Confederate General William “Extra Billy” Smith: From Virginia’s Statehouse to Gettysburg Scapegoat

Scott L. Mingus Sr.

ISBN: 978-1-61121-129-0

Savas Beatie       Pgs. 418
Image courtesy of Target
               

                In Scott Mingus‘ biography on William Smith, he brings to life a once obscure character not as well-known as other Gettysburg characters such as James Longstreet or even John Brown Gordon.  But once again, Mingus has proven that he should be considered the leading historian on Early’s Division at Gettysburg.

                Mingus has authored the previous works of The Louisiana Tigers at Gettysburg June –July 1863, and Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Confederate Expedition to the Susquehanna River, June 1863.  He is also a scientist in the paper industry and has published five war gaming books along with winning the Douglas Southall Freeman Award in 2009.

                “Extra Billy” Smith’s early political life was fueled with experiences which would ready him for the country when the Civil War broke out.  He was a target of many newspapers both north and south both while he was in the governor’s seat before the war and in Congress during the time of secession.  One of the major Antebellum events which many historians remember is the caning of Charles Sumner; it is one of the more violent events in Congress’ history.  But Mingus reminds us that not only Sumner suffered the wrath of the violence in politics before the Civil War.  He recounts many events which surrounded the Congress even when editor Horace Greely was assaulted along with Smith’s wrestling match with Douglas Wallach.  During his time in Congress, Smith’s most comical moment was when he was speaking during the Christmas season and was going a bit long.  In order to attempt him to stop, he was given a glass of eggnog, but instead of stopping, he continued which became the famous “eggnog” speech and reporters grasped onto it.  When the war broke out, Smith stayed around until Virginia left the Union.  While in the army, he led his men in a non-militaristic style.  He would often rush into combat with his men and while his men, as colonel of the 49th Virginia, would see that as a heroic gesture, the press and other commanders would see it as a man not trained in the military.  It was one of things which the press and other commanders latched onto which could be seen more as a movement of jealousy than praise of heroism.  It would not be long before he would be brought back into the world of politics when his name was brought forward again to be the governor of Virginia.  It was the military vote which threw him back into the Virginia statehouse but it would only be after the Battle of Gettysburg when he would be able to do that.  His performance at Gettysburg was left wanting and was seen as a scapegoat after the battle since he did not pursue the Eleventh Corps during the first day of combat.  This led many to state that the failure to take Cemetery Hill would be the cause of the Union victory on the field.  Later during the battle, he would be criticized for his “attack” against George Greene on Culp’s Hill.  Upon his return to the state house, Smith would live out the rest of his political career and was one of the government fugitives after the surrender of Lee and Johnston. 

                This account of the life of Smith is one of the most well written biographies on a character in the Civil War.  One recommendation is to read the appendix which notes more of the controversy with Smith at the Gettysburg Campaign which gives more clarity to the situation.  Mingus took a character which is less known than others and brought to the attention to the community about this scandalous person who could easily give Daniel Sickles a run for his money.  

The Gettysburg Campaign in Numbers and Losses:  Synopsis, Orders of Battle, Strengths, Casualties, and Maps, June 9 – July 14, 1863

J. David Petruzzi and Steven A. Stanley

ISBN: 978-1-61121-080-4

Savas Beatie.  Co. 2012, 

Image Courtesy of Military Book Club

                The Gettysburg Campaign in Numbers and Losses completes what many historians have previously attempted to do.  By completing this work, both Petruzzi and Stanley have created the greatest reference for the campaign.

                J. David Petruzzi and Steven A. Stanley have worked together before on The Complete Gettysburg Guide and The New Gettysburg Campaign Handbook.  Petruzzi has also written other Gettysburg works along with Eric Wittenberg such as Plenty of Blame to God Around: Jeb Stuart’s Controversial Ride to Gettysburg and with Wittenberg and Michael F. Nugent One Continuous Fight: The Retreat from Gettysburg and the Pursuit of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.  Stanley lives in Gettysburg and works as a graphic designer who specializes in maps.  His work, which can be seen in this volume, are some of the best maps in the industry.

