tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:56:51 +0000Reviews, news, views, and interviews about non-fiction Civil War books, publishers, and authors.http://cwba.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)Blogger689125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-8305376349348005008Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:20:00 +00002009-11-10T18:19:55.611-08:00Once again, I've been neglecting the Q&A feature of the site, with the last interview posted way back in April. I do have a couple new ones lined up. Next up will be Dr. Daniel E. Sutherland of the University of Arkansas. I reviewed his latest book A Savage Conflict back in August. He always has something interesting to say.Following that will be a Q&A with Dr. William L. Shea, University of http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~3/WydTRGLq6mc/upcoming-author-q-as.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~4/WydTRGLq6mc" height="1" width="1"/>http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/11/upcoming-author-q-as.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-4224045999134831611Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:53:00 +00002009-11-09T13:32:00.937-08:00BooknotesFor as many books as Edward Longacre has authored, I don't think I've actually read any of them (maybe his Pickett bio years ago), but the subject matter of his new study Cavalry of the Heartland: The Mounted Forces of the Army of Tennessee (Westholme Publishing, 2009) alone marked it as a highly anticipated title for me. Glancing through it, it looks to be a quite detailed operational history http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~3/y-RQ9p8bTf4/booknotes-cavalry-of-heartland.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~4/y-RQ9p8bTf4" height="1" width="1"/>http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/11/booknotes-cavalry-of-heartland.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-7837409748079533682Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:02:00 +00002009-11-08T12:07:31.756-08:00Reviews - Unit HistoriesBook ReviewsHistories and rosters of Civil War infantry and cavalry regiments are common enough (with artillery batteries less so), but very rarely does one come across such a work aimed at artillery battalions. James L. Speicher's new book The Sumter Flying Artillery: A Civil War History of the Eleventh Battalion Georgia Light Artillery (Pelican Publishing Co., 2009) is a promising example. Composed of fivehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~3/F5GHLX4hkTM/sumter-flying-artillery-civil-war.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~4/F5GHLX4hkTM" height="1" width="1"/>http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/11/sumter-flying-artillery-civil-war.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-2711723411064244224Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:29:00 +00002009-11-05T18:42:52.468-08:00Book ReviewsGiven the wide distribution network of Osprey Publishing, one would guess that nearly every military history reader has some familiarity with their vast array of book series. The Elite Series "explores the history of military forces, artifacts, personalities, and techniques of warfare". Heavily illustrated with photographs, drawings, maps, and full color artwork, and at 64 pages in length, books http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~3/Imxcu20XpCE/osprey-elite-series-american-civil-war.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~4/Imxcu20XpCE" height="1" width="1"/>http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/11/osprey-elite-series-american-civil-war.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-5040833542357600723Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:56:00 +00002009-11-03T08:28:36.973-08:00BooknotesNew additions this month:1. Defending South Carolina's Coast: The Civil War from Georgetown to Little River by Rick Simmons (The History Press, 2009).The comparatively little that is written about the Civil War along South Carolina's coast overwhelmingly focuses on the Charleston environs and the area to the south between that city and Savannah. What makes this book so interesting is that it http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~3/BL-p6Qo383w/booknotes-november-09.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~4/BL-p6Qo383w" height="1" width="1"/>http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/11/booknotes-november-09.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-7526034788001280960Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:00:00 +00002009-11-01T17:29:24.115-08:00Book ReviewsReviews - Naval[ Bluejackets and Contrabands: African Americans and the Union Navy by Barbara Brooks Tomblin (University Press of Kentucky, 2009). Cloth, maps, photos, notes, bibliography, index. Pages main/total: 287/381. ISBN: 978-0-8131-2554-1 $39.95 ]The assistance black individuals (slave and free) rendered to the U.S. army and navy during the Civil War has been well documented throughout the literature; http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~3/ZIHMGMEChz0/tamblin-bluejackets-and-contrabands.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~4/ZIHMGMEChz0" height="1" width="1"/>http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/11/tamblin-bluejackets-and-contrabands.