Review: Never Caught

Never Caught: The Washingtons'

Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway

Slave, Ona Judge

By Erica Armstrong Dunbar

Nearly every American knows the basic outlines of United States’ favorite founding father and his wife, George and Martha Washington, the country’s first President and First Lady. From grade school to high school Americans are taught about the rise of George Washington from soldier to president, his trials on the battlefield and tribulations of the presidency. Martha lurks largely in her husband’s historical shadow, and further back in the shadows are the people of color whom the Washington’s enslaved.

One of the Washington’s enslaved emerges from the shadows of her owners and their fame in Erica Armstrong Dunbar’s book, “Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless pursuit of their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge.”

Upon the death of George Washington, Martha burned all of the correspondence between them, only a had full of letters survived, making details of their relationship and what they discussed vanish in a cloud of smoke. The Washingtons placed a couple of “Fugitive Slave” ads in newspapers, and Ona Judge herself gave a couple of very short newspaper interviews. That is the skeleton on which Ms. Dunbar hangs her narrative. What does survive is the Washington’s correspondence with the rest of the Washington & Custis families and those entrusted with the care of Mount Vernon, which gives muscle to the author’s narrative. Ms. Dunbar relies on educated speculation using phrases such as “possibly” or “could have” to clothe the corpse of her subject with skin. And lastly she breathes life into Ona Judge by placing her in the correct historical light, relating the various laws and social mores of the time in which she lived.

My only criticism is the books’ sensationalistic subtitle, “The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge.” After Ona Judge gained her freedom in Pennsylvania, the Washingtons only made two serious and ultimately unsuccessful attempts to regain custody of their property and return her to Mount Vernon. I suspect this is at the hands of Ms. Dunbar’s publisher, 37 Ink, as a marketing ploy to sell more books.

“Never Caught” is meticulously researched and well written. At 272 pages it is a quick and easy read. It fills a void in the history of American slavery, the lives of George and Martha Washington, and of course Ona Judge herself.

ISBN 978-1501126390, 37 Ink, © 2017, Hardcover, 272 pages, Photograph & Illustrations, End Notes, Selected Bibliography & Index. Cover Price $26.00.  To purchase a copy of this book click HERE.

Review: Star Spangled Scandal by Chris DeRose

StarSpangled Scandal:
Sex, Murder and the Trial

that Changed America

By Chris DeRose

The shots heard round the country were fired by Congressman Daniel E. Sickles February 27, 1859, in Lafayette Square, across the street from the White House. Who was his target? Philip Barton Key, son of Francis Scott Key (the author of the Star Spangled Banner), and his wife’s lover. Key and Teresa Sickles had been having a year-long love affair in a rented house just a few blocks from the Sickles’ home. Dan Sickles killed Barton Key, and was soon after taken to jail and put on trial for the murder. It was the trial of the century, and thanks to the telegraph wires spanning the country the scandalous news of the trial was sent around the country and across the Atlantic Ocean in nearly real time. Sickles became a household name overnight.

Chris DeRose, author of  “Star Spangled Scandal: Sex, Murder and the Trial that Changed America,” explores the murder, the trial and the verdict in spectacular detail in a narrative that moves back and forth through time during the first half of the book, and then day by day through the through jury selection to the verdict. The book is packed with first hand accounts of the events that led up to the death of Key, and its author frequently gives word for word testimony from the trial transcript.

People who make their appearance in “Star Spangled Scandal” make up a who is who list of antebellum Washington, D.C. society, from President James Buchanan, Secretary of State Jeremiah Black, socialite Virginia Clay, wife of Senator Clement C. Clay (who would later become a Confederate States Senator from Alabama), Senator Jefferson Davis (soon to be President of the Confederate States), Senator Stephen A. Douglas, socialite Rose O’Neal Greenhow (who would be a Confederate Spy and who certainly played a role in the Confederate victory in the 1^st Battle of Bull Run), Congressman John Haskin, and Robert Ould who succeeded Barton Key as United States Attorney for the District of Columbia and go on to serve as the Confederate agent of exchange for prisoners of war under the Dix–Hill Cartel.

James T. Brady and his partner John Graham headed up the Sickles defense and soon convinced Edwin M. Stanton, future Attorney General during the closing days of the Buchanan Administration and Abraham Lincoln’s 2^nd Secretary of War, to join the team. Together they argued and for and won a verdict in favor of Sickles: not guilty by reason of temporary insanity. It was the first ever successful temporary insanity plea in American history.

In the last chapter of his book DeRose covers the legacy of “the unwritten law,” citing case by case examples of the use of the temporary insanity defense to justify the murders of those accused of killing the lovers of their spouses. Truly an eye opening chapter of American legal history.

Oddly, Sickles is more remembered more for what he did during the Civil War, specifically moving his troops out into The Wheatfield and getting his leg shot off on the 2^nd day of the Battle of Gettysburg, rather than the murderer of Philip Barton Key. An interesting side note, the fence that encircled Lafayette Square on that fateful day of 1859 now forms part of the fencing in Gettysburg National Cemetery.

“Star Spangled Scandal” is a very well researched and well written in a very easily read narrative. I highly recommend it for anyone who is interested in Daniel Sickles, true crime stories, or the American Civil War in general.

ISBN 978-1621578055, Regnery History, © 2019, Hardcover, 320 pages,  End Notes, & Index. $29.99. To purchase this book click HERE.

Review: Thaddeus Stevens, Civil War Revolutionary, Fighter for Racial Justice

ThaddeusStevens: Civil War Revolutionary, Fighter for Racial Justice

by Bruce Levine

For too long Thaddeus Stevens has been relegated to the wings of the great historical drama of the American Civil War.  Hidden in the shadows of other more prominent politicians and military figures who take center stage, he was destined to appear only as a bit player or part of the chorus of Radical Republicans, seldom featured in the playbill and rarely if ever as the star of the show.

In 2012 Stevens’ star rose significantly higher to co-star billing in Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln,” written by Tony Kushner. After watching the Academy Award winning film a search of Amazon.com revealed the dearth of works in which Stevens features as the star; that is until now.

Bruce Levine has written an anxiously awaited vehicle starring our favorite curmudgeonly Radical Republican, “Thaddeus Stevens: Civil War Revolutionary, Fighter for Racial Justice.”  A narrative political biography, Levine’s womb to tomb treatment follows the our star’s rise from the horizon of local Pennsylvania politics to his zenith as a member of the United States House of Representatives and his chairmanships of its powerful Ways and Means and House Appropriations committees. Levine traces the evolution of Stevens from being an Anti-Mason, to a Know Nothing, a Whig and finally a Republican, and his transformation as an abolitionist to his radical agenda to abolish slavery forever from the soil of the United States. As a member of the House of Representatives he helped lead American through the deepest depths of the Civil War and Reconstruction.

Filled with quotations “Thaddeus Stevens: Civil War Revolutionary, Fighter for Racial Justice” is a well written, and thoroughly researched narrