A Gunner in Lee’s Army: The Civil War Letters of Thomas Henry Carter

Edited by Graham T. Dozier

University of North Carolina Press, 2014, 344 pp. + 24 pp. Introduction, $39.95

ISBN: 978-1-4696-1874-6

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                As with many Virginians who had a career before the American Civil War, there was a great drive to raise companies and in some cases entire regiments to fight for their home state.  In the case of Thomas Henry Carter, he raised an artillery battery and joined the Confederate army.  The stories of the war of men who rose the ranks as they showed bravery and initiative is sometimes the most rewarding of all.  These letters of Carter which have finally been presented are a testament to that type of soldier.  Graham Dozier has spent a great amount of time putting this collection together and the result is a fine example of modern printing of primary sources.

                Without giving too much away about the author, since most of his Civil War lauds are written in the text, Thomas Henry Carter’s father was a first cousin to Robert E. Lee.  Carter was also a member of the class of 1849 at the Virginia Military Institute and also attended the University of Pennsylvania and Virginia.  Though his degrees were in medicine, he helped to manage his father’s plantation.  Graham Dozier is a managing editor of publications at the Virginia Historical Society.  The foreword of this book is written by Peter S. Carmichael.  

                Throughout the many primary sources being printed during the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War, Graham Dozier has provided this collection and has also given a great insight of his own into the man of Thomas Henry Carter along with others throughout the war.  Dozier gives us extensive footnotes which give the readers a look into the world of Carter and the people he met.  In letters, there are barely any descriptions of people or what they accomplished but by using the footnotes, Dozier ensures that the reader is not left in the dark wondering what was going on.  The great accomplishment throughout the footnotes is the short biographies of not only the Confederate commanders and some soldiers, but also gives the reader information on the Union commanders as well.  The events which are mentioned in the letters are also well footnoted such as the information at Fredericksburg.  There are short descriptions of the action in the letters and more details followed in the footnotes.

                I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in primary source documents of the American Civil War.  Graham Dozier should be praised for his incredible efforts of footnoting and editing these documents giving the reader a well rounded amount of information throughout these texts.  Graham Dozier should also be praised for bringing this text to the attention of Civil War academia in an excellent state.  This work is another great addition in the already prestigious line of Civil War books printed by the University of North Carolina Press.  This book should be on the shelf of every Civil War historian and student who wants to learn more about life in the Army of Northern Virginia.  Highly recommended.

The Siege of Lexington Missouri: The Battle of the Hemp Bales

Larry Wood

The History Press, 2014, 160 pp., $19.99

ISBN: 978-1-62619-536-3

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                The state of Missouri faced the third highest amount of engagements during the Civil War, yet there have not been many works about the action which took place there.  Not only was the political realm of the state intense, but the true meaning of the saying “Brother against Brother” rings true mostly in the state of Missouri.  Larry Wood’s work about the siege of Lexington, Missouri gives us another insight into the combat which happened here during the war.  Also known as the Battle of the Hemp Bales, the Siege of Lexington was a battle which defined what would occur in the war for Missouri.  This work is a well sourced book with a number of unpublished sources along with a great amount of primary sources.

                Larry Wood live in Joplin, Missouri and is a retired school teacher.  He is also a freelance writer specializing in the history of the Ozarks and surrounding regions.  Wood has also published two historical fiction novels and ten nonfiction history books.  Along with writing these books, he has published numerous magazine stories and articles spreading his knowledge not only in the realm of books and novels, but in the print media as well.  His other works are The Two Civil War Battles of Newtonia and Civil War Springfield.

                The Siege of Lexington, Missouri is part of The History Press’ Civil War Sesquicentennial Series and just as there is with many of the other works, the beginning of this work introduces Lexington before the war and many of the people who helped morph the city into what it was before the war began.  As the work heads into the action of the siege, Wood uses a plethora of primary sources which give not only an intense view into the battles but a personal view as well.  The reader is also given very coherent maps of Lexington and the surrounding areas in order to give a greater understanding of the combat.  One of the other major things in the work which helps the narrative flow is the use of photographs of some of the major players in this siege.  Also, maps of the fields themselves are provided from the author’s own collection as well as drawings in the newspapers from the time.  There is everything needed in this work which would give the reader a greater understanding as to what happened during the Siege of Lexington.  When dealing with a siege, the best way to write about the events are to break up the action into easy to follow steps and Wood does a tremendous job with this.  By breaking up the siege itself into multiple chapters and giving some of the smaller battles their own sections helps the readers to understand the timeline of the event.