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-6630114574980023974Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:59:00 +00002009-10-29T21:36:25.335-07:00I'm sure many of you have heard by now that the Camp Pope Bookshop is in the midst of a clearance sale to liquidate its retail stock prior to refocusing the business on publishing (Camp Pope will continue to publish and sell its own books) and publishing services.Over the years, the proprietor, Clark Kenyon, has assembled a large body of out-of-print source material about Iowa's role in the Civilhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~3/C0qzaqKD0r8/camp-pope-auction-op-iowa-in-civil-war.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~4/C0qzaqKD0r8" height="1" width="1"/>http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/10/camp-pope-auction-op-iowa-in-civil-war.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-2693854124863315268Thu, 29 Oct 2009 15:23:00 +00002009-10-29T09:12:28.898-07:00Reviews - Theater - WestBook Reviews[ Civil War Macon: The History of a Confederate City by Richard W. Iobst (Mercer University Press, 2009). Softcover ed., map, illustrations, notes, appendices, bibliography, index. Pages main/total:454/475. ISBN: 9780881461725 $35 ]Situated along the banks of the Ocmulgee River near the state of Georgia's geographical center, the industrious town of Macon experienced an even greater economic http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~3/ZCPuSUyaeDI/iobst-civil-war-macon-history-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~4/ZCPuSUyaeDI" height="1" width="1"/>http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/10/iobst-civil-war-macon-history-of.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-5319086037998496884Tue, 27 Oct 2009 19:03:00 +00002009-10-28T14:09:40.972-07:00BooknotesOther new additions this month:1. General Sterling Price and the Confederacy by Thomas C. Reynolds, edited by Robert G. Schultz (Missouri History Museum Press, 2009).Price clashed on a personal level with many important Confederate figures, and Thomas Reynolds (who became Missouri's 'Confederate governor' with the death of Claiborne Jackson) was one of them. Half of the book is Reynold's http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~3/omVdXLy5r-o/booknotes-v-october-09.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~4/omVdXLy5r-o" height="1" width="1"/>http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/10/booknotes-v-october-09.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-967140152157797062Tue, 27 Oct 2009 00:02:00 +00002009-10-26T17:08:44.386-07:00Reviews - Unit HistoriesBook Reviews[A History of the 15th South Carolina Volunteer Infantry 1861-1865 by James B. Clary (Broadfoot Publishing, 2009). Cloth, 94 maps, photos, notes, appendices, bibliography, index. Pages main/total: 323/623. ISBN:978-0-9797383-1-9 $45]James Clary's A History of the 15th South Carolina Volunteer Infantry 1861-1865 is part of the second batch of releases from Broadfoot Publishing's South Carolinahttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~3/28J-O4vdRQU/clary-history-of-15th-south-carolina.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~4/28J-O4vdRQU" height="1" width="1"/>http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/10/clary-history-of-15th-south-carolina.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-4261370765263649898Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:39:00 +00002009-10-25T17:04:26.842-07:00Over the past few years, I am finding more and more publishers (including university presses, which I assume pay more than typical attention to the latest style manual trends) going with appendixes as the plural form of appendix over appendices. The latter was always in favor during my own educational years and beyond, but now they seem to be running neck and neck in the usage supremacy race. I http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~3/OYY4tml71nc/appendixes-vs-appendices.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)8<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~4/OYY4tml71nc" height="1" width="1"/>http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/10/appendixes-vs-appendices.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-8452470843893345324Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:44:00 +00002009-10-28T14:09:27.197-07:00BooknotesNew additions this month:1. The Sumter Flying Artillery: A Civil War History of the Eleventh Battalion Georgia Light Artillery by James L. Speicher (Pelican, 2009).Pelican gets some deserved grief for some of the Civil War titles it chooses to publish, but I've found others to be worthwhile studies. Speicher's book looks to have most of the elements of a useful unit history, including a very http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~3/_ExuyHcvFjU/booknotes-iv-october-09.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)2<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~4/_ExuyHcvFjU" height="1" width="1"/>http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/10/booknotes-iv-october-09.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-2667784738771534457Fri, 23 Oct 2009 19:32:00 +00002009-10-29T09:13:08.622-07:00PublishersMERCER UNIVERSITY PRESSHome PageBlogCivil War-related Series:State Narratives of the Civil WarCivil War Catalog:Civil WarCivil War Books and Authors Reviews:* Griswoldville (forthcoming)* Civil War Macon: The History of a Confederate Cityhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~3/JosWBhMdZcE/cwba-profile-mercer-university-press.