                There have been numerous books about the Gettysburg Campaign and even after one hundred and fifty years, there is still more to write about.  This work takes the study to a whole new level separating the smaller skirmishes and battles from the engagement at Gettysburg.  By referencing the Official Records, readers will see numbers and losses on the campaign scale.  What Petruzzi has done along with the work of Stanley’s maps, is researched what the numbers and losses were during the other engagements during the campaign.  Petruzzi’s research on a skirmish such as Seneca Mills, Maryland, shows the great care he has taken during his years of study.  The greatest part of this study is the separation of the three days of the fight at Gettysburg.  Readers and historians will always see the Battle of Gettysburg as a Union victory but with the aid of the information, we can see that with the three days separated, it is amazing that the Army of the Potomac overcame such losses from the first two days.  Along with the percentages for the numbers and losses of the army, there are bar graphs which calculate the information by infantry, cavalry and artillery.  While most historians would study the campaign up to the battle, Petruzzi and Stanley also gives us the retreat back to Virginia from the Battle of Monterey Pass to the Skirmish at Falling Waters, Maryland.  Besides percentages and maps by the authors, Petruzzi gives the reader an explanation of what happened there.  For the example of the Skirmish at Witmer’s Farm, there is a short description of the combat between the militia and a cavalry unit.   By doing this, we have a complete understanding of the aggregates and percentages of the Gettysburg Campaign as a whole instead of the numbers according to the battle.  

                Petruzzi and Stanley have given us a great reference which will be the standard for years to come.  What they have also accomplished is the ability to bring people this information without complicating the reference.  Any student or scholar will be able to use this work to more fully understand the campaign and gain a more exact feeling to the campaign’s casualties.  

The Louisiana Tigers in the Gettysburg Campaign June – July 1863: Scott L. Mingus Sr.

ISBN: 978-0-8071-3479-5

Louisiana State University Press

Image courtesy of Barnes and Noble

                Scott Mingus Sr. has given us something which is to be held in high regard.  Not only does he present the Gettysburg Campaign again to readers, he does so with new material and takes us to places where we rarely go on the battlefield.  

                Scott Mingus Sr. is no stranger to the Civil War with his others works such as Human Interest Stories of the Gettysburg Campaign and Flames Beyond Gettysburg.  He lives in York, Pennsylvania and has currently published a new work on General William “Extra Billy” Smith.

                There is a growing pattern among Gettysburg authors to write brigade histories or regimental histories for the Gettysburg Campaign.  Minugs’ work stands out from these others due to the amount of scholarship he has placed into his study.  He gives us not only a short background of the men before they reach the Gettysburg Campaign but of their commander, Hays, as well.  Mingus is also one of the first Gettysburg historians to delve into the actions at Winchester pinpointing the actions of one brigade during the beginning of the campaign; this feat is not only admirable but greatly appreciated.  When the brigade reaches Gettysburg, the account of their participation in the battle is fascinating.  These sections of the battlefield are studied in very little detail by others from Barlow’s Knoll, to the Brickyard Fight to Cemetery Hill.  It seemed as though sometimes the Louisiana Tigers could not get away from the 17th Connecticut and the two were constantly picking off one another.   One of the highlights of the book is the ability for Mingus to bring in primary sources of the material not only on the side of the Tigers, but the Union accounts of the Tigers as well.  By doing this, Mingus has alleviated the criticism that his book is for Lost Cause historians; he is truly a historian and not what so many Civil War authors tend to be: one sided.

                Mingus has proven that his book is a scholarly Civil War work which should be read with any study of brigades throughout the Gettysburg Campaign.  What he has done is brought a solid account of these men from Louisiana to life.  The only thing which would be recommended is the addition of a few maps to the section of the Battle of Gettysburg.  

                This book is highly recommended for anyone looking for a deeper study of the Louisiana Tigers or for a study into certain sections of the battlefield which are largely ignored to this day.  Mingus should be considered the leading historian on Early’s Division and those who were part of it ranging from the Tigers to his work on Gordon’s expedition before the battle.  

