4 comments about Black Jack Logan: An Extraordinary Life in Peace and War.

1. Abraham Lincoln had a lot of trouble finding generals. And his real problem was political generals, particularly Democrats who seemed to have both little capability as generals and who spent too much time as politicians. Burnside and McClellan come to mind.
   
   By far the most successful of the Democratic political generals was Black Jack Logan. A Congressman at the start of the war, he was one of those who went out with the Union army to watch them smash the Rebels at Bull Run/Manassas. Unlike the rest of the observing congressmen, he grabbed a rifle at the start of the battle and followed a Union unit into battle.
   
   Afterwards he entered the Union Army and by its end was a Major General in command of the Army of Tennessee. He was arguably the most competent of the volunteer generals, the political generals.
   
   After the war, he became a confidant of Grant and was supported by Grant for the presidency. Frederick Douglas was another supporter. All in all he was the odds on favorite to win the 1888 election but unexpectedly died.
   
   This is a very well written biography of one of the little known but most effective generals of the American Civil War.



2. This is an objectively-written biography of one of the few successful political generals of the Civil War. Logan was a complex character, with some opportunistic, unattractive aspects to his personality. He was also intelligent, hard-working, and, in battle, brave and resourceful. The author does a good job describing his early life, Civil War career, and political life. Logan changed his views on several subjects during his public life, and the author explains these issues in depth. He also writes in an exciting yet accurate manner about Logan's battlefield performances. Family life played a large part in Logan's development, and this subject is not neglected. Worth the effort to read about a skilled officer and politician, who is not well-known to most of today's readers.



3. If you're looking for biographical information on one of the most successful Union generals of the American Civil War, this is a great resource. If you're looking for information on the battles in which Logan participated, you definitely want to look elsewhere. Ecelbarger places Logan one mile away when the fighting broke out at Raymond, Mississippi, which is ludicrous. He also claims that Logan spontaneously ordered forward the Union line at Champion Hill, when in reality the assault that swept Champion Hill was carefully organized by Grant across the entire northern front (from Hovey to Stevenson).
   
   The decision to read this book should be based on the value of learning about Logan's life. Not only was he one of the most successful Generals of the war, he was the most conflicted, having spent the pre-war years fighting against what he viewed as a dangerous and foolish Republican agenda. The district that he represented in congress before the war was staunchly pro-southern, and many members of his family actually volunteered for and helped raise Confederate regiments from Southern Illinois. Logan, an observer at the First Battle of Bull Run, took a rifle from a fleeing soldier, and was immediately sold on the idea of fighting for the Union. When he returned home and announced his intention to raise a regiment for the Union, half of his family stopped speaking to him, including his own mother.
   
   Bottom line: buy this book for the rich biographical detail, and take the battle descriptions with a block of salt.



4. No one remembers him today and few historians see fit to shine their light his way, but John Logan was a crucial player of that morally gray and turbulent time, the American nineteenth century.
   
   As a War Democrat, he was one of the few 'political generals' to demonstrate combat effectiveness in the field, and his role in the 1864 Western campaign was pivotal. But more than that, his personal oddyssey from tepid unionist to a practioner of hard war, and from northern racist to a champion of black freedom, his life personified the Nation's own transformation.
   
   Gary Ecelbarger's fine work has done something unique. With Logan present at the great events from Civil War battlefields to Abraham Lincoln's private council to post war, hard knuckle politics, Ecelbarger brings this pugnacious general to life, and in so doing greatly enhances our own understanding of time from Southern Succession, to War, to Reconstruction and on into the Gilded Age.
   
   This is a very well done effort showing Logan as the dynamic force he was: tireless advocate, skilled politician, influential Senator, Presidential contender and an intimate with this man's era of great personalities: Grant, Sherman, Lincoln and all the rest. A very good read, well researched.

3 comments about Sherman's Civil War: Selected Correspondence of William T. Sherman, 1860-1865 (Civil War America).

1. William T. Sherman was an irascible, unpredictably brilliant man and his letters bring out these myriad traits. He was a fascinating man and his own words illuminate his fiery personality. Sherman's own 1875 memoirs are a mixed bag, marred by an over-abundance of wartime correspondence and ancillary material. This collection of his letters actually makes for more engrossing, instructive reading. We hear his opinions on the major players of the Civil War: Grant, Halleck and Lincoln. We gain an understanding of his tortured relationship with his wife, Ellen, to whom many of the letters are addressed. His visceral hatred of the press and reporters is well represented.

   The collection is expertly edited by Brooks Simpson, someone who thoroughly understands both Sherman and the civil war era. The notes are instructive and unobtrusive and the introduction lays the groundwork for appreciating Sherman and his correspondence. This is an outstanding book for anyone who wishes to get to know the erratic and intellectual General who was second only to Ulysses S. Grant in ability and results.




