Product Details

• Hardcover: 190 pages; Dimensions (in inches): 9.50 x 0.75 x 6.50
• Publisher: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press; (October 1994)
• ISBN: 083863561X

Mr. Fuchs has tried to prove the case against Nathan Bedford Forrest for ordering the massacre at Fort Pillow.  He has produced an agenda ridden work of little or no value except to those convinced of Forrest’s guilt.  As an historical account, the work collapses under the overwhelming weight of his agenda.  Forrest is the bogeyman of the politically correct liberal left school of history.  Mr. Fuchs attempts to establish himself firmly in this group with this book.

Purchasing this book will help you understand Fort Pillow to the same extent that listening to speakers at an anti-war rally will help you understand American foreign policy.  The second option is free.

River Run Red: The Fort Pillow Massacre in the American Civil War
by Andrew Ward

Product Details

• Hardcover: 576 pages; Dimensions (in inches): 1.63 x 9.78 x 6.58
• Publisher: Viking Adult; (September 22, 2005)
• ISBN: 0670034401

No event in the American Civil War is so loaded with politically correct overtones as Fort Pillow.  The garrison was overrun and killed by troops under command of Nathan Bedford Forrest, one of the founders of the first KKK.  Add the fact that many of the dead were black and the politically correct liberal left school of history is in full cry.  The worst book on the subject is Richard L. Fuchs “An Unerring Fire: The massacre at Fort Pillow”.  The only thing missing in that book is Forrest in formal Klan robes riding about extorting his lynch mob of an army to kill all blacks.

Mr. Ward avoids these mistakes and produces what is the most evenhanded book we are likely to see.  The Union Army in west Tennessee was a series of second or third-rate units with sever leadership problems.  Black marketing, speculation in cotton, a hostile population and a habit of  “foraging” contributed to the poor condition of these units.  Into this mix came two distinct sets of regiments raised in the area; the United Stated Colored Troops comprised of freed slaves and the white “loyalist”, many of whom had deserted from the Confederate Army.  Being in the USCT or a Tennessee Union regiment didn’t change racial attitudes, dividing local commands even more.  The isolated forts were to be abandoned but the profit in cotton was to attractive for Memphis to act quickly.

Into this mix rode General Nathan Bedford Forrest and his very able command.  Forrest had made Memphis his home before the war and many of his men were from the area.  The book covers this 1864 raid in detail giving us a good understanding of the conditions Forrest’s men face and the stories of “foraging” they had heard.  Fort Pillow was targeted, invested, refused to surrender, overrun and a massacre occurred.  Forrest lost control of his men but was never charged with any crime.  It was impossible to build a case against the man that would hold up even in a Reconstruction Court.

Having said all of this, why don’t I like the book?  “Damned with faint praise”; sums up the author’s treatment of Forrest.  In any question on where he was or what he was doing, the glass is always half empty.  He should have been stopping the massacre not checking the gunboats on the river.  However, these boats could have slaughtered his command if they had fought.  “The Wizard” is used so often, in referring to Forrest, that it becomes a snide remark.  Likewise, his Christian name was not “Nathan Bedford Forrest, slave trader”.

The stories from the saviors of the massacre are told in stunning detail, as is the fate of the Union POWs, both white and black.  This section of the book clearly illustrates how the “hard hand of war” was being applied.  This is not a pleasant book to read but it is the best coverage of the subject I’ve found.

Editor’s Note: Jim is a Top 500 Amazon.com reviewer.

Check out Beyond the Crater: The Petersburg Campaign Online!

Check out Brett’s list of the Top 10 Civil War Blogs!

Read many Civil War Book Reviews here at TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog!

Did you enjoy this blog entry?  Subscribe to TOCWOC’s RSS feed today!

Please consider using the ShareThis feature below to spread the word.

Post from: TOCWOC - A Civil War Blog

Reviews: The Fort Pillow Massacre

Related posts:

1. Civil War Talk Radio: December 15, 2006
2. B&G Article on Fort Stedman: Who Probed Fort Friend?
3. Hallmarks of the Politically Correct Myth of the American Civil War

January 2010

James Durney

***********************************************************

In the stores

Lincoln for President: An Unlikely Candidate, An Audacious Strategy, and the Victory No One Saw Coming by Bruce Chadwick is an interesting title.  The press release states “is the incredible story of how Lincoln overcame overwhelming odds to not only capture his party’s nomination but win the presidency.”  The author has written a number of books with varied success.

New Releases

January 2010

Expect Blue and Gray Diplomacy A History of Union and Confederate Foreign Relations by Howard Jones from UNC Press, early in the month. It is an examination of Union and Confederate foreign relations during the Civil War from both European and American perspective; Howard Jones demonstrates that the consequences of the conflict between North and South reached far beyond American soil.

Sam Davis Elliott’s newest book: Isham G. Harris of Tennessee: Confederate Governor and United States Senator.

It seems that every book published in 2009 will be released as a paperback this month.  If there are any books that you wanted but did not like the hard cover price, take a check.

