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The Emerging Civil War Tackles the Maryland Campaign

1/27/2021

To Hazard All: A Guide to the Maryland Campaign, 1862
Robert Orrison and Kevin R. Pawlak
Savas Beatie, 2018, 192 pages, $14.95
ISBN: 978-1-61121-409-3
Image courtesy of amazon.com

If there’s one thing that can be said about the Emerging Civil War Series, it would be consistency.  Every book added to this series, and I believe there are over thirty at this point, have been excellent narratives on the battle or campaign on which it surrounds itself.  The same can be said for today’s book, To Hazard All, which chronicles the Maryland Campaign in 1862.  I have always said that these books are the perfect accompaniment to any battlefield trip, and it rings true with this one as well.  Both Robert Orrison and Kevin R. Pawlak have delivered another stunning addition to this series.

            Robert Orrison currently serves on the boards of Civil War Trails, the Mosby Heritage Area Association and the Virginia Association of Museums along with being the Historic Site Operations Supervisor for Prince William County.  He has authored A Want of Vigilance: The Bristoe Station Campaign, and The Last Road North: A Guide to the Gettysburg Campaign 1863.  Kevin Pawlak is a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Antietam National Battlefield along with the Director of Education for the Mosby Heritage Area Association.  He is on the Board of Directors of the Shepherdstown Battlefield Preservation Association along with the Save Historic Antietam Foundation.  He has authored Shepherdstown in the Civil War: One Vast Confederate Hospital.

            This book opens with a guide to the battlefields, not only Antietam, but those fields which had some action during the Maryland Campaign in 1862.  Not only is this an excellent use of the authors for the education of those new to Civil War studies, but it helps those others who know little about the area surrounding Antietam.  And for the first time in the Emerging Civil War Series, I would say that it’s rather essential that you read this section since the narrative following focuses on what was just explained for the tour.  This was something presented in other books of this series, but I found it most interesting and useful here.  Each battle is presented with each chapter outlining the whole of the experience from the Battle of Harper’s Ferry, all the way to Antietam, even covering the retreat.  I’ve also been fascinated with McClellan during this campaign since this is where much of his reputation seems to be solidified in history, not only with leading the battle, but his response to the actions of Lee.  The chapter detailing that is one of the highlights in this book.  Needless to say, both Orrison and Pawlak have given the reader a great narrative here that outlines everything you would need to know when visiting these places.

            I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Maryland Campaign in 1862, or anyone wishing to grow their collection of the Emerging Civil War Series.  It continues to showcase the talents of these authors and the passion of the publisher, Savas Beatie, in bringing the Civil War to the forefront.  Accompanied by both maps and photographs, along with touring guides sprinkled throughout the text, it is an excellent addition to the Maryland Campaign study.

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Lincoln Takes the Reins

1/20/2021

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Lincoln Takes Command: The Campaign to Sieze Norfolk and the Destruction of the CSS Virginia
Steve Norder
Savas Beatie, 2019, 336 pages, $32.95
ISBN: 978-1-61121-457-4
Image courtesy of amazon.com

When anyone thinks about President Lincoln, certain images are conjured in their minds.  The usual tends to be statesman, lawyer, and obviously, president.  But one aspect that might not come to mind is commander of military forces in battle.  Lincoln Takes Command is a book that details one such instance with Lincoln when he sailed to Fort Monroe in Hampton Roads, Virginia.  Written by Steve Norder, he accounts when a president takes command of land and sea forces to launch a campaign.  These operations would mold how the following months would occur during the Peninsula Campaign being led at the time by George McClellan.

            Steve Norder has held many careers, including genealogist, author, teacher, book editor, newspaper reporter, you name it.  He has always had a major fascination with the American Civil War and has written a number of pieces for Civil War Times.  He is currently a member of the Atlanta Civil War Round Table.

            When learning American History in school, I was told many times that Presidents did not go to the battlefield and lead tactics.  The only time they could recount that was a pseudo leadership during the Siege of Washington D.C. with James Madison, but he wasn’t leading much.  So when Lincoln Takes Command appeared, I was intrigued.  I had heard of times when Lincoln went to battlefields, but rarely during the fighting, but this was something else.  I don’t have a great depth of knowledge on the Peninsula Campaign, but if you’re looking for a book to fill in that gap, this might be it.  Within the span of a week, Lincoln spoke with other commanders, studying the maps of the area, and issued orders about the proper ways to progress in the fight.  Norder’s narrative is presented through chapters as an orderly timeline, and for one of the first times I have ever read in a book about Lincoln, I never felt as though he was the President.  I felt more that he became a commander on the field that was necessary for this fight to be won.  The book is well researched and contains much of the primary sources necessary to tell this fascinating story.  From what I could tell, Norder treated this subject as a labor of love, and it shows.  Some authors have criticized Lincoln for not being a General’s President, but I think the work presented here shows that the knowledge he gained from this week’s campaign gave him what he needed to properly lead from Washington.

            I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Lincoln.  I think that it not only portrays the President as someone who can lead when the situation arises, but it gives readers a different aspect of him during the Civil War that isn’t fully talked about anymore.  Thanks to the efforts of Norder, he has brought this interesting campaign to full light and we should thank him for his work.  Anyone who has an extensive library of Lincoln would find this book to be rather welcomed.  And for that, it shows that Norder truly understood what was needed in this era of Civil War academia.

