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Debris of Battle: The Wounded of Gettysburg By
Gerard A. Patterson (Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books) The crossroads college
town of Gettysburg, PA, with a population of 2400, was the setting for
three days of gruesome, 19th Century combat that deposited 23,000
wounded Federal and Confederate soldiers over a 25 square mile area.
When the battle was over, the military machine that produced the
devastation moved quickly out of the area. Major General George G.
Meade, commander of the Army of the Potomac, sent a telegram to General
William A. Hammond, the Surgeon General in Washington DC: “I
cannot delay to pick up the debris of the battlefield… Bureaucratic
fumbling and miscommunication from Washington, DC left the entire relief
effort in the hands of the local populace (themselves in need of
considerable assistance). They were aided only by a handful of
Federal and Confederate medical people. Within a day, the
Daughter’s of Charity, followed shortly by elements of the Sanitary
Commission, began arriving, along with dozens of newspaper reporters,
photographers, families desperate to find relatives who might have fallen,
morticians who set up thriving businesses on street corners, and, of
course, the curious sight-seers. The railroad tracks into Gettysburg
had been destroyed during the battle. The nearest railhead was 5 miles
distant, and the departing armies had taken all but a very few ambulance
wagons and most of the horses and mules. Thus, for almost a week,
the thousands of wounded soldiers could not be moved toward the major
hospitals in Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC. Every
standing structure in Gettysburg – be it wood shed, barn, home, church,
school, or place of business- was used to shelter the wounded or store the
supplies that began to arrive as word of the catastrophe was announced in
cities and towns along the East Coast. Mr.
Patterson shows us not only the triumph of the human spirit, but also the
dark-side. Tales are told of despicable local people and distant
interlopers who arrived on the scene to bake bread and to offer linens,
clothing, and medicine to the wounded at the highest price the market
would bear. Union sympathizers were angry that the Confederate
wounded were being shown care and compassion equal to the Federals.
The reverse occurred as well because of the concentration of anti-war
sentiment in the Southern Pennsylvania area. But these phenomena
were rare. The tales of sacrifice, human kindness, long hours of
hard labor, and compassionately shed tears –both Federal and
Confederate- are the meat of this story. Debris of
Battle presents a catastrophe of Biblical proportions. There is a
keen sense of the damage to the military and its combat capability, but
also to the soldiers and their families, to the relief workers, to the
medical professionals attempting to cope with an impossible situation, and
to the devastated civilians in the community. There are
certainly other studies of Civil War medicine available. An internet
search will produce a huge list of references, many of scholarly quality.
H.H. Cunningham’s Doctors In Gray: The Confederate Medical Service (LSU
Press, 1958) and Dr. C. Keith Wilbur’s Civil War Medicine (Chelsea House
Publishers, 1997) provide useful studies of the technology and practice of
medicine in the mid 19th Century. William G. Williams’s Days of
Darkness: the Gettysburg Civilians (White Mane edition, 1986 and Berkley
edition in paperback, 1990) records the experiences of the people of in
and near Gettysburg before, during and after the battle. In Debris of
Battle: The Wounded of Gettysburg, Gerard A. Patterson finds the immediate
cause of the post-battle catastrophe was a lack of clear communication
among Union Generals Meade, Letterman, and Hammond, as the Army of the
Potomac moved off in pursuit of General Lee. Because few medical
personnel, supplies, and ambulances were left behind, the civilians were
required to mobilize relief resources along the East Coast from Maine to
Virginia. This is a record of both military and social history. Debris of
Battle is written as a vibrant narrative. The author, however, has a
tendency to find fault with the military, and it is done with an
anachronistic style, which will be off-putting to the professional
historian. An example is found in the first paragraph of the
introduction to the book:
Mr.
Patterson is a well-credentialed author who ultimately provides a
narrative with virtues that far out-weigh this essential flaw that would
have been disastrous if it had continued throughout the book. My
advice to the reader is simply to skip that first paragraph and then sit
back to enjoy a book that is highly informative and a pleasure to read.
Special
Thanks to William B. Rogers, MD
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Listening to Old Pete: A Historic Alternative Robert
W. Taylor (New York: Vantage Press, 2000) Robert W. Taylor teaches
American history and government for New Jersey high schools. Listening
to Old Pete: A Historic Alternative is the author’s first Civil
War book.