February 2010

Clint Johnson’s A VAST AND FIENDISH PLOT – The Confederate Attack on New York City should be in stores.

March 2010

Long out of print, Jeffry Werts’ first book From Winchester to Cedar Creek: The Shenandoah Campaign of 1864 is being released as a Paperback. If you were not lucky enough to get the hardback here is your chance.  This is an excellent book and a valuable addition to your library.

Yes, it is alternate history and most do not read this.  However, the first one was great fun and the second is A Rainbow of Blood: The Union in Peril An Alternate History by Peter G. Tsouras.  This continues the story started in Britannia’s Fist: From Civil War to World War: —An Alternate History.

I only have a title and know the author has a couple of Trans-Mississippi books in print.  Civil War Arkansas 1863: The Battle for a State by Mark K. Christ is scheduled this month.

A total unknown but a subject we have almost zero on is Thunder on the River: The Civil War in Northeast Florida by Daniel L. Schafer.

Eric Wittenberg reports The Battle of Brandy Station, June 9, 1863: North America’s Largest Cavalry Battle will be part of The History Press’s forthcoming sesquicentennial series on battles of the Civil War will be available toward the end of the month.

April 2010

Savas Beatie will release as paperbacks Those Damned Black Hats! The Iron Brigade in the Gettysburg Campaign by Lance J. Herdegen and Sickles at Gettysburg by James A. Hassler.

Look for a full-color hardcover edition of The Maps of Gettysburg by Bradley M. Gottfried.

Steven Woodworth continues the excellent Civil War Campaigns in the Heartland series with The Chickamauga Campaign.

May 2010

Look for Valley Thunder: The Battle of New Market by Charles R. Knight.  This is a 264-page book with eight maps covering the “complex prelude” and the battle.  The author is a former Historical Interpreter at New Market Battlefield State Historical Park.

Michael T. Bernath’s Confederate Minds: The Struggle for Intellectual Independence in the Civil War South is due on May 15.  This is part of the Civil War America series by the author of Reading the Man: A Portrait of Robert E. Lee through His Private Letters.

Rusty Williams has written My Old Confederate Home: A Respectable Place for Civil War Veterans. This is the story of the Kentucky Confederate Home, a refuge in Pewee Valley for their unfortunate CSA veterans from 1902 until it closed in 1934.

Edwin Cole Bearss will publish Receding Tide: Vicksburg and Gettysburg: The Battles That Changed the Civil War from National Geographic.

Lincoln and McClellan: The Troubled Partnership between a President and His General by John C. Waugh “is a tale of the hubris, paranoia, and eventual failure of George McClellan” that should reinforce the McClellan wrong Lincoln right school.

A new book by Kevin Dougherty STRANGLING THE CONFEDERACY: Coastal Operations in the American Civil War “examines the various naval actions and land incursions the Union waged from Virginia down the Atlantic Coast and through the Gulf of Mexico”.  This is not something we see a lot of and rates a look-see.

Reluctant Rebels The Confederates Who Joined the Army after 1861 by Kenneth W. Noe offers a nuanced view of men often cast as less patriotic and less committed to the cause.  He rekindles the debate over who these later enlistees were, why they joined, and why they stayed and fought.   Most of us know this author from his book Perryville: This Grand Havoc of Battle

June 2010

In June The Maryland Campaign of September 1862, Volume 1: South Mountain is due.  This is the Ezra Carman manuscript edited by Thomas G. Clemens a 694-page book with ten maps covering the action leading up to Antietam.

William Marvel’s The Great Task Remaining: The Third Year of Lincoln’s War is scheduled for the 22^nd.  The press release says “The Great Task Remaining is a striking, often poignant portrait of people balancing their own values—rather than ours—to determine whether the horrors attending Mr. Lincoln’s war were worth bearing in order to achieve his ultimate goals.”

At the Precipice Americans North and South during the Secession Crisis by Shearer Davis Bowman looks at how Americans, North and South, black and white, understood their interests, rights, and honor during the late antebellum years

Confederate Minds The Struggle for Intellectual Independence in the Civil War South by Michael T. Bernath looks at the fight to prove the distinctiveness of the Southern people and to legitimatize their desire for a separate national existence through the creation of a uniquely Southern literature and culture.

Scheduled for 2010 with an unavailable date

The History Press is publishing Notre Dame in the Civil War: Marching Onward to Victory by Jim Schmidt.  The author released Lincoln’s Labels and Years of Change & Suffering in 2009.

Joseph R. Reinhart expects German Hurrah!: Civil War Letters of Friedrich Bertsch and William Stängel, 9th Ohio Infantry to be out in the Spring.  The book contains 110 translated letters written by two fiery, highly opinionated German-born officers who fought in the Ninth Ohio Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War. Published in two German-American newspapers, the letters helped connect German Americans in the Ohio Valley to their native landsmen at the battlefront.

