No comments about A Compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presidents (Washington to Buchanan), complete in one file.

2 comments about Ulysses S. Grant (Let Freedom Ring).

1. Susan Gregson has written a well-researched book about a complex Civil War figure. This colorful, heavily illustrated overview of the famous general will appeal to children and adults alike. Well-known Grant scholar John Y. Simon consulted on the book, assuring the book's accuracy.



2. This is one of the best school age books writtern about General Grant. Gives an overview of his whole life, not just his life during the civil war. Nice illustrations and black and white photographs of his later life add a nice touch.

1 comments about Confederate Admiral: The Life and Wars of Franklin Buchanan (Library of Naval Biography).

1. I've just finished CONFEDERATE ADMIRAL and the more I reflect on it the more solid it seems. A great job of professional history and biography. Symonds sets Buchanan in his time, and does a great job of presenting a guy many of us wd not get along with in person, and whose ideas would not pass muster today, but presenting him without judgment in the context of his time and profession. I never felt the author liked him, but I never felt he disliked Buchanan either; it felt . . . objective. What a word, how seldom we see objective reporting today! Read this book to see what it means, and to follow a real roller-coaster of a career in a stormy century and time in America. Damn nice writing too. Thanks Mr Symonds!

No comments about History of the Underground Railroad.

2 comments about Memoirs of a Dutch Mudsill: The "War Memories" of John Henry Otto, Captain, Company D, 21st Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry.

1. This is the best Civil War account of a midwestern (Wisconsin) soldier and the day to day activities that a common soldier had to endure that I have read. It chronicles the day to day life, as well every battle from Murfreesboro, to Atlanta, to the Savannah. Written from the perspective of a common soldier rather than from the perspective of a General. It reads like a novel. Excellent!



2. Memoirs of a Dutch Mudsill: The "War Memories" of John Henry Otto, Captain, Company D, 21st Regiment Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry, edited by David Gould and James B. Kennedy (Kent, Ohio, 2004).
   
   This is my favorite Civil War book. It provides the reader with as vivid a sense a book could afford of what it was like to live the daily life of a foot-soldier during the Civil War, except of course for the absolute horror that attended the battles of that conflict. We experience through the eyes of a seasoned and insightful soldier some of the sights, sounds, smells, and tastes of his world. While John Henry Otto was a well-trained former Prussian soldier, he was above all a civilized and thoughtful man of good-will and humanity. He approached faults and weakness in others with humor , kindness, and realism, and he clearly saw himself as one of the many, rather than as one deserving aggrandisement.
   
   The 21st Wisconsin was a regiment which suffered a high number of casualties during the war. It received a harsh initiation into battle, when, just one month after the regiment was formed, it was thrown into a key position at the battle of Perryville. The regiment lost heavily in that conflict, with the serious wounding of its colonel, Benjamin J. Sweet, and the deaths of many officers and men. Battle was not the only thing with which these soldiers had to contend as part of their introduction to war: they were late in receiving essential equipment such as tents and waterproof blankets, as a result of which many suffered and died from exposure, as well as from the diarrhea and foot ailments which plagued most troops. Many of the regiment, including Surgeon Samuel J. Carolin, died from the impact of these deprivations upon their health in the month following Perryville.
   
   The battles of Stones River (Murfreesboro), Tullahoma, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Resaca, Atlanta, Savannah, and Bentonville are also depicted and the narrative concludes with the grand parade in Washington which celebrated the end of the war. Otto's memoirs are one the only detailed first-hand accounts of some aspects of these battles and they provide much needed insight into their atmospheres -- how people reacted under crisis, how they interacted, how they sustained one another.
   
   The felicitous collaboration of David Gould, John Henry Otto's great-grandson, and James B. Kennedy, a scholar of the 21st Wisconsin Regiment, has resulted in a readable, personalized classic. They wisely avoid over-editing some of Otto's spelling, grammar, and punctuation idiosyncrasies save where understanding might be compromised, and they permit the intelligent and eloquent soldier to speak for himself. That he was eminently capable of doing so is evident from the following passage in which John Henry Otto describes camping on Lookout Mountain: "We lived now so to speak in another Climate. At such an elevation the air was allways pure and keen and nearly allways, especially at night time, a lively wind blowing." (P. 215.)
   
   This is a unique book, one deserving of several readings and one to share with family.

1 comments about Rebel Chief: The Motley Life of Colonel William Holland Thomas, C.S.A..

