The Petersburg Campaign Volume I: The Eastern Front Battles June – August 1864

Edwin C. Bearss and Bryce A. Suderow

Savas Beatie, 434 Pages, 2012

ISBN: 978-1-61121-090-3

Image courtesy of Brett Schulte 

                The annals of Civil War study tend to look towards the beginning of the war until the fateful days in July at Gettysburg and Vicksburg.  There is no doubt that most written works surround themselves around those campaigns before the apex of the Union and the downfall of the Confederacy.  The study of the war past those fateful campaigns are less looked at but no more.  Ed Bearss and Bryce Suderow have brought to light something quite different in the study of the Petersburg Campaign, the longest running siege in the Civil War.

                Edwin Bearss is one of the most respected Civil War historians of our age and got his start at the Vicksburg National Military Park.  From there, he has stretched himself all around the Civil War world as an authority on the campaigns and the people.  A Marine who has served in World War II, he was severely wounded in the Pacific.  From 1981 to 1994, he served as Chief Historian to the National Park Service and has authored many works and was pivotal to raising the USS Cairo.  Bryce Suderow is a Civil War writer and researcher and has published many articles and is considered one of the finest archivists in the country.  If it were not for Suderow, this work might never have come to light.

                Ed Bearss was approached to write essays about the battles during the Petersburg Campaign for use of the park service in Virginia.  This work is the collection of essays he wrote concerning the battles of the eastern front during the campaign.  Keeping in mind that these essays were written for the guides at Petersburg National Military Park, Bearss does not waste any time giving the introductions for the people involved in the battle.  He jumps right into the story assuming that the reader knows something about them already.  Suderow, however, gives some introduction as to what was going on and what had happened.  One of the helpful things in the narrative is the breakaway which sometimes happens.  During the narrative of Bearss and his essays, Suderow sometimes interrupts and fills the reader in as to what is going on.  This is helpful for the readers who are not as well versed in the war after the summer of 1863.  This lack of introduction makes it seem as though the book is not an easy read and that is wrong.  Though Bearss spends no time telling you the background of the people and regiments who are fighting the battle, there is no need to have that information because of the narrative.  Bearss writing style is such that he allows the narrative to bring you into the time of battle not focusing on the past of the people in play. 

                The Petersburg Campaign, Volume I: Eastern Front Battles, is something which should be on the shelves of every Civil War Historian or enthusiast.  Both the narratives of Bearss and the editorials of Suderow bring to light many engagements about the Petersburg Campaign which are generally ignored.  The annals of Civil War history will be grateful for what has been done here in this book, and the coming volume.  The combination of Bearss and Suderow should be praised for the work they have done.  What was first as set of essays for use at the Petersburg National Military Park for park use is now printed for the public so that they may know the detail of the events not usually written about in the standard history book on the Civil War.

Matthew Bartlett - Author, Gettysburg Chronicle

With a Sword in One Hand and Jomini in the Other: The Problem of Military Thought in the Civil War North

Carol Reardon

ISBN: 9780807835609

Pgs. 177, The University of North Carolina Press, 2012.

 Image courtesy of UNC Press Blog

                With a Sword in One Hand and Jomini in the Other is a look into the military mindset of those commanders of the North through the words and maxims of Baron de Jomini.  One problem persists in those commanders, however, in that Jomini’s words did not prepare them fully for what would happen during the American Civil War.  Here, Reardon goes into the minds of the commanders and the soldiers in three brilliant chapters about strategy, professionalism and the human element when it comes to military philosophy during the Civil War.

                Carol Reardon is an accomplished Civil War historian and Vietnam War historian.  She has also published Pickett’s Charge in History and Memory and A Field Guide to Gettysburg.  She is also the George Winfree Professor of American History at Pennsylvania State University along with being the recipient of the Helen Dortch Longstreet Prize in 2009 from the Longstreet Society. 

                For those who have read the works of Baron de Jomini, they are specified to the realm of Napoleonic Warfare which was the standard of the time in Europe.  Commanders who studied at West Point and Virginia Military Institute studied Jomini as the great tactician, not Sun Tzu as popular belief states.  Carol Reardon does not analyze the philosophy of Jomini, but she analyzes the effect he had on the minds of those who fought during the war.  At first, she talks about strategy which reflects somewhat on the words of Jomini, but more so on what those words did to the strategy of the field.  She also compares the work of Jomini to other military philosophers who attempted to best his work, but failed.  The most interesting part of the work, is when Reardon explains what happened in the human element in the war when looking at Jomini’s work.  Those fighting in France and other European nations during the Napoleonic Wars were soldiers while the soldiers in the Civil War were recruits and volunteers.  This presents a difficulty in the work of Jomini because of the human element to the combat.  This subject is handled with great efficiency by Reardon and talks about more than the march, but of the medical end of the spectrum.  By stating that Jomini is writing for the soldier and not the recruit, she makes the point that Jomini may have been the wrong choice to follow when it comes to military philosophy and the human element.

                What Reardon has done is given us a study into the realm of military philosophy combined with elements of the Civil War.  Other historians have analyzed the works of Jomini, Tzu and even Clausewitz but never insert examples from the war.  Reardon has done the opposite by bringing the war to the philosophy.  I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the works of military philosophy and how they are relevant to the Civil War.  

The Battle of Falling Waters 1863: Custer, Pettigrew and the End of the Gettysburg Campaign

George F. Franks III

Createspace Publishing 118 pages

ISBN: 9781484138373

Image courtesy of inthepanhandle.com

                George F. Franks III, has delivered something different than previous Gettysburg historians: he has written more than a few paragraphs about the encounter at Falling Waters at the end of the campaign.  While the battle was a small engagement in the aftermath of one of the largest battles in the war, it truly is the end of the campaign.  Franks gives due attention to the battle, but does he give enough attention to it?

