No comments about The Civil War Diary of Cyrus F. Boyd Fifteenth Iowa Infantry 1861-1863.

2 comments about The View from the Ground: Experiences of Civil War Soldiers (New Directions in Southern History).

1. As a non-American, my knowledge of the American Civil War is very limited. To be quite honest; I don't know a whole lot of it, besides that the two sides were the Union in the north with soldiers wearing blue uniforms, and the Confederacy in the south with soldiers dressed in gray. The slave issue wasn't the only matter fought over - even though it was obviously a very important matter indeed - and throughout the war several of the great battles of military history were fought, for instance the battle at Gettysburg, which also became the turning point of the war.
   
   This is, in a nutshell, basically all I knew and thought of whenever someone mentioned the American Civil War. (Okay, fine... I also thought of Patrick Swayze's character Orry Main from TV-series North and South. Well, actually, the one I really thought of was the lady he secretly dated. And especially her cleavage. But don't blame me, I was young and impressionable.)
   
   This highly limited knowledge - combined with the fact that when it comes to books about war and war history I find it much more stimulating to read about the ones who actually fought the war instead of what tactics the leaders used and the politics behind their decisions - resulted in me eagerly anticipating to get started on The View From the Ground.
   
   Because this book does indeed focus on the soldiers who were maimed and killed on the battlefields. The reader is invited to share the thoughts and feelings of these men about such issues as slaves and race relations, the image of the enemy, the conflict at large, the civilian population, and the multitude of religious and moral dilemmas that soldiers of faith had to deal with.
   
   At large, all ten contributions are highly interesting; especially since the reader realizes that the war wasn't exclusively about the issue of slaves and that many of the Union soldiers didn't care too much either about the non-whites. However, the two contributions that really stand out are David W. Rolfs' "No Nearer Heaven Not but Rather Farther Off: The Religious Compromises and Conflicts of Northern Soldiers" and Kent T. Dollar's "Strangers in a Strange Land: Christian Soldiers in the Early Months of the Civil War", two essays dealing with the bizarre compromise where faithful Christians were able to justify the ritualized and sanctioned mass-killings that active warfare, when it comes down to it, actually means.
   
   The book contains no photographs or illustrations whatsoever, and that's definitely most unfortunate.



2. This excellent collection of essays moves away from the "grand man" approach to Civil War history which focuses too often on generals and politicians to refocus on the common soldiers who actually endured the war. The basic assumption of the collection's authors, according to editor Sheehan-Dean, is that "soldiers are real historical actors who have the potential to shape, not simply respond to, their environment."
   
   So, for example, the various authors argue (1) that Northern soldiers, disgusted by their firsthand experience of slavery as they moved southward and recognizing that slavery was a key point of Southern resistance, began to advocate for emancipation long before the Northern public; (2) that Southern soldiers grew in hatred for their Northern enemies as the war took on "total" qualities, and that tales of fraternization between Rebs and Yanks are much exaggerated; (3) that Christian soldiers on both sides were religiously ambivalent about their participation in the horrific killing of the war, often undergoing religious crises in their efforts to reconcile religious rhetoric encouraging holy war and Christ's commands to love one's enemies; (4) that after a certain point in the war, southern soldiers tended to be so trapped in their own horrible world of fighting, privation, and diminished hope that they misunderstood and resented civilians who complained about their own (very real)hardships; (5) that the voluntary nature of the northern and southern armies stamped many soldiers in the ranks with a self-confident autonomy that ill-tolerated self-important by-the-book officers; and that (6) the rough conditioning of the battlefield left at least some Northern troops with few inhibitions about calling for the exile or death of Copperheads.
   
   Now, all this is fascinating, and the essays that defend these theses are well-written and well-researched. But there seems a crucial tension in all this that I wish the authors had explored. Granted, Civil War soldiers were historical actors, not simply pawns. In fact, given the voluntary nature of the armies, they probably exerted more autonomy than any U.S. soldiers since. But at the same time, they were also the same men who allowed themselves to be slaughtered time and again by stupid or foolhardy or enraged officers who ordered them to make impossible or unnecessary assaults. What is needed is more thought on this unbearable tension between autonomy and powerlessness in the Civil War soldier's experience. I look forward to the authors in this collection taking on such a project.

5 comments about Lakota Noon: The Indian Narrative of Custer's Defeat.

1. This book is excellent for those who are interested in a detailed history of the battle at Little Big Horn - "Custer's Last Stand" from the indian's point of view. The author painstakingly breaks the battle into 10 minute intervals from start to finish based on interviews with the various tribe members. His goal is not to "De-Bunk" all that we have read and studied about the battle but to give a well balanced narrative based on those who did survive it. It is well worth the time and effort of the reader.



