Corps Commanders in Blue: Union Major Generals in the Civil War

Edited by Ethan S. Rafuse

Louisiana State University Press, 2014, 298 pp. +10 pp. introduction, $45.00

ISBN: 978-0-8071-5702-2

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                Corps Commanders in Blue is a collection of essays edited by Ethan S. Rafuse which analyzes some of the major figures given the chance to command corps during the Civil War.  Some of the commanders analyzed in this essay are Fitz John Porter, Joseph Mansfield, George Meade, James McPherson, William Franklin, Joseph Hooker, Winfield Scott Hancock and Charles Champion Gilbert.  Each essay takes a look at a specific point in their career, instead of their career as a whole, and looks into their influence in the campaigns which are showcased.  Throughout this collection, the readers gain a better view into some famous parts of the war and many obscure parts of these commanders lives.

                This book includes essays written by John J. Hennessy, Thomas G. Clemens, Kenneth W. Noe, Christopher S. Stowe, Steven E. Woodworth, Mark A. Snell, Ethan S. Rafuse and Brooks D. Simpson.  The editor himself, Ethan S. Rafuse, is a professor of military history at the United States Army Command and General Staff College.  He is also the author of eight books on the American Civil War including Robert E. Lee and the Fall of the Confederacy, and Manassas: A Battlefield Guide.  This collection of essays is also part of the Conflicting Worlds series published by the Louisiana State University Press which brings about new views on the Civil War by printing scholarly works and excellent academia.

                Each essay offers new looks into the world of the corps commanders highlighted and not only do they bring new information to already well known information, but they add to the study on a whole.  The opening work analyzes General Fitz John Porter, written by John J. Hennessy.  This essay describes the works of the general instead of looking into the constant criticism thrown at the commander.  Hennessy states that no one general was written about more during the war and decades afterward than did Porter.  Hennessy writes more about the accomplishments and the works of the man and his influence on the war as a whole, especially during the year of 1862.  Thomas G. Clemens’ essay on Joseph Mansfield at Antietam gives the reader a whole look into what happened to him and his corps during the Battle of Antietam instead of a mention of the general’s untimely death on the field.  One of the more interesting essays in the work was Christopher S. Stowe’s work on Meade from December of 1862 until June of 1863 before he received army command.  One thing I noticed as I read through the essay was that there were steps which presented itself in Meade’s life that prepared him for the army command.  One thing which general Civil War readers tend to forget about the Battle of Fredericksburg was that General Meade was one of the few commanders to break through the Confederate line that day.  Steven E. Woodworth’s essay about James McPherson gives attention to an aspect of the Siege of Vicksburg which is usually not covered as much as other portions of the field.  Many works on the siege tend to focus on the tension between Pemberton and Johnston along with Grant and the press.  But this essay shows that there are still new things to learn about the siege which opened up the Mississippi.  Ethan S. Rafuse’s essay also brings to light many of the aspects of Joseph Hooker’s career which are not well known.  It seems that history has placed a final nail in the coffin with the Chancellorsville Campaign when it comes to General Hooker’s career, but Rafuse details the campaign in North Georgia from May to June of 1864.  The details in this essay will not only inform new Civil War readers of the continued career of Hooker, but will inform accomplished Civil War readers as well.  Rafuse has shown great use of sources and used them to create another level of research.

                Corps Commanders in Blue is a great collection of essays which is a great continuation of Civil War academia throughout this sesquicentennial celebration.  I highly recommend this collection and hope that another collection of other corps commanders comes about from this study.  While only a few essays were mentioned above, all of the works are excellent and should be considered the standard of study when looking into the realm of the high command.  These essays have proven that there is more to understand of these men than what history has deemed their most important feat.  Highly recommended. 

A Broken Regiment: The 16th Connecticut’s Civil War

Lesley J. Gordon

Louisiana State University Press, 2014, 380 pp + 13 pp. introduction, $49.95

ISBN: 978-0-8071-5730-5

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                One of the most vital bits of information which can come from Civil War history are the stories of the regiments who fought on the front lines and gave their all for the sake of their country.  Some regiments are more memorable than others such as the 54th Massachusetts and the 20th Maine.  Then there are the regiments whose deeds are known, but more well-known through the work of historians who have worked tirelessly to bring their heroism to our attention.  In A Broken Regiment, Lesley Gordon has accomplished this feat in remembrance of the 16th Connecticut and showcases not only the history of the 16th Connecticut but other aspects about the state during the Civil War.