Thunder Across the Swamps is the second book in the Louisiana Quadrille series, covering the war for the lower Mississippi from February to May 1863.

Savas Beatie is working on a two-volume set on The Petersburg Campaign, taken from a series of unpublished battle studies written by Ed Bearss. Bryce Suderow is the editor.  This will be a major event in the historiography of the Petersburg Campaign.

We can look forward to a complete history of the Iron Brigade from Lance J. Herdegen.  Those Damned Black Hats!, his book on the Iron Brigade during the Gettysburg Campaign won The Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award for Operational Battle History.

J. David Petruzzi and Steve Stanley are working on an audio companion to The Complete Gettysburg Guide. Purchased as CD or a download, the companion will contain an eight-page map foldout.  Additional sites and events are included in this product, so this is more than just a reading of the book.  Spring is the expected release.

Eric Wittenberg is working on a project is for The History Press entitled The Battle of Yellow Tavern: Jeb Stuart’s Last Battle. This will be a study of Phil Sheridan’s May 1864 raid on Richmond, with particular focus on the May 11, 1864 Battle of Yellow Tavern, where Jeb Stuart received his mortal wound.

*******************************************************

Meet the Author Thomas G. Clemens

This month’s author enjoys an international reputation as one of the Maryland Campaign’s foremost historians.  In 2002, Dr. Clemens earned his doctoral degree at George Mason University studying under Maryland Campaign historian Joseph L. Harsh. He spent four years working with Professor Harsh as his assistant professor on the Touring Civil War battlefields class.  A time he refers to as “idyllic days”.

He is the author of numerous magazine articles and book reviews.  He often appears in documentary programs and is a licensed tour guide at Antietam National Battlefield.  A Professor of History and Political Science at Hagerstown Community College is his day job.  Dr. Clemens is a founder and current president of the Save Historic Antietam Foundation, Inc., a preservation group dedicated to saving historic properties in the area.  In addition, he chairs the history committee for the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association Inc.

********************************************************

Here is to a happy and healthy 2010!

********************************************************

Editor’s Note: Jim is a Top 500 Amazon.com reviewer.

Check out Beyond the Crater: The Petersburg Campaign Online!

Check out Brett’s list of the Top 10 Civil War Blogs!

Read many Civil War Book Reviews here at TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog!

Did you enjoy this blog entry?  Subscribe to TOCWOC’s RSS feed today!

Please consider using the ShareThis feature below to spread the word.

Post from: TOCWOC - A Civil War Blog

January 2010 Civil War Book Notes

Related posts:

1. January 2009 Book Notes
2. October 2009 Civil War Book Notes
3. December 2009 Civil War Book Notes

Santa Claus is waiting for Thomas Nast to start drawing him and making him the popular figure we know.  Those drawings are not going to appear for another 20 years.  In place of Santa is St. Nicholas.  He is a somewhat questionable figure in America with an association to “Popish ceremonies” in many American minds.  “Twas the Night Before Christmas”, written in 1823, is titled “A Visit From St. Nicholas”.

Do not look for Christmas trees in many homes.  This is a “Dutch” custom and many German communities have a single tree.  Christmas trees are becoming popular but not fully accepted.  In 1846, Queen Victoria and her German Prince, Albert, are illustrated in the Illustrated London News standing with their children around a Christmas tree.  The English are starting to follow the German custom.  They are modifying the decorations and hanging small toys the branches.  In most homes, with a tree, the gifts are on the table near the tree.

A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas by Charles Dickens first appeared in 1843 and is widely read.  This little book is making a change in the Christmas holiday with its’ emphasis on joy, family and merriment.

One of the best views of Christmas, in New England, is by Theodore Parker, Minister of the 28th Congregational Society of Boston.   His “Tale of Two Christmases” looks at some of the new celebrations taking hold in America.  Some think it “queer,” and wonder, “what our pious fathers would think of keeping Christmas in New England.” A few have “religious scruples,” and want nothing to do with the changes.  The head of the Know-nothing lodge said it was “a Furrin custom, and I want none o’ them things; but Ameriky must be ruled by ‘Mericans; and we’ll have no Disserlutions of the Union, and no Popish ceremonies like a Christmas Tree. If you begin so, you’ll have the Pope here next, and the fulfilment of the seventeenth chapter of Revelations.”

Post from: TOCWOC - A Civil War Blog

Christmas in the 1860’s

Related posts:

1. Merry Christmas!

By James W. Durney

After the battle of Brawner’s Farm or Groveton, Pope had “bagged” Jackson and all he needed to do was beat him in battle.  Pope possessed unlimited confidence in his ability to do this with his army of 63,000 assembled from multiple independent sources.  Franz Sigel commands the I Corps with a large German contingent.  At the height of his military carrier, Sigel is the “Dutch” political general and not likely to be replaced soon.  Sigel suffers from an uneven record.  A poor performance in The Valley balances a good performance at Pea Ridge.  Many of his actions are questionable and he has a reputation for independence.  Given all of these problems, Sigel might be the “pick of the litter”.  Nathaniel P. Banks commands II Corps.  Known as “Nothing Positive” Banks, is one of the worst of the political generals Lincoln is compelled to appoint.  In command of the III Corps is Irvin McDowell, protected by Salmon P. Chase, McDowell will manage to survive and retired in 1882.  From the Army of the Potomac, came the III Corps commanded by Samuel Hiettzelman and V Corps commanded by George Morell.  While Pope had good men at the division and brigade level, the corps commanders are fair to poor.  This problem is common to many Union armies but always seems more noticeable in the east.

