It's 1862 and since the secession crisis began over a year earlier, the Chamberlain brothers, John and Richard, are serving in the opposing navies of the American Civil War. John remains in the United States Navy, while Richard serves the fledgling Confederate States Navy. Chamberlain's Navy: Grasp of War (1862) picks up where the previous volume of Chamberlain's Navy: A Story of the American Civil War Off Shore left off. George and Mary Chamberlain of Norfolk, Virginia, try to keep in touch with sons John and Richard while determining how they will remain neutral living in Confederate-controlled territory. Meanwhile, John serves aboard the revolutionary USS Monitor during the great clash with the CSS Virginia, the first naval battle of ironclad ships in history. John also becomes involved in clandestine submarine duty. Richard's journey with the CSS Sumter takes him across the Atlantic and back. His adventures overseas involve imprisonment, diplomatic entanglements, blockade running, and participation in a battle within sight of Fort Sumter. Chamberlain's Navy is historical fiction, with the events surrounding John and Richard Chamberlain related to the real people and real events of the war. Using archives, naval records, and memoirs, the author weaves narratives of two brothers.