5 comments about Breckinridge: Statesman, Soldier, Symbol (Southern Biography Series).

1. I love this book. It really gives an in depth view of John, who I want to mention is my great great uncle. I loved seeing his life through someone else's view point. It paints him in a very graphic way, very colorful. Davis doesnt shy away from writing the truth. Very great book.



2. John C. Breckinridge was one of the most notable politicians of the 1850's, a confederate general serving in all theaters of the war, and a member of Jefferson Davis cabinet, playing a key role in negotiating the terms of surrender.

   It is not too much to say that an examination of this one life can throught new clarifying light virtually all issues relating to the Civil War. From the Compromise of 1850, to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, to the Lecompton covention and the Dred Scott decision, the split of the Democratic convention in 1860, to the move toward secession, to the last ditch efforts for peaceful reconciliation, to the war itself, to the surrender of the armies of Northern Virginia and Tennessee, to the immediate aftermath Breckinridge was there frequently as a major player.

   However, as much light as Breckinridge throws on these various issues, there are aspects about his career that remains troubling. While Davis protrays Breckinridge as a unionist and personally opposed to slavery, Breckinridge *continually* sides with the pro-slavery contingent in Congress. Whether it's Dred Scott, or Lecompton, or running on a rival "southern rights" platform to Douglas, Breckinridge is unerringly on the pro-slavery side. Breckinridge (and Davis) always have a reason (or an excuse) for a given position, but the overall pattern is clear. In the final analysis, it may have been Breckinridge's devotion to the "right of property" as being *absolute* and hence even *above* the constitution.

   In any case Breckinridge's finest hour comes in the twilight of the confederacy when he serves briefly but effectively as Secretary of War and going behind Jeff Davis's back , who is border line delusional at this point, to negotiate with Lee and Johnston a plan of surrender to the Union. This story is one that Davis tells more fully in his HONORABLE DEFEAT and it cannot be understated that Breckinridge prevented the Confederacy from decending into guerilla warfare and banditry that would have lingered for years if not decades.

   Also in the aftermath, Breckinridge takes principled stand in favor of accepting negro testimony in court and against the Ku Klux Kan in Kentucky. Toward the very end, his participation in the Lee memorial in Lexington KY throught light on the emergence of the "Lost Cause" mythology as Jubal Early will set up a competiting memorial in Lexington VA. (This smacks of different apparitions of the madonna during the Mexican revolution with the rebel adopting the lady of Guadalupe, while the government forces adopt Pilar.)

   Finally this book, it has to be remembered that this book was written 30 years ago and while it's still valuable a lot has been published on the Army of Tennesee (particularly Pat Cleburn) and on the southern Unionists during the secession crisis. I think a revised edition that could take these recent developments into account would be valuable.




3. Excellent biography of one of the most interesting men in the US Civil War. From a political star as Vice President and Presidential Candidate against Lincoln, Brekinridge typlifies the great split in our country. Dutiful and professional serving as VP to the virtual end of his term he leaves as a vagabond due to his southern sympathies. Brekinridge served as a Confederate General during the war and ended it as perhaps the most proficient Secretary of War that the south had. Davis covers Breckinridge's rise as the succesor to the great Henry Clay. When the crisis of civil war looms, he is reaching his zenith as a political star. In an almost sad despair, he leaves to fight for the south as his border state home Kentucky remains in the Union. Breckinridge is a great subject of the war as he serves in both the western theater and the east as well and as a succesful independent commander in southwestern VA. Davis captures Breckinridges life throughout the war with great detail such as when his division is severly punished at Stones River under Bragg who in turn accusses Breckinridge unfairly of incompetence and drink. But Breckinridge thives later as an independent commander in an undermaned and threatened theater of southwestern VA. He consolidates his troops and wins one of the souths last great, although small, battles at New Market that is forever associated with the valor of the VMI cadets who supported the final charge. Breckinridge later serves wiith Lee at Cold harbor and throughout the overland campaign. But as the author Davis carries you through Breckinridge's career, you become a witness to the south's final destruction as Breckinridge is the Scretary of War during the final months of the Confederacy. Aside from closely associating with Lee, Breckinridge is with the Confederate government that flees Richmond. Breckinridge, with loyalty but with objectivity, tries to steer Davis into the realization that the war is doomed. While Davis is in flight, Breckinridge stays with Joe Johnston and helps negotiate terms that Stanton felt were so generous he publicly embarrased Sherman causing Sherman's return for a new surrender. With this biography, the author provides you an inside view of the sadness the war has on a leader who does seem caught in the middle and who is involved in both the military and political situation. Breckinridge was in the center of the military and the government throughout the last year to its final collapse. An excellent biography that bridges you to many of Davis' other books such as the Battle of New Market, his Davis Biography, The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government and the Orphan Brigade.