                I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the events of Missouri during the American Civil War.  It has been my firm opinion for some time that the action in Missouri has not truly been given its due in the realm of Civil War academia but now, Larry Wood has given us a new book which helps the study of this state.  With this book, Lexington Missouri is given its due.

The Battle of Totopotomoy Creek: Polegreen Church and the prelude to Cold Harbor

Robert Bluford Jr.

The History Press, 2014, 188 pp., $19.99

ISBN: 978-1-62619-251-5

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                When the topic of the Battle of Totopotomoy Creek comes up in conversation, most are not too savvy about the event.  However, during the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War, there has been attention brought to many of the obscure battles and this is one of them.  In this work, there is not only an explanation of the battle, but an explanation of the history of the area including the important Polegreen Church.  By not only using commander’s memoirs and official records, Bluford uses regimental histories and soldier’s diaries and strays away from a heavy use of secondary sources.  This method of using mainly primary sources strengthens the work on a lesser known battle of the Civil War.

                Robert Bluford Jr. is a Richmond native and is a veteran of the Air Force.  He went to serve in the Air Force in the middle of his studies to become a minister at the Hampden-Sydney College.  He served in the Eighth Air Force during World War II and was a squadron leader.  When the war was over, he returned to his studies and graduated in 1947.  He also graduated from Union Theological Seminary in 1950 and has a number of other graduate degrees.  Since 1989, he has spent a great amount of his time researching the history of the Polegreen Church Foundation.  His efforts were noticed and he received the 2004 First Freedom Award by the Council for America’s First Freedom and in 2011 was named the Virginian of the Year.

                In the opening of this work, Bluford gives great descriptions of the Polegreen church and also gives us a look into the history of the meetinghouse.  Many may be unaware of the historic importance of the church but here, Bluford shows that not only was this building important during the battle of the Civil War, but shows its importance even in the colonial period.  Bluford also uses the beginning of this work to set up the stage for the events at the Battle of Totopotomoy Creek.  One chapter is even devoted to the year of 1862 and 1864.  This properly sets up the book for what happens during the battle by giving us short biographies of those involved and events which morphed the upcoming battle.  As the battle is described, the narrative is quite easy to read and, as stated before, depends more on primary sources instead of secondary sources.  There is a great strength in writing a work with just primary sources and since the battle is not as known as other engagements, this is the strength of the whole work.  The narrative is also aided by some photographs and a few maps. 

                I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the more obscure battles of the American Civil War.  The narrative is flowing and easy to follow and does not need to be inundated by maps and photographs.  As part of the History Press’ Civil War Sesquicentennial Series, this is a welcome addition into the world of Civil War academia.

                

The Last Citadel: Petersburg June 1864-April 1865

Noah Andre Trudeau

Savas Beatie, 2014, 522 pp. + 16 pp. introduction, $32.95

ISBN: 978-1-61121-212-9

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                In the celebration of the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War, there have been many authors who have expanded and revised their works which have been celebrated in the past.  One of those examples was Richmond Redeemed by Richard Sommers while the other entry into this category is The Last Citadel by Noah Andre Trudeau.  Many times in these revised and expanded editions, there are great amounts of detail which have been improved upon and this work delivers on that.  Trudeau brings the excellence of the narrative which had been brought in Summer Storm into this work and with the expansive amount of information about the Petersburg Campaign in the recent year, is a welcome addition to the study.

                Noah Andre Trudea is a history graduate from the State University of New York at Albany.  He was the winner of the Civil War Round Table of New York’s Fletcher Pratt Award for his work Bloody Roads South.  He also had a cameo appearance on the Netflix original series House of Cards.  He is also the winner of the Grady McWhiney Research Foundation’s Jerry Coffey Memorial Book Prize for his work Like Men of War about the combat history of African American Troops in the Civil War.  Others may remember his works Summer Storm, about Sherman’s March and Gettysburg: A Test of Courage.