Covered with Glory: The 26th North Carolina Infantry at the Battle of Gettysburg

Rod Gragg

ISBN: 0807871400

336 pgs – The University of North Carolina Press

Image Courtesy of Barnes and Noble

                Rod Gragg has performed something in his work on the 26th North Carolina which has become a newly found writing style in the past few year: a microhistory of a regimental history.  By doing this, he brings us a story which is truly heartbreaking and so grand that even the most staunch Unionist should stand up and applaud.

                Gragg is the author of other Civil War works such as The Confederate Goliath: The Battle of Fort Fisher and The Gettysburg Reader.  He is also the director for the center of Military and Veteran Studies at Coastal Carolina University.

                To call this book a microhistory of a regimental history is not really true.  Gragg spends a good amount of time in the beginning of the book giving us a backstory into the regiment; where it was formed, who were the commanders and any political and military situations they found themselves in.  The triumph of the book is the beginning in which we gain the knowledge of these people.  Without that knowledge, the reader would not have any connection with these men as they marched into the onslaught of Herbst Woods and McPherson’s Ridge on July 1st.  His accounts of New Bern and the political discourse which flew through the command make the reader wonder how they managed to stay together for so long.  One of the best parts of the book is the relationship described between Burgwyn, the regiment’s commander, and Pettigrew, the brigade commander.  This outlook shows how much their lives were intertwined all the way through the prose.  Gragg also fuels the text with enough stories along with strategy and tactics that the reader is never bogged down in details.  Many of the people you meet through this text become real through the descriptions and when the tactics are brought in, there is a greater understanding of what happened on those days in July without the use of maps.  Gragg, however, does use maps to help the reader visualize what he is writing about along with some great photographs of these men.

                As the end of the battle occurs, so much bravery and sacrifice was given by the men of the 26th North Carolina that you get chills when the numbers are listed off for their casualty rate.  The dismal part of the retreat back to Virginia is one of the saddest moments of historical writing I can ever think of.  What Rod Gragg has done is create a story and a scholarly work that can be read over and over again with enjoyment every time it is picked up.  This book is highly recommended for any interested in the Battle of Gettysburg and the regiments who fought there.

Command and Communication Frictions in the Gettysburg Campaign: Philip M. Cole

ISBN: 0-9777125-1-6

103 pages
Colecraft Industries – Published in 2006


                Philip M. Cole’s book Command and Communication Frictions in the Gettysburg Campaign brings about an interesting scholarship to the battle and campaign which has been so written about over and over again.  But with grace, he has brought a new look into that which has been studied so prominently with fresh air.  

                Cole is a licensed battlefield guide at Gettysburg and has military tradition in his family.  He has traced his lineage to the 76th Pennsylvania Infantry otherwise known as the Keystone Zouves and has written other works on the battle most prominently the study of artillery on the field for those three days.  Though published in 2006, Cole’s study on the command and communication frictions is more than just another Gettysburg study; it is a look into the structure and reason for some of the major problems in the battle when it comes to command.

                The book is split in half between Command Friction and Communication Friction and then subdivided among the many different things which could have interfered with their plans.  One of the most interesting new points which Cole brings out is that Hooker did not just “make time” as Coddington states in his work; he had many communication frictions between himself and the high command in Washington.  Another problem with communication he brings about is the use of time on the battlefield and just how much time it takes to send orders around on the field.  

                Part of the command friction which was most interesting was the friction with senior commanders and wing commanders.  Sometimes with complete disregard for orders, there were great issues among the men in the army.  One thing which should have been obvious, but seems new in this work, is the personal relationships which are created through experience and can be a problem when the command changes.  These studies are some of the reasons that this book should be among the library of any Gettysburg enthusiast.  

                One of the most interesting things Cole does in his work is not pay too much attention to Stuart’s downfall during the campaign.  He recognizes the previous work done of the subject and leaves well enough alone and makes room for new scholarship.  Cole’s work is one of the best studies presented on command in quite some time and though it has been in print for about eight years, should be part of any study of Gettysburg by Civil War historians.  This book is highly recommended for any interested in command structure or issues during the Gettysburg Campaign.  
Matthew Bartlett