4. 
   As William Davis explains in the book's introduction, in the mid-1960s, while researching the Battle of New Market in BATTLES AND LEADERS, he came across information regarding John C. Breckinridge, the most interesting being that he had been vice-president of the country under Buchanan. "What could have induced a man who had been vice-president . . . to turn and fight against his own country?" He spent the next nine years not only attempting to answer that question, but compiling the information needed to put together the "thorough biography" Breckinridge "deserved." It's a magnificent achievement.
   
   Right off the bat he corrects a mistake that has lingered in historical sketches of Breckinridge, and that is his birthdate: he was born on January 16, 1821 (not the 21st), and it was "in" Lexington, KY (not "near" it). After attending what is today's Princeton University and studying law in Lexington, he was admitted to the bar in 1841. In 1847 he went to Mexico at the head of a force of Kentucky volunteers, but arrived too late to see any action in the Mexican War. After serving two years in the Kentucky state legislature, he was elected to Congress, 1851-55. He was nominated as vice-president with James Buchanan on the Democratic ticket, and his conduct as presiding officer of the Senate (being able especially to put aside his own pro-slavery beliefs for the good of the body elect) has been praised by contemporaries and historians alike.
   
   When the Southern Democrats broke with the national party in protest over the nomination of Stephen A. Douglas in 1860, they nominated Breckinridge as president. He was able to garner 72 electoral votes in the election, effectively splitting the Democratic party enabling Lincoln to take the presidency. Returning to the Senate (so popular was he in KY that he was elected Senator of the state in 1859, even though he would've been unable to take office until 1861), he tried to keep his home state neutral while at the same time opposing Lincoln. But by September all seemed lost, and he abandoned his Senate seat for the Confederacy.
   
   Commissioned a brigadier general, Breckinridge first saw action at Shiloh and then at Vicksburg. In August 1862 he was promoted to major general and was with Bragg at Stones River and Joseph E. Johnston at Jackson, MS. Later engagements included Chickamauga, Chattanooga, and a number of actions in the Shenandoah Valley and Virginia. He commanded the Department of Southwest Virginia at the end of 1864 and saw action at Nashville. He was appointed Jefferson Davis's secretary of war in 1865, and when he was captured by Sherman's forces while escaping with Davis to the South after Lee's surrender, Sherman advised him to leave the country for his own safety. He did, going first to Cuba and then to Europe. He expressed a strong desire to return to America, however, and in 1868 a pardon was granted after which he re-established himself (and his law practice) in Lexington, where he died in 1875.
   
   The "symbol" referred to in the title I think is best applied to what Breckinridge represented after the war: he wanted the country more than anything to move on beyond the differences and hatreds fostered by the War; for himself, he said he regretted joining the Confederacy, though was proud of his service there. Upon his death he was mourned by the entire country.
   
   Davis's biography is among the best ever written, not only of a Civil War figure, but of anyone in the country. He writes with great authority and magnificent style, and the pleasure one gets in reading him is almost beyond measure. It's a long, thorough book, but always fascinating, always engaging. Highly recommended.