2. It's difficult to rate a collection of primary documents such as this one for several reasons. The quality of the documents themselves might be very good but the arrangement or editing of them might be very poor, in which case it becomes a question of whether you should rate the volume well for the documents themselves or poorly for the editing job. Fortunately this collection does not have that issue, as both the primary documents themselves and the editing of them are excellent.
   
   This massive volume contains much of Sherman's correspondence during the war. Surprisingly, these letters are enjoyable to read, and the editors have done a great job of compiling and editing them. Reading these letters, orders, etc of General Sherman can give someone a very unique perspective of the Civil War as Sherman himself saw it, without the bias of authors who have written about it since and without the inevitable coloring of events that happens later when war heroes write about their experiences (and which certainly affected his memoirs, though I do believe they were very honest and straightforward). General Sherman is one of my heroes from the Civil War, and this collection of glimpses into his brilliant mind certainly fed my understanding and fascination of the man.



3. William Tecumseh Sherman was a brilliant military genius and a true eccentric.
   A fascinating and complex man, who found his destiny in war. Sherman revelled in war and owed much to it: he began it as an former officer of modest means and ended it hailed as the Union greatest general next to Grant. At the same time he loathed and despised war and was horrified by it. He was shocked by what the war did to his country, his people, his soldiers and to himself. At times he was appalled by his duties as an officer, but he was always highly resolved to perform these duties.
   
   Everybody who has ever read his memoirs knows that Sherman was not only a great general but also a very talented writer. His memoirs are not a dry succession of events and his part in it, but they convey how he lived through the war and how and why he did what he did in it.
   Now professor Brooks D. Simpson has edited a big volume of his Sherman's correspondence from the Civil War years. Again it is the quality of the Sherman's writing which catches the eye and pleases the mind. His letters, as are his memoirs, are a joy to read. This book offers an interesting perspective on Sherman and his part in the war. Reading the memoirs is like having Sherman telling his war experiences to you, long after the facts. This is interesting enough but reading his letters is even more so. It feels like being there with him in his tent, in some Union camp during the war, looking over his shoulder while events are shaping. A truly fascinating experience.
   He pours his heart out to his brother John, to his wife Ellen, to his friend Grant and to many others.
   So many aspects of his personality appear: his quicksilver intelligence, his warmth and humanity, his wicked and dry sense of humour, his fundamental decency and his military capability.
   Read this book and look intro Sherman's mind: it is an interesting place.
   
   The book itself is a big b*gger, but once you've started, you'll be grateful that is is so big: you'll hate to finish it. It looks great, which I like in books and it's very nicely turned out, with good quality binding , high grade paper, a pretty typesetting and a nice dust jacket design. Listings and indexes are clear and elaborate, which is useful in a book like this. So here's a big thumbs up to the publisher's (Chapel Hill North Carolina State University Press): very well done, a fine piece of work!!!
   
   I can't recommend this too highly. A must for all those who are interested in history, in the American Civil War and/or in Sherman. Read and enjoy the letters uncle Billy wrote in those four years of war and enjoy the sight and the feel of this beautifully made book.

4 comments about Staff Officers in Gray: A Biographical Register of the Staff Officers in the Army of Northern Virginia.

1. A product of a decade of dedicated research, "Staff Officers in Gray" is an essential reference for historians, genealogists and the "just plain curious" concerning themselves with the Confederate Army. It is not limited to the Army of Northern Virginia, but includes Krick's gleanings from records dealing with other Confederate armies and other generals, as well as several rare illustrations. Excellent introductory essay is itself worth the price of admission. Super.



2. Bob Krick--the son, not the father--has proven himself a worthy successor to his father. In this extraordinarily useful work, Bob Krick has given us a volume every bit as useful as his father's earlier landmark work, _Lee's Colonels_. In this work, Krick provides us with informative capsule biographies of the many staff officers who played an important role in the Civil War, and photos of many are also provided.

   I wish someone would do the Union equivalent to this book.




3. The older I get. the more I realize that the only history that really counts is "useable history". Readers want to know how history touches them. They want to know the people, places and ideas close to them. That is a start. Krick gives us a genealogical smorgasbord of the best and brightest young men of the southern states during the Civil War. Do you want to understand the Confederacy? Flip through this book and see that excellent minds served the South as well as the North. This is a deeply researched, unbiased presentation of facts that will help both genealogists and Civil War historians for decades to come.



4. This is an impressive and useful book. Mr. Krick's efforts to compile information regarding the staff officers of the Army of Northern Virginia are thorough and explanatory. However, I am left wanting an index, so that I would be able to search for specific Regiments, as I am currently doing regimental research.

3 comments about Edge Of The Sword: The Ordeal Of Carpetbagger Marshall H. Twitchell In The Civil War And Reconstruction.