                Lesley J. Gordon is a professor of history at the University of Akron.  She is also the author of General George E. Pickett in Life and Legend and is the coeditor of Inside the Confederate Nation: Essays in Honor of Emory M. Thomas.  She is also an avid book reviewer and has authored many articles.  She is the current editor of the scholarly journal Civil War History.

                When people usually think about the 16th Connecticut, one event comes to mind: Antietam.  While it was their first major action in a major battle, Gordon spends the rest of the novel describing what these men accomplished throughout the war.  She opens her work with short biographies on some of the participants in the regiment including Jacob Bauer, Henry L. Pasco and many others.  After a brief description of the regiment’s muster and their life at Camp Williams, Gordon moves to Antietam where the regiment’s participation is described in great detail.  After reading through Gordon’s description of the 16th Connecticut at Antietam, I can easily say that it is one of the best accounts of a regiment in a battle I have read in quite some time.  As the narrative goes on, Gordon takes the reader through the various events of the regiment’s history ranging from Fredericksburg, Portsmouth and Plymouth.  One of the more gut wrenching accounts throughout the text is the portion of the work which has been dedicated to Andersonville.  The words of Robert Kellogg wrote in his diary of soldiers who were once men and had turned into skeletons is just one of the many accounts which showcases the horrors of Andersonville Prison.  This story is one of the many reasons that this regimental history stands out over some of the others written in recent years.  Not only does Gordon give us the history of the regiment, she also gives us the humanity of the regiment which is an art that is hard to come by these days. 

                I highly recommend this work to anyone interested in regimental histories or anyone interested in the history of the state of Connecticut during the Civil War.  I believe that I can say easily that this is one of the best regimental histories I have read in my lifetime.  There is much in this book that can teach others not only in creating a compelling narrative, but by teaching a history of a regiment not usually discussed past their actions at Antietam.  I would also consider this the best book about a Connecticut regiment to have come out in years.  I hope that this work will be considered a classic in the realm of Connecticut history in the years to come as it is a triumph of scholarship.     

The Chickamauga Campaign: A Mad Irregular Battle

David A. Powell

Savas Beatie, 2014, 674 pp. + 20 pp. Introduction, $37.50

ISBN: 978-1-61121-174-0

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While there have been works previously written about the Battle of Chickamauga and the campaign surrounding it, no work has yet reached the apex of information and narrative as this book has done.  David A. Powell’s The Chickamauga Campaign, is the first in a series of books which will chronicle the campaign, this book dealing with the action from the onset of the campaign through the second day of battle.  What Powell has accomplished in these pages is something which I’m sure most fans of this battle have been waiting for.  Not only is the book well researched, but it a wealth of knowledge which should be considered the pinnacle of historical writing for this seminal campaign.

                David A. Powell is a graduate from the Virginia Military Institute of the Class of 1983 with a BA in History.  The bulk of his research and his passion has been the Chickamauga Campaign to which he has authored many articles in many different magazines along with publishing a few other works on the people and the battle itself.  He has previously authored The Maps of Chickamauga: An Atlas of the Chickamauga Campaign, Including the Tullahoma Operations, June 22 – September 23, 1983.  He was the recipient of the Atlanta Civil War Round Table Richard Barksdale Harwell Award in 2010 for Failure in the Saddle: Nathan Bedford Forrest, Joseph Wheeler, and the Confederate Cavalry in the Chickamauga Campaign.

                As the readers thumb through this giant tome, they will find that this narrative is without a doubt the most comprehensive work on the early part of the campaign going all the way to the second day of battle.  Chapter by chapter gives detailed attention to the strains of the high command for the Union and gives very good descriptions of both Generals Bragg and Rosencrans at the outset of the campaign.  Powell talks of the difficulty which not only hindered Bragg, but President Davis as well knowing that the supplies were slim and had to depend on the interior Rebel lines in order to enforce the army.  When Powell’s narrative reaches the battlefield, the sources used in describing the actions taken by the armies not only reaches the commander’s reports, but uses memoirs and diaries to supplement the stories of the soldiers.  As one reads the narrative and views the sources, you can tell the painstaking research which was done in order to accomplish this book.  The second half of the book details the second day of combat while a majority of the first half deals with the early days of the campaign. 