Jackson’s Corps is legend, with divisions commanded by A.P. Hill and R.S. Ewell.  At the brigade level is Pender, Archer, Trimble and Early to name the more famous of these generals.  His 18,000 men take up a position along an unfinished railroad cut in wooded terrain.  Jackson with the advantage of leadership, being on the defensive and having a good position is a formable foe.  Jackson is the bait and he proves impossible for Pope to resist.  Jackson has to hold his position and keep Pope fixed on him until Longstreet arrives.

Pope spends part of the first day feeling Jackson’s position.  It is a strong one with difficult approaches requiring above average command and control of the attacking force.  From the start, Pope is unable to provide the necessary level of C&C.  Pope “misunderstands” where his units are, how soon they will move and how quickly they can converge on the battlefield.  What Pope envisions as a pincer movement trapping a fleeing foe becomes a series of frontal attacks on a well-placed defensive position.  Worse yet, the initial attacks are under the command of Franz Sigel.

Two critical failures are yet to occur.  First, it never occurs to Pope that Jackson wants to stand and fight.  For the entire battle, Pope assumes Jackson is desperate to escape but frozen in place by his attacks.  This assumption causes Pope to order attack after attack convinced that he is breaking Jackson and will destroy him.  He comes very close to reaching his goal.  Under constant attack, only some of the hardest fighting to date maintains the defensive line.  Second, Pope misses Longstreet, he simply ignores the fact that the AoNV has a second Corps and any evidence they are in the area.  In spite of a sharp fight between I Corps and elements of his army, Pope fixes on Jackson.  This fixation allows Longstreet to position his Corps along Pope’s left flank.

Jackson continues to hold his line drawing Pope deeper into battle.  Fixed in place, he is forced to conduct limited counter attacks to maintain this position.  Longstreet is mobile, artillery position, poised waiting for the right moment.  In the years to come, this will be part of the “Lost Cause” anti-Longstreet myth.  The story grows that Lee is forced to prod a reluctant Longstreet to attack.  The story is that Longstreet watches Jackson fighting for his life for unspecified reasons would not assist him.  The record indicates that Lee wished to attack sooner than Longstreet did and that “Old Pete” held him off waiting for the right time.  The “right time” occurs when Pope’s reserves are committed in pursuit of the “beaten Confederates”, Longstreet strikes.  The Union left flank is destroyed, regiments tried to stand but they were shot down and overrun.  The attacking line overlaps any Union defensive formations sweeping them away.  Stunned and demoralized for the second time in little over a year, a Union Army is defeated at Bull Run.

Darkness, more than anything, saves the Army of Virginia as they fall back toward Centerville.  Pope, totally defeated, went from bombastic statements about victory to gloomy predictions of disaster.  His only “victory” is to have Fitz John Potter cashiered for disobedience to orders.  Pope will continue to serve in a series of senior administrative positions until retirement in 1886, the most notable being department commander during the Sioux uprising in Minnesota.   He died in 1892, a retired Major General in Sandusky, Ohio.

Fitz John Porter is dismissed from the army, on January 21, 1863.  Sixteen years later, a board headed by General John M. Schofield exonerates him.  They state he saved the Army of Virginia at Second Bull Run.  In 1886, President Cleveland places his name back on the rolls as a Colonel ranking from May 14, 1861.  General Potter dies in 1901 at his home in New Jersey.

Editor’s Note: Jim is a Top 500 Amazon.com reviewer.

Check out Beyond the Crater: The Petersburg Campaign Online!

Check out Brett’s list of the Top 10 Civil War Blogs!

Read many Civil War Book Reviews here at TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog!

Did you enjoy this blog entry?  Subscribe to TOCWOC’s RSS feed today!

Please consider using the ShareThis feature below to spread the word.

Post from: TOCWOC - A Civil War Blog

Second Bull Run

Related posts:

1. Campaign Antietam Screen Shots: Groveton and Second Bull Run
2. Should Ewell have taken “That Hill”?
3. Paradox & MMG Release Two Bonus Scenarios for Take Command Second Manassas

Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Westholme Publishing; 1st Edition (November 18, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594160988
• ISBN-13: 978-1594160981

A Longacre book is always a question.  He is capable of outstanding work but often, seems willing to work below his talents.  Many of his books lack original research and depend instead on secondary sources.  Often they contain little analysis and are prone to errors.  All of his books are very readable.  He is an excellent author, able to be informative and entertaining at the same time.  Often he seems to strive for quantity over quality making him one of our most prolific authors.