2. researched and written by an author who makes his point by badmouthing and criticizing all other authors. His points are well taken, however; this has been written by a person who has never witnessed, or experienced the fog of war. Much of his less than honorable mentions of other ideas would have had more bearing if he took that into account. Still, much of it is enjoyable, although hard to follow with his jumping around, discounting one indians theory while using another to make his point.



3. Author Greg Michno put a valiant effort into reconciling the multitude of Native American testimonies that surround the Little Big Horn battle. I personally wish he would have quoted their exact testimony, THEN provided his interpretation of their statements. It would have saved me time in looking up their actual statements in my collection. Obviously, there is much dispute over what a particular warrior was trying to say and in most cases, Mr. Michno's views are as valid and thoughtful as most. I did find some of his "Discussions" contradictory however. For example, when discussing the "Henryville" archeological finds, Mr. Michno states that these shots could not have been fired at the soldiers on Calhoun Hill. In support, he states that the Native Americans did not shoot it out with the soldiers at close range, preferring instead to snipe from long range. Thus, this position "had to be" occupied later in the battle. He also states in that discussion that the warriors did not close for hand-to-hand combat. This is contradicted by his interpretations that 1)they did charge in this battle,overrunning the soldier positions 2) that in the earlier stages of the battle they primarily used bows and arrows (very short range weapons, especially when firing uphill), 3) in order to reach positions to charge they had to close to very short range, & 4) that tests proved that the effective range of the Henry and Winchester rifles was only about 100 yds, with hits dropping off dramatically at greater ranges.
   
   Overall, however, his book provides food for thought and helps fill a niche that has been too often overlooked.



4. Michno's work is excellent, with the exception of his failure to include the reports of the Crow scouts. The main question that plagued me (and historians) is: Did Custer or any main body approach or cross the LBH? Michno partly answers the question: By focusing on the stories of the four to eight defenders at the river, Michno proves an Army force went to the river and was repulsed. He also provides strong analysis that it was not Custer, nor were there two deaths at the river. The best book on the incident by far.



5. I read this after reading "A Terrible Glory" and was amazed that so much Native American testimony of the battle is available, even if it is fragmentary, contradictory, and often given decades after the events they describe. Some of the Native veterans of this battle were still alive in the 1940s and 50s and still offering views of what happened. Of the thousands of people in that village that was attacked by Custer, it seems a shame that only 40 or so seem to have ever had their memories recorded by historians or military or civilian interviewers. Why were so many of the others neglected? This is a compelling account of the battle and, along with the archaeological record and Army records up to the time that Reno's unit split from Custer's, is basically all that is available. Unless something else turns up.

3 comments about A Year in the South: Four Lives in 1865.

1. Try this one, it has four!!

   Steve Ash brings four lives so alive that one feels one can reach back 135 years and touch them. So too with the details of their daily lives. The author does a great job capturing what life was really like back in 1865.

   His style of writing makes it even more fun to read as the characters' stories "leapfrog" with the seasons, which spurs the reader on and on!

   A great, must read!

   Ellen Cumming




2. A worm's-eye view of 1865 in the South as the Civil War grinds to a halt and social instability (verging on chaos) sets in. This is an excellent counterbalance to the big picture studies of Reconstruction which are too much policy and too little impact on daily life. Four well-written biographies woven together; a book you will enjoy reading even if you start with no interest in the Civil War or the South.



3. Stephen Ash takes you into four entirely different lives in the South during early reconstruction. You will not leave this book without actually feeling the despair, sadness,panic and even rebellion that many southern folks felt immediately after their defeat.
   Read about the devastation that ultimately comes out of war. A must for any Civil War library.

No comments about The Spirit Divided: Memoirs of Civil War Chaplains-The Union.

3 comments about Lay My Burden Down: A Folk History of Slavery.

1. A friend of mine once described slave narratives as the equivalent of the library of a foreign culture. Reading one is embarrassingly simplistic. Consider Botkin's book a whirlwind tour. Although I believe every American should be exposed to these narratives (above and beyond the historical representations from textbooks), the stories in Lay My Burden Down are so powerful, so full of intensity, I gave the book 4 stars because it is almost brutal in its power. The humor of the first sections soon fades, and the grim truths of slavery become more and more difficult to face. Proceed, but with caution.



2. I read "Lay My Burden Down" by B.A. Botkin, almost forty years ago. Botkin's collection of these narrative is indeed a national resource. It's a great book for researches of American History. People of every ethnicity should read this book. These narratives so confirmed the slave stories passed down from my great grandparents when I was a child, that I was overwhelmed for a while. The ex-slaves spoke freely about what freedom meant to them. Moreover, they spoke about how the lack of freedom made thier lives a living hell. The first portion of narratives illustrate that nothing, not even slavery can blot out humor or the opportunity to find joy in some aspect of life. One felt like rejoicing when slaves excaped thier horrific exsistence. Then, there was lasting sorrow tinged with hope for the ones who were not freed until the end of slavery in 1965 or a few years after.