Special thanks to Jim Heenehan
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A Regiment of Slaves: the 4th United States Colored Infantry, 1863-1866 Edward G. Longacre
(Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2003) Edward G. Longacre is a noted Civil War historian who has written
extensively about the cavalry arm, including the Fletcher Pratt
Prize-winning The Cavalry at Gettysburg. With A Regiment of
Slaves: the 4th United
States Colored Infantry, 1863-1866,
Mr. Longacre has branched out into a long-neglected area of the Civil
War — that
of the African-American soldier.
Special thanks to Jim Heenehan
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Faith in the Fight: Civil War Chaplains John W. Brinsfield,
William C. Davis, Benedict Maryniak, and James I. Robertson, Jr. This book consists of
three parts: “Essays,” “In Their Own Words,” and “Rosters.”
Each part, in turn, comprises two subdivisions—one dealing with
Federal chaplains; the other with their Confederate counterparts. The
work grew out of the authors’ common interest in the religious life of
Civil War soldiers. For years, they pursued separate studies, each
ignorant of the others’ work. Once they learned of their overlapping
efforts, they decided to combine the fruits of their studies and publish
the result. Maryniak, Brinsfield, and Robertson, we should note, are all
clergymen—Brinsfield an army chaplain. Railsback,
Lycurgus
1834-1897 Presbyterian
44th U.S.
Colored Troops McBryde,
Alexander
1816-1862
Methodist 5th Mississippi Morton,
John Houston
1833-1892
Baptist
3d Tennessee Cavalry Special
thanks to Richard M. McMurry
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Abraham
Lincoln By
James A. Rawley, with a new introduction by the author. Abraham Lincoln and a Nation Worth Fighting For was originally published in 1996 copyrighted by Harlan Davidson. Its reissue in 2003 is in paperback with reassigned copyright and introduction by James Rawley. The book is a biographical essay covering Lincoln’s life from birth to his assassination in 230 textual pages. It concentrates on the period of his presidency and serves as an excellent introduction to Lincoln and the Civil War. There is enough sketchy information of Lincoln’s life, the Civil War’s battles, and Lincoln’s interaction with the northern generals to whet the newcomer’s appetite for further study. In that sense it would serve well as a reading in an introductory course to Lincoln or the Civil War. If one is looking for new information on Lincoln or the Civil War, it will not be found here. Although there are a few conclusions by the author and disagreements with normally accepted stories, the author does not explain the conclusions nor cite references. The work is replete with quotations from other works. To this end it assumes legitimacy and the author’s obvious consultation of Lincoln and Civil War literature. His synthesis of such an enormous stock of literature is commendable. An extensive list of recommended works is included. The author does a
productive and concise summary. He claims that the primary thrust of the
work is to show that the wartime president was consistent in his strong
feeling of nationalism (particularly compared to Buchanan and Pierce),
his discovery of his power as Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces,
and the conferred power on the only governmental officer elected by all
the people of the nation. He concludes that the powers were used for one
purpose. “From first to
last in his administration Lincoln tenaciously held a single aim: - to
save the Union.”
Special
thanks to Mark Witt
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Struggle
for the Heartland: The Campaigns from Fort Henry to Corinth
Stephen
D. Engle (University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln Nebraska, 2001), 251
pages, Series Editors’ Introduction, Acknowledgements, Introduction,
Illustrations, Maps, Photographs, Notes, Bibliographical Essay, Index,
$34.95.
Stephen D.
Engle, the author of Struggle for the Heartland, is a professor
of history at Florida Atlantic University. This book is his first
contribution to the Great Campaigns of the Civil War series.
His previous books include The Life of Franz Sigel and Don
Carlos Buell: Most Promising of All.
The
battles at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson are described, followed by
details of the steps and missteps taken by the Union Armies and the
Confederate Forces in the aftermath of the fall of Fort Donelson.
The focus of both of the antagonists shifted to Corinth,
resulting in the battle at Shiloh and the capture of the major railroad
crossing of the Mobile & Ohio and the Memphis & Charleston
railroads at the conclusion of the siege of Corinth. The book concludes
with an analysis of the impact of this campaign on the citizens of the
area, the leaders involved, and the ultimate conduct of the war. Engle’s primary thesis is that the impact of this western campaign was not limited to the achievement of military objectives but that it significantly influenced the entire conduct of the war through the political and military necessities of occupying and administering a hostile populace. If the initial thrust had been into Eastern Tennessee, as proposed by Lincoln, the Federal troops would have been able to develop their aims and procedures with a friendly population, a limited slaveholding population, and a civil administration sympathetic to the Union. However, the first experiences dealt with a hostile, slave owning population forcing a change in perspective. As stated by Engle in the Introduction (page xvii):
“Though the Union was successful in seizing
territory and cities, it was the location and nature of its occupation
forces’ experience that prompted a change in Northern attitudes, not
only among commanders and soldiers stationed south but also among
politicians in Washington and the various states, toward what they hoped
to achieve. Just as the occupation of pro-Confederate and proslavery
regions of Tennessee would alter Union aims, so too did it affect the
sentiments toward reunion among the residents the Federals hoped to
bring back.”