This book has all the good and bad that we expect from this author.

With over 30 pages of Bibliography, the primary reference source is the excellent work by Horn & Connelly.  Almost every footnote I checked referenced one of their books.  The author uses his own books as a source on Joseph Wheeler.

The impact of the raiding done by Morgan & Forrest seems overstated.  While they were a major PR problem, snapping up small garrisons never stopped Grant or Sherman.  They created a great deal of addition effort and expenses but the impact was never as major as the author implies.  Van Dorn’s Holly Spring raid, one of the most successful of the war, rates one paragraph.  Wheeler’s role in the Tullahoma Campaign, Fort Pillow and Spring Hill are reported but not analyzed or cover in any depth.

An early statement that I found upsetting is on page 84.  The author states that the “Native American” units fighting for the CSA at Pea Ridge “were permitted to scalp their victims”.  CSA General Albert Pike lost his command over this.  Pike and Van Dorn, the CSA commander, denied and disavowed any knowledge of the incident when question by Curtis.  That something nasty occurred concerning these units is not a question.  Stating this was a sanctioned activity is incorrect.

What is right with the book?  It is an enjoyable read and provides a view of the Civil War we have not seen.  Like the provable dice game, even though the dice are loaded and if you win, they will beat you up and steal your money.  If you want to play dice, this is the only game in town.  Until something else is written this is the only book, I know of, on the subject.  It will give the reader a foundation to work with in trying to understand cavalry operations between the two major western armies.  Read in conjunction with Connelly’s books this book will be of real value.

.

Editor’s Note: Jim is a Top 500 Amazon.com reviewer.

Check out Beyond the Crater: The Petersburg Campaign Online!

Check out Brett’s list of the Top 10 Civil War Blogs!

Read many Civil War Book Reviews here at TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog!

Did you enjoy this blog entry?  Subscribe to TOCWOC’s RSS feed today!

Please consider using the ShareThis feature below to spread the word.

Post from: TOCWOC - A Civil War Blog

Review: Cavalry of the Heartland: The Mounted Forces of the Army of Tennessee

Related posts:

1. Review: The Last Confederate General: John C. Vaughn and the East Tennessee Cavalry
2. Review: The Army of Tennessee by Thomas L. Connelly
3. Review: The Shiloh Campaign (Civil War Campaigns in the Heartland) edited by Steven E. Woodworth

By James Durney

• On the first, following the Battle Franklin, the XXIII Corps withdraws to defensive positions at Nashville.  George Thomas assumes command of the Union forces defending the city.
• Hood’s Army of Tennessee reaches Nashville on the second.  Hood has about 24,000 men and Forrest’s experienced cavalry.  On the same day, CSA General Sterling Price reaches Laynesport, AK ending all hope of retaking Missouri.  His command has marched almost 1,500 miles fighting 43 engagements while losing 4,000 men.  Most of his losses are to desertion.  Judson Kilpatrick, acting under Sherman’s orders commences offensive operations designed to drive Joe Wheeler’s cavalry away from the main columns.  For the next three or four days these forces will fight a series of skirmishes forcing Wheeler back toward Augusta.
• On the third, armed parties from the USS Nita, Stars and Stripes, Ariel and Two Sisters destroy a large saltworks at Rocky Point in Tampa.
• On the fifth, the second session of the 38^th Congress convenes in Washington.  Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles reports that the US Navy contains 671 ships of which 62 are ironclads, mounting 4,600 cannon.
• On the sixth, Lincoln appoints Radical Republican and sometime Presidential candidate Salmon P. Chase as the fifth Chief Justice.
• General Robert L. Milroy attacks and defeats General Nathan Forrest outside of Murfreesboro on the seventh.  Hood detached Forrest’ command from his Nashville lines releasing him to raid.
• On the tenth, General Sherman, with 60,000 men, reaches the outskirt of Savannah.  William Hardee has 18,000 men to defend the city.  He orders the rice fields flooded reducing the approaches to the city.
• On the 13^th, in Montreal, the authorities release the St Albans raiders.  The United States formally notifies the British government they will nullify the Rush-Bagot Agreement of 1817 and in one year fortify the border with Canada.  The 2^nd Division, XV Corps capture Fort McAllister outside of Savannah, establishing contact with the Navy and reopening Sherman’s supply lines.
• Over a week after receiving orders to attack, after ignoring a number of pointed inquires with his replacement in route on the 15^th, George Thomas attacks.  The Battle of Nashville is a disaster for Hood, in two days of battle his army is driven from every position and loses most of his artillery.  N.B. Forrest forms the rear guard as the badly defeated army flees south.  Almost 6,000 men, the majority captured are lost at the Battle of Nashville.  Union loses are 3,057.
• On the 18^th, Lincoln calls for 300,000 more men to rebuild the Union army’s ranks.
• William Hardee evacuates the city of Savannah saving his army but losing 250 heavy cannon on the 20th.  The same day, Admiral David G. Farragut concludes his naval career at the New York Naval Yard.
• On the 22^nd, General Stoneman concludes his ten-day raid departing Saltville, VA.
• On the 23^rd, David G. Farragut becomes the first American vice admiral, the equivalent of a lieutenant general.  This required congressional legislation and Lincoln’s approval.
• Also on the 23^rd, 65,000 men and 5 ships arrive off Fort Fisher outside of Wilmington.  Fort Fisher is an earthwork fort, 480 yards long, 60 feet high with a garrison of 1,500 protecting the last major open port in the CSA.  On the 24^th, the USS Louisiana packed with explosives detonates near the fort.  The explosions expected to level a wall but the ship is at least 250 yards from the fort and accomplishes nothing.  Facing the failure of the operation, Admiral David D. Porter orders a massive bombardment of the fort.  On Christmas day, 2,200 men from the Army of the James land an attack.  They are unable to get closer than 50 yards to the walls.  General Benjamin Butler orders a withdrawal and cancels the entire operation.  Butler’s withdrawal strands 700 men on the beach for two days until rescued.
• On the 26^th, John B. Hood’s army crosses the Tennessee River heading for Tupelo, MS.  The crossing is possible as low water at Great Mussel Shoals at strands Union gunboats.
• Butler’s conduct enrages Grant, who tells Lincoln that the entire operation is a complete fiasco.  On the 30^th, Lincoln, secure in his election victory, relieves Benjamin F. Butler as commander of the Army of the James.
• The same day, Francis P. Blair suggests to Jefferson Davis a meeting to “explain the view I entertain in reference to the state of affairs of our Country.”
• On the 31^st, the 110,000 men of the Army of the Potomac are in their siege lines outside Petersburg and Richmond.  Facing them are the 66,000 man Army of Northern Virginia trying to hold 35 miles of lines.