3. Editor and compiler B. A. Botkin wrote the first of its kind comiliaton of the over 3000 interviews of ex-enslaved African Americans done by the WPA in the 1930s. As the subtitle suggests, he provides "A Folk History of Slavery." Read excerpts from first hand accounts of the horrors of slavery and of the remarkable resilience of the enslaved. For a more detailed compilation (those contained here are brief snippets) consider Blassingame's "Slave Testimony").
   
   Reviewer: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., is the author of "Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction." He has also authored "Soul Physicians," "Spiritual Friends," and the forthcoming "Sacred Friendships: Listening to the Voices of Women Soul Care-Givers and Spiritual Directors."

No comments about Lee's Dispatches: Unpublished Letters of General Robert E. Lee, C.S.A., to Jefferson Davis and the War Department of the Confederate Sta.

No comments about Levi Coffin, Quaker: Breaking the Bonds of Slavery in Ohio and Indiana.

1 comments about Lincoln and the Radicals.

1. I first read this book in graduate school twenty-five years ago, and while recently rereading it I was impressed anew with its scintillating but remarkably dated analysis. T. Harry Williams argued a very interesting thesis about Abraham Lincoln in this benchmark work in the historiography of the subject. He found that in spite of his personal antipathy toward slavery, Lincoln was moderate in his public statements because he could not afford to compromise his questionable popular base of support as president. Lincoln recognized that his administration's ability to hold the rest of the nation together in the wake of southern secession was dependent upon his walking a narrow path of acceptability to a coalition of factions with sometimes divergent beliefs upon the slavery issue, that without enough support his position as president would be undermined and he would never be able to accomplish anything worthwhile. In spite of personal desires, it was a question for Lincoln of first things first. In the end Lincoln was prompted to end slavery by executive order by radicals within his own party who pressed for emancipation.
   
   Lincoln demonstrated, according to Williams, a spirit of pragmatism. To demonstrate this he once compared government to a machine. If something goes wrong with the machine, what should one do? The reactionary might say, "Don't fool with it, you'll ruin it?" The radical might say, "It's no good, get rid of it and find a new one." The pragmatist would try to fix the machine, to remove the defective part and add a new one, but only after carefully scrutinizing the situation to ensure that his action was correct (T. Harry Williams, "Abraham Lincoln: Pragmatic Democrat," in Norman A. Graebner, ed., "The Enduring Lincoln: Lincoln Sesquicentennial Lectures at the University of Illinois" [University of Illinois Press, 1959], pp. 26 27).
   
   In this book Lincoln's moderation is very much admired by Williams, while the radicals were "Jacobin" revolutionaries intent on destroying the fabric of the nation. This position essentially embraces the larger thesis present about the Civil War in the 1930s and 1940s; that it was a "repressible conflict" that could have been avoided had extremists on both sides been willing to compromise. Williams viewed the radicals as dogmatic and inflexible in dealing with a significant problem in American history, while Lincoln was a pragmatist. Such people as the radicals in Congress, led by old antislavery Whigs such as Thaddeus Stevens and Charles Sumner, argued for a ruthless prosecution of the war and a punishment of the South for its rebellion. They established a Committee on the Conduct of the War that pressed Lincoln daily about the aggressive prosecution of the war with Republican rather than Democratic Party generals and punishment of the South. They were all opposed to slavery but the manner in which it would be eliminated--gradually or immediately, with owners paid off or not, and the status of the freed slaves--were hotly contested. In this book Lincoln is very much a pragmatic hero and the radicals very much obstinate ideologues.
   
   More recent interpretations of Lincoln's relationship to the radicals in his party are quite different from what Williams believed. Hans L. Trefousse argued in "The Radical Republicans" (Alfred A. Knopf, 1969) that they were Lincoln's vanguard for racial justice. They served as lightning rods for the antislavery agenda that Lincoln and all members of his party agreed upon. Having been elected to Congress from districts supportive of their aggressiveness, the radicals served as "blocking backs" for Lincoln and made it possible for him to move out on the abolition of slavery more readily than he would have been able to do otherwise. This is an interpretation that is more in keeping with recent trends in the historiography rather than Williams's more than 60-year-old study, but it also deserves continuing revision as new documentary materials and new perspectives on the era emerge.

2 comments about The Blue and Gray in Black and White: A History of Civil War Photography.