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~4/JosWBhMdZcE" height="1" width="1"/>http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/10/cwba-profile-mercer-university-press.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-4823714062999148008Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:30:00 +00002009-10-20T08:37:34.406-07:00Reviews - Indian ConflictsBook SnapshotsReviews - Unit HistoriesReference Books/Research MaterialsReviews - Theater - Trans MississippiWhen the Civil War led the federal government to recall the regular army units patrolling the frontier, California volunteers picked up much of the slack up and down the Pacific coast and into the mountain west. Corporal Royal A. Bensell (Company D, 4th California Volunteer Infantry) was one of these men. His daily journal, beginning in March 1862 and ending in October 1864, relates his often http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~3/3kHswtkIMKY/all-quiet-on-yamhill-civil-war-in-far.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~4/3kHswtkIMKY" height="1" width="1"/>http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/10/all-quiet-on-yamhill-civil-war-in-far.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-5779769977526672893Sun, 18 Oct 2009 01:05:00 +00002009-10-17T18:12:57.906-07:00B&G Magazine is following up an excellent Mine Run issue, with one about the 1862 Battle of Chickasaw Bayou (pdf file of Table of Contents) [Volume XXVI Issue #3]. Can't wait to see it. The best writing about this badly managed operation remains Ed Bearss's extensive section from his Vicksburg trilogy, but a few years back there was some talk of a book length history. I wish I could remember thehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~3/cTVZhwUqFNQ/chickasaw-bayou.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)4<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~4/cTVZhwUqFNQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/10/chickasaw-bayou.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-6803800543963516915Thu, 15 Oct 2009 21:33:00 +00002009-10-15T14:45:46.043-07:00Reviews - Theater - WestReference Books/Research MaterialsBook Reviews[Never for Want of Powder: The Confederate Powder Works in Augusta, Georgia by C. L. Bragg, Gordon A. Blaker, Charles D. Ross, Stephanie A. T. Jacobe, and Theodore P. Savas (University of South Carolina Press, 2007). 14.3 x 10.8 Cloth, 74 color and 50 b&w illus., appendices, notes, bibliography, index. 336 pages. ISBN:978-1-57003-657-6 $44.95]It's a fairly common refrain that Confederate armieshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~3/E95tEl-uEg8/bragg-blaker-ross-jacobe-savas-never.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~4/E95tEl-uEg8" height="1" width="1"/>http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/10/bragg-blaker-ross-jacobe-savas-never.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-8827681544382695741Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:22:00 +00002009-10-13T16:22:07.259-07:00BooknotesNew additions this month:1. American Civil War Railroad Tactics by Robert Hodges & Peter Dennis (illus.) (Osprey Publishing, 2009)and2. American Civil War Guerrilla Tactics by Sean McLachlan & Gerry Embleton (illus.) (Osprey Publishing, 2009).Part of the Elite Series, the above pair of works are, as far as I know, the first Civil War books from Osprey that specifically look at tactics. The formerhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~3/mm7IM5Tr7IM/booknotes-iii-october-09.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)3<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~4/mm7IM5Tr7IM" height="1" width="1"/>http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/10/booknotes-iii-october-09.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-6294972109527814374Mon, 12 Oct 2009 01:47:00 +00002009-10-11T19:01:52.031-07:00Book SnapshotsGerald L. Earley's The Second United States Sharpshooters in the Civil War: A History and Roster (McFarland, 2009) is a compact organizational, service, and roster history of the unit. The section discussing the unit's formation and training focuses on the extended struggle to obtain arms, as well as target practice. Initially settling for Springfields, the men later fought with Colt Revolving http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~3/rYOpy3o_dWw/second-united-states-sharpshooters-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~4/rYOpy3o_dWw" height="1" width="1"/>http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/10/second-united-states-sharpshooters-in.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-4834288116100857649Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:37:00 +00002009-10-08T11:41:10.064-07:00Book SnapshotsReference Books/Research MaterialsAt approximately 9" x 11" in size and 511 pages in length, Robert J. Nixon's Their Silent Vigil: A Complete Guide to the Monuments of the Gettysburg National Military Park, Volume One (Tate Publishing, 2009) is a large book that puts its hefty dimensions to good use. It (in conjunction with a future volume) attempts an inventory of all Civil War monuments placed at the Gettysburg National http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~3/IlZzil5Swvk/their-silent-vigil-complete-guide-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~4/IlZzil5Swvk" height="1" width="1"/>http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/10/their-silent-vigil-complete-guide-to.