                In his introduction, Powell states that even though the Battle of Chickamauga has the second worst casualties in the American Civil War after Gettysburg, there is not much coverage in writing.  Because of his great research and work towards this book, the concern of the lack of writing on the Battle of Chickamauga is put to rest.  Powell’s work is highly recommended to anyone interested in the Civil War.  Every once and a while, a work comes along that defines the campaign and becomes not only a classic but a pinnacle of study for students to come.  The narrative is flowing and is supplemented with both maps and images.  Powell should be praised for the work which he has done in this volume and I know that he will continue this excellent in the coming volume.  

Unionists in Virginia: Politics, Secession and Their Plan to Prevent Civil War

Lawrence M. Denton

The History Press, 2014, 220 pp., $21.99

ISBN: 978-1-62619-745-9

Image courtesy of appalachianhistory.net

                The premise of this book is quite interesting in that the state which bore the brunt of the war also bore much of the prevention abilities of the war.  Lawrence M. Denton argues that much of this argument began shortly after the surrender of Lee’s forces at Appomattox.  Civil War prevention is still a study which goes on today and this work shows the breadth of abilities these men from Virginia to help in the cause of Civil War prevention.  Though it was technically a failure, the works of these men and women should not be looked over.  Denton shows us that not only are their abilities important to the study of the war, but some should be celebrated for their efforts.

                Lawrence M. Denton is an authority on the secession crisis and is a direct descendant of many Maryland families who have been in this country before the American Revolution.  He has a Masters degree with honors from Johns Hopkins University where his career would lead him to be the dean of the school.  He also held many academic administrative positions from 1968 to 1978.  In 1978, he became the special assistant to the associate administrator of the NOAA, a presidential appointee.  He is also the author of A Southern Star for Maryland: Maryland and the Secession Crisis and William Henry Seward and the Secession Crisis: The Effort to Prevent Civil War. 

                Throughout the text in this work, Denton proves that just because a majority of the action in the Civil War occurred in Virginia does not mean that there was a good amount of preventative actions taking place in Virginia.  The subject presented in this book is supplemented with many types of tables and exhaustive research.  The book is sectionalized to help the readers understand the argument and devotes an entire chapter to Election of 1860.  This part of the work was one of the sections which I found to be the most interesting as Denton shows the statistics of the election.  While there was no surprise that Lincoln was the last in the polls, the surprise for me came that the numbers were almost neck and neck between Bell and Breckenridge.  There was also a general idea that Lincoln won the election due to the immigration vote, but Douglas carried the Valley vote which housed many Germans in Virginia.  As the narrative continued and the firing of Fort Sumter came closer and closer, the great amount of soldiers who would later fight for the Confederacy were staunch supporters of Unionism.  What this book proves more than anything else, at least for me, was the ideals of defending Virginia during the Civil War. 

                I highly recommend this book and consider it one of the best researched and well written works of the year.  This study adds a great amount of detail and knowledge into the subject of Civil War academia and through the exhaustive research which Denton has provided, this work shines as a testament to the Unionism in the state of Virginia.  I not only highly recommend this book to anyone interested in politics of the Civil War, but I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Civil War.  In these pages they will discover a new knowledge of the secession movement not yet written about and Denton should be praised for what has been presented here.

The Battle of Waynesboro

Richard G. Williams Jr.

The History Press, 2014, $19.99, 192 pp.

ISBN: 978-1-62619-070-2

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                As part of The History Press’ Civil War Sesquicentennial Series, The Battle of Waynesboro is an in depth look into one of the last pushes the Confederacy gave in the Shenandoah Valley.  Those familiar with the Civil War know the importance of the Shenandoah Valley’s strategic location and the reason much of the fighting happened there.  This clash between General Sheridan and General Early is brilliantly displayed here in this work by Williams and is yet another book which should not be missed in the Sesquicentennial Series by The History Press.

                Richard G. Williams Jr. is a well versed historian of the South and specializes in Virginia history, especially the Civil War.  He is formally a contributor to the Washington Times Civil War corner along with many other magazines.  He is also a contributor to many websites including Virginia Tech’s Virginia Center for Civil War Studies’ Sesquicentennial project.  Williams is also a direct descendant of three Confederate soldiers and is a ninth generation great grandson of Revered Roger Williams.  Williams is also the author of Christian Business Legends, The Maxims of Robert E. Lee for Young Gentlemen, and Stonewall Jackson: The Black Man’s Friend. 