1. In recent decades, many historians of Reconstruction have been drawn to the story of Marshall H. Twitchell, an idealistic carpetbagger who braved ferocious reactionary violence in postbellum Louisiana. Honest, courageous, and committed, Twitchell was not the stereotypical northern opportunist of southern lore, and he has, as a result, surfaced in studies by Eric Foner, Lawrence Powell, George Rable and other historians who have revised the old Dunning-school interpretation of the carpetbaggers. Twitchell has, nevertheless, remained largely unknown to non-specialists because, until now, no one had written a full-length account of his life. With the publication of Ted Tunnell's superb biography, Edge of the Sword, Twitchell's extraordinary story should reach a wider audience.
   In recounting Twitchell's life, Tunnell tells "one of the great stories of Reconstruction."(p.4) Born in Vermont, Twitchell joined the Union Army at the start of the Civil War and fought in most of the major battles in the Virginia theater. Severely wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness when a minie ball entered his skull through his eye, he was left for dead by army surgeons. But after a miraculous recovery, Twitchell went on to be an officer for a black regiment comprised mainly of ex-slaves. Following Appomattox, he became an agent of the Freedmen's Bureau in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. While serving in this capacity, Twitchell met and married a southern woman, Adele Coleman, whom he hoped to someday bring home with him to Vermont. But when Adele refused to move North, Twitchell made the best of his situation, purchasing a modest cotton plantation, moving some of his relatives down from the Green Mountain state, and establishing a small "Yankee colony" in the town of Coushatta.
   In 1868 Twitchell entered local politics and, with the support of African-American voters, was elected as a Republican to the state senate where he successfully fought for funding to build black public schools. He also displayed remarkable courage in the face of repeated threats from the Knights of the White Camellia, Louisiana's version of the Ku Klux Klan. In one instance, Twitchell, having fallen asleep in his saddle, avoided assassination when his mule took the wrong road, thus circumnavigating the bushwhackers waiting in the woods ahead. Twitchell's brother Homer was not so lucky, however. In August 1874, while Marshall was away in New Orleans, conspirators killed his brother and six other Republicans in what became known as the "Coushatta Massacre." Undaunted, Twitchell returned to the town despite threats that he would be next. Refusing to be intimidated, he continued to defend the political and economic rights of blacks and poor whites. Finally, in May 1876, a disguised gunman rode into town and shot Twitchell six times with a rifle. Although Twitchell survived the attack, both of his arms had to be amputated. Only then did he leave the South for good.
   Throughout EDGE OF THE SWORD, Tunnell places Twitchell's life within the complex context of local and national politics and current historiographical debates. But he does so as part of an evocative narrative that skillfully recreates the dramatic events that make Twitchell's story so compelling. Thus, this work will be of interest to both historians and lay readers. Tunnell is to be commended for writing an important biography of a courageous man who truly believed he was fighting a righteous battle.



2. His life-and-death struggle with the notorious White League was started by a group of Pulaski lawyers and judges. It was not a part of the Confederacy at all, formed to protect Southerners from the Northern Carpetbaggers during reconstruction. We still need their protection, as a director of the Carpetbagger Theater hoodwinked $100,000 out of the City Council on false pretenses. She used her trained actress voice and acting abilities to pull one over on the cooperative group, with undercover help from those of her acquaintance who had the ability to hide the truth that she indeed was the owner of the condemned property in a bad neighborhood.
   
   His ordeal was nothing like today when the carpetbaggers have returned to the South 220 years later to rook the dumb Southerners. I was told by a Pulaski native about how the carpetbaggers had to be stopped and they were not only taking from the defeated but from the underlings as well. They were a group of vultures.



3. How long have we heard from Southern apologists that if it hadn't been for the scalawags and carpetbaggers that Southern whites and {their} negroes would have gotten along just fine. Not that he had to but Tunnel goes along way in providing information that proves that the post Civil War South was viscious and violent place whose people preferred to use the bullet to the ballot. What a shame that President Grant and Hays did not have the courage to crush the White League and the KKK.

1 comments about The Grand Old Man of Maine: Selected Letters of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, 1865-1914 (Civil War America).

1. While some in the Civil War community complain of "Chamberlain fatigue," it is difficult to gripe about this marvelous new collection of postwar correspondence from one of the most articulate officers on either side of the conflict.
   
   Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain survived the Civil War - including a horrible wound at Petersburg - to become one of Maine's most prominent citizens. His postwar career included four terms as governor of Maine, a stint as president of Bowdoin College, numerous business enterprises, and perhaps most importantly, many years as a writer and lecturer on his Civil War experiences.
   
   The correspondence included by editor Jeremiah Goulka covers nearly every aspect of Chamberlain's personal and professional life. Chamberlain's heartfelt letters to his family, especially those to his wife Fannie, reveal him to be a loving, thoughtful husband and father. His relationship with Fannie, stormy and difficult though it was for many years, survived numerous crises until Fannie's death in 1905.
   
