​Under the Crescent Moon with the XI Corps in the Civil War: Volume I: From the Defenses of Washington to Chancellorsville, 1862-1863
James S. Pula
Savas Beatie, 2017, 312 pp., $34.95
ISBN: 978-1-61121-337-9
Image courtesy of amazon.com
 
One of the facets of the American Civil War which people tend to gravitate towards is the immigrants who served in the army during the conflict.  One of the nations which seems to get a great deal of attention for their service is Ireland, but according to research, the German nation brought more immigrants to armed service for the Union.  However, in my reading, I have not yet found a book which signifies their service quite well.  While Under the Crescent Moon talks more about the service of the Germans in the Civil War, it is a book surrounding the Eleventh Corps which was heavily German during its year in service.
                James S. Pula is a professor at Purdue University Northwest.  He has authored more than two dozen books including For Liberty and Justice: A Biography of Brig. Gen. Wlodzimierz B. Krzyzanowski, and The Sigel Regiment: A History of the 26th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry 1862-1865.  He is also the editor-in-chief of Gettysburg Magazine.  He has received the Gambrinus Prize in History from the Milwaukee County Historical Society for his work on that book.  He has also received honors from the Oskar Halecki Prize, the Rudewicz Medal, and the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland. 
                The Eleventh Corps has largely been ignored through most of the writings of history due to the failures it gained throughout its career.  However, Mr. Pula has brought us this book which not only outlines the year of service from this corps, but uses this format to speak on the enlistment and the makeup of the corps.  As stated in the introduction, there were a great deal of German Immigrants who made up the corps and I often feel that the contributions of the German people during the Civil War are largely ignored.  For that, I thank Mr. Pula for bringing this knowledge to the forefront.  This book also throws away the myth that many within the Eleventh Corps were cowards due to them being at Jackson’s attack during the Battle of Chancellorsville.  Instead, Pula brings us into the battle narrative and shows us what the corps completed after they were attacked that day.  He shows us that while they may have been prey to the flank attack that they did not stop fighting.  Sadly, the Eleventh Corps was the group which hefted the burden in the amazing chapter of this work called “There Must Be Scapegoats.” 
                I highly recommend this book not only to students of the Civil War in the East, but the Civil War in general.  I have not yet come across a well written and researched book on the Eleventh Corps and I applaud James S. Pula for doing so.  I do hope that with the release of the second volume that many of the myths and misstatements about the corps get put to rest.  There were a great many deeds which these people accomplished and Pula has brought them to light.  Accompanied by excellent maps and photographs, this is a book not to be missed.  

​The Battles and Campaigns of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest 1861-1865
John R. Scales – Brig. Gen., U.S. Army (Ret.)
Savas Beatie, 2017, 480 pp., $32.95
ISBN: 978-1-61121-284-6
Image courtesy of amazon.com
 