Struggle
for the Heartland
addresses the entire western theater of operation
during the early days of the war in the west. This is in contrast to the
numerous books detailing the individual actions of Fort Henry, Fort
Donelson, Shiloh, and the siege of Corinth. As a result, this book opens
new considerations regarding the possible conduct of the remainder of
the war if the initial Union experiences were developed from the
liberation of friendly territory instead of the occupation of a hostile
countryside. Engle’s book, Struggle for the Heartland, represents a comprehensive view of the opening development of the western theater of operations. Numerous original sources are cited. The combination of notes and a bibliographical essay provides the reader with guidance for further review and research. The premise of this book (that the Civil War itself was shaped by the politics and practices of occupation, as developed in the Confederate Heartland) represents a useful look and interpretation of the milieu of war and not just the tactics of battle. However, it is unfortunate that Struggle for the Heartland is flawed by a convoluted writing style that makes it very difficult to read and follow. It is in desperate need of a thorough review for clarity of expression. As it is, the style and quality of writing is such that this reviewer cannot recommend it for any but the most dedicated and determined reader. Typical examples of the lack of clarity include references being made to personal characteristics, which confuse the reader who may not be intimately familiar with each character’s heritage. For example, on page 116, it is stated that “Wallace’s division (...). The Hoosier commander (...).” It is not directly apparent that “Wallace” and “The Hoosier commander” are one and the same. Further, ideas are intermixed, indiscriminate of time and place. On page 153, it is stated during the discussion of the battle of Shiloh: “Beauregard had no idea he had given the Federals advantage by halting the attack, and he would spend the rest of his life dodging criticism for it. In giving up the Hornet’s Nest, the Federals were actually afforded a formidable position.” The superposition of post war recriminations, Confederates stopping an attack, and the Federals giving up a position is highly confusing.
This
reviewer had to read, re-read, and dissect too many such paragraphs to
enjoy the exercise.
Special
thanks to Doug McGovern
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My Brother’s Keeper: Union and Confederate Soldiers’ Acts of Mercy During the Civil WarDaniel N. Rolph, Stackpole Books (Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, February 1, 2002), 160 pages, $24.95, ISBN
# 0811709973. Daniel
N. Rolph has delved into a virtually unexplored area of Civil War
history. An active member of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania,
Rolph has also served as professor at both Gwynedd-Mercy and Montgomery
County Community Colleges. He currently serves as an assistant
professor of Liberal Arts and Applied Sciences at Allegheny University
in Philadelphia. Dr. Rolph is very active in both academic and
research circles. His first book, To Shoot, Burn and Hang: Folk
History from a Kentucky Mountain Family and Community, published in
1994, indicates his forte is in researching obscure yet pertinent areas
of American History. This work simply reinforces that fact.
He holds a Masters of Arts in History from the University of Kentucky
and a Ph.D. in folklore/folk life from the University of Pennsylvania. The
intricate webs of comradeship and compassion show that a little known
brotherhood crossing enemy lines really did exist. This
brotherhood was discernable in interactions between civilians, soldiers,
prisoners, enemies, relatives and freemasons. Rolph effectively
uses an extensive array of primary source materials to provide many
examples of this heretofore obscure aspect of Civil War history. Rolph’s
thesis of revealing a little known aspect of Civil War history in a
manner that instructs both scholars and lay people alike is effectively
defended throughout this book. This thesis can be found
quite clearly stated in the preface on page vii. His smooth
transitions enable the reader to efficiently track where he is going
with the various topics he relates. This
book, the first full-length treatment of the merciful and compassionate
acts accorded to soldiers and civilians during the Civil War, is unique
in both its context and its prose. Unlike the plethora of Civil
War books focusing on tactics, battles and leaders of the war, this one
examines diaries and first-hand accounts of stories as told by the
actual recipients of the compassionate acts or their comrades or family
members. Rolph’s
incorporation of these diary accounts into a very fluid style of prose,
accented by strong transitions, makes this book very easy to read.