   Chamberlain's Civil War experiences transformed him, and his separation from the army often left him feeling restless. In 1870, Chamberlain wrote to the King of Prussia and offered his services in Prussia's war with France. In 1898, Chamberlain contacted the Secretary of War to volunteer for the Spanish-American War. Even with all his postwar positions and projects, Chamberlain never quite filled the space in his soul left empty by the end of the Civil War.
   
   Critics of Chamberlain, in his lifetime and in our own time, claim that he inflated his role at Little Round Top in an attempt to horde the glory of that important engagement. At least one letter included in this volume refutes this criticism. In a January 1910 letter to Union veteran and author Oliver W. Norton, Chamberlain says of his brigade commander, Strong Vincent, "He was a noble man, and I have not known an abler commander in his grade. Nothing could exceed his skill and energy in taking the position on Little Round Top and the confidence he inspired in his subordinates. To this the result of the fight on the left at Round Top is very largely due [emphasis added]."
   
   The correspondence also clarifies an often incorrectly reported fact concerning the July 1913 fiftieth anniversary reunion at Gettysburg. Chamberlain, while he visited Gettysburg in May as a member of the planning commission, did not attend the July reunion. Chamberlain's doctor strongly urged him not to go due to his declining health, and he stayed behind in Maine.
   
   Rather than being castigated for his prolific eloquence, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain deserves the timeless thanks of everyone who studies the Civil War. Jeremiah Goulka deserves thanks as well, for his skillful editing, and for giving us a deeper understanding of a genuine American hero.

5 comments about Gray Fox: Robert E. Lee and the Civil War.

1. Nicely written clear and concise facts from beginning to end. Burke Davis quotes and paraphrases several first hand accounts of civilians Confederate, and Union officers. Mr. Davis also recites several letters from General Robert E. Lee to family, Jefferson Davis, Confederate officers and General Grant.

   The reading of this biography permeates vast knowledge of Robert E. Lee. Starting with his birth, education at West Point, emergence from the Mexican War, "with a reputation as the army's most talented young officer." Mr. Davis does a great job of conveying General Lee's concerns about the possibility of civil war. Robert E. Lee made the difficult decision to resign from the U.S. military. Here is a sample of General Lee's letter of resignation. "I have devoted all the best years of my life and all the ability I posed. During the whole time-more than a quarter of a century-I have experienced nothing but kindness from my superiors and a most cordial friendship from my comrades. To no one, General, have I been as much indebted as to yourself for uniform kindness and consideration. I shall carry to the grave the most grateful recollections of your kind consideration, and your name and fame will always be dear to me."

   The book is worthy of reading I'll probably read it a few more times. Therefore five stars seems appropriate for a truly amazing book. This book is for folks from any geographical area. Whatever your race, creed, culture, religion is this book can be an enjoyable read. I leave you with one last quote this is Robert E. Lee's opinion of slavery. "There are few, I believe, in this enlightened age, who will acknowledge that slavery as an institution is a moral and political evil...I think it greater evil to the white than to the black race."




2. I wouldn't say I disliked this book, but I did find it pretty short on both style and substance. It presents a good chronology of Lee's ACW campaigns, and might make a good prelude to a more detailed account if one wanted to get that chronology straight. However the prose is limp at best and details lacking. In his descriptions of the battles (especially) Burke Davis brings very little to life. For example, in the description of Chancellorsville, one never gets a sense that the battle is slipping out of Lee's control before his and Jackson's daring and innovative masterstroke changes the outcome completely.

   Credit should be given for good use of excerpts from Lee's correspondance which paint a picture of a gentle and humane man doing his duty bravely despite a mounting sense of the long-term hoelessness of the situation. But, more interesting material can be found than this historical overview for anyone who wants something serious on the subject.




3. An excellent read on the life of Robert E. Lee. Davis does an good job in portraying the general's life, not overloading the reader with details. Those who have read more detailed books on Lee might find this one lacking, but I believe it to be worth your time and would make an excellent addition to ones Civil War library.



4. Davis is one of those rare authors who has the magical ability to to breathe life into the past through his writings. In addition to being a truly gifted writer, he is also an insightful and even-handed historian. Davis depicts Lee as a great, but not perfect general, as a complex figure who was willing to fight invading Northern armies, but who also hoped for an eventual end to slavery, as a man who while being vulnerable to pride sought the ideal of Christian humility, as kind and humane, but also willing to see men die in their thousands for the cause which he and they fought for. Moreover, while the book is written from the perspective of Lee and his army, the Northern side is still treated with respect and the same depth of understanding. Since many books on the Civil War are filled with hatred, blame, and arteficial and foolish one dimensional standards of morality, this is refreshing. I do not at all regret buying this book. I only regret that the author did not write more books. In addition to Gray Fox, I also highly recommend Davis's biography of Stonewall Jackson.



5. This was an OK book on Lee, I was expecting better from Davis. It was just too dry, and not really enough detail. More maps would have helped, and he could have written more on some of Lee's failures following the Wilderness Campaign. But overall it wasn't horrible, I did read it from cover to cover so it kept my interest. BTW, this book focuses almost exclusively on Lee during the Civil War, so you don't get detailed personal information and background on Lee (i.e. his early years before the war).

