2 comments about Thrilling Adventures of Daniel Ellis.

1. Daniel Ellis was a Unionist East Tennessean during the Civil War. An exiled fugitive for participating in bridge burning, he took to guiding escaped prisoners, southern deserters, slaves, and all manner of refugees through the mountains to the Union lines. He eventually became captain of Company A in the 13th Regiment, Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry, U.S.A.

   "Thrilling Adventures" is Ellis' memoir, recounting the brutal hardships he had to endure during his years on the run. Written shortly after the war, it is tainted by his still-burning fury toward the Confederacy. The book has been criticized for perceived exaggerations, but its true excesses are in its narrative style, full of classical allusions and long-winded melodrama -- elements long since gone out of fashion.

   Given its faults in narrative and Ellis' understandable lack of objectivity, the book is an accurate account of life in southern Appalachia during the Civil War. The region in that era is receiving increasing attention, most notably in Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain (which acknowledges Ellis' Thrilling Adventures) and Cameron Judd's Mountain War trilogy...




2. Originally, this 1989 Overmountain Press reprint was to have a two-page biographical sketch of Daniel Ellis to accompany the index. These pages were inadvertently omitted during printing. An unknown quantity of volumes has pages 430a/430b (titled, "Biographical Sketch and Index") tipped-in by the publisher.

3 comments about The Generalship Of Ulysses S. Grant (Da Capo Paperback).

1. The paucity of source material utilized by General Fuller is more than offset by the lucidity of his commentary, and his keen insight into the military mind and psyche. Grant, the man, appears to have been a hobby of Fuller's, and while there are better analyses of the details of Grant's campaigns and battles, the reader leaves this book with a sense of knowing and understanding Grant, and believing that Grant's personality was the critical factor in the Union's 1864-1865 Virginia compaigns. The assessment of U.S. Grant is Fuller's personal assessment, nevertheless, when this reader finished the book he hoped Fuller was right. Essential Civil War reading. There's also some interesting commentary on the theory of military strategy and tactics.



2. I find this book to be the best detailed analysis of the generalship of U. S. Grant available. Written by one of the most outstanding military writers in the world, it presents a thought provoking and convincing picture of one of our greatest generals. It pictures General Grant as one of the greatest strategists of all times and gives many convincing arguments to back up the claim.

   The book covers other aspects of his csreer and comments on his capabilities and shortcomings. It is not completely lauditory, as it points out his many failures as a tactician as well as other shotcomings. Substantiation and analysis of his actions make for a very convincing account. It is especially effective when read in conjunction with his memoirs.

   I highly recommend it.




3. An earlier reviewer commented on the paucity of General Fuller's source material. In May of 1929, Fuller wrote this passage (in all the orotund glory of its semi-colons) in his preface: "Here, then, is the gist of this book--to write living history as well as truthful history--a difficult task; for in my opinion all history has been diluted with about seventy-five per cent. of falsehood; and more especially official history, which is normally meticulously accurate in fact and utterly false in spirit.... In order to decipher [Grant's] generalship I have relied on three sources: the official records--the bones of my subject; the personal memoirs and various historical works--the muscles; and my own intuitions and deductions which I may liken to the nerves. This latter source may be very defective; yet I feel not more so than the other two."
   
   This famous book was written by one of the relatively few critics with real (as opposed to armchair) high-level military knowledge and experience. Both were gained, moreover, on battlefields bearing closer resemblance to those of Grant than anything seen since. For what it's worth, General Fuller remains the highest ranking non-participant military man ever to write at length on the American Civil War (which in Fuller's day was still officially and legally designated by Damnyankees, at least, as "The War of the Rebellion." My unreconstructed Confederate ancestors, naturally, had other ideas.)
   
   Fuller's book had a profound effect in Europe. Until its publication, accepted European military opinion held that the U.S. Civil War was no more than a series of military riots conducted by armed mobs. After this book and its analysis of the brilliant campaign that led to the capture of Vicksburg and of the multi-pronged assault that withered and then destroyed the Confederate States of America, the unassuming, unimpressive-looking Grant emerged as one of the great captains of history.
   
   A few--a very few--new details have been unearthed in the seventy-six years since General Fuller handed his manuscript over to his publishers, but no large-scale analysis of Grant as a soldier and commander has surpassed this one.

No comments about The Cormany Diaries: A Northern Family in the Civil War.

No comments about Soldiering for Glory: The Civil War Letters of Colonel Frank Schaller, Twenty-Second Mississippi Infantry.

No comments about The Personal Correspondence of Sam Houston, 1848-1852 (Personal Correspondence of Sam Houston).

4 comments about For Honor, Flag, And Family: Civil War Major General Samuel W. Crawford, 1827-1892.

1. This is a very interesting and well written account of the life and career of General Samuel Crawford. Crawford began his career as a Surgeon in the U.S. army and evolved to an officer in the infantry. He was one of only two Officers who served from day one at Fort Sumpter through the final surrender of Lee at Appomattox.
   
   12 years of research went into compiling this biography.
   
