburg. Frank spends most of this novel on the "beat" of the lower Mississippi and the Red River, occasionally going ashore to quell rebel guerrilla activity.

Interesting early series fiction. The low-key heroism of Frank Nelson is based on Fosdick's own war experiences. Compared to much later gee-whiz juvenile fiction, the "Gun-Boat" series is quite realistic: Frank meets no famous generals and participates in fairly obscure campaigns.

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