5 comments about The Warrior Generals: Combat Leadership in the Civil War.

1. First, a caveat: If you say, "War of Northern Aggression", hold dear the Lost Cause, and celebrate Massa Robert Lee's birthday as a high holy day, you should avoid this book altogether rather than read it and go on to write an emotional review raving against it and giving only one star. This book dares depart from the usual hagiographic treatment of Lee, suggesting that some of his actions were less than genius, and that some were brutal mistakes. Trust me, if you consider this sacrilege, please avoid this book.
   As for everyone else, this is an outstanding book - the freshest take on the Civil War that I have read in years. Buell ignores the received wisdom on such giants as Grant, Lee, Sherman, Hood, and Jackson, and goes back to original sources to reconstruct the actual men behind the legends. His take on these generals is sometimes controversial, usually enlightening, and always interesting.
   Buell focuses on three pairs of generals - Grant and Lee, Thomas and Hood, and Barlow and Gordon. This devise works well to allow him to examine each major phase of the war in both the eastern and western theaters. By including the lesser known Barlow and Gordon, Buell is also able to contrast the West Point trained professionals to volunteer generals who made up such a large segment of those who served in the Civil War.
   Grant and Lee, in particular, come in for reassessment in Buell's work, and both suffer somewhat from it. This, however, is not character assassination, but a valid reexamination of undeniably great men, assessing them by their actions rather than the legends that have grown around them. You might not totally agree with all of Buell's conclusions, but they may make you reassess what you think you already know.
   One of the high points of the book is the treatment of General George Thomas. One of the greatest generals of the war, Thomas has been often overlooked for many reasons (including the fact that he was a Southerner mistrusted by the North, he did not get along well with Grant, and he died shortly after the war leaving no memoirs.)What you read here will leave you hungry for more information on the great forgotten man of the Civil War.
   Buell writes well, his prose moves swiftly, and though he covers the general's actions in many battles, he never gets bogged down in the details that are more appropriately left to books that cover a particular campaign.
   Read this book and you will discover something almost as rare as a Burnside victory - fresh ideas about the Civil War.
   
   
   Theo Logos



2. Buell analyzes three COnfederate and three Union soldiers with six very different leadership styles.
   
   Buell gives a title to each of the six different men and they are:
   
   The Yoeman: Ulysses S. Grant
   The Aristocrat: Rboert E. Lee
   The Knight-Errant: John Bell Hood
   The Roman: George H. Thomas
   The Cavalier: John B . Gordon
   The Puritan: Francis C. Barlow
   
   Buell researched this book heavily, including delving into the National Archives to the point that he actually found boxes of papers from the Civil War that had not even been opened since they were packaged and delivered after the war, a fact that I find amazing given the vast number of books written on the war every year.
   
   Buell is quite clear in his book that Robert E. Lee was vastly overrated and quite possibly incompetent (he never says it outright but he infers it). I agree that Lee has been overrated by some, but his incompetence is refuted, in my mind, by his track record against a much larger, better equipped army over the course of the war. To his credit, Buell does not lay the blame for the vast number of casualties in the Seven Days Battles in the Peninsular Campaign on Lee - which I consider fair consider that he was forced to take charge during the battles due to the wounding of Confederate General Joseph Johnston. Lee can't really take the blame for a situation he did not create.
   
   Buell also is extremely critical of Grant, sometimes in a contradictory manner. At the beginning of the book he is critical of Grant's strategy as unimaginative at the end of the war (press Lee constantly, despite the constant casualties since Lee could not replace his casualites and Grant could easily replace his own - it quickly became a numbers game and denied Lee his famed mobility) and then, towards the end of the book he praises it.
   
   Buell's favorite is obviously Thomas, a brilliant organizer who built the army that literally simultaneously destroyed the Confederate Army of Tennessee (under Thomas) and was the core of Sherman's famous March to the Sea through Georgia. However, he was ultimately relieved of command by Grant for being to deliberate - a conclusion that I share with Grant. Buell, however, believes that it was an unjust firing. (Grant believed that action was often more important than preparation - sometimes true, sometimes not, but Thomas never seemed to be prepared enough...)
   
   Although I disagreed with many of his conclusions, I did enjoy Buell's book. It was informative and well written.



3. Great book which analyzes six of the top generals in the civil war. Warrior Generals gives you a glimpse into their heads before, during and after battles. Excellent companion to Foote and McPherson, must read for American Civil War buffs.



4. I enjoyed Mr. Buell's book. As a number of people have noted, the author provides perspectives on Generals Lee and Grant that may be unfair in some respects but are often thought-provoking. The portions on General Thomas explain his greatness in a way I had not read before.
   
   On the other hand, the book's description of a single incident causes me great concern about how much the reader can rely upon the author's descriptions of other events throughout the book.
   