1. 5 stars for Thomsen's study of Indian Agent William Thomas
   3 stars for his research regarding senator and Cherokee chief Thomas
   1 star for his research on Colonel Thomas's American Civil War service / latter years
   
   An overall rating of 3 stars is considered a generous rating.
   
   Paul A. Thomsen, in his research "Rebel Chief: The Motley Life of Colonel William Holland Thomas, C.S.A," offers a basic study regarding the Cherokee Agent and Cherokee Chief Will Thomas and briefly covers the history of the William Holland Thomas Legion (North Carolina's only American Civil War legion and it recruited Cherokees and mountaineers). There are, however, flaws in Paul Thomsen's research; Thomsen states that William Thomas frequented the "Red Light District" and most likely contracted and died with "syphilis." Thomsen's speculative proposition, based totally on Thomsen's opinion and 113 years after the death of Chief Thomas, would be scorned in a debate and dismissed in a court of law. His proposition is a "supposition" and is stated without one source or fact and is the weakest argument based only on sheer speculation.
   Chief Thomas's violent emotional outbursts were initially recorded during the Civil War and based on a present-day diagnosis may have been attributed to: A "Nervous Breakdown," Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) or Clinical Depression, senility or dementia, or perhaps a combination of maladies, etc. Paul Thomsen omits any of these possibilities and simply states "syphilis."
   
   How would anyone relate and cope with the following nightmarish and traumatic situations, experiences, and conditions?
   
   Cherokee Chief William H. Thomas endured the most horrible series of various traumatic stressors:
   Cherokee Agent Thomas had spent numerous stressful years lobbying Washington to secure the right for a number of Cherokees to remain in North Carolina, Senator Thomas experienced years of constant political infighting with rivals, his beloved Cherokees were starving by 1864, Colonel Thomas witnessed death and dismemberment of several comrades, he handled dead bodies, absorbed the traumatic loss of comrades, the Colonel faced imminent death, he had killed during the Civil War--and was helpless to prevent others' deaths, and he endured several court-martials. Furthermore, by 1865, William Thomas was a defeated Rebel of the "Lost Cause," and how would the Victor, the United States, respond to Thomas and his rebellious Indians? Would his many exhaustive but fruitful years as mediator and voice of the Cherokees be crushed as the Rebellion was crushed? What will become of the rebellious Indians? Chief Thomas and his Cherokees faced a very uncertain and questionable future. He also witnessed mumps, measles, and smallpox kill more than one hundred Cherokees. His selflessness and profound generosity kept him in debt and on the constant brink of bankruptcy, and Thomas also endured several lawsuits. His father had died months before his birth and while Will was in Washington, conducting business, his adopted father died. His mother and wife also preceded him in death. Mental illnesses, including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), pervaded many Civil War veterans during the Reconstruction.
   
   During the Civil War, there was no shell shock, battle fatigue or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to help explain and legitimize a mysterious condition.
   
   In concluding: Thomsen has not proven his argument that Will Thomas frequented any "Red Light District" or contracted and died with "syphilis." Thomas was, however, diagnosed with Dementia and Will's violent emotional outbursts were initially recorded during the Civil War. And in 1867, at the age of 62, he was admitted to the North Carolina Insane Asylum at Raleigh. An argument can easily be made stating that Thomas had PTSD, MDD, dementia or senility, or a combination of aforementioned maladies. Subsequently, on May 12, 1883, Thomas was admitted to the Western North Carolina Insane Asylum at Morganton (currently Broughton Hospital, it catered to western North Carolina, and is approximately 200 miles west of Raleigh). In 1883 and 1884 the North Carolina Insane Asylum diagnosed only one patient with syphilis and the patient wasn't Will Thomas (one patient constitutes less than one percent of total admissions). Moreover, during the Reconstruction, asylums were filled with Civil War veterans that exhibited PTSD and MDD. On December 8, 1875, Sarah Love Thomas (Will's wife) wrote to her sister Maria Love Stringfield and stated that her husband Will had "mental anxiety." Why state that Thomas most likely contracted and died with syphilis? Why make a proposition based on opinion 113 years later? One may also ask, why didn't Mr. Thomsen further speculate "why" Sarah Love Thomas died at the age of 45? Was Thomas also suffering from syphilis and insanity? There is no definitive answer and, until any facts surface, it should only be viewed and stated as an opinion.
   
   Unfortunately, based on Thomsen's flawed conclusion, editors are now stating that Chief Thomas died from syphilis.
   