Each of the eight chapters deals with a single type of interaction
between soldiers and civilians and piques the reader’s interest into
what new adventures lie ahead. Each chapter can stand on its own
merit. However, Rolph uses his strong transitions to bind the
independent subjects into an additional cohesive story. This
leaves the reader with an appetite whetted for more on this interesting
subject. His captivating prose lets the reader thirst for more
knowledge and motivates the reader to do more research on what acts of
mercy and compassion might have been performed or received by some of
his ancestors. His
choice of subjects provides a profound impact on the reader, because of
their simplicity. So often, the only side of the Civil War that
gets told is the hatred, killing and cold reality of warfare. Yet,
in this work, Rolph takes simple subjects dealing with everyday life
issues for soldiers and civilians, that can be easily related to, even
in today’s context. This book is chock full of examples of
hungry and homeless individuals being afforded the opportunity to care
for the children or sick relatives of a family. It depicts the
type of human respect that is actually afforded from time to time
between enemies, but is not well publicized, less the local populace
might think the military is growing soft and tender hearted. His
use of endnotes rather than footnotes made it a little more difficult to
evaluate the validity of his source. Yet it is evident that each
endnote is backed with data gleaned from rigorous research. His
bibliography is outstanding. It is extremely well organized and
clearly shows a wide breadth of research. He effectively
incorporated manuscripts, monographs, newspaper and professional journal
articles into an easy to read eleven-page bibliographic reference. All
in all, Dr. Rolph has done a masterful job gathering information on a
relatively obscure topic and synthesized the data into an entertaining
and readable form by scholars and lay people alike. Avid Civil War
enthusiasts should consider this a must own resource for their own
personal library.
Special thanks to Richard J. Blumberg
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Pemberton: The General Who Lost Vicksburg Michael B. Ballard, Ph.D, (Jackson, MS: University of Mississippi Press, 1991), 250 pages, Preface, Maps, Photographs, Notes, Bibliography, Index, $18.00, Paperback.
Pemberton: The General Who Lost Vicksburg is a somewhat sympathetic, but hard hitting biography of General John C. Pemberton, C.S.A. Dr Ballard has written a book on one of the most controversial and, in some viewpoints, despised men who fought with the South in the Civil War. John Pemberton was born in Pennsylvania, married a girl from the South, and cast his military fortune with the South when war erupted in 1861. Never fully accepted by Southerners, he also found rejection after the war from the hands of his Northern friends and relatives. Dr. Ballard sympathizes with Pemberton’s plight in this book, but he is also quick to point out that Pemberton brought most of his problems upon himself. John Pemberton spent a lifetime having difficulty relating to those around him. This caused him tremendous problems as an officer in both the pre-war U. S. army, and even more problems with his adopted homeland during the Civil War. Many Southerners never did trust Pemberton; his surrender of the fortified city of Vicksburg, MS led to his being one of the most hated and vilified men in the Confederacy. General Pemberton proved his loyalty to the South after Vicksburg by accepting a severe reduction in rank and serving the rest of the war in the backwash of the primary fields of battle in various locations in the Confederacy. Very few other officers in either army demonstrated that degree of loyalty or love for their country. Mike Ballard uses this book to explore just what led to the loss of the military fortress of Vicksburg, MS in July 1863. Most of the reasons for this pivotal loss are seen in the military experiences of General John C. Pemberton before he was assigned to lead the Confederate army which was defending the Vicksburg environs. Pemberton had never led troops in battle before the Civil War and was never successful at leading troops in battle during the war. Part of the problem, according to Dr. Ballard, lay also in Pemberton’s acerbic personality. He had great difficulty relating to civilian leaders in his various assignments in the South, and was widely attacked by these leaders in the press and in their communication with Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee. The title of the book sums up extremely well what most people in the North and the South remember about John C. Pemberton. This book is one of only two biographies of John C. Pemberton. The first biography was written by Pemberton’s grandson in 1942, and Ballard found it useful because of its oral history data from Pemberton’s family members. Ballard’s book offers a more objective viewpoint of General Pemberton and goes a long way to explain the reasons for the military failures of this much maligned and misunderstood soldier. John C. Pemberton: The Man Who Lost Vicksburg offers a full account of the life of General John C. Pemberton. Thoroughly researched, Ballard demonstrates that Pemberton’s military experiences prior to the Civil War, and his experiences defending Charleston, SC and its adjacent coastline doomed Vicksburg from the day he was appointed by Jefferson Davis to command the army responsible for defeating Union forces invading Mississippi in 1862. Pemberton could never force himself to see that it was better tactics to lose the city he was defending rather than lose both the city and his army. The book reads well and, although not a book with a lot of vivid battle descriptions, leaves the reader with a good understanding of the Vicksburg Campaign of 1862-63. The book has adequate maps and photographs to tie the campaign movements together with the leaders who were key players in the different battles of the campaign. Dr. Ballard made extensive use of primary sources available on the life and military career of John Pemberton. Extensive use was made of family letters and other related documents. Ballard is a meticulous researcher and this is evident throughout the book. The book is not only valuable for the light it sheds on the life and times of John Pemberton; it also offers an excellent overview of the Vicksburg Campaign. It is a book I highly recommend for both the novice and experienced Civil War enthusiast.