The prospects of victory have never appeared brighter in the North.

*****

Check out Beyond the Crater: The Petersburg Campaign Online!

Check out Brett’s list of the Top 10 Civil War Blogs!

Read many Civil War Book Reviews here at TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog!

Did you enjoy this blog entry?  Subscribe to TOCWOC’s RSS feed today!

Please consider using the ShareThis feature below to spread the word.

Post from: TOCWOC - A Civil War Blog

The Civil War 145 Years Ago: December 1864

Related posts:

1. The Civil War 145 Years Ago: November 1864
2. The Civil War 145 Years Ago: September 1864
3. The Civil War 145 Years Ago: October 1864

December 2009

James Durney

***********************************************************

In need of a holiday gift?

It might be a gift for someone else, an answer to “What do you want?” or something you buy yourself.  These books are available online and in some stores.

Fields of Blood: The Prairie Grove Campaign by William Shea from UNC Press is available. Prairie Grove is one of the most important battles in the Trans-Mississippi.  This is a handsome book with maps and illustrations by an excellent author.  This book will complement Pea Ridge: Civil War Campaign in the West by the same author.

Edward Longacre’s Cavalry of the Heartland: The Mounted Forces of the Army of Tennessee uses a wide array of research materials including the unpublished writings of more than 300 officers and enlisted men.  This is the only book-length study of the strategy and tactics of the Army of Tennessee’s mounted forces from its inception in the spring of 1861 to Bentonville, four years later.  The book describes numerous campaigns and battles including Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Perryville, Murfreesboro (Stones River), Tullahoma, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Atlanta, Nashville, and the Carolinas.

Commanding Lincoln’s Navy: Union Naval Leadership During the Civil by Stephen R. Taffee might be a “must have” for naval buffs.  The author wrote the well received Commanding the Army of the Potomac in 2006.

Slavery and the Supreme Court, 1825 – 1861 by Earl M. Maltz covers eight major cases involving slavery that came before the Court in the years leading up to the war.

Entrepot: Government Imports into the Confederate States by C. W. Webster from Edinborough Press is history of civil war blockade running.  The publication date is October but Amazon lists this as a November/December shipment.

A Dangerous Stir: Fear, Paranoia, and the Making of Reconstruction by Mark Wahlgren Summers should be in the stores this month.  Reconstruction policy after the Civil War is shaped not simply by politics, principles, and prejudices. Also at work were fears–often-unreasonable fears of renewed civil war and a widespread sense that four years of war had thrown the normal constitutional process so dangerously out of kilter that the republic itself remained in peril.

Punitive War Confederate Guerrillas and Union Reprisals by Clay Mountcastle.  This is a look at how guerrilla attacks and Union reaction drove a cycle of violence contributing to a punitive war.  The author is a member of the US Army, currently in Korea, who has taught military history at West Point.

Available online from Ten Roads Publishing is The Alexander Dobbin House in Gettysburg: A Shirt History by Dr. Walter Powell.  Gettysburg Bicentennial Album by William A Frassanito.  Look for Fight as long as possible: The Battle of Newport Barracks, February 2, 1864 by Eric Lindblade about now.