5. WE ARE FORTUNATE AS AMERICANS TO HAVE A NUMBER OF INTERESTING POLITICIANS IN OUR SHORT HISTORY. bRECKENRIDGE IS NO EXCEPTION. DAVIS HAS WRITTEN MANY BGOOKS ON THIS ERA OF OUR LIFE AND THIS IS MATCHED ONLY BY JEFFERSON DAVIS AS A WORTHWHILE BOOK TO READ AND ABSORB. THE AUTHOR TAKES US THROUGH BRECKENRIDGE'S LIFE THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF A STATESMAN WHO TOPS HIS CAREER AS AS VP OF AMERICA IN THE DARKEST HOUR TO A PATRIOT WHO CHOOSES AS SO MANY OTHERS TO FOLLOW HIS STATE AND TAKE UP ARMS FOR THE SOUTH. WE SEE THE MAN, NOT JUST THE POLITICIAN/SOLDIER IN THIS BIOGRAPHY. IT IS NOT BY ACCIDENT THAT SO MANY HISTORIANS AHVE CITED AND QUOTED THIS VOLUME IN THEIR OWN WORKS. iF YOU DON'T HAVE THIS BOOK, GET IT.

2 comments about Ghosts And Shadows of Andersonville: Essays on the Secret Social Histories of America's Deadliest Prison.

1. Historian Robert S. Davis presents Ghosts and Shadows of Andersonville: Essays on the Secret Social Histories of America's Deadliest Prison, an in-depth scrutiny that openly dispels commonly held misperceptions about the so-called "American Death Camp" of the Confederate prison of Andersonville, and the trial of its most famous figure, Captain Henry Wirz. Focusing keenly on the lives of Americans connected to Andersonville prison before and during the Civil War, Ghosts and Shadows of Andersonville does not minimize or excuse the starvation, mistreatment, and fatalities of the prison but simultaneously counters accusations of deliberate extermination with evidence that the prison also served as a hospital, and that the guards suffered from malnutrition and starvation as surely as the prisoners. A balanced scrutiny of a dark place in America's past, that draws heavily and directly from letters, journals, articles and other primary sources to present its case.



2. 'Ghosts' offers new insights into Andersonville
   
   By Kenneth H. Thomas Jr.
   For the Journal-Constitution
   Published on: 11/26/06
   
   Robert Scott Davis, noted historian and genealogist of numerous works on Georgia history, is the author of "Ghosts and Shadows of Andersonville: Essays on the Secret Social Histories of America's Deadliest Prison."
   
   The story of the Civil War prison in South Georgia's Sumter County is well-known. In this new work, Davis sheds light on many aspects of the Andersonville prison that were either muddled or overlooked by previous writers, with special emphasis on the histories and biographies of many people associated with the prison.
   
   In one chapter, Davis discusses the various escapes from the prison, how they are documented and who actually did escape. He devotes another chapter to the photographer Andrew J. Riddle and his life and association with the prison. He discusses the women who are recorded there. Included are many stories, a selected bibliography, appendices, and detailed footnotes.
   
   Davis shows that just when you think everything has been written on a subject, a really determined, expert researcher can always find something more. This book is a must for all Civil War and Georgia history collections.

5 comments about The Marble Man: Robert E. Lee and His Image in American Society.

1. This book might be approached as an examination of how a well-known personality is transformed for a human being into a cultural icon. Sequentially and chronologically Connelly takes his readers through that process using Robert E. Lee as the item of investigation. Along the way, Connelly makes commentary on the differences between the cultures of the north and south and how Lee's legion spread because of those cultural differences. That context has been well-established by numerous writers. Connelly simply uses it for a closer examination of Lee. For example, on page 102 he quotes another historian, Bradley T. Johnson in writing "Environmental factors had forced North and South to develop contrasting socieites. The North, 'invigorated' by constant struggle with nature, became materialistic, grasping for wealth and power. The South's 'more generous climate' had wrought a life-style based upon non-materialism and adherence to a finer code of 'veracity and honor in man, chastity and fidelity in women'"
   This book helps a person to understand how history evolves in the process of retelling over a period of several generations.