                One thing which can be said of this work is that the text deals with the Petersburg Campaign as a whole.  If you are looking for a more in depth look into certain sections of the campaign, there are other works which can satisfy that need, but this work deals with the details just as well as other books.  Trudeau’s ability to fuse both primary sources of official records with secondary sources to produce a flowing and sweeping narrative is second to none.  The work is also accompanied by many maps that ease the understanding of the text.  A Civil War book without coherent maps is often difficult to understand, but here, there are plenty to bring and understanding to the battles.  What is presented in this text is intense which Trudeau has often brought to his Civil War works.  The other part which I enjoyed in this book was the profiles of the commanders which were presented early on in the book.  This gives the reader an idea of who and where the commanders of the armies were and what their importance was to their past and current position at Petersburg.

                I highly recommend this work to anyone interested in the Petersburg Campaign and anyone who is a fan of the Civil War works of Noah Andre Trudeau.  This constantly proved to be a coherent narrative on over nine months of combat towards the end of the war.  This Sesquicentennial edition of The Last Citadel proves to be an excellent addition to any Civil War shelf and is a great first serious book about the Petersburg Campaign for the upcoming Civil War student.  Just as Coddington’s work on Gettysburg shines as one of the great one volume works on the battle, Trudeau’s work The Last Citadel should be considered the same. 

A Corporal’s Story: Civil War Recollections of the Twelfth Massachusetts

George Kimball: Edited by Alan D. Gaff and Donald H. Gaff

University of Oklahoma Press, 2014, 344 pp. + 22 pp. introduction, $34.95

ISBN: 978-0-8062-4480-1

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                Throughout the plethora of Civil War academia hitting the shelves recently, some of the jewels which have come out in the sesquicentennial of the conflict are the primary sources.  Here, in A Corporal’s Story, we are given a first hand glance at the world of the Twelfth Massachusetts.  Every visitor who has gone to the fields of Gettysburg have all had the same reaction to the extreme amount of monuments to Pennsylvania and New York with only a handful of other states.  This is sometimes true with primary sources, especially when it comes to regimental histories.  In this work, both Alan and Donald Gaff have edited this story by George Kimball and paints the picture of the American Civil War a bit different than other sources.

                Alan D. Gaff is an independent scholar and has authored many books on combat history, not only in the Civil War, but in other conflicts as well.  His works include Bayonets in the Wilderness: Anthony Wayne’s Legion in the Old Northwest, and Blood in the Argonne: The “Lost Battalion” in World War I.  He has also authored a work on the Iron Brigade.  Donald H. Gaff is the assistant professor of Anthropology at the University of Northern Iowa and is the author of many articles and contributions to books and reports ranging all over anthropology and archaeology.

                As I was reading throughout the narrative in this work, I began to realize something much different than other primary sources I have read.  Going mainly through the Eastern Theater of the war, there was quite a complete outlook on the conflict.  It seemed, unlike other primary sources which tend to leave out some campaigns which the unit took a part of, this one did not seem to miss a beat.  I also found the recollections of this corporal’s story to be quite simple to read in the narrative instead of parts missing from the text as others have in the past.  One of the shining points of this book is the system of footnoting which both Alan and Donald Gaff presented in their work.  The historical background of the footnotes not only gave a deeper understanding of the Twelfth Massachusetts but of the entire division, brigade and corps which they were a part of.  George Kimball would not usually have spoken to the commander of the division, and during the Gettysburg section of the work, there is a short but detailed footnote concerning Brigadier General John Robinson who commanded the division.  These footnotes give a deeper understanding into the world of George Kimball instead of a simple printing of the memoir.  There were times when the narrative also seemed personal on both the efforts of Kimball and Alan and Donald Gaff.

                I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of the Twelfth Massachusetts.  I also recommend this book to anyone interested in a seemingly unbiased view of the war throughout the war with some of the best descriptions of combat.  This book deserves a place among the many other famous primary sources that Civil War historians and students have come to appreciate over the years.  Highly recommended.

Last in Their Class: Custer, Pickett and the Goats of West Point

James S. Robbins

Encounter Books, 2006, 503 pp. + 13 pp. introduction, $26.95

ISBN: 9781594031410

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                There have been many books about the students of West Point and their accomplishments during the American Civil War but very little detail has been given to the “Goats” of the academy.  For some, they wear it with a badge of honor, but for others the title is the most demeaning thing which can be bestowed upon you during your graduation.  James S. Robbins presents in this book, a look at the people who graduated at the very last in their class and the effect which they procured upon conflict.  Much like the work, The Class of 1846, this book chronicles the events from the time at the academy all the way to the surrender at Appomattox and for some, even farther.