   With the title "REBEL, COLONEL, and CSA," Paul Thomsen offers a less than impressive study on Colonel Thomas's American Civil War service (1861-1865). There is very little explanation or exploration into Will's "military service and Confederate strategy." For example, Thomas's military strategy clarifies or defines why he was court-martialed. There are also minor errors regarding the Thomas Legion. On one page Thomsen even refers to the Sixteenth North Carolina Infantry "Regiment" as the Sixteenth North Carolina Infantry DIVISION (there wasn't a Sixteenth North Carolina Infantry Division). Thomsen further states, "Lieutenant Colonel Major Stringfield." There is, however, no said rank. It is either Lieutenant Colonel or Major.
   Moreover, regarding Thomas and the Civil War, this study lacks "primary sources and references" and is considered a freshman study at best.
   Consequently, there is not one picture or map in this study. How can the reader envision, interconnect, and relate to western North Carolina, East Tennessee, North Georgia, "Upstate" South Carolina, the Thomas Legion or its field officers, its skirmishes and battles, William Thomas (with the exception of the cover picture), Sarah Thomas, the Qualla Boundary, Stekoa Fields, the discussed cities, towns, counties and regions, and the Cherokees without one picture or map? What is western North Carolina and what counties are included? Including one cartographic era map would have been a start.
   
   Chief William Holland Thomas: A Summary
   
   "Cherokee Chief, Confederate Colonel, Lawyer, Entrepreneur, and Politician: William Holland Thomas."
   
   William Thomas never knew his father, was raised by a single mother in a lowly mountain home, lacked any formal education, but is one of the most prominent figures in Western North Carolina's history.
   
   Chief Thomas lived to the ripe old age of 88 and was admitted to an asylum, however, there is no official record or document stating that he was diagnosed with syphilis. Thomas is also the only white man to serve as a Cherokee chief. As Indian agent, he was in Washington during "The Treaty of New Echota" negotiations and he successfully lobbied for the right of a number of Cherokees to remain in North Carolina; these Cherokees are the present-day Eastern Band. He was very instrumental in the preservation of the Cherokees during their forced march west or "Trail of Tears" in 1838. His intervention provided safe haven for approximately 1000 Cherokees and, furthermore, it is noteworthy that his intervention is currently reflected with more than 12,000 Cherokees residing in Western North Carolina. It is widely believed that without his intervention there would not be an Eastern Band.
   
   An alternative but brief history of William Holland Thomas is "Confederate Colonel and Cherokee Chief: The Life of William Holland Thomas" by E. Stanley Godbold, Jr. and Mattie U. Russell (Godbold and Russell make an inference to syphilis).
   To study Will Thomas's Civil War service, consider "Storm in the mountains: Thomas' Confederate Legion of Cherokee Indians and Mountaineers" by Vernon H. Crow.
   To understand and fathom the sociopolitical and geopolitical "tone" of western North Carolina and the American Civil War, purchase "The Heart of Confederate Appalachia: Western North Carolina in the Civil War" by John C. Inscoe and Gordon B. McKinney.
   
   Matthew D. Parker

No comments about The Antietam And Fredericksburg (Campaigns of the Civil War.).

No comments about If I Live to Come Home: The Civil War Letters of Sergeant John March Cate.

2 comments about The Blues in Gray: The Civil War Journal of William Daniel Dixon and the Republican Blues Daybook (Voices of the Civil War Series.).

1. The Blues in Gray is a very readable account of the Republican Blues service in coastal Georgia with exciting battles taking place on the Ogeechee River at Fort McAllister south of Savannah, Georgia. William Daniel Dixon was 23 when he began his private journal which he kept throughout his Confederate Service. He was a native of Savannah and lived his entire life there. The editor, Roger Durham, has done an excellent job making Dixon's voice heard. I am Dixon's great granddaugher and am delighted that this primary material is available to readers and scholars.



2. This is a wonderful Civil War book told through the eyes of William Daniel Dixon of Savannah, Georgia. It is a fascinating and detailed account of his journey from the coastal battles of the early war to the battle of Atlanta. If you are from the southeastern part of Georgia you will find it especially interesting to read about the battles and encampments around the Savannah area. Dixon recounts his personal exploits as well as his unit's: the Republican Blues. Compared to the fast travel and communications of today it is great to read about a time of letters, trains, telegraphs, long foot marches, and horse back jouneys.

No comments about The Sixth Corps: the Army of the Potomac, Union Army, During the American Civil War.