   The account of the events leading up to the firing on Fort Sumpter is especially interesting. He led in action at Gettysburg, Antitem and many of the other major battles of the Civil War. A very worth while read about the Civil War. I recommend it if you enjoy history.



2. Major General Samuel W. Crawford, a native of Franklin County, PA, was one of two Yankee General Officers who served in every major battle in the NorthEast/Mid-Atlantic...Ft Sumter, The Shenendoah Valley Campaign of 1862, Cedar Mountain, The Wilderness, Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, Spotsylvania, Five Forks and Petersburg. The biography, written in a simple, straight forward, folksey manner, surpasses other such biographies in that the author took a military officer and included the general's cultural. sociological, religious and econonic climates to present a complete picture of the man. It was an enlightening, informative, passionate and entertaining easy to read book which deserves literary and historical appreciation from the thoughtful reader.



3. Richard Wagner has provided a great service to the citizens of Franklin County,PA and Civil War buffs countrywide for his book on General Crawford. The local history on his family's and his residence in Fayetteville is little known and a delight to read. The Civil War history is well researched and will appeal to all readers of this era.



4. For Honor, Flag, and Family: Civil War Major General Samuel W. Crawford, 1827-1892 is a biography of General Samuel Wylie Crawford, who served in the United States Army during the Civil War from Fort Sumter through Appomattox, involved in major battles of the Eastern Theater. He was promoted to brigadier general in 1862; his brigade suffered the loss of half its strength in an engagement at Cedar Mountain; and he personally suffered a grievous wound at Antietam. A handful of black-and-white photographs illustrate this extensively researched portrait of a true fighting leader, who remained in the United States Army until his retirement in 1873. Notes, a bibliography, and an index round out this welcome addition to Civil War biography shelves.

No comments about Fighting With the Eighteenth Massachusetts: The Civil War Memoir of Thomas H. Mann.

No comments about Journal of a Georgia Woman, 1870-1872.

1 comments about Confederate General R.S. Ewell: Robert E. Lee's Hesitant Commander.

1. The amount of time and research that went into this book is hard to fathom as archives from many parts of the South have been scoured for material. Paul Casdorph would in fact be the perfect choice to teach graduate research seminars because he is so adept in this area. Unfortunately, as is often the case, the best researchers are not always the best writers. There is much information and insight into the life of General Richard Ewell to be found in this book but sometimes it is very hard to extract.
   
   The author's thesis is that General Ewell just didn't have the personality to be an aggressive field commander and that may well have been the case but this often contradictory book falls far short of proving that point. The cases where Ewell was aggressive are hardly noted although they did exist and actually Ewell was sometimes more apt to attack than Stonewall Jackson. It is a comparison with Jackson that in fact makes up most of the author's argument. Again however incidents that contradict the author's theory are just brushed aside. For example, Jackson's extreme lethargy during the Seven Days battles is hardly dealt with at all.
   
   Ewell's poor performance at Gettysburg seems to be the cornerstone of Casdorph's argument but alas it is also the weakest part of his argument. The reader is hit constantly with what Jackson might have done at Gettysburg, which is something we will never know. He might well have leaned up against a tree and took another nap. The author also brings up the old canard about Longstreet's late attack on July 2nd. I would be willing to bet that the author couldn't take a comparable number of men and make it from where Longstreet's men were at 11:00 PM on July 1st to where the attack is supposed to have come from in less than seven hours either. It would be especially unlikely with a guide that ended up costing Longstreet several hours.
   
   Another problem rests with the writing style the author employs. There were places in this book that left me feeling as if I was trudging through knee deep mud. The writing does improve as the book goes along but there are places that are just mercilessly dull. He also misspells General Cleburne's name, which is a mistake that one shouldn't find in this type of scholarly work.
   
   Still, Casdorph does make one very clear and astute point. Robert E. Lee had a blind spot for Virginia and Virginians and that seems to be the only real reason Ewell ever rose to corps command. Although there is no clear argument made in this text as to who might have been a better choice.
   
   Overall the writing and thesis of this book are weak at best but there is still a lot of information to be found here. The author has presented several important facts and one can learn quite a bit about General Ewell and the Army of Northern Virginia in this book. If Mr. Casdorph was willing to do all of this research the least the reader can do is pick through the dull areas in order to access the information.

1 comments about Mapping for Stonewall: The Civil War Service of Jed Hotchkiss.

1. Stonewall Jackson's successful career can, in part, be directly attributed to his gifted topographer, Jedediah Hotchkiss; a man with a gifted eye for terrain. Whether as mapmaker, pathfinder, courier or staff officer, Hotchkiss continuously complimented his talented commander. To understand Jackson, one should know Hotchkiss; Miller's volume, particularly when taken in conjunction with Hotchkiss' own MAKE ME A MAP OF THE VALLEY, certainly facilitates understanding of Jackson's campaigns. Miller clearly delineates Hotchkiss' many skills in an easily read text supported by beautiful full-color renditions of some of Jed's maps, meanwhile teaching the reader a great deal about military topography, map-making and the Civil War in the East. Any student of Jackson, the Valley Campaign, or Civil War staff operations should have this book. A well-done, lovely book about one of the war's most interesting characters.