Special thanks to Bill Barkley
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Civil War Mississippi: A Guide Michael B. Ballard (Jackson, MS: University Press of
Mississippi, 2000), 135 pages, Preface, Maps, Photographs,
Suggestions for Further Reading, Index, $14.95. Michael
B. Ballard, an archivist at Mississippi State University, has
several publications relating to the Civil War in Mississippi.
He has written the textual commentary in Landscapes of Battle:
The Civil War and two book-length studies: A Long Shadow:
Jefferson Davis and the Final Days of the Confederacy and
Pemberton: A Biography. He is also the author of monographs on
the Vicksburg campaign and on the Battle of Tupelo, as well as
the editor of A Mississippi Rebel in the Army of Northern
Virginia: The Civil War Memoirs of Private David Holt. Ballard
also participates in Civil War seminars related to the western
theater of operations. Most of his written studies set the war
in the context of the national political objectives and
pressures that military leaders had to take into consideration,
and his most recent book follows this pattern. In
the preface to this book, Ballard indicates that he is writing
for the novice who will, after reading his accounts, be more
familiar with the major battles in Mississippi and how they fit
into the “context of the war in the west and the conflict as a
whole” (Preface, page nine). Ballard offers a straightforward
account of the strategy involved in each campaign and a succinct
account of the major battles in the state, usually from the
perspective of the commanding generals. In this sense, the title
of his book would have been less misleading if it had been Major
Civil War Campaigns in Mississippi, because I was expecting to
read a book that was a battlefield tour guide. Ballard’s
book is a handy, portable size, compact enough to fit into your
coat pocket while touring a battlefield. However, the book is
not a battlefield guide, although there are several pages giving
general instructions for touring the battlefields near the end
of the book. This disappointment aside, Ballard’s book is an
excellent overview of the strategy and tactics of two campaigns
in Civil War Mississippi, Vicksburg and Meridian, and of three
major battles: Iuka/Corinth; Brice’s Cross Roads; and Tupelo.
With the exception of related articles in Blue and Gray
Magazine, Ballard’s treatment of the ebb and flow of the
battles that he recounts is one of the best compact references
yet to appear in print. Of course, there are books and various
articles on these campaigns and battles, but it is convenient to
be able to have the useful summary that Ballard provides in
Civil War Mississippi: A Guide. The list of seventy-seven
battles, skirmishes, and engagements in Mississippi with dates,
and the list of Civil War cemeteries, is very useful for those
who would like to plan a thorough tour of Mississippi Civil War
sites. Of course, the reader does not have to be new to the Civil War to be able to appreciate the virtues of clear, vigorous prose. Seasoned readers of Civil War books and articles can attest to the multitude of ponderously written volumes that are as difficult to read as the swamps on the battlefield of Chickasaw Bayou were to slog through. Ballard excels at succinct, clear descriptions of how the opposing armies happened to meet at certain places, and he keeps the action moving briskly along by relating the highlights of the battlefield action. He does a fine job of sketching the personalities of the commanding generals, while briefly relating the individual’s way of seeing things to how he reacted in battle. Every reader will appreciate Ballard’s description of Grant and Sherman probing through Mississippi and beginning to master the peculiarities of Civil War strategy and tactics. The reader is also introduced to famous (and infamous) leaders, such as Nathan Bedford Forrest, Sterling Price, and Earl Van Dorn. By consulting Ballard’s “Suggestions for Further Reading,” the reader will be led to solidly written accounts of these soldiers and their careers. Even
though Ballard’s book has several strengths, there are some
weaknesses that could be improved in future editions. A list of
maps after the table of contents would be helpful. Also,
effective maps are essential to convey visual information
quickly. The maps in Ballard’s book are too elementary to be
of much use to a reader, even the novice audience that he is
targeting. The maps by George Skoch in Ballard’s booklet on
the Vicksburg campaign are markedly superior to those in this
book. “Touring the War,” the six-page section toward
the end of the book, is too general to be very helpful. Several
publications could have been referred to here so the reader
could find more complete, clear information: various issues of
Blue and Gray Magazine, and the Terence Winschel pamphlets that
guide the tourist around the major battlefields of the Vicksburg
campaign. An essential reference for Ballard to include in any
revision is Warren Grabau’s new book, Ninety-Eight Days: A
Geographer’s View of the Vicksburg Campaign, which provides an
exhaustive treatment of all the battles in this major campaign;
the numerous maps are excellent. In the meantime, I would
suggest that someone write a guidebook to Civil War sites in
Mississippi that will be as useful for battlefield touring as
Jim Miles’ book, Civil War Sites in Georgia. In
this book, Ballard is best at giving succinct accounts of the
major military action in Civil War Mississippi. Since he does
not have an ideological axe to grind, he focuses the reader’s
attention on the significance of what happened on the
battlefield. His book provides a satisfying, basic overview of
those separate conflicts that, when seen together with the other
operations in the western theater, provided the success and the
impetus that lead the Federal forces to eventually achieve a
bloody triumph over the seemingly invincible soldiers of the
Confederate Army.