The Louisiana Tigers in the Gettysburg Campaign, June-July 1863 by Scott L. Mingus, Sr., made its’ October date.  I last listed this author for his excellent Flames beyond Gettysburg: The Gordon Expedition, June 1863 and Gettysburg Glimpses: True Stories from the Battlefield.

Dave Powell’s The Maps of Chickamauga: An Atlas of the Chickamauga Campaign, Including the Tullahoma Operations, June 22 – September 23, 1863 is out.  This is part of the continuing Savas Beatie Maps of series.

***********************************************************

New Releases

Brooks D. Simpson’s Civil War In The East 1861-1865: A Strategic Assessment is scheduled for this month.  Publicity says the author “offers an integrated interpretation of military operations and shows how politics, public perception, geography, and logistics shaped the course of military operations in the East.”

UNC Press scheduled Blue and Gray Diplomacy A History of Union and Confederate Foreign Relations by Howard Jones for January 2010. In this examination of Union and Confederate foreign relations during the Civil War from both European and American perspectives, Howard Jones demonstrates that the consequences of the conflict between North and South reached far beyond American soil.

Sam Davis Elliott’s newest book: Isham G. Harris of Tennessee: Confederate Governor and United States Senator is on Amazon with a January 2010 publication date.

In March 2010, Clint Johnson’s A VAST AND FIENDISH PLOT – The Confederate Attack on New York City should be in stores.

Scheduled for 2010 is Thunder Across the Swamps, the second book in the Louisiana Quadrille series, covering the war for the lower Mississippi from February to May 1863.

Eric Wittenberg reports The Battle of Brandy Station, June 9, 1863: North America’s Largest Cavalry Battle will be part of The History Press’s forthcoming sesquicentennial series on battles of the Civil War.  This is a 68,000-word manuscript with 50 maps and illustrations.  He feels that we have “a reasonable chance” of seeing this book in June 2010. The Civil War Preservation Trust and master cartographer Steve Stanley have given permission to use Steve’s excellent maps in the book.  Clark B. “Bud” Hall will work with Eric to put together a tour for the book.  A second project for The History Press entitled The Battle of Yellow Tavern: Jeb Stuart’s Last Battle. This will be a study of Phil Sheridan’s May 1864 raid on Richmond, with particular focus on the May 11, 1864 Battle of Yellow Tavern, where Jeb Stuart received his mortal wound.

Savas Beatie has published their Spring 2010 schedule.  In May, expect Valley Thunder: The Battle of New Market by Charles R. Knight.  This is a 264-page book with eight maps covering the “complex prelude” and the battle.  In June The Maryland Campaign of September 1862, Volume 1: South Mountain is due.  This is the Ezra Carman manuscript edited by Thomas G. Clemens a 694-page book with ten maps covering the action leading up to Antietam.

In April, we can look for a full-color hardcover edition of The Maps of Gettysburg by Bradley M. Gottfried.  Those Damned Black Hats! The Iron Brigade in the Gettysburg Campaign by Lance J. Herdegen, Sickles at Gettysburg by James A. Hassler and Saratoga by John Luzader is being released as paperbacks.  Saratoga is American Revolution but it is outstanding military history and a great read.

Savas Beatie is working on a two-volume set on The Petersburg Campaign, taken from a series of unpublished battle studies written by Ed Bearss.  Bryce Suderow is the editor on this.  This will be a major event in the historiography of the Petersburg Campaign.

We can look forward to a complete history of the Iron Brigade from Lance J. Herdegen.  Those Damned Black Hats!, his book on the Iron Brigade during the Gettysburg Campaign won The Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award for Operational Battle History.

***********************************************************

Browsing in the bookstore

Most publishers treat spines as the ugly stepchild of jacket design, the smallest part of the jacket and thus the easiest to ignore. All a spine needs is the title running along it, the publisher’s name/logo on the bottom, and the author’s name on top.
The vast majority of books are shelved spine out. When walking through a store we are faced with hundreds or even thousands of books and the only thing we sees is a spine.  This gives that ugly little stepchild suddenly takes on an entirely new meaning.  [Borrowed from Ted Savas]

*******************************************************

Savas Beatie LLC.

The webpage says they are “Publishers of Historical Titles of Distinction” with “Independent … Scholarly … and a bit old fashion” as a motto. Attorney and author Russel H. “Cap” Beatie joined Theodore P. “Ted” Savas in 2003 to form this company.  Ted Savas brought experience in consulting with and working for a number of publishing companies in addition to being a principle in Savas Woodbury Publishers.  An early coup was Champion Hill: Decisive Battle for Vicksburg by Timothy B. Smith.  This book was a selection of the Civil War Preservation Trust fundraising program and remains the standard work on the battle.

Their books have won a number of impressive awards.  The winning Civil War titles are Major General Robert E. Rodes of the Army of Northern Virginia: A Biography by Darrell Collins won the Douglas Southall Freeman Award for Best Book on Southern History, 2009 & Those Damned Black Hats!: The Iron Brigade in the Gettysburg Campaign by Lance J. Herdegen, wining The Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award for Operational / Battle History, 2008.

