1 comments about Shadows on My Heart: The Civil War Diary of Lucy Rebecca Buck of Virginia (Southern Voices from the Past).

1. This book is a good source for those interested in the life of the average antebellum/civil war girl. Although she lives on a plantation (her father owns about 8 slaves) she does not hold the same social status of other well read diarists (i.e. Mary Chestnut and Sarah Morgan). A careful read of this diary will cause many to change their outlook on 19th century women.

No comments about Lee's Adjutant: The Wartime Letters of Colonel Walter Herron Taylor, 1862-1865.

2 comments about Destruction and Reconstruction: Personal Experiences of the Late War (Southern Classics Series).

1. Genl Richard Taylor offers his insights of the "late unpleasantness". Unlike too many other popular civil war personalities who wrote first-hand accounts, Taylor usually avoids the name-calling and back-stabbing others seem to readily participate in. His immediate supervisor, Genl Edmund Kirby Smith,however, doesn't fare too well by Taylor's standards. Taylor holds Smith responsible for failing to allow him the necessary reinforcements needed to route Banks in the Red River Campaign (North Louisiana). Taylor indeed offers a unique perspective, as the son of Zachary Taylor, as well as having served in the Eastern and Western Theaters. A well-bred, highly educated man, Taylor's writing is filled with allusions to Classic Literature and military folk-lore, which is often muddlesome. Also annoying is the lack of ANY maps -a real problem when discussion of the various bayous, rivers and small towns fill page after page. Definately recommended for those of Confederate ilk - especially his remarks on post-war happenings.



2. This is a must read for anyone who desires a true understanding of the war and aftermath before our historical perspectives are forever changed with the new history being written by liberal professors. It clearly accounts for the crimes of the reconstruction which is a topic that is definitely being rewritten by those that desire to protray the US as some type of force for good.

2 comments about Gray Cavalier: The Life and Wars of General William H. F. "Rooney" Lee.

1. This is an excellent biography, carefully researched and documented, of a man of great character. This interesting book thoroughly explores the life of the favorite son of the South's most famous general, admired by all-- both North and South. Must reading by those interested in Southern History and American Cavalry.



2. This is a well-written biography of a reliable and capable cavalry officer. Rooney Lee was often over-shadowed by the flashier officers of the Army of Northern Virginia cavalry, including his cousin Fitzhugh Lee. However, as becomes evident from the facts of Rooney's career, he was probably a more consistent performer than Fitzhugh and was probably comparable in skill and courage under fire to Wade Hampton. His personal life is one of stoic handling of numerous tragedies. The book is pleasantly written and makes use of contemporary sources and letters, although few of those written by Rooney actually survive. Rooney Lee did not take advantage of his father's position and made his mark on the Confederacy by his ability and personality.

2 comments about The Death and Resurrection of Jefferson Davis (American Crisis (Rowman & Littlefield)).

1. I have read many books on the War Between the States and very rarely come across a topic which is new. This book covers a subject that is little known by even culture concious Southerners. A very good read about an event that was pivotal in post war Southern History. If you are a Southerner this is a must. If you have any interest in the post war treatment of the personalities on that conflict, you will enjoy.
   
   Winston Churchill wrote - "Poor is a nation that has no heroes. Poorer still is one that has them and forgets them."
   
   This author has presented us with a way of remembering one of our Southern heroes. I think many readers will be surprised by this work.
   
   Highly recomended to Southerners and anyone who has an interest in the human experience.



2. Jeff Davis, beloved by many in the South and known as the president of the Confederacy during the Civil War died from heartbreak and mistreatment and looked old in his coffin on Dec. 5, 1889. His funeral train was as popular as Lincoln's removal to his home state of Illinois and much later FDR's train trip back from Georgia to Washington, D. C.
   
   When his body was laid in state in New Orleans, the prominence of the U. S. flags illustrated his burial as an officer in the American Army prior to his notoriety during the Civil War. He was first buried in a tomb of the Army of Northern Virginia in Metairie Cemetery.
   
   In May 28-31, 1893, after it has been displayed in the rotunda of the state capital in Raleigh, North Carolina, it was sent on to Richmond, Virginia. The route of the Jefferson Davis funeral train left New Orleans, stopped in Beavoir, Mobile, Montgomery, Alabama, Atlanta, Georgia, Charlotte, Greensboro, also stopped in Danville, Virginia. The funeral carriage was a remodeled artillery caisson with the U. S. flag prominently displayed. His remains were transferred to Hollywood Cemetery, The Third National Flag of the Confederacy decorated the head of his final resting place, with the Battle Flag at the foot. There is a bronze statute on his grave in the Davis Circle family plot at the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia.
   