   That one event concerns the so-called Lost Order. On September 9, 1862, General Lee, then at Frederick, MD, issued seven copies of the order (Special Orders No. 191) to his commanders, including D.H. Hill and Stonewall Jackson, directing them to split up and attack Harper's Ferry, VA from three directions, thus dividing his army into four parts. Jackson, not realizing that Lee issued a copy of the order directly to Hill, also issued a copy of the order to Hill, Jackson's subordinate. Hill received the copy of the order from Jackson, but the copy from Lee was somehow lost. Beginning September 12, the Union army moved into Frederick. Incredibly, on September 13, a Union soldier camped on the outskirts of Frederick by chance found the order lying in a field, wrapped around some cigars. The order was ultimately forwarded to General McClellan, leading ultimately to the Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg) on September 17.
   
   I do not profess to be a Civil War expert, but both books I had read about this incident clearly stated that it was never determined whether Hill received the copy of the order from Lee and therefore should be blamed for its loss. On the one hand, according to those books, Hill always adamantly maintained that he never received the order, and his adjutant supplied an affidavit to that effect. On the other, Lee's adjutant, R.H. Chilton, maintained that, although he did not have a specific recollection or documentary evidence, he was confident that he must have received confirmation that the order was delivered to Hill. Beyond that, no other evidence turned up. No courier confessed carelessness, and the identity of the owner of the cigars was never determined. See, Sears, Landscape Turned Red: The Battle of Antietam, pp. 111-115 and Appendix I; McPherson, Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam, The Battle that Changed the Course of the Civil War, pp. 107-108.
   
   It is certainly fair for an author to suggest that one scenario or the other is the more likely one (in view of the explicit, albeit selfserving, testimony of Hill and his adjutant, I would be inclined to conclude that Hill did not receive the copy of the order, and that in the rush of events [Lee's army was splitting up and moving out] Lee's adjutant did not notice that he did not receive confirmation of receipt). Mr. Buell does not do this, however. Instead, giving no hint of any uncertainty or controversy, he relates one hypothetical scenario as firmly established fact: "Hill . . . received two copies of the special order. . . . Hill snorted at the inept staff work of the high command and tossed away the redundant order. A staff officer retrieved the document and used it to wrap his cigars. When Hill and Lee's army got underway the next morning, September 10, the package was left behind." Buell, pp. 111-112.
   
   Again, I am no expert, but if Messrs. Sears and McPherson are correct in describing the available evidence, Mr. Buell's description is, with all due respect, misleading. He presents the story as gospel, adding vivid details (Hill "snorted" and "tossed away" the order; a "staff officer" retrieved and reused it) that lead the reader to believe that he is relying upon an account by a witness (presumably the messenger or Hill or a member of Hill's staff), when there apparently was none.
   
   This disparity, in turn, causes me to wonder how many other times in the book Mr. Buell may have used similar, apparently misleading techniques to present hypothetical scenarios as fact without alerting the reader that uncertainty exists.
   
   As I have emphasized, I am only a layperson interested in the Civil War. James McPherson apparently did not complain about Mr. Buell's treatment of the Lost Order incident (the book cover includes a blurb by Mr. McPherson praising the book; I have not been able to find his original review), so perhaps I am being unfair. If anyone has other thoughts, I would be delighted to hear them.



5. This is an intriguing book, although not without some controversy. The method is to examine three pairs of generals, one each from the Union and Confederate armies--East and West--at different levels of command. The two top generals at the end of the Civil War, Ulysses Grant and Robert E. Lee are one pair. Two generals of armies in the West--George Thomas with the Union and John Bell Hood with the Confederates--are profiled and compared. Finally, two generals in the East--Francis Barlow and John B. Gordon--are compared, each at Division or Corps command level.
   
   The end result is illuminating. Certainly, Robert E. Lee is not treated kindly. Grant comes in for some hits, as well. Nonetheless the criticisms are handled pretty well and the author does credit each for their strengths.
   
   At the lowest level of command, Barlow and Gordon, we get an interesting tratment of two commanders who may not be as well chronicled as others. Nonetheless, each served with distinction and both were certainly interesting character studies.
   
   Finally, and maybe most controversial, is the juxtaposition of Thomas (Southern born, despised by his family and mistrusted by some in the North) and Hood. The latter is a perfect example of the "Peter Principle," where one gets promoted above one's level of competence. A terrific division commander, Hood was overmatched as an army (and probably even as a corps) commander. Buell's treatment of Thomas is almost over laudatory. To be sure, the record is clear that Thomas was a stalwart, at whatever level of command he held; he excelled from the start of the Civil War, with his crushing of Zellicoffer's army at Mill Springs to his smashing victory over Hood at Nashville. Nonetheless, the treatment of Thomas is perhaps a bit "over the top," despite his genuine accomplishments and the shabby treatment that he received from Grant and Sherman toward the end of the war.
   