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-7461358793774644652Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:16:00 +00002009-10-07T08:27:07.053-07:00Well, upcoming as in next summer anyway.Back in 2007, when I reviewed his excellent essay compilation “The Earth Reeled and Trees Trembled”: Civil War Arkansas, 1863-1864, editor Mark Christ mentioned that he was working on getting a book based on his Little Rock Campaign MA thesis published by University of Oklahoma Press as part of their Campaigns and Commanders series. It looks like it's http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~3/RdJLdAoplKU/upcoming-book-on-1863-arkansas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)4<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~4/RdJLdAoplKU" height="1" width="1"/>http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/10/upcoming-book-on-1863-arkansas.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-2580679673189316540Tue, 06 Oct 2009 19:28:00 +00002009-10-06T12:42:12.367-07:00BooknotesNew additions this month:1. Lincoln’s Proclamation: Emancipation Reconsidered - edited by William A. Blair & Karen Fisher Younger (Univ. of N. Carolina Press, 2009).This is a collection of eight essays dealing with various aspects (controversial and otherwise) of the Emancipation Proclamation.2. The Battle of Athens: "Farthest North of the Civil War" - by Ben F. Dixon (Author, 1991).Before the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~3/KvOI-ZzaYEg/booknotes-ii-october-09.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~4/KvOI-ZzaYEg" height="1" width="1"/>http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/10/booknotes-ii-october-09.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-7081715115057058599Mon, 05 Oct 2009 00:31:00 +00002009-10-04T17:31:00.103-07:00Reviews - Unit HistoriesReviews - Theater - EastBook Reviews[The Boys of Adams' Battery G: The Civil War Through the Eyes of a Union Light Artillery Unit by Robert Grandchamp (McFarland 800-253-2187, 2009). Softcover, maps, photos, notes, roster, appendices, bibliography, index. Pages main/total:258/313. ISBN: 978-0-7864-4473-1 $49.95]Battery G, 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery participated in nearly all the major engagements fought by the Army of the http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~3/bnIk53Gup20/grandchamp-boys-of-adams-battery-g.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~4/bnIk53Gup20" height="1" width="1"/>http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/10/grandchamp-boys-of-adams-battery-g.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-2564734408578188897Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:25:00 +00002009-10-03T19:14:42.775-07:00BooknotesNew additions this month:1. The Southern Mind Under Union Rule: The Diary of James Rumley, Beaufort, North Carolina, 1862-1865 - by Judkin Browning (Univ. Press of Florida, 2009).Part of Florida's New Perspectives on the History of the South series, this volume is a nicely annotated diary of a man that maintained a passive facade to the Union occupation of his town, but seethed inside.2. Their http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~3/TbJ5aDu8NWk/booknotes-october-09.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~4/TbJ5aDu8NWk" height="1" width="1"/>http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/10/booknotes-october-09.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-1857206621746136903Tue, 29 Sep 2009 01:21:00 +00002009-09-28T19:20:50.162-07:00Book Reviews[Punitive War: Confederate Guerrillas and Union Reprisals by Clay Mountcastle (University Press of Kansas, 2009). Cloth, 20 photographs, 5 maps. Pages main/total: 158/212. ISBN: 978-0-7006-1668-8 $29.95]The publication of Mark Grimsley's The Hard Hand of War (Cambridge, 1995) popularized the term 'hard war' to describe the harsher turn in the conduct of Union forces toward southern civilians in http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~3/mwbrKfOtkhw/mountcastle-punitive-war-confederate.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~4/mwbrKfOtkhw" height="1" width="1"/>http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/09/mountcastle-punitive-war-confederate.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16471073.post-4590813950517507510Sun, 27 Sep 2009 23:46:00 +00002009-09-27T16:51:46.327-07:00BooknotesNew additions this month:1. Army Life: From a Soldier’s Journal by A. O. Marshall, edited by Robert G. Schultz (Univ. of Arkansas Press, 2009).Part of Arkansas's Civil War in the West series, Marshall's memoir (originally published in 1884) of his military service as a private with the 33rd Illinois Vol. Inf. regiment has been treated to a new annotated edition. Bob Schultz has published a numberhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~3/HJurcpReWI0/booknotes-ii-september-09.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Drew@CWBA)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/civwarba/~4/HJurcpReWI0" height="1" width="1"/>http://cwba.blogspot.com/2009/09/booknotes-ii-september-09.html