"Defending the Arteries of Rebellion analyzes efforts by the Confederacy to maintain control of its key internal waterways across the Mississippi River Valley. It examines how numerous organizations, from the Confederate Navy, Marines, Revenue Service, Army, River Defense Fleet, state naval forces, privateers, and civilian craft, struggled to cooperate and defend the Mississippi River and its many tributary and distributary waterways, facing issues of command, supply, and overwhelming enemy forces. It also highlights how river warfare is a juggling act of constant maneuver, static fortifications, and the lingering question of where to mass forces to face the enemy"--