   Much maligned after the South lost the war, he was imprisoned in shackles and chains at Fort Monroe. His life and reputation has sunk to a seemingly unredeemable low. During the first three years after his death, his public image was ressurrected to a state of near adulation, and his fellow Southerners recognized him as one of their most important sons. He remains so today.
   
   The reburial three and a half years after his death demonstrated that Southerners increasingly were growing more overtly proud of the Confederacy. On June 3, 1907, a remarkable monument designed by Valentine and Noland was unveiled on what would have been his 99th birthday. It still stands in the park named in his honor in Memphis. It included the Confederate flags and symbols. Let by a group of University of Tennessee professors from the North, they are trying to have his memorial park renamed and the statue removed.
   
   It was a great American and did what he thought was best for the South, his beloved countryside. It's too bad that his life following the Civil War was so harmful to his health and what he had stood for. The flag has been removed from South Carolina's state flag, and Maryville College here in Tennessee can't keep their Rebel flag. What on earth is going on? Do those Northerners want another Civil War? It is best to leave dead dogs buried and the prejudices along with them. We natives of the South will always love Jeff Davis and what he stood for; the flag will never die. Resurrection is at hand.
   
   This historian has also written WAR CRIME OR INJUSTICE? GENERAL GEORGE PICKETT AND THE MASS EXECUTION OF DESERTERS IN CIVIL WAR KINSTON, NORTH CAROLINA and AN UNQUIET TIME: ALABAMA AND THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, 1950-68, among many other Southern history.

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

No comments about A Woman Doctor's Civil War: Esther Hill Hawks' Diary (Women's Diaries and Letters of the Nineteenth-Century South).

2 comments about Gentleman and Soldier: A Biography of Wade Hampton III.

1. Edward G. Longacre has written many books dealing with subjects relating to the Civil War and has added greatly to the accumulated knowledge of that era. In this biography of General Wade Hampton, the author has again contributed to general Civil War knowledge but he has also accomplished much more. With this, the first full biography of Hampton since 1949, Longacre has rescued the name of this great soldier from anonymity and introduced him to a new generation of Civil War readers.

   Longacre points out, early and often that Hampton's reputation has suffered the fate of many other highly successful Confederate leaders who weren't from Virginia. This bias against non-Virginians has been a major topic in some of Longacre's other books and the author may well be on a crusade to rectify this situation. It is a crusade that is long overdue in both academic and popular history.

   Most of this book is concerned with Hampton's war career so his antebellum and post-war life is kind of skimmed over. Still, the subject's forward looking and enlightened views regarding race are relatively well covered, as is his political career. Still, his war service is the center of the book and it is handled very well. The reader will follow Hampton as he rises in rank and proves himself to be one of the best fighters in the Confederate Army. Longacre describes the General's tactics and campaigns thoroughly but without resorting to the tedious details many other authors use. Also covered is the discrimination suffered by Hampton and his non-Virginia command at the hands of J.E.B. Stuart and Robert E. Lee. The author takes great pains to point out Hampton's disgust with this discrimination and his later reconciliation with Lee after the Confederate commander finally began to recognize Hampton's vast abilities.

   One escapade of Hampton's that I found very interesting was his raid on General Grant's beef herd during the siege of Petersburg. Hampton's scouts alerted him to the presence of the lightly guarded herd and according to Longacre, Hampton couldn't resist the temptation to steal all of those steaks on the hoof for the hungry Rebel Army. This raid was made famous in an old William Holden movie, but until I read this account I never knew it really happened. Anecdotes like this help Longacre bring his subject to life for the reader and as I read this story I could almost see the sly grin on Hampton's face.

   Thanks to his excellent writing style and his in depth research, Longacre has turned out a fine book that deserves a place on every Civil War reading list. Readers from Virginia may be a little miffed at times but sometimes the truth hurts. Wade Hampton of South Carolina has long deserved a good biographical treatment and now, thanks to Edward Longacre, he has one.




2. In the preface, the author notes that although Hampton's life story is inherently interesting, book writers have neglected Confederate General Wade Hampton III. The author addresses this problem writing a biography that concentrates on Hampton's Civil War activities telling the story of a remarkable and fascinating general. Born into a wealthy family in antebellum South Carolina, he was active in the family's business affairs, was an accomplished horseman and inherited from his paternal grandfather a sense of duty. While a slaveholder, Hampton he remained a moderate and supported preserving the Union.
   
   When South Carolina seceded Hampton wrote the governor offering to recruit, organize and finance a combat unit. Hampton was made a colonel in command of his unit. The text gives an interesting account of Hampton and his unit's baptism under fire at the First Battle of Manassas. Hampton was a military amateur, however, the author notes his first combat "... was a performance that would have done credit to a twenty-year veteran of the regular service."
   