2. Connelly argues that Robert E. Lee's heroic image was largely created post-war by a small group of Virginians, and goes on to give what he regards as a more accurate assessment.
   
   While agreeing that the post-war canonization of Lee imposed some distortions upon historians which modern scholars do well to avoid, several things about this study didn't convince me. Firstly, Connelly spends little time analyzing Lee's popularity during the war, which rose after the Peninsula campaign and remained high through the end; Lee and his army were a significant image and source of morale to all Southerners, not just Virginians, at that time.
   
   Secondly, Connelly makes various statements about personalities and psychological quirks -- Mary Custis Lee was "unpleasant", Lee was morbid and death-obsessed -- in the presence of limited supporting evidence and of no discussion of the mentalities, religious faith, and social norms of the time. (His idiosyncratic assessment of individuals includes a characterization of Fitz Lee as the worst of Lee's cavalry commanders -- even considering the shadbake incident, that seems like too strong a statement when one considers that Fitz' competition for the worst would include candidates such as Grumble Jones and the luckless Lunsford Lomax.)
   
   This study does reveal the ugly post-war squabble for the portrayal of history in all its inglory.



3. I must say that the Marble Man is a good read. I can say this from two perspectives. First, I read the book and thouroughly enjoyed it. Second, Dr. Connelly was my professor and advisor at the University of South Carolina from 1986 until 1988. I cannot express enough what an experience it was to sit in one of his classes and listen to his lectures. It was like being transported back in time to the battle or period we were covering that day. The students would wait with anticipation before he arrived and didn't want to leave when the class was over because the transportation back in time would end when we'd leave the classroom. I remember Dr. Connelly's assessment of Lee quite well. While Lee was a good general, he did tend to be wasteful with resources and has become overrated with time. I strongly encourage the reader of this review to read anything written by Dr. Connelly. He was an amazing man.



4. I found the book "The Marble Man" to be disappointing in several ways. The author, Thomas L Connelly, attempts to illustrate that the modern notion of Robert E. Lee as a selfless leader, great general, noble gentleman, and devoted family man is the result of a vast Virginian conspiracy.
   Connelly's composition leaves something to be desired. The prologue, chapters, and epilogue seem to be thrown together in a way that shouldn't be described as "seamless". He is repetitive with quotes, often using the same quote from the same person several times (sometimes to convey different meanings). Throughout the book, one is waiting for the big "hook", or the "zinger" where Connelly will finally show his indisputable truth that Lee is not what he seems to be. This never arrives.
   Connelly is certainly a well known historian, but not much of a Theologian. The "God thing" is throughout the book and really bothers/baffles Connelly. At various times he identifies Robert E Lee as a Calvinist, an Episcopalian, and a Puritan. Lee was a very devout Christian and attended the Episcopalian denominational churches most of his life. Connelly describes many of Lee's beliefs as "other-worldliness" and a "fixation on death". No time here to go into this in depth, but Connelly scratched the surface of something his just doesn't get.
   One huge goal of many post modern historians is to bring the great down (no evidence necessary) and to elevate the base. "Lincoln was a homosexual"..."Clinton a great leader for his time" The beat goes on.



5. I generally enjoy anything written by Thomas Connelly and this book was no exception. It is a very academic approach to dissecting the reasons why we revere Lee as a great leader of the "Lost Cause" for Southern Independence.
   
   Many of Connelly's assertions will be unsettling for those hardcore fans of R.E. Lee. I myself was uncomfortable with some of what Connelly serves up as the reasons for Lee's eventual canonization in American culture.
   
   But it is also hard to ignore some of the well argued reasons for Lee's place in history. I was particulary intriqued with Jubal Early's role in creating the "legends" surrounding Lee. Early was certainly one Southern General who might have been expected to despise Marse Robert. And indeed, Connelly paints a portrait of a man driven to place Lee on a pedestal to in some small way, regain his commander's affection.
   