There are many military leaders of interest in the American Civil War, yet one who seems to garner a great deal of attention is Nathan Bedford Forest.  He is one of those characters of controversy, even to this day, but to me, one of the more interesting parts about his participation in the war is his rise in the ranks from the onset of the conflict.  And there are even points in the book which prove how his actions and encounters shaped the Western Theater of the war.  John R. Scales, Brig. Gen., U.S. Army (Ret.), brings to life some of the points throughout Forrest’s life, especially the campaigns he fought during the Civil War.
                John R. Scales is a returned Brigadier General of the Special Forces.  He has served for three decades, including tours in Vietnam and Afghanistan.  He has a Ph.D. in engineering and has worked in that field since retiring from the military.  He has written two previous works: Sherman Invades Georgia, and A Reluctant Hero’s Footsteps.  He is a past president of the Tennessee Valley Civil War Rountable and often leads tours in Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia.  He has also received a number of patents for inventions during his time as an engineer.
                One of the things that I appreciate about this book that it not only looks at Forrest, but looks at the battles and campaigns which surround him.  Being part of the Western Theater of the war, one of the issues I have is that there are a great deal fewer works on those engagements than the Eastern Theater.  Throughout the book, Gen. Scales presents the engagements in each chapter.  Sometimes they even read as though they area guide to anyone interested in visiting the battlefield.  It almost feels as though he is taking the reader through the field himself in a way that I have not read in the past few years.    His cumulative review of the raid or battle at the end of each chapter is also quite insightful as Gen. Scales excels at the narrative in this book.  Aided by some fine maps and photographs, this book not only is a great insight into Forrest, but into the west.  For those readers looking for a deeper book into the life of Forrest, you will find some interesting reading here, but the focus is more on the battles and raids which Forrest conducted during his military career.      
                I highly recommend this book, not only as a look into Forrest himself, but into the Western Theater of the Civil War.  I found that Gen. Scales not only brings those battles to life, but walks hand in hand with you on the trails to point out the importance of certain things never pointed out before.  Forrest may be a character deeply steeped in controversy, but this book puts that aside and instead focuses on his military career instead, even giving you glimpses into other commanders who surrounded Forrest.  Overall, if you are interested in the Western Theater of the war, this book is highly recommended.

​A Strange and Blighted Land: Gettysburg – The Aftermath of Battle
Gregory A. Coco
Savas Beatie, 2017 ed., 432 pp., $24.95
Thomas Publications, 1995 ed.
ISBN: 978 – 1-61121-405-5
Image courtesy of amazon.com
 
When it comes to the Battle of Gettysburg, there are numerous books about the battle, the tactics, and the losses which occurred on those three infamous days.  Every once in a while, a book will come along that gives us a new outlook onto the scene which happened at that location and when those books come along, they are grasped as important writings since they give us that which we have not yet gotten.  Gregory A. Coco’s book, A Strange and Blighted Land, is not only one of those books, it is one of the most important works about the town of Gettysburg we have today.  Not only is it a book about the town, itself, but a book about the aftermath of the battle and the toll it took on the people.
                Gregory A. Coco served in the United States Army and after his service, received his degree in American History from the University of Southwestern Louisiana.  During his service, he was a military interrogator and radio operator with the 25th Infantry where he received the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.  While living in Gettysburg he was a National Park Service Ranger and a Licensed Battlefield Guide.  He has written sixteen books and many articles on the Battle of Gettysburg and the Civil War. 
                A Strange and Blighted Land is hailed as a classic in the scholastic of the Battle of Gettysburg and as stated in the introduction, for the reason that it brought something different to the study.  Not only was it a study on the town of Gettysburg in some respects, but it was more a study of the effect the battle had on the people there.  Previously published by Thomas Publications, this book was quite difficult to find outside of Gettysburg for the past few years.  This reprint of the work brings an accessibility to the work for those who had a difficult time getting their hands on this seminal work.  Coco’s narrative is interesting as he gives you many tours of places around the battlefield and within the town through the eyes of civilians.  There are some excerpts from soldiers, but the focus seems to be more on the civilians.  He touches on subjects like the care of the dead after the battle, along with the care of the wounded and even touches on some of the aggregate numbers which the people of Gettysburg saw after the battle.  Nevertheless, while this book is about the aftermath of Gettysburg, many of these thoughts could be placed on other towns effected by the war in general.  The experiences might not have been exactly the same, but the book shows that this effect is what happened to the civilian populous throughout the war. 
                There is a reason that A Strange and Blighted Land is hailed as one of the greatest Civil War books ever written.  It gives a look into the lives of the people who had to “clean up” after the battle was over.  It gives the reader a chance to see what life was like for those who endured great sacrifice beyond the life of a soldier.  I highly recommend this book, especially now that it is back in print.  No detail is left unturned and what you read might change the way you look at the battle.  Gregory A. Coco’s will always be hailed for this work.  And a thank you for Savas Beatie for reprinting this wonderful work.