Special
thanks to Jim
Hutchinson
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The Day
Dixie Died: Southern Occupation, 1865-1866
Thomas
and Debra Goodrich (Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2001), 320
pages, Photographs, Notes, Bibliography, Index, A
scene from light comedy opens this portrayal of a desolate Dixie.
At first blush it seems an odd beginning.
The juxtaposition of the frivolous bantering of Asa and Mary in
the third act of Our American
Cousin with the murder about to occur in the gaily-festooned
presidential box above the stage appear to be a peculiar way to
introduce the turmoil the southern people would confront in the first
year and a half after Appomattox.
Yet, as Thomas and Debra Goodrich show, the day Dixie died began
with the night Lincoln was shot.
It was then, as Jefferson Davis said, that the South lost “our
best friend in the court of the enemy” (p. 36).
Consequently, instead of a reunion marked by magnanimity, the
South would know a Yankee occupation rooted in revenge and retribution.
Such,
at least, is the thesis put forth by the Goodriches in this examination
of the early months of what they term the North’s “second
invasion” of Dixie, and “invasion of words, thoughts, and ideas”
all too often translated into actions of repression, deception, and even
thievery (p.215).
In recapturing those initial days of Reconstruction, the authors
employ the same drama and perception that Thomas Goodrich exhibited in
his previous works,
War
to the Knife: Bleeding Kansas, 1854-1861 and Bloody
Bill Anderson: The Short, Savage Life of a Civil War Guerrilla.
The present collaboration with his wife, Debra,
produces a moving account of the impact of Yankee occupation on
southerners white and black, elite and mudsill, told largely in their
own words. The
narrative is crisp and colorful, and it reveals the depths of emotions
southerners displayed as they witnessed the Confederacy’s collapse and
humiliation.
At the heart of their devastation lay numerous poignant scenes.
Foremost among them, in the authors’ eyes, is the capture of
Jefferson, which they label the “death knell of the Confederacy” (p.
62), and his subsequent harsh incarceration. The Goodriches also
describe the fear whites felt at the coming of black troops, the dashed
hopes former slaves experienced as they found that freedom was but an
illusion, and the sadness attending the return home of Johnny Rebs to
scenes of destruction and disgrace.
Interspersed throughout are reminders of largely forgotten
episodes of the early days of the occupation: the vengeful oratory of
Henry Ward Beecher at the raising of the federal flag at Fort Sumter,
and ominous portent of attitudes to come; the rumor Mills of Dixie,
dubbed “grapevine batteries” (p. 42), that shaped popular thought
among dejected southerners; the humiliation of taking the oath of
allegiance to the United States, and the arrest of a pastor who failed
to remember Lincoln in his prayers.
Such tales continually highlight the drama the Goodriches unfold.
In all, it is a story well told. The
volume is not, however, flawless.
Because of the authors’ commendable desire to let the players
in the drama tell their own stories, they frequently include protracted
chains of quotes, some of them several pages in length.
While usually effective, such heavy borrowing lends to detract
for the Goodriches’ own rich insights.
Furthermore, while the book is solidly researched, its
historiographic posture tends to ignore recent scholarship.
For instance, the coverage of public reaction to Lincoln’s
death could have benefited greatly from the studies by David Chesebrough
and Thomas Reed Turner and the description of Jefferson Davis’s escape
and capture might have received illumination from Michael B. Ballard’s
A
Long Shadow.
Moreover, the consideration of southern reflections on God’s
role in Dixie’s sufferings might have been enriched through insights
from the collaborative Why
the South Lost the Civil War.
