Looking for Something Fun? Yes and Know...

This year's Civil War weekend started with a six hour drive and included some long, empty miles as we made our way south along the eastern coast of North Carolina. Luckily, we had something along to pass the time.

My buddy's wife gave him a copy of Lee Publications' Yes and Know: Civil War 1861-1865 Invisible Ink Quiz and Game Book. We figured we would ace every category and be bored with it in 15 minutes. Not quite.

Not only does the book contain categories as diverse as Abolition and Showcase of Guns, many of the questions are challenging. Do you know approximately how many rifles the rebels captured during the war? We didn't either (and the questions are multiple choice).

I didn't expect much from this book, but we had a great time with it on the road (thanks, Janet!).

Quick Takes

Despite the lack of activity here, I have managed to read several good books recently. I still need to add or tweak a few apps on the new laptop, and now that the last toy soldier show of the year is over, I am slowly getting back to other interests.

I've been buying books on Sherman's campaign in North Carolina recently. No Such Army Since the Days of Julius Caesar, by Mark A. Smith and Wade Sokolosky, covers the campaign from the seizure of Fayetteville to the battle at Averasboro that set the stage for the larger fight at Bentonville. This is a great book with excellent maps, a critical component for any campaign study. I'll reserve additional comments for a more formal review. For now, I hope you enjoy these short takes on a couple of interesting titles.

Spencer C. Tucker, A Short History of the Civil War at Sea, Scholarly Resources Inc., 2002.

A friend purchased this book for me from Daedalus Books, a local bargain book store. The naval history of the Civil War is one of those aspects of the conflict I need to learn more about. This entertaining introduction covers all major naval actions along the coast as well as the actions of Confederate commerce raiders. But take note, the book is exactly what the title indicates, as there is no coverage of the gunboat battles along the western rivers. If the exploits of Farragut or Semmes interest you at all, and you are looking for a good overview, consider Tucker's book.

Nathaniel Cheaires Hughes, Jr., Bentonville: The Final Battle of Sherman and Johnston, UNC Press, 1996.

I really enjoyed Hughes study of the battle of Belmont, so this book was an easy selection for an introduction to the battle of Bentonville. Hughes provides a quick summary of the campaign and then lays out the often confusing details of the battle with clarity and precision. The main drawback of the book is a lack of detailed maps, but this deficiency is easily remedied using Mark Moore's atlas (his maps are also available online here). This book will serve for most students of the war looking for solid coverage of the Bentonville campaign. For me, while I enjoyed the book, I find it has only whetted my appetite for Mark Bradley's work, which promises more detail and includes Moore's maps within the text itself.

Off to Petersburg + A Review of The Last Citadel

I managed to finish Noah Andre Trudeau's The Last Citadel this week in preparation for my upcoming tour of Petersburg. To borrow from one of the jacket reviews, this is an excellent popular history of the Petersburg Campaign from the crossing of the James to the occupation of Petersburg. Oddly, Trudeau discusses Five Forks only in terms of its results, while other engagements during the siege receive detailed treatment. This is almost appropriate in relation to the drama of the narrative - he repeats a paragraph describing Horace Porter's receipt of the news of Five Forks and Grant's decision to order a "general assault along the lines" four times - once for the section on the Sixth Corps assault (the breakthrough in AP Hill's sector), followed by the Second (Sutherland Station) and Twenty-Fourth Corps (Forts Gregg and Whitworth) assaults, and finally for the Ninth Corps assault (Fort Mahone).

Last Citadel, while just the sort of overview of the campaign I needed to prepare for my trip, leaves me wanting more. Yet aside from numerous studies of the battle for The Crater, I know only of A. Wilson Greene's work on the final battles of the Petersburg Campaign as detailed tactical studies go. I have read sections of Greene's work, and highly recommend it based on that alone. He is evidently working on a three volume study of the campaign for UNC Press (I think is stumbled on this information over at Civil War Memory, a new addition to my blogroll). If so, I look forward to its publication. While I am sure to have missed something, the only other item of note is Blue and Gray Magazine's tour Guide for Five Forks and the battles around Hatcher's Run.

If you haven't already read this book, and you want to learn the story of Petersburg, start here. The maps included are servicable for an overview of this sort, but include little detail beyond roads and watercourses. Some may bristle at the lack of end notes. Trudeau does discuss the sources he used, but those who desire to track details down to primary sources will have their work cut out for them. For me, these are small issues for an otherwise enjoyable book.