                George F. Franks III has spent the past ten years writing this account of the battle while delving into firsthand accounts, photographs and has even uses maps and drawings from his own collection for this book.  He studied American History at both the U.S. Naval Academy and the University of Pittsburg and is the former president of the Capitol Hill Civil War Round Table along with being a member of the Hagerstown Civil War Round Table and with many other affiliations of military history.

                In 2007, Franks published an article about the Battle of Falling Waters and because of that, he spent six years writing this book.  The narrative he presents in this book is flowing and easy to follow but there is one thing which is desired in the realm of historical narrative.  He separates the primary sources from the narrative and gives the reader an opportunity to read those accounts without his descriptions.  This is purely a preference of reading which Franks has given us.  While the narrative is flowing, there is a wonder if there is enough narrative to cover this pivotal moment of the campaign.  One of the greatest parts of the book is the death of General Pettigrew.  To gain a clear idea of what happened to the most intellectual man in the Confederacy during the American Civil War gives the reader closure as to what happened after Longstreet’s Assault also known as Pickett’s Charge.  Franks also presents more of a Confederate view on the battle and the bibliography boasts more primary sources from Confederate writers than Union writers.  This gives the work a one sided feeling throughout and has the style of modern “Lost Cause” historians.  During the Battle of Falling Waters, Franks makes the Union cavalry out to be a harassing force instead of fighting force.

                The Battle of Falling Waters, however, is worth reading for the most avid Gettysburg historian.  Besides being treated to a page of history as many other Gettysburg works dedicate itself, Franks has given us a book filled with both narrative and primary sources.  The best part of the work is the final chapter which describes the battlefield today.  Being a smaller battle in the larger Gettysburg Campaign, the field can get lost, but with Franks’ directions, it should be an easy find for anyone.  In conclusion, The Battle of Falling Waters leaves much to be desired in the realm of the narrative and the details of battle, but it is a good book for those not as familiar with the engagement.  

Greetings! Those accustomed to reading this blog will notice that I am not Matthew, nor am I reviewing Gettysburg nonfiction or fiction- I'm the other half! Matt is not the only one in the house to have a special interest in the Civil War- my focus will be on generalized Civil War fiction. So you'll occasionally see a post from me with what I've been reading.
This particular post will also appear on the Cheshire Public Library's blog.
Female espionage in the Civil War is a new area of study, and one I am quite familiar with. My husband, Matthew, lectures frequently on four women who risked all for the sake of their country. It has been an immensely popular program, drawing crowds of more than 80 people on occasion.
The Spymistress by Jennifer Chiaverini was my pick for March for the girlfriend's book club I run outside of the library. I had one sole purpose in selecting this book: to help me research and get ready for my own impression of a female spy in the Civil War. Matt and I have joined a reenacting group and we will be portraying a Pinkerton agent and a female detective. While this is a fictional account, I knew it would be helpful and readable for my friends.
The Spymistress tells the story of Elizabeth Van Lew, a Unionist living in Richmond during the time of the American Civil War. While not incredibly common, Unionists lived throughout the Confederacy, and Confederate sympathizers lived throughout the Union. Life was extremely difficult for these people, who had to toe a line so they
The Spymistress by Jennifer Chiaveriniwouldn't be arrested, deemed traitors, or become social outcasts. Van Lew, 43 in 1861, lives with her mother, brother, sister-in-law, and nieces in their Richmond mansion. She's outspoken and passionate and feels a deep need to help. But she's not going to help the Confederacy. She's going to help the Union.
Van Lew is able to get herself a pass for the prison holding Union soldiers and begins her work. Initially she comes bearing gifts of ginger cakes and food, medicine, and other creature comforts, but soon starts smuggling in and out information. Suspicions arise almost immediately with citizens of Richmond- why is Van Lew only helping Union prisoners? What about Confederate soldiers who have a need? Van Lew deftly uses the Bible and Christian theory, saying that Jesus taught his followers to love their enemy as themselves. And since this is a religious, church-going society, this explanation works. She also hosts a Confederate general and his family for several months in her home, puts on several lavish parties celebrating a particular regiment, and diverts suspicion.
But Van Lew's best work comes at Libby Prison, where she is able to help Union soldiers escape. She sets up what is essentially a soldier's underground railroad through a set of safe houses (using quilt blocks, hung outside on clotheslines). Van Lew also set up a chain of spies throughout the Confederate government and military, most notably Mary Bowser (whose real name may not have even been Mary Bowser), a freed slave who worked as a maid for Varina Davis, the first lady of the Confederacy, in the Confederate White House.
Van Lew and her chain of spies are unsung heroes of the Civil War and their stories deserve and need to be told. Van Lew truly did risk everything for her country and lived a very tragic life after the war. Imagine being a Unionist in Richmond after the war.
Chiaverini does an apt job of telling Van Lew's story with accuracy and respect. Having already known most of Van Lew's work and life, much in this book was not new for me. For those who are not familiar with Van Lew, I would imagine this being a welcome history and biographical lesson. Her narrative is easy to read and true to Van Lew's character. This is not a "romantic" book, so those expecting a love story will not find one (Van Lew never married).

However, I was not wowed by this book. Perhaps because I knew too much already about Van Lew the book just fell flat. There was nothing wrong with the characterization, the narrative, or the story itself. Having listened to this book, maybe it was the reader.


Rating: 3 stars out of 5