                James S. Robbins is a professor of international relations at the National Defense University in Washington and is a former assistant in the Office of the Secretary of Defense.  There are some who might be familiar with Robbins work as he is often writing for the National Review, The Wall Street Journal and other major publications. 

                Upon a first look at this book, there was a bit of an assumption that it would be filled with profiles and short biographies of the goats of West Point and their accomplishments in the war.  As I began to read, I began to discover that this was not the case for this book.  What is placed in these pages is a narrative of the lives of the commanders during the Civil War who just happened to be placed last in their class which includes both Pickett and Custer.  Robbins does not just mention the goats of West Point, but the others in the class who have long shadows these men had to stand under including Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Patrick O’Rourke.  He makes the interesting point on Custer that he only graduated last in his class due to the fact that he was pushed through the academy in order to fulfill the officer roster on the cusp of the Civil War.  One of the major issues which was constant throughout the text was the focus the author placed on Custer.  Understandably, Custer was one of the more successful goats to come out of West Point during the war, but this book seems more of a biography on the man instead of what the book sets out to do.  There was also too much background information on the history of the school instead of the people who went there.  The information, however, is good information but just not a focused narrative.  The look into the lives of Pickett, Heth and many others are a backseat narrative and pops more into play as a newsflash in the middle of the narrative on Custer instead of a separate narrative on themselves.  The subtitle of the book does not even mention that the men he will be talking about are fighting in the Civil War.  It is, however, implied in the case due to the placement of Pickett’s name in the subtitle.   

                This works suffers from the main flaw in the plan of the book.  The title lacks everything which the book has going for it in the fact that he only goes out of his way to talk about Custer.  There is nothing wrong with writing a biography of Custer, but by attempting to place others in the Civil War in this book along with Custer feels out of place and poorly edited.  While the narrative suffers from the randomness of the information, people will find it very readable and the work is fairly sourced.  But amongst the myriad of other Civil War West Point histories out there, this one is far from being recommended.  Robbins set out with good intentions but missed his mark greatly by ignoring the very premise in which he has written his book.  This is nothing more than a glorified biography on Custer with a few others implemented in the narrative.      

Rebel Yell: Thee Violence, Passion and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson

S.C. Gwynne

Scribner, 2014, 674 pp. + 14 pages introduction, $35.00

ISBN: 978-1-4516-7328-9

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                When it comes to biographies on Stonewall Jackson, the usual standby is James Robertson’s Stonewall, but through the years there have been many others.  This biography, Rebel Yell, attempts to be what all other Jackson biographies have done before: describe most of Jackson’s reasoning behind his thoughts of joining the Confederacy while detailing his life.  Gwynne ‘s contribution to the American Civil War is worthwhile reading, but parts of it seem repetitive.  While this book is a great introduction into the life of Jackson, the issue with this book is the attempt to compete with Robertson’s work and the constant comparison to the leviathan of a work which has preceded it.

                S.C. Gwynne’s previous work, Empire of the Summer Moon, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award.  Most of his career has been spent in the field of journalism working previously with Time Magazine as the bureau chief, national correspondent and senior editor.  He was also the executive editor of Texas Monthly.  This book, Rebel Yell, is his first work on the American Civil War.

                The biography of Jackson which Gwynne has presented thrives on the pacing of the work.  Instead of outlining his life in order, Gwynne puts the people at Manassas in 1861 almost right away.  This creates for the reader an idea of the name of Stonewall for not only Jackson but for the rest of his brigade.  Due to the dearth of Manassas writings, this narrative is helpful to understanding what Jackson had done on those fields and how and why he deserved the name, though the name Stonewall is up for debate.  As with most well written biographies, you also get short looks into the lives of the people around Jackson on both the Union and Confederate side of the conflict.  The account of Jackson’s early life before the war is also detailed and is done with a good readable narrative though nothing new is presented in what is written.  Every detail throughout the book has already been mentioned in a previous Jackson biography which is the main problem with this book.  Looking into the bibliography, the general standbys were used when talking about Jackson causing confusion for me as to why this biography was written in the first place.  Through all the issues which come with the lack of new information about Jackson, the book is quite readable and for those new to the study of the Civil War, this biography is a bit more accessible than others and much easier to handle.