                As a citizen of Waynesboro, Virginia, Richard G. Williams spends a good amount of time in the introduction giving the readers a look into Waynesboro and into a bit of his family history of the town during the Civil War era.  Part of the introduction also seems like an apology for being too close to his subject as both Robertson and Freeman were to Jackson and Lee.  While these facts give something to bring the reader closer to the author, it never crossed my mind to criticize him due to his connection to the battlefield.  The books chapters create a sectionalized work which creates an ease of reading for many.  This work is also supplied by a great amount of pictures which have been submitted by the author from his vast collection.  These images help readers for a greater understanding of the narrative.  By using a chapter each for both the Union and Confederate side of battle, there is an ease of the narrative instead of attempting to place both sides of the conflict into one chapter.  The battle itself is very well written and is well supplemented with official reports, letters and primary sources which show the incredible research which Williams has put into this work.  He also supplements the work with period maps.  The book ends with an aftermath look into the Battle of Waynesboro and the town to this day including the legacy of the battle.

                I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of the Shenandoah Valley and or the battles which happened during the American Civil War.  The narrative is flowing and, as stated before, supplemented with a great amount of photographs and maps.  This work is a great addition to The History Press’ Sesquicentennial Series and a great addition to the study of one of the later engagements of the Shenandoah and the Civil War.

                

Oberlin Hotbed of Abolitionism

J. Brent Morris

University of North Carolina Press, 2014, 332 pp. + 14 pp. introduction, $34.95

ISBN: 978-1-4696-1827-2

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                In the age of abolitionism, one institution stood out unlike any other.  Oberlin was not just a college, but a whole community of people in the most diverse atmosphere ever imagined.  In the antebellum period, this was the place which shone as a haven for escaped slaves and the diverse population helped to aid the cause of the abolitionists.  In his work, J. Brent Morris gives us the history of the institution not only throughout the antebellum period but gives us an outlook into the world of the school and the culture which is helped to create.  Oberlin: Hotbed of Abolitionism is a work that stands out like no other; it melds the history of an institution with the world of the antebellum period bringing us to the forefront of the American Civil War.

                J. Brent Morris is the assistant professor of history at the University of South Carolina Beaufort.  He received his PhD in 2010 from Cornell University and lectures on slavery and anti-slavery in the United States.  He is also the author of Yes Lord I Know the Road and has written many articles and encyclopedia entries on the subject in prominent publications.  J. Brent Morris was also the recipient of South Carolina Historical Society’s Malcolm C. Clark’s Award in 2010 which is given for excellence in a scholarly article in the society’s journal.

                The book opens with a lengthy introduction into the history of the institution and the people who helped to create the abolitionist society created by the university.  As I read through the pages, I began to realize the progressive nature of Oberlin and all of the different types of study from the college and how it seeped into the people of the community.  The incredible push of religiosity explained in these pages shows the great impact of the Second Great Awakening on all of the country.  However, in Oberlin, Morris makes a point that it all did not start in Ohio, but all around the East Coast.  As the text continued, I realized the impact which this place had on the cause of abolitionism in which every person, man and woman, had to be a part of the whole operation.  After reading the introduction, this was no surprise since Oberlin seemed steeped into equality which, as stated before, empowered progressivism of the very age.  The fights which the abolitionists in Oberlin partook of after the Mexican War and the expansion of slavery seemed difficult but not out of control for them.  The author finishes the work in an epilogue of the events which have occurred in Oberlin to this day and even talks about the issues of racism as the work was being finished. 

                What was amazing to me as I read through the pages was the incredible feats of the people of not only the college, but of the community of Oberlin.  I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of slavery during the antebellum period and anyone who studies the slavery movement in the nineteenth century.  The things accomplished by the people of this community not only showed that the abolition movement was much stronger than many other historians would have you tend to think, but had a strong headquarter like hub from where they could operate without any shrouds.  I was also amazed at the breadth of research which Morris has placed into this work without bogging down the narrative as the chapters flowed easily from one to the next.  Highly recommended.