   Hampton was promoted to brigadier general but was wounded at Fair Oaks and invalided to Richmond. When his unit was reorganized, Hampton was offered a command in J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry. The author notes Hampton's critical opinion of cavalry units in general and Stuart's flamboyant style in particular. Throughout the book, these criticisms of cavalry, J.E.B Stuart, and R.E. Lee are a most interesting. However, the author writes "The criticism that Hampton leveled at Stuart from time to time was not always accurate or fair." Nevertheless, Hampton was a quick-learn on operations and cavalry tactics and received praise from Stuart and Lee.
   
   His first dose of cavalry combat was at Second Manassas followed by Lee's Maryland campaign. He called the Maryland invasion a strategic miscalculation apparently ignoring its strategic potential. The author provides interesting narratives of Hampton's cavalry experience with Stuart. The cavalry operations as Lee moved north into Pennsylvania. are described culminating with the July 2, 1862 cavalry engagements north of Gettysburg where Hampton received two serious head-wounds.
   
   After recovering from his wounds, Stuart assigned Hampton a division where he participated in the Mine Run campaign. The spring of 1864 saw the Grant/Meade campaign from the Wilderness to Petersburg. The text describes the several cavalry actions in which Hampton was engaged. Following J.E.B. Stuart's death at Yellow Tavern although Hampton and his command often received praise from Lee, Hampton was not formally made commander of the Cavalry Crops for three months. Hampton cavalry operations a Petersburg are well described. As commander Hampton was often praised and showed a "preference for dismounted fighting, a stark departure from his successor's reliance on mounted warfare with saber and pistol." In an action that even Stuart would have been proud, Hampton and his cavalry rustled 2,486 Union cattle that helped to relieve the chronic hunger pangs of the Petersburg defenders.
   
   Convinced that he could stop Sherman who was headed for South Carolina after capturing Atlanta and northern Georgia, Hampton applied to R.E. Lee and received permission to go to South Carolina "to oversee his commands rehabilitation and then lead it against Sherman...." Before leaving, Hampton was promoted to the rank lieutenant general, making him the highest-ranking cavalry commander of the war. However, as Columbia's local commander he made several mistakes trying to save the city and was accused by Sherman as being responsible for the fire that ravaged Columbia. When Joe Johnston was reinstated as overall commander in the western theater Hampton reported to him. The text describes Hampton's involvement in the military actions leading up to Johnston's surrender to Sherman. While his men were bound by the surrender, Hampton was unsure of his own status and proposed to fight on with Jefferson Davis.
   
   However, because of the wretched state of his family's finances he returned home to Columbia where he took an oath to abide by the constitution and was pardoned by President Andrew Jackson on November 13, 1865. The story of Hampton's postwar experiences is fascinating. His debts were enormous and his assets were destroyed so that he was forced to declare bankruptcy in December 1868. He took a position in the life insurance industry, and in 1876 was elected governor of South Carolina. The author notes "His repeated calls for patience and restraint won him much favorable publicity not only locally but on the national level." He continued to support and argue for fair and just treatment of black citizens. Less than six weeks after election to a second term he was elected to the US Senate where he served for 12 years. During his Senate terms, political enemies in South Carolina gained control ultimately ending his political activities. Still beloved by the people, when his home burned down in 1899, his neighbors built him a new and larger house. On April 11, 1902, surrounded by loved ones, at age eighty-four he died uttering the words "God bless all my people, black and white."

No comments about The Soldier's Pen: Firsthand Impressions of the Civil War.

1 comments about Recollections of the Civil War.

1. I liked Charles Dana's book. It is breezy and topical, not detailed or exhaustive. But it does its job well.

   Mr. Dana had a uniqe perspective on the Civil War. First enlisted to go "out West" and check out "this General Grant" by Edwin Stanton, Dana soon became a trusted advisor to both the President and the Secretary of War. He apparently spent most of his war service in the field, at the side of various union generals so that Washington would have a trusted and immediate voice to report on what was really happening on the various fronts. His advice helped advance officers Dana thought effective and cashire those whose service was detrimental to the cause of the Union. His advice and counsel was also influential on various war policy issues.

   One belives that Dana had much to do in helping Grant, Sherman and others overcome their reputations and distance from Washington to reach their appointed places from where Union success ultimately sprung. He is a concise writer and offers strong opinions on personalities associated with the Union's management and prosecution of the war. These are interesting because Dana is often quoted in more recent books on the war. His story helps show why these quotes are meaningful as well as tells an interesting tale of an individual who can best be described as the highest ranking civilian in the field from 1863-1865.

   An interesting book from a unique vantage point.