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Confederate Soldiers

1/13/2021

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Confederate Soldiers in the American Civil War

Mark Hughes

Savas Beatie, 2019, $15.95, 168 pages

ISBN: 978-1-61121-341-6

Image courtesy of amazon.com

With the massive libraries of Civil War academia only growing through the years, there has been one aspect of the war I felt has been observed, but rarely written on in depth.  A few weeks ago, I reviewed Union Soldiers, a book about the lives of “Billy Yank,” throughout the war.  This week, I’m taking a look at the opposite release of that book, Confederate Soldiers, which not only looks at the battlefield lives of these men, but the sailors as well.  I’m quite interested to see what this book offers because there are not many books on this subject, dedicating a whole book to the lifestyle of the soldiers during the war.

            Mark Hughes is a retired electronics technician and was a department head and instructor for Electronic Engineering Technology.  He graduated from Gaston College and Southeastern Oklahoma State University.  The latter awarded him as a Distinguished Alumni.  He has written the major works on both Union and Confederate Cemeteries, Bivouac of the Dead, The Unpublished Road of Honor, and Confederate Cemeteries, which is published in two volumes.  Hughes is considered to be the authority on these cemeteries and is the only author who has written works on them.  He is also the author of The New Civil War Handbook, along with a number of articles on differing subjects.

            One of the first things I enjoyed about this book was the ease of reading in which Hughes writes.  Not only is this book approachable for anyone interested in the subject, but I think it’ll be a great book for beginners in the subject.  The whole life of the soldier is laid bare for everyone to see, from enlistment, all the way to the end of the war.  I found that his discussion on the prisoners of war was useful, and gave me information that I never had before, and mirrored the opposite book Union Soldiers.  I appreciated knowing more about those experiences, and as stated before, was accessible to many.  Hughes also gives us a look at a Civil War timeline which is wonderfully presented.   But the most poignant portion of the book is the end, where it not only talks about what happens when the war is over, but how to heal from one of the bloodiest conflicts in American history.  It shows pictures of reunions, monuments, and the veterans of the war sitting side by side.  I know it was only a short section, but that kind of information sticks with me.  The book concludes with a gallery of Confederate soldiers and a short blurb about who they are and what they accomplished during the war.  This section only added to the detail of the book that surrounds it, heightening the information presented in the previous chapters.

            I highly recommend this book to any interested in the Civil War, not only those who’ve been studying the conflict for years, but beginners as well.  Combined with Union Soldiers, these two books should be in every Civil War library as a study on the lives of soldiers during the conflict.  The narrative was beautiful, the information was well researched, and I can’t thank Mark Hughes enough for this entry into Civil War books.

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A Surgeon's Recollections

1/7/2021

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Death, Disease, and Life at War – The Civil War Letters of Surgeon James D. Benton, 111th and 98th New York Infantry Regiments, 1862-1865
Christopher E. Loperfido
Savas Beatie, 2018, 140 pgs, $16.95
ISBN: 978-1-61121-359-1
Image courtesy of amazon.com

Medical history of the American Civil War has always fascinated me, not only because it tends to be overlooked in larger works, but because many regulations were put in place after the war because of it.  Death, Disease, and Life at Warare the letters of Surgeon James D. Benton and gives many in the Civil War community a chance to see the lives of both the 111th and 98th New York Regiments through the ideas of their medic.  I’m not sure the last time I’ve seen regimental histories, or letters from certain regiments, through the eyes of a surgeon, and this addition to Civil War academia is welcomed.

            Christopher E. Loperfido is a graduate from Oswego State University with a bachelors degree in history and political science.  He also worked for the National Park Service at Gettysburg National Military Park as both an intern and National Park Service Ranger.  Death, Disease, and Life at War, is his first book, and I hope it’s not his last.

            Civil War letters are some of the most interesting portraits of history to me, mainly because it is the outlook of those who fought for their country and their cause.  And while some might say that you have to take them with a grain of salt, I take them for their face value, presenting what a certain person wants to say about a moment in time.  However, the letters of Surgeon Benton have offered a medical insight.  Loperfido, in offering these letters to us, gives an insight into that field that I’ve always wanted more from.  While not every letter presented has something to do with medicine, or surgical means, those that do have given me a greater understanding to this practice in the war.  Not only that, but the author’s narratives and editorials throughout only add to the depth of the information presented before us.  The number of appendices that finalize the book are also more insights into the medical world I did not know before.  The subjects range from Dr. Letterman, to amputations.  There’s also an appendix on lint.  These are all things that add to our study of Civil War medicine.

            I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Civil War medicine.  I also recommend this to those just getting into the study of the war.  I own one of the medical manuals from the war, and it’s highly unreadable to me since I know little about surgery or the jargon used in the lines.  But this book presents the material in an understanding way, and it is fairly approachable.  From the narratives and editorials, I hope that Loperfido gives us more in his career.

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The Emerging Civil War Tackles the Maryland Campaign

Lincoln Takes the Reins

Confederate Soldiers

A Surgeon's Recollections

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