Having read it, I hope to include Reams Station and Deep Bottom on the tour. Reams Station, site of Winfield Hancock's last engagement at the head of the Seconds Corps, includes a number of interpretive markers placed by CWPT. In the wake of the recent bad news about the Wilderness, I will enjoy visiting the site of one of CWPT's many victories. If all goes according to plan, I will blog about these sites in addition to The Crater, Fort Stedman, and some general observations on Petersburg on my return.

One final item. I am now on Twitter as cwbattlefields. I'm still not sure how I feel about it; it seems a bit self-important. But I thought it might be fun to tweet a few notes from the trenches, so to speak. We'll see how it goes. I won't be sending inane updates about passing milepost x on Interstate 95 or informing you that I just sat down for pizza (unless it's really really good).

Wilson’s Creek: The Second Battle of the Civil War and the Men Who Fought It (William Garrett Piston and Richard W. Hatcher III, UNC Press)

As the people of the North measured their disappointment in the wake of disaster at Bull Run, General Nathaniel Lyon set out with another inexperienced Federal army to drive rebel forces from Missouri. The resulting battle at Wilson’s Creek cost Lyon his life, and though his army suffered another defeat, Confederate ambitions in Missouri were dealt a blow from which they never quite recovered.

The first major theme the authors develop demonstrates a unique facet of the armies at this early stage of the war. Drawing upon letters, diaries, and newspaper accounts, they suggest loyalty to the company, and a corresponding pride in their hometown or county, motivated the soldiers of 1861. This contrasts with developments later in the war, when men identified themselves more closely with their regiments.

The authors also focus attention on the unique command situations of Lyon’s army and the tensions between Ben McCulloch, commander of Confederate forces in the area, and Sterling Price, commander of the Missouri State Guard. Lyon emerges as a possibly deranged crusader bent on wiping the stain of secession from the earth, and a man capable of decisive action who nevertheless questioned his decisions on the very eve of battle. His death on the field of battle spared him any recriminations, and established his place among northern heroes in the early days of the war. Piston and Hatcher also detail the difficulties between Price and McCulloch that would eventually lead to an inability to cooperate effectively later in the campaign.

As expected, a substantial portion of the book details the battle itself. The authors do not disappoint. The confusion and chaos of this struggle between two inexperienced armies emerges with surprising clarity and detailed maps complement the text. Piston and Hatcher’s book has already become the standard work on this pivotal campaign. This book will satisfy those searching for a detailed treatment of the battle of Wilson’s Creek, and also serves as a penetrating look into the psychology of the armies that took the filed in the early days of the Civil War.

Note: As this review ran a bit long, I included it as a regular post.

Book Review Roundup

As mini-reviews of books and Civil War web sites accumulate, I will consolidate them into permanent posts. The first three mini-book reviews follow.

Unfurl Those Colors (Marion V. Armstrong)

While I won't be doing formal book reviews, I will include opinions on recent reading. For thorough reviews, check out CWBN and CWBA, both listed in my favorite blogs list.

Unfurl Those Colors details the role of the Second Corps of the Army of the Potomac in the Antietam Campaign. Armstrong argues that Sumner's performance was not quite as bad as Sears and other historians contend.

Armstrong also argues that Sumner's decision to commit Sedgwick in the West Woods was reasonable given battlefield conditions, and that French's division did not drift toward the Bloody Lane, but was directed to attack to support the Federal right. His argument weakens a bit in his defense of Sumner's conduct after the destruction of Sedgwick's division.

Overall, Armstong delivers a detailed and entertaining analysis of the Second Corps' attacks upon the West Woods and Bloody Lane. Well worth reading, and sure to spark debate on these controversial actions.


The Ninth Corps at Antietam (John Schildt)

While this book provides interesting detail about the Ninth Corps in the Maryland campaign, I find it difficult to recommend due to a disjointed presentation, missing foot notes, and a lack of editing.

The main strength of the book is its diverse coverage of the Ninth Corps. Schildt includes brief histories of most of the regiments of the corps, material on hospitals after the battle, a narrative of Lincoln’s review of the corps during his visit to the battlefield, and extracts from regimental monument dedications.

If you are particularly interested in Ninth Corps minutiae, consider this book.

Roll Call to Destiny (Brent Nosworthy)

Brent Nosworthy’s new book compiles detailed accounts of several Civil War actions originally intended for his previous. Each examines a representative tactical situation, such as infantry in rough terrain, infantry assaulting fortifications, cavalry vs. cavalry, and artillery in attack and defense.

Aside from its generally entertaining vignettes, the book stands out for detailed tactical observations not always found in other works. What the book lacks in unity and synthesis is corrected when taken together with Nosworthy’s previous book. And as the accounts of each action stand alone, this is a great read for time-challenged Civil War enthusiasts.

Highly recommended, along with Bloody Crucible of Courage (get this book if you don’t have it).