No comments about Confederate Naval Cadet: The Diary And Letters of Midshipman Hubbard T. Minor, With a History of the Confederate Naval Academy.

2 comments about Papa Was a Boy in Gray.

1. This book was such easy reading of historical facts. The information was written in such a way that you could feel you were a part of the speakers memories. I would highly recommend this book.



2. Take a step back into time with the daughters of Confederate veterans. The war will not seem like such a long time ago when these recent narratives bring you into the lives of these men.

No comments about Slavery in the Clover Bottoms: John Mccline's Narrative of His Life During Slavery and the Civil War (Voices of the Civil War).

1 comments about Towards Gettysburg: A Biography of General John F. Reynolds.

1. Nichols has presented a well researched biography of a man who commanded the respect and the admiration of an army. The men who fought under him called him "Old Common Sense." They were willing to follow him into Hell itself, and they did. John F. Reynolds was professionally remote, militarily a genius, and personally a shy quiet man. Nichols brings Reynolds to warm life once again in this entertaining and well written biography. You will feel as if you know this general who turned down command of the entire Army of the Potomac, only to die a month later leading a regiment into combat because "that's where he was most needed." You will stand beside the Confederate prisoners of war who rose to their feet in silent respect as the dead Reynolds was carried past them. An inspiring picture of a man whose death made an army pause to weep.

No comments about The Triangle Histories of the Civil War: Leaders - Harriet Tubman (The Triangle Histories of the Civil War: Leaders).

5 comments about The Stone Wall.

1. A very interesting and factual account of the life of a rank and file soldier, including his personal life. Fiction fills in the gaps. Could not wait to turn the next page. I hated to finish the book. I wanted to read more of this family.



2. This is a very interesting book for those who like to read about the Civil War. This is not a book about grand stratagies or personalities of the leaders but instead brings to the reader a strong sense of individual involvement by the average soldier. More than any other book that I have read about the Civil War, this was the most personal. Mr. Smiley does an outstanding job in taking the reader on a journey to rural Virginia in the early 1860's. A very enjoyable and touching saga.



3. The author wrote this book based on some letters written by an ancestor of his. It's unclear to me whether the letters quoted in the text are those letters, or not; the language in them seems a little modern. In any case, Smiley clearly then went and read a large number of first-person accounts of the war in order to recreate the story of this ancestor. And that's the problem. Almost everything in this book is taken from a recognizable source: Hardtack and Coffee, Detailed Minutiae, Casler's book, etc. etc. If I drew a line next to every scene or line borrowed, with little if any change, from someone else, almost the whole book would be marked up. But writing fiction is about originality, not just research work. Another problem I have with this book is the generally pedestrian nature of the writing and the appalling editing -- major spelling and grammar errors persist throughout the work, and I'm not referring to dialogue. To the extent that this is a true story, it retains some emotional effect, and it's hard not to respect the amount of work that Smiley, neither a writer nor a historian, did; but in the final analysis this is not a successful novel.



4. I have had the pleasure and privlege to meet Brad Smiley. His book is one that comes from the heart,and is a labor of love.
   I read this book prior to a trip to the Gettysburg Battlefield.
   to truly appreciate "The Stone Wall" one must stand at the wall and feel the presence of the fallen soldiers.

   Mr Smileys book is a heartwarming story of lives lost and others found.

   I recommend this book to family and friends.




5. I read this book to my 4th grade son. Daniel Knight became important to both of us! Brad Smiley did an excellent job of helping us to imagine the daily life of a Confederate soldier and it fueled our interest in knowing more about the Civil War. We laughed and we cried. It's a book for the young, the old and everyone in between.

2 comments about Morgan's Raiders (The American Civil War).

1. I live in Greeneville, Tn and enjoy learning more about the civil war. General Morgan visited Greeneville often during the war and enjoyed staying at one of the nicest homes in the area known as the Williams/Dixon mansion which today has been restored to resemble the original splendor of the days when Gen. Morgan visited. Unfortunatley, Greeneville is also the town were General Morgan was killed by Federal troops that had surrounded the town after learning from an informant that Morgan was visiting. This book is much more interesting than I thought it would be. I purchased the book in Sacramento, CA on a sale rack. I lived in Greeneville in the early 80's and didn't think I would ever live here again, but I had a chance to move back about 2 yrs. ago so I am just now reading the book. This book is a good blend of technical details and human interest stories and features many short poems and songs written by the men that were under General Morgan's leadership. I highly recommend this book to all Civil War enthusiats but I feel it would be interesting reading to others as well. People involved with horses would also find this book interesting.



2. Brown's narrative account of John Hunt Morgan's cavalry exploits during the Civil War is thorough and entertaining, with many interesting details of the individuals involved. Unfortunately, it is also flawed by a heavy Southern bias and lack of perspective, so read with a grain of salt. Brown gives the impression that Kentucky was heavily pro-Southern, and fails to explain that that it remained in the Union because Confederate general Polk was the first to breach its short-lived "neutrality." He also fails to explain that Bragg decided to retreat from his 1862 invasion of Kentucky largely because the male population did not rally to join him in rebellion, as expected. Perhaps his biggest lapse was his description of Antietum as "Lee's glorious victory over McLellan." I was also disappointed by the lack of a balanced analysis of Morgan's effectiveness as a cavalry raider, and the lack of comparison with contemporaries such as Nathan Bedford Forrest and Union counterpart Frank Wolford. Morgan becomes "legendary" after the first small skirmishes, and remains a perfect hero throughout, despite many opinons to the contrary, such as Bragg, Jefferson Davis, and most of the senior command! Even his disasterous raid into Indiana and Ohio is treated as a great victory.

No comments about Abraham Lincoln Y La Guerra Civil/ Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War (En La Epoca De/ Life in the Time of).

No comments about General Officers Of The Confederate Army: Officers Of The Executive Departments Of The Confederate States, Members Of The Confederate Congress By States (1911).

No comments about It Happened in the Civil War (It Happened In Series).