                I recommend this book only to people new into the realm of Civil War study and for those who want to learn about Stonewall Jackson.  Gwynne thankfully avoids the discussions of “What If” that other biographers of Jackson have done in the past.  The book is well sourced, but provides no new sources or new information to the well versed Civil War reader.  My final thoughts on this book would be this: for those new to the study, I recommend this work as an introductory biography on Stonewall Jackson, but for those not new, tread lightly.     

Through the Heart of Dixie: Sherman’s March and American Memory

Anne Sarah Rubin

The University of North Carolina Press, 2014, 300 pp.+ 14 pp. Introduction, $35.00

ISBN: 978-1-4696-1777-0

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              In the celebration of the Sesquicentennial of the March to the Sea, there have been many new analyses of the event, but this work by Anna Sarah Rubin is a bit different.  While the beginning of the book deals with the details of the March to the Sea, the rest of the book looks at the way in which the people have remembered the march through personal memoirs, works of fiction and even on film.  What is accomplished in this work is much more different than what any other work has accomplished about this subject and it is well appreciated.    

                Anna Sarah Rubin is an associate professor of history at the University of Maryland in Baltimore County.  She has also authored A Shattered Nation: The Rise and Fall of the Confederacy, 1861 – 1868.  This book is also part of The University of North Carolina Press’ Civil War America Series.  Works of authors and primary sources dealing with not only the military aspect of the Civil War but of the social and political aspect, this series has given us some of the best works on the Civil War during the Sesquicentennial celebration of the Civil War. 

                The book opens with an explanation on the March to the Sea as an event in American History but then goes on in the in depth analysis on how the people who fought and lived it remembered the fateful march.  If there is one campaign which is more written about in the annals of Civil War history other than Gettysburg, it has to be Sherman’s march.  Oftentimes when reviewing works, I am intruiged by what is new that is presented in the book and this work does not disappoint.  Rubin looks at the march in every way possible and makes connections as to how the campaign is remembered.  One of the most interesting stories she recalls is that of Brother Masons and Sherman’s involvement in the work.  She makes the point, however, that Sherman was never, or at least there is no evidence to prove, that he was a Mason.  There is belief then, that any Masonic work which occurs with Sherman present must have some legend to the tale.  Fans of the film Gone With the Wind will find some interesting points made in her section devoted to that film and novel.  She points out that even though Margaret Mitchell did considerable research on the book, the novel and film have often gone into the greater understanding of the march and even Reconstruction itself.  Rubin mentions Mitchell’s dependence on Lost Cause historiography and closes with the statement of Gone With the Wind as the Civil War in mass understanding and that Sherman, though he never appears on page, is the villain in the novel creating once again, the stigma of Sherman as an animal of Total War.

                I highly recommend this book to enthusiasts on the March to the Sea and students of the Civil War.  I especially recommend this work to historiography students and teachers as a process of how the writings, fiction and non-fiction, songs and movies have created perspective which may not be entirely correct.  I believe this to be one of the more innovative books which has been published this year on the Civil War and one of the more innovative books on the March to the Sea.

The Battle of First Deep Bottom

James S. Price

The History Press, 2014, 158pp., $19.99

ISBN: 978-1-60949-541-1

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                During 2014, there have been many works on the many battles throughout the Siege of Petersburg.  In all of these accounts, there has been a great amount of new research due to the lack of coverage over the campaign of Petersburg as a whole.  One of the books about the Petersburg siege is James S. Price’s book The Battle of First Deep Bottom.  Throughout the text, there is extensive research into the process of the battle and a great use of primary sources.  Supplemented by photographs taken during the conflict and clear maps, The Battle of First Deep Bottom is a great look into one of the lesser known battles of the Petersburg Campaign. 

                James S. Price is the Historic Site Manager for the Bristoe Station Battlefield Heritage Park in Prince William County.  In 2009, he received his Masters of Arts in Military History  from Norwich University.  His first book, The Battle of New Market heights: Freedom Will Be Theirs by the Sword, was nominated for the fifteenth annual Library of Virginia Literary Awards.  Price also writes on the many aspects of the Civil War on his blog “Freedom by the Sword: A Historian’s Journey thought the American Civil War Era.”