   In the end, a very interesting book, marred mainly by the overenthusiastic treatment of Thomas (even though, I would argue, Thomas deserves much more credit as a general than he is often given).

5 comments about Gray Ghost: The Life of Col. John Singleton Mosby.

1. An excellent book for anyone interested in the Civil War. Ramage has written an exciting, fast-paced biography of one of the South's most mythologized and celebrated Civil War heroes. He draws the reader into the world of Mosby from his early fights with childhood bullies to his final fight for J.E.B. Stuart's memory and legacy. Certainly one of the Confederacy's more popular figures, Mosby ruled an area of Virginia causing Union officers and privates alike to fear capture if separated from the main body. Mosby's able and selfless leadership set an example to his men, and both Stuart and Lee saw that he was no ordinary partisan ranger. Even after the war, Mosby's fight continued as he supported the Republican Grant for president. Ramage aptly delves into the now out-of-favor hero's post-war life and one of the best chapters in the book is his description of Mosby's fight against corruption as U.S. consul in Hong Kong. Ramage has gone through many sources and succeeded in bringing Mosby the man to life. The author even met with Mosby's grandson and received valuable first-hand descriptions of him in his later life. This book is destined to be the definitive work on the "Gray Ghost".



2. This book is well written by someone who likes Mosby but this nonsense about "terror" from Union troops about Mosby sounds more like the terror that was felt by the Confederates towards Sheridan or Sherman or John Brown!
   Frankly I have always considered those who hit and run or come out at night and shoot stragglers or people from behing to be somewhat -- well - gutless. Sorry.



3. This book is about as close to entertainment as history can get. This does not mean that it is fiction however. Ramage writes a sturdy bio of Mosby. And although Mosby is one of the most famous, or infamous if you are a Yankee, Civil War personalities around, there aren't many good reads on him. However, Ramage's bio is terrific from both a historian's and a reader's point of view. Ramage is obviously an admirer of Mosby's, but does not blindly believe all that comes with the "Mosby myth". Instead, Ramage uses both primary and secondary sources to try to find the real Mosby and see what his real exploits were. The descriptions of Mosby's forays are fast-paced and exciting. The chapters on Mosby's post-war career are extremely interesting as we see the hated Mosby become a Republican and friend of U.S. Grant. Mosby also became embroiled in disputes with "Lost Cause" people like Jubal Early due to Mosby's support of J.E.B. Stuart. Interesting all the way around.



4. Ramage is absolutely correct when he speaks about Mosby's effect on his adversaries. By the time the war was over, he was - after Jefferson Davis - the most hated Confederate in the North. Once, late in the war when a troop of Yankee cavalry bringing in prisoners (none of whom were Mosby's men) joked that they had 'caught Mosby', in just a few hours over 10,000 people gathered to see the vaunted guerrilla chief. Mosby's psychological tactics were such that often all he or one of his men had to do was approach a Union picket or vidette and say, "I am Mosby" and the man became paralyzed with fear. Yet, Mosby's treatment of those whom he captured was such that after the war, many of his best friends were former Union officers taken by him and his command.
   
   Unfortunately, however, author Ramage has a tendency to speculate regarding things he cannot prove. His theory of Mosby's 'bipolar' personality - he was kind, gentle and loving at home but fierce, overly aggressive and untrusting out in the world - does not necessarily equate with the testimony of many of Mosby's men who wrote about the man and the 43rd Battalion.
   
   Furthermore, Ramage's account of Mosby's relationship with Fitz Hugh Lee - the two men detested each other - contains a vignette in which Lee supposedly offers a terrible rebuke to then Lt. Mosby when he offered Lee a captured Union newspaper. Lee, according to Ramage said "The ruling passion strong in death" a quote from one of Pope's moral essays on Lord Cobham, a religious dissenter who was hanged and burned for his beliefs. Ramage recounted that as a classical scholor Mosby would understand this statement to mean that he would deserve his fate when the Yankees caught and hanged him as a spy during one of his 'scouts' for JEB Stuart. According to Ramage, Mosby had no suspicion of Fitz Lee's hatred of him until that point. Yet in all other accounts - including Mosby's - nothing much is made of the same incident. I would not mind Ramage's account or his conclusion if only he had given a more detailed account of how he came to know that Lee said what he said and meant it as Ramage posits. Furthermore, I would have liked to know how Ramage knew that Mosby had no idea of his superior officer's feelings for him at the time. However, Ramage simply makes the statement and let's it go at that.
   
   There are certainly many psychological indicators apparent in Mosby's life which can enlighten interested parties regarding his forceful and unique personality but I must confess that I found some of author Ramage's speculations to be lacking in credible verification on such subjective matters. If one is going to speak of 'feelings' and 'passions', it is wise to have at least some documentation to back up one's claims. Otherwise, the matter becomes nothing more than another speculation regarding the individual being studied.