   And of course there were deeper seated needs that Southerners had for enobling the "Lost Cause" by revering a leader, whose moral character and leadership were unchallenged.
   
   Connelly does a good job of making the reader really think about the motivations of those people who created some of the myths surrounding Lee. In the end, they needed to believe in the greatness of Lee, because the greatness of the cause was so suspect in the end.
   
   Connelly's treatment does not diminish Lee. Instead, the real man begins to emerge from the marble of time and history. And indeed, the real R.E. Lee was a very great man indeed.

5 comments about The 24th Wisconsin Infantry in the Civil War: The Biography of a Regiment.

1. While some regimental histories are black and white, two dimensional laundry lists of thinly researched memories, William J.K. Beaudot delivers a full color, 3D panorama of life in the 24th Wisconsin Infantry. Solid scholarship provides the foundation for this vivid account by an acomplished story teller. This book does justice to the men and deeds of the 24th. Men like the young Arthur MacArthur and his winning of the Medal of Honor. A fine read and a real value to anyone with an intrest in Civil War history.



2. How much more interesting and informative to read a history book which includes everyday folks and not just the well known leaders and heroes! This book is well written, easy to read and could easily interest even those who are not Civil War buffs or who don't even like history. It will be most helpful to genealogists as well. One of the better Civil War unit books I've ever read. I kept forgetting I was reading a history book! Also, it's about time the story of the 24th Wisconsin, a forgotten regiment, was told.



3. What a great book! Detailed, yet easy to read, this book covers all that anyone would desire to know about the 24th Wisconsin. As a regimental history, it ranks among the top that I've read. This book shows above all else the personal side of the regiment and the war. Beaudot shows how soldiers are tied to home in a much better way than have past regimental historians. As Beaudot was describing the 24th's final battle, the Battle of Nashville, I literally gasped as he told of the last man ever to be killed in the regiment. My story here tells of how much Beaudot depicted the personal side of the story. Readers become truly in touch with the men that make up this brave regiment from Milwaukee. This book is worthy to be on every Civil War buffs bookshelf.



4. The 24th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment is probably best known because of one of its leaders. Young Arthur McArthur, "the boy colonel," won fame and, later, the Medal of Honor for his heroic conduct in leading his regiment in the storming of Missionary Ridge, Tennessee.
   Also known as the Milwaukee Regiment, the unit was filled with heroic young men. The author weaves the stories of all of them into a fine unit history that gives a very real flavor of what war was like for soldiers in the ranks. This book also interlaces the stories of the trials the men went through on the front line with happenings back home in Wisconsin.
   Through Beaudot's narrative telling of the regiment's story, the reader learns to know its members. It is sometimes heart-wrenching to read of the maiming or death of a young soldier you get to know through quoted letters.
   I highly recommend The 24th Wisconsin Infantry in the Civil War for anyone interested in the Western Theater of war or in the impact of war on Wisconsin, especially Milwaukee. - Robert L. Durham, Civil War News, December, 2003.



5. Writing a good regimental history is a complex task. While the foremost concern for any regimental author is to tell a story, it is also important to put that regiment into a proper context and offer something more to the reader than just the regiment "fought here" or "charged there." Noted historian of Wisconsin regiments, William J. K. Beaudot has succeeded admirably at presenting a well-balanced and highly readable regimental history in The 24th Wisconsin Infantry in the Civil War: The Biography of a Regiment.
   The 24th Wisconsin, often times referred to as "The Milwaukee Regiment," has never before had its story told. Until now many only know the regiment because one of its members was Arthur McArthur - father of the famed commander of operations in the Pacific during World War II.
   Drawing on an array of sources, which includes a sizeable body of published primary and archival collections Beaudot presents a history that would most certainly please the veterans of that regiment. The book is not only valuable to individuals with an interest in Wisconsin regiments, but is highly valuable to scholars and arm chair historians alike who seek to learn more about the oft-forgotten western theater and the life of the common soldier. -- Jonathan A. Noyalas, The Skirmish Line.