                If there is one thing I can say about this book, it is that the narrative shows the tension between all of the members of the high command mainly in the Union army.  One of the things which I enjoyed about this book is the humanity of Winfield Scott Hancock away from his mythological stance of his Gettysburg exploits.  Here, at the Battle of First Deep Bottom, he seems to drop the ball when it comes the way in which he handles his situation.  One of the better things about the book is the profiles of the commanders on both sides which he opens his work with.  This narrative also tells us that this was a more pivotal battle than the previous works on the Petersburg Campaign has given attention to in the past.  Both the Union and Confederate army fought greatly for the area in and around Petersburg.  In the preface, Price mentions the veterans who knew that the great battles would always be mentioned but the gallantry of places like the Battle of First Deep Bottom would never be mentioned.  Even in the last paragraph, Price mentions that this battle cries out for more scholarship to be devoted to the study. 

                In these works celebrating the anniversary of the Petersburg Campaign, great studies have come about to give us a greater understanding of the separate battles throughout the time.  I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Petersburg Campaign  or anyone interested in General Hancock after the Gettysburg Campaign.  James Price has created a readable narrative which flows greatly along with a well-researched work that is extensively resourced.  The Battle of First Deep Bottom is greatly important to the overall campaign of Petersburg and thanks to James Price, there is now a cohesive comprehensive account concerning the engagement.  Highly recommended.

The Early Morning of War: Bull Run, 1861

Edward G. Longacre       

The University of Oklahoma Press, 2014, 662 pp. + 18 pp. Introduction, $29.95

ISBN: 978-0-8061-4498-6

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                There have been a great plethora of books about the campaigns of Gettysburg, Antietam and Petersburg but when it comes to the first major land battle of Bull Run, or Manassas whichever you prefer, there are not so many options of scholarly work.  In all honesty, many accounts of the Battle of Manassas, are portrayed in biographies of Stonewall Jackson without getting any treatment to itself whatsoever.  Now, thanks to Edward G. Longacre, there is an in depth work about the campaign and people involved in the Battle of Manassas in 1861.  What is accomplished in The Early Morning of War, is what every Civil War enthusiast has wanted for some time: a comprehensive book on the first battle of the American Civil War.

                Edward G. Longacre is a retired United States Department of Defense Historian and has authored many books in his illustrious career.  One of his most famous works, The Cavalry at Gettysburg, won the Fletcher Pratt Award.  His biography of Wade Hampton III, Gentleman and Soldier: A Biography of Wade Hampton III won the Douglas Southall Freeman History Award.  Among some of his other numerous works include General Ulysses S. Grant, the Soldier and the Man and Lincoln’s Cavalrymen: A History of the Mounted Forces of the Army of the Potomac (1861-1865).  This book is the forty-sixth volume in the Campaigns and Commanders series printed by The University of Oklahoma Press.

                While the majority of this book focuses on the Bull Run Campaign, the book opens with a strong introduction on the four major players of the battle: Generals Beauregard, Johnston, McDowell and Patterson.  Nowhere in the beginning of this book does Jackson get a proper introduction and that is one of the better parts of this book.  Too many times when recounting the events of the Manassas Campaign, there are glorifications of Stonewall Jackson but Longacre avoids those lauds.  Instead, he focuses on the major characters of the campaign giving us short biographies of them to start with.  Because of this, there is a greater understanding going into the book about these men and their decisions based on their backgrounds and their political abilities.  The account of the battle itself is a sweeping narrative aided by maps giving the reader a great understanding of what happened here.  The photographs inserted into the middle of the book are quite interesting and show some of the people not usually associated with the battle and have been forgotten by history as participating in the battle such as Oliver O. Howard and Ambrose E. Burnside. 

                I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Civil War, especially for anyone who wants to add a book about Manassas to their collection.  This book adds to the great Campaigns and Commanders series along with being incredibly welcome into Civil War academia.  It is well researched with an excellent bibliography along with a grasping narrative that never lets go.  Longacre should be praised for the work which he has produced here as it will soon become another work of his well-regarded among the Civil War readers.