5. James A. Ramage has written what must be THE definitive book on the life of John Singleton Mosby. I cannot imagine a more thoroughly written book on the topic. Ramage discusses his family history, his childhood and more.
   
   Of course, the largest amount is written about his service in the Civil War as a partisan ranger that terrorized the Union troops arrayed against Robert E. Lee. Ramage is definitely a fan of Mosby, but he refuses to get involved in the hype that Mosby and his contemporaries sometimes engaged in concerning how effective Mosby's men were. Ramage agrees that Mosby was cost-effective, meaning that his small groups of men - usually around 120 or so - would tie down thousands of Union soldiers, but disagrees with Mosby himself that he tied down tens of thousands.
   
   The real strength of this biography is that Ramage covers Mosby's post-Civil War career thoroughly, including his controversial forays into politics and his government posting in Hong Kong. Ramage even includes a chapter on how Mosby has been represented in film and television, including a movie in which Mosby played himself in 1910.
   
   This is not a book for the casual Civil War reader - there is too much specific detail and an assumption that the reader knows and understands the basics of the war. However, this book will continue to serve as the reference for all things Mosby.

No comments about The Last Lincoln Conspirator: John Surratt's Flight from the Gallows.

5 comments about Faith in God and Generals: An Anthology of Faith, Hope, and Love in the American Civil War.

1. Having read many Civil War histories and biographies, I was surprised to find much information I had never seen before on prominent, as well as lesser known characters from that period, particularly as it pertained to their spiritual lives. That issue is sometimes briefly touched upon, but never in such depth and personal details, many of which come from their own hand, including letters, diaries, etc. It also gives a lot of attention to what the women of the time were thinking, saying, and writing - something usually missing from most military biographies. It is very poignant to read the accounts from godly men on both sides of the conflict who at first believed that God was behind their cause, and then when victory was not as quick and certain as predicted, began to have doubts, and finally to conclude that ultimately, God was working through the conflict to bring about His own sovereign purpose which was far and above any human goal. Those who gave this book a negative review reveal their own bias and the reason why most authors leave this type of information out of their books. They view it as being insignificant to themselves, and therefore fail to understand the impact it has had throughout history.



2. This book was written to be a companion of the 2003 movie, Gods and Generals. Covering many of the historical figures from that movie, the book tells about them, and particularly about their faith in God, and how that affected what they did. Filled with many great pictures and illustration, this book makes for some fascinating reading!

   I must admit that I really enjoyed this book. The authors' contention that religious faith is usually given short shrift in most history book is spot on, and that does go along way to making this book practically unique! But, I must say that more is covered in this book than religious subjects; for example, one of my favorite stories told in the book is the story entitled "Grandmother's Quilt," which tells the story of a quilt and the love of two people.

   Overall, I found this to be a great book! I highly enjoyed it, and I highly recommend it to you.




3. Having published a review of the film "Gods and Generals," I found this book an interesting companion to it. This beautifully illustrated anthology provides insights into individuals caught up on both sides of the Civil War and how their faith guided them. The excellent Forword by Ron Maxwell is a must read. It makes a great gift book.



4. Ted Baehr and Susan Wales have compiled this book that gives biographical sketches of just about every character in Ron Maxwell's film Gods and Generals. This book is unique in that it gives attention to how the Christian faith of these people influenced their lives, particularly during the war. It is written with brevity and is full of quotes from their letters. This book is important because a person's faith will influence what he does in life, to varying degrees. That is why I feel it is important to study this aspect of their character and to this end I am particularly grateful to Ted Baehr and Susan Wales for putting this book together. It will also serve as an introduction to many of these characters for the reader who may be studying these people for the first time. Each piece in this book has footnotes that will guide the reader to other sources that they can read if they would like to study a person or topic further. Ron Maxwell provides a very insightful foreward to this book in which he tells of his conviction to portray history accurately. The book has many nice photos from the film as well as photos and drawings from the Civil War era. 18 people contributed to this book, historian Gabor Boritt among them. Talk-show host and columnist Les Kinsolving contributed a piece on William Barksdale, to whom he is related. He also plays William Barksdale in Gods and Generals and Gettysburg. My favorite chapter is the one on Stonewall Jackson and his wife Anna. It is full of lengthy quotes from their letters to each other. The back of the book has an appendix that lists the cast of the film. It also has a note about each of the contributors to this book. By all means, get this book and keep it handy on your coffeetable. And get the Gods and Generals DVD to go with it.



5. Fans of this movie, and of Shaara's book, can appreciate this book as a companion piece, but it's far more than that. Faith and prayer carried Americans on both sides through the heartache of separation from loved ones, the savagery of the battlefield, the horror of prisoner of war camps. Any Christian can appreciate the stories of faith and hope that so characterized this tragic period of America's history, and benefit from the examples of honor and character that seem, sadly, to be lost among leaders today.
   
   A must-have for fans of the movie and book, students of the period, and people of faith.