5 comments about The Approaching Fury: Voices of the Storm, 1820-1861.

1. I am in the middle of this book currently and I am very impressed with Oates' ingenious writing technique. The only thing I see lacking in this book is the amount of source citing for scholars. Anyone using this book for scholarly purposes should use the bibliography and go from there. As a medium for teaching, this book is unparalleled. By teaching the forces at work through the eyes of the people that lived it students will be much more interested than if they were learning the bare facts. This is an outstanding supporting text for use in a classroom.



2. I thought I knew a lot about this era but this book gave me even greater insight. I hesitated to read it at first because I'm a little skeptical of those "in their own words" treatments.But Oates presents a balanced (for the most part) account, using the speeches, letters, and diaries of the likes of Henry Clay, John Brown, Frederick Douglass, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Jefferson Davis, Mary Boykin Chesnut, Stephen A. Douglas, and Abraham Lincoln rather than creating monologues for them of his own design. He doesn't result to dramatic license, trying to make these folks conform to his idea of what they were like, but presents them as accurately as one can given the sources available. The only quibble I'd put forth is that he has Calhoun refer to his slaves as "niggers," even though there is no documentary evidence that he ever did so (even in private letters he referred to them as "negroes"). Anyone interested in the issues and events that led up to the Civil War must read this book! I recommend it most highly.



3. I first read Oates' Whirlwind of War and enjoyed that so much that I thought I'd give this one a try. My interest in the Civil War was broadened by this book into a desire to better understand the setting prior to 1860. I really liked Oates' "first person" writing technique. It takes an extremely good understanding of the person as well as the historic facts to do this and Oates carries this off well. Read both books!



4. This is an incredible work deserving of the highest awards and accolades for scholarship and literature. What an exhilirating way to read history! The first person narrartives, so skillfully and beautifully written, drew me into the events and emotions in ways that I have never experienced reading other history texts. This is the way to learn and enjoy history and I hope parents and educators take note.



5. I was skeptical of this book when I read in the preface that Oates was going to tell us what the key players said and what "they might have said". However, I was very pleased with the even handedness and accuracy of his content. The style of the book proved refreshing and placed the chronological events into an interesting weave. HOWEVER, he leads the reader to believe that slavery and its politics was the ONLY reason for the eventual conflict. The resulting carnage was a product of many more and very complicated factors of which we should all be aware.

1 comments about Sheridan's Lieutenants: Phil Sheridan, His Generals, and the Final Year of the Civil War. (American Crisis Series).

1. This short summary of Sheridan's role in the last year of the Civil War is an interesting introduction to the lives of a remarkable group of largely-forgotten soldiers. Merritt, Mackenzie, Crook, Upton, and Wilson were young, gifted, and tough officers who contributed to Union victory. Custer is remembered today because he blundered at the Little Bighorn. The others are seldom discussed because they died in bed after distinguished military careers both during and after the Civil War. The author does a nice job of educating us about their backgrounds and contributions. Pleasantly written, one finishes the book wanting to know more about this Band of Brothers that Sheridan drew around him in the Shenandoah and at Appomattox.

3 comments about Personal Recollections and Observations of General Nelson A. Miles, Volume 1 (Personal Recollections & Observations of General Nelson A. M).

1. General Nelson A. Miles wrote a detailed, history- filled accounts of the Red River Wars and other Indian battles. Illustrations by F. Remington were a big surprise to me, as it was of a direct relative, William F. Schmalsle, Indian Scout, Guide, and Courier. The rescue of the German Sisters is a heartfelt experience. The reader will feel like one is living in the Old West, with all the joys, adventures, and tribulations that the characters experienced. The references in the back offer one further insight into the past. As Miles was involved in other battles besides those with the Indians, the history buff will find a lot of references in the back of the book which will result in many hours of pleasurable research and reading. The General Miles history trail may lead you to a long lost relative, as I found out, with numerous sources of information. So try reading the General Miles books from your library and if you like, order them from Amazon and take them home, or take them camping in the woods and plains, visit the historical places mentioned.