1. The Blue and Gray in Black and White A History of Civil War Photography by Civil War author Bob Zeller has added an exciting new dimension to the history of Civil War photography that will appeal to a broad spectrum of American historians, Civil War enthusiasts, and those who study photography as an art form. With newly discovered photographs and primary sources, Bob Zeller's study has captured the Civil War photographer on the edge and sometimes in the midst of the battlefield pointing his wet plate camera into the thick of battle smoke across the Rappahannock River at Fredericksburg, on the sandy beach of Morris Island at Charleston's harbor as the huge Union ironclad, New Ironsides bombarded Confederate forts, and in the shivering cold of Nashville as a General Hood's army met its destruction.
   Bob Zeller, author of his high successful The Civil War in Depth Volumes One and Two and president of The Center for Civil War Photography, "a non-profit organization dedicated to the study, presentation, and preservation of Civil War photography" has "walked the walk" in his thorough and exhaustive research of Civil War photographs. He has traveled the breadth of the country visiting private and public photographic and documentary collections in museums, historical societies, personal interviews, and the new digital collection at the Library of Congress. As a reader, I studied his thoroughly academic note section at the back of his study with great satisfaction.
   The Blue and Gray in Black and White is the key primer how Civil War photographers such as Captain Andrew J Russell, the Union army's only photographer, Timothy O'Sullivan, George Barnard, and southern photographers George S Cook and J.D. Edwards visually captured on delicate wet plates the most bloody war in our Nation's history. The author weaves an engrossing story of photography as an art form and has also chronciled the industry of photography from its beginnings in late 1839 to the eve of war in 1860. In those twenty one years, we read the personal encounters of "daguerreian artist," Platt Babbitt who captured the "doomed" Joseph Avery clinging to life on a shifting log just above the American Falls on the Niagara River, Roger Fenton who traveled to the Crimea outside the Russian city of Sebastopol as he may have photographed the wisps of artillery smoke from Allied siege guns, and how the Cooper Union photograph of Lincoln had a tremendous national impact.
   Bob Zellers story of Civil War Photographers as they applied their craft on the war torn American landscape has set the standard to study the entire history of Civil War photography.
   Civil War photographs will no longer be incidental adornments to the pages of history texts. Publishers will have to ensure that historians have carefully dated and researched their photographic views. The author, moreover, carefully researched newly discovered photographs to illustrate the humorous side of the war. We the readers see General George B McClellan's staff drinking about the time President Abraham Lincoln visited the soon to be fired McClellan in October, 1862. In the chapter, Embedded With The Troops, we witness Union soldiers in a tree looking across the Rappahannock River as the smoke of battle rises behind the captured town of Fredericksburg.
   The story of Civil War photography is not complete without tracing the perilous journey of the photographs "negatives" through nearly 80 years of American history as well as giving us a personal sense of poignancy to the life changing experiences major personalities of photograhic history have had.
   In his first chapter, Bob Zeller tells us how a photographic exhibit in 1840 dramatically changed Edward Anthony's life and how his fascination and love for photography would build the largest photographic supply company in the United States. Bob Zeller completed the circle of life changing experiences how a young boy of nine in 1955, William A.Frassanito, read a Life Magazine article on the Civil War and the article's photograhs ignited all his youthful energies into the study of the photographs of the Civil War. Twenty years later, Frassanito, would write Gettysburg: A Journey in Time that established the academic standard for investigating Civil War photographs as documents of history. The author's tale is not complete until the reader has the opportunity to note the important efforts being made to preserve the images by the digitizing project of the Library of Congress.
   It is a great book and I highly recommend it.
   John R Kelley
   Photographic Historian
   Poughkeepsie, NY



2. I thought this book might just be a nice coffee-table book with some good Civil War photos, but it is so much more. While true, the book is filled with great photos, many I had never seen before, THE BLUE AND GRAY IN BLACK AND WHITE: A HISTORY OF CIVIL WAR PHOTOGRAPHY, by Bob Zeller, is just what the title implies; a photo and written history of Civil War photography.
   
   Zeller, founder and president of the Center of Civil War Photography, has dauntingly researched his subject, and it shows in this book. Of course, Zeller includes the most notable of Civil War photographers, such as Matthew Brady and Alexander Gardner, whose over 1000 images of the war include the first images of war at Antietam and his photos of Gettysburg; however, much of the book chronicles the career of southern photographer, George Smith Cook.
   
   The information on Cook is really a short biography within the pages of the larger work. Although Cook, who was present at Charleston, apparently and sadly missed the opportunity to chronicle the initial engagement with images, many of Cook's accomplishments are highlighted, such as the first photos of prisoners of war taken at Castle Pinkney, his photos of Major Anderson and the destruction at Fort Sumter as well as the ironclads in action.
   
   Not being a photographer, there is a good bit of information here that was foreign to me as far as the early processes of photography. I am sure photographers would gain fruitful knowledge from such information and have a much deeper appreciation for this work, as Zeller's research was obviously painstaking and meticulous.
   
   Monty Rainey
   www.juntosociety.com