The company has the ability to attract established authors and highly gifted new authors.  This is not a Civil War only publisher.  They have a very aggressive schedule publishing books on various aspects of military, sports, and general history.  Much of my library is from this publisher.  They produce a physically high quality book that is always an interesting, informative read.

In addition, the company is supportive of Round Tables with special offers for book purchases and financial support when a Round Table is referenced at purchase time.

Major services this publisher provided our community are the publication of Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862 by O. Edward Cunningham, Edited by Gary D. Joiner and Timothy B. Smith.  Until this book, this vital work was not available to the public.  The second is getting Thomas G. Clemens to edit the Ezra Carman manuscript.  Joseph Pierro’s The Maryland Campaign of September 1862: Ezra A. Carman’s Definitive Study of the Union and Confederate Armies at Antietam is the only commercial publication of this manuscript to date.  Publisher decisions left maps out and limited the coverage of events leading up to the battle.

********************************************************

I would like to take this chance to wish you all the happiest of holidays.  Thank you for taking the time to read my column & reviews.  I hope we will have many more years together with many excellent books.

“God Bless us, one and all!”

Editor’s Note: Jim is a Top 500 Amazon.com reviewer.

Check out Beyond the Crater: The Petersburg Campaign Online!

Check out Brett’s list of the Top 10 Civil War Blogs!

Read many Civil War Book Reviews here at TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog!

Did you enjoy this blog entry?  Subscribe to TOCWOC’s RSS feed today!

Please consider using the ShareThis feature below to spread the word.

Post from: TOCWOC - A Civil War Blog

December 2009 Civil War Book Notes

Related posts:

1. November 2009 Civil War Book Notes
2. October 2009 Civil War Book Notes
3. September 2009 Civil War Book Notes

Post from: TOCWOC - A Civil War Blog

Massive Deals on Books and Others Things at Amazon.com!

Related posts:

1. Manuscript of Burlingame’s Massive Lincoln Biography Offered FREE Online at Knox College
2. Update: James Durney’s Book Notes for May 2008 is Rescheduled
3. Top 10 Amazon.com Civil War Bestsellers: August 2008

By James Durney

Have you ever looked west of the Mississippi River in 1861 & 8162?  Yes, we have all read about Wilson’s Creek and Lyons in St. Louis.  However, that is not the full story.  If you have a vague itch to explore the Civil War in the Trans-Mississippi, read on.

There are books that can scratch that itch.  The better ones are:

• Wilson’s Creek: The Second Battle of the Civil War and the Men Who Fought It by William Garrett Piston
• The Battle of Carthage: Border War in Southwest Missouri, July 5, 1861 by David C. Hinze & Karen Farnham might be the perfect small battle book.  Years after reading the book, I took it to Carthage and recognized the important places with no problem.
• Pea Ridge: Civil War Campaign in the West by William L. Shea & Earl J. Hess, this is the best book on the biggest battle west of the Mississippi and should be required reading.
• Fields of Blood: The Prairie Grove Campaign (Civil War America) by William L. Shea is a history of this important campaign that secured the victory at Pea Ridge.
• Wilson’s Creek, Pea Ridge, and Prairie Grove: A Battlefield Guide, with a Section on Wire Road (This Hallowed Ground: Guides to Civil War) written by local experts, this is a combination guide and history that is well worth buying.

If you want to relive these battles and many others, HPS offers Civil War Battles: Campaign Ozark. The AI manages to do a fair to good job with small battles; I have had many enjoyable hours trying to take Bloody Hill, keep Blunt and Heron apart or capture Hindman’s supply train.

Fire in the Cane Field: The Federal Invasion of Louisiana and Texas, January 1861 January 1863 by Donald S. Frazier is outside of the area we have been discussing.  However, this is an important new series on the war.

Check out Beyond the Crater: The Petersburg Campaign Online!

Check out Brett’s list of the Top 10 Civil War Blogs!

Read many Civil War Book Reviews here at TOCWOC – A Civil War Blog!

Did you enjoy this blog entry?  Subscribe to TOCWOC’s RSS feed today!

Please consider using the ShareThis feature below to spread the word.

Post from: TOCWOC - A Civil War Blog

The Trans-Mississippi Package: Books on the Civil War West of the Father of Waters

Related posts:

1. Review: A Crisis In Confederate Command: Edmund Kirby Smith, Richard Taylor, And The Army Of The Trans-Mississippi
2. B&G: Not THAT Falling Waters
3. Review: Stonewall of the West: Patrick Cleburne and the Civil War

Post from: TOCWOC - A Civil War Blog

Last Official Patch For Ageod’s American Civil War Released

Related posts:

1. Ironclads: American Civil War Released
2. Patch Is Out For Take Command Second Manassas
3. Gary Grigsby’s War Between the States Patch to Version 1.020