2. I ordered this book thinking it was 1 book, but when it came it apparently is in 2 volumes and Amazon only sent Volume 2, even on the replacement order. So be aware of that until they get things fixed. Miles though in Volume 2 does write mostly a description of American cities, industry and people. Except for a few chapters on the Apache trouble it is more like a census. I hope someday to read Volume 1 and am disappointed things did not work out.



3. Readers should be aware that only volume 2 is available, focusing mostly on apache campaigns and post-indian war. Those interested in prior campaigns (civil war, sioux war of 1876-77) will therefore be frustrated...

No comments about Abraham Lincoln: A Documentary Portrait Through His Speeches and Writings.

No comments about Frederick Douglass' Civil War: Keeping Faith in Jubilee.

5 comments about The Hunley: Submarines, Sacrifice, and Success in the Civil War.

1. Having researced the C.S.S.Hunley for over 20 years, I can truly say this is the most complete work published to date. The illustrations alone are worth the price of the book. Mark's narrative is very readable and his facts are well documented. If you are interested in knowing the true stroy, this is the book to buy.



2. I am not a writer. Mark Reagan is a writer. Let me brief. This is a great book. I'm sorry it's out of print. After I first read it, I sent copies to my brother Ken who is a civil war enthusiast, and several more copies to friends who just like to read good books. Don't let the movie dissuade from readng it. As is so often said: the book was better than the movie. Hope you can find a copy.



3. Have read everything I could lay my hands on about the Hunley and nothing could satisfy my craving for detail and plauseable speculation until this came along. Admitedly many of our unanswered questions will remain so. Others will yield to the scrutiny of scientists and historians in a Charleston Lab. Until then, we have this gem! Ragan is a relentless detective and goes peering into nook and cranny. Which of the two versions of the first sinking at the Johnson Island dock is the more credible? Its in here. What was a German artilleryman doing inside a sub and how did he get there? Its in here. Any leads on other previously unidentified sailors? Thats in here too! Dixon becomes more alive than ever and more than fulfills the almost mythic image of the Confederate hero. Chocked full of interesting and previously unpublished documents and photographs, this is THE authoritative account.



4. This book is a must have for the Hunley addict. It is obvious Mark Ragan did his homework on this book. It contains a great deal of information on the contruction of the first successful submarine and the mishaps that plagued it. The photos and illustrations are great and many I have not seen before. You really get the feeling of the importance of this vessel and the dedication of the crew and the designers of the submarine. It is a shame this book has had very limited availability.It should be of great interest to anyone who has been following the recovery and preservation of this unique ship.



5. It's hard to say. Especially since the term referred to the Hunley murdering its Confederate crews.

   An excellent book, in its coverage of the remnants of myth and truth about the the Confederacy's "underwater torpedo boats". I recently became aware of a Confederate submarine (not covered in the book), that is currently being conserved by the Louisiana State Museum in New Orleans, and is due to be on permanent display in the museum in Baton Rouge, sometime in late 2002. It's origin is not known to this day, however, it predated the Pioneer I, the American Diver (Pioneer II), and the Hunley. It appears all four subs were designed in Louisiana, but the American Diver and Hunley were built in Mobile.

   The book tells the true story of the development and lineage of the Hunley. However, now that the Hunley is being conserved ( with a guesstimation of about 10 more years), many of the technical aspects are being found to be inaccurate, in the light of the daily discoveries during conservation.

   I recently viewed the Hunley movie prop ship, touring in South Carolina (see the Hunley website for details), that was built for the Turner movie "The Hunley". The rudder mechanism, and prop drive train has been found to be different, and all of the exterior rivets were ground smooth (as spec'd for the Pioneer I, which is covered in the book).

   The crews have been referred to as the Astronauts of the 1860's. The Hunley, and it's predecessors, are an incredible story in technology, and humanity. This book does tribute to its time in the history of this country.