The Frank Sisson Website
Email: franksisson@sbcglobal.net. TEL/FAX: 316-683-8877. Web: http://www.franksisson.net.
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The Frank Sisson Website
Email: franksisson@sbcglobal.net. TEL/FAX: 316-683-8877. Web: http://www.franksisson.net.
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This is a brief overview about the author and the book, "A Ransomed Yankee."
About the Author
Frank is a West Point graduate and served as an Air Force pilot during the Korean and Vietnam wars. He retired from military service in 1969 and began a second career in the private sector in the aviation field. He has earned masters degrees in both aeronautical engineering and management, and in 1988 founded an aviation consulting and marketing firm in Wichita, Kansas. He headed the firm, which became quite successful, until 2005. At that time, he sold the business to his associates and retired. He continues to be available for aviation consulting projects that can use years of experience in aviation program and engineering management.
Frank continues to live with his wife, Anne, in Wichita. They have three grown children living in New England, and one living in Omaha, Nebraska. They travel to Omaha frequently and take a trip at least once a year to New England to visit family and friends. The book is about the epic voyage of the whaleship Milo. One week after Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address, on a calm morning, the Milo sailed out of New Bedford harbor into the Atlantic Ocean, infiltrated with Confederate armed cruisers, on a journey that would impact many lives and make Civil War history. This is her story.
About "A Ransomed Yankee"The book is about the little known exploits of armed Confederate raiders and their part in the loss of Yankee shipping during the Civil War. The Milo voyage lasted almost six years, while the CSS Shenandoah circled the world on a one year rampage of dishing out destruction to American ships at sea. Right after the start of the Civil War, Confederate agents were positioned in England and France to procure ships, arms and supplies for the South from English and French private parties, although both were neutral nations. Cotton from the South to supply the English textile industry was the incentive for the English. The French were a minor player. The South acquired a large force of armed vessels built in England to harass American shipping and create anxiety in the North. The most famous English built Confederate raiders were the Florida, Alabama and Shenandoah. There were many other gun boats and cruisers as well and collectively, the Americans lost over 300 civilian and non-combat vessels during the war to the raiders. The CSS Shenandoah was commissioned at sea off the coast of Madeira Island in October 1864 and converted into a Confederate cruiser after having departed Liverpool, England, as the merchant ship Sea King. The Shenandoah then went out on a mission that destroyed nearly 40 Yankee merchant and whale ships on its path around the globe. The book covers all of this in great detail with many illustrations, maps and photos of the events that took place. It also integrates chronologically with ground and naval military operations among the famous generals including Lee, Grant, Sherman and Sheridan as well as Admiral Farragut. It also covers the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and the flight of John Wilkes Booth, and the aftermath of the event. It is an exciting and suspenseful story based on facts uncovered from the archives among numerous sources.
It is a true story and one that will enhance your knowledge of the Civil War period. After the war, there were many Americans who thought that the ships and materials supplied by England extended the war for several years, and some even sought to acquire Canada from England as compensation.
You will love the book!
Contact Information
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Send mail to franksisson@sbcglobal.net with
questions or comments about this web site.
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Frank Sisson was born in Brockton, Massachusetts, into a New Bedford family
with roots in the whaling industry. Frank's great grandfather was Jonathan
C. Hawes, master of the Whaleship Milo and one of two principal
characters in the book, "A Ransomed Yankee." The other principal
character was Captain James Iredell Waddell, skipper of the CSS Shenandoah.
Since
retiring, Frank has spent most of his time doing research and writing about the
voyage of his great grandfather's whaling ship, the Milo. The book,
"A Ransomed Yankee" is now finished and is being published by the Red Anvil
Press of Oregon. See the Book Ordering Page on this web site.
The Milo and the Shenandoah
met in the Bering Sea in June 1865 while the raider was destroying a number of
whalers. The Milo was ransomed to take prisoners from the
Shenandoah back to San Francisco. After this, the location of
the raider became known, and the U.S. Navy went into hot pursuit, but to no
avail. All of this is covered in great detail in the book.