Nor are the seminal contributions of Kenneth Stampp, Eric Foner,
Harold Hyman, and Hans Trefousse utilized. Despite
these oversights, The
Day Dixie Died tells a story today’s students of the Civil
War need to recall.
It reminds us of the travesty and tragedy of early
Reconstruction, a time when civil liberties were denied, repression of
both black and white southerners prevailed, and lawlessness ruled the
countryside.
It is therefore good that Thomas and Debra Goodrich have given
those who suffered through those days another chance to speak.
Special
thanks to
Lloyd
A. Hunter
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The
Final Fury: Palmito Ranch: Phillip Thomas Tucker. Bibliography.
$26.95. Palmito (often erroneously “Palmetto”) Ranch, fought 12-13 May
1865, was
the last land engagement of the Civil War. The small battle took place
a short distance up the Rio Grande, between the river’s mouth and
Brownsville, Texas. It had no impact on the war which, in fact, had
effectively ended several weeks earlier. The Confederates won this
last battle, driving a Union column back to the coast in a near rout.
Only a few hundred men took part of each side, and only about
sixty—half Yankees, half Confederates—became casualties. The battle, nevertheless, holds interest for several reasons in
addition to being the war’s final combat. The last Union soldier
killed in action, Private John Jefferson Williams of the 34th Indiana,
fell on the field. Apparently the Confederates suffered no fatalities
in the struggle, so we must look elsewhere for the final Rebel KIA.
The opposing forces included Anglos, Hispanics (on both sides),
blacks, and Tejanos. One Confederate veteran of the battle had fought
at the Alamo in 1836 for the Mexicans. Later he served in the armies
of the Texas Republic, the United States, and the Confederacy—one of
a very few soldiers to fight for four countries and against
three of them! The battle’s participants included a contingent of
French troops who thus became the only soldiers of a foreign
government’s army to aid the Confederacy. (The government of France
was then attempting to establish a puppet state in Mexico, and the
commander of the French forces along the lower Rio Grande let the
Rebels borrow enough of his men to man one of their cannon.) All of these oddities should have sufficed to make this a fascinating
little book. Many passages are very badly written. Tucker seems incapable of
referring to an officer without giving his military grade. To be sure,
this fact is appropriate when an officer is introduced, but it is almost
always unnecessary thereafter. On p. 73, for example, Tucker six times
refers to “Lieutenant Colonel [David] Branson.” On p. 26, in a
six-line paragraph, he writes three times of “Colonel Ford” and
twice of “General Magruder.” On p. 135 we are told no fewer than
seven times that two companies of troops were Indianans. Then for
variety we learn from four other lines that they were also Hoosiers.
Then, lest we forget, Tucker reminds us ten times on
the next page that these men were from Indiana and twice that they were
Hoosiers. Such bad writing, unfortunately, runs through the book and will kill the interest of many readers. Private Williams, his fellow Hoosiers, the Frenchmen, and the others who fought in the war’s last battle— as well as Tucker’s readers—all deserve much.
Special
thanks to Richard
M. McMurry
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A Soldier’s General: The Civil War: Letters of Major General Lafayette McLaws
Edited by John C. Oeffinger.
Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2002. Pp.
299. McLaws
served capably but not brilliantly as a division commander. In 1863 at
Gettysburg and even more so at Knoxville he fell out with Longstreet who
commanded the corps of which McLaws’ Division was a part. Longstreet
refused to allow McLaws to fight at Gettysburg as the latter wished and
sought to make McLaws the scapegoat for the failed attack at Knoxville.
As a result McLaws left Longstreet’s command. He served in the
Savannah defenses in 1864 and commanded troops in the Carolinas in 1865. For
inclusion in this collection, editor John Oeffinger has selected
ninety-five of McLaws’ letters, mostly to members of his family (five
of the letters date from his years in the U. S. Army); extracts from
transcripts of thirteen more letters; and twenty-seven entries
(February-March 1865) from the general’s journal. McLaws’
writings, mostly letters to his wife Emily Taylor, a niece of Zachary Taylor, do give us insights into the life and mind of one of the
least-known major generals in the Army of Northern Virginia. They
also shed some light on the internal politics of the Rebel military
establishment. Except for the journal entries covering the 1865
operations in the Carolinas, however, the documents do not deal with
military operations in much detail. Oeffinger’s
editorial work is not intrusive. Overall, the index is more helpful than
is often the case these days, although users should be aware that not
every person mentioned in the letters is included. One of the letters is misdated (1862 rather than 1863 as the
contents clearly indicate), but this is probably McLaws’ fault, not
Oeffinger’s (pp. 126-127). The editor does confuse Columbia, South
Carolina, and Columbus, Kentucky, (p. 129) and makes several other minor
errors in his identification of people and things. McLaws’
handwriting is often very difficult to read, and it is good to have
these documents available in this easily accessible form. Students of
the Confederate army and its high-ranking officers can profit from this
collection. Those seeking detailed material on battles and campaigns
will probably be disappointed.
Special
thanks to Richard
M. McMurry |
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Banners to the Breeze: The Kentucky Campaign, Corinth, and Stones River Earl J. Hess is a Missouri native who has
published more than 30 articles and reviews in history journals and
newspapers. Dr. Hess is deeply interested in the human drama of war. He
is currently associate professor of history at Lincoln Memorial
University in Harrogate, TN. Hess
views war as being the “quintessential” experience which tests human
emotions both good and bad. Previous works with Civil War themes include
The Union Soldier in Battle: Enduring the Ordeal of Combat, and
(Editor) A German in the Yankee Fatherland: the Civil War Letters of
Henry A. Kircher. This enjoyable book is a part of the 13 volume Great
Campaigns of the Civil War series, currently being published by the
University of Nebraska Press. Banners to the Breeze offers the
reader an analysis of three major Civil War campaigns in the Confederate
West in 1862—1863. Hess
goes to great effort to demonstrate that these pivotal battles and
campaigns had far reaching impact on the future success of the
Confederate armies in the Western Theatre of combat and on the overall
success of the Confederacy as a nation. After the Confederate disasters
at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson and the defeat at Shiloh, the
Confederate Army attempted to regain the initiative and to retake the
territory lost in the previous year.
Banners to the Breeze tells the story of the battles of
Perryville, Kentucky, luka and Corinth, Mississippi, and the Battle of
Stones River, Tennessee. These campaigns covered hundreds of miles of
territory and, as demonstrated vividly by Hess, had far reaching effects
on the Southern armies in the Western theatre of the war. Author Hess
views the period from June 1862 to January 1863 as the Confederacy’s
greatest opportunity to take the strategic initiative from the Northern
armies. The results of the battles fought during this time frame
seriously impacted Southern—and Northern— morale, both in and out of
the armies involved. Earl J. Hess has done a masterful job of providing a
full, well rounded and easy to read narrative of the June 1862 - January
1863 time frame of events in the Civil War in Western region of the
Confederacy. Hess makes sure that the reader understands the impact that
territory, geography and man made fortifications have on the battles
discussed in the book. By blending hard hitting analysis with a talent
for storytelling Hess offers accurate views of leaders such as Braxton
Bragg, Don C. Buell, Kirby Smith, and William Rosecrans. None of these
men escapes his sharp pointed analysis of their strengths and weakness,
and their contributions to victory or defeat in the various battles and
campaigns discussed in the pages of Banners to the Breeze. Banners to the Breeze
joins books by James L. McDonough and Peter Cozzens that covered the
battles fought between June 1862 and January 1863. While McDonough and
Cozzens both focused on specific aspects of the battles and campaign,
Hess views the battles fought in this time frame as inseparable and
successfully demonstrates that they must be considered together as one
huge effort on the part of the Confederate leaders to drive the Union
armies from the states of Tennessee and Kentucky and regain huge amounts
of Southern soil lost in early 1861—1862. Hess does not attempt a
blow-by-blow, detailed description of the battles, but describes them in
enough detail to inform the novice reader of the topic as well as hold
the interest of the veteran Civil War enthusiast. His interpretation of
the impact these battles had on the Confederacy after January 1863 is
hard-hitting and accurate. Banners to the Breeze
is a welcome addition to the Civil War literature and research. The book
has excellent maps and photographs, some of which have never been
published before. Hess made good use of primary sources as well as
secondary sources in researching his topic. The description of the
trials that the Confederate soldiers endured on the retreat from
Kentucky are heart rendering and demonstrate Hess’ ability to relate
and empathize with the common foot soldier of both armies. Hess offers the view that “…the Confederate
failure to take the strategic initiative from their enemy and control
the course of the war in the West doomed the entire Confederacy. Never
again would the Rebels have such an opportunity to do this as they had
in the summer of 1862. Their failure may have been the decisive turning
point of the Western campaign.” It would be difficult to disagree or
dispute this viewpoint, given the history of Confederate armies in the
Western theatre after January 1863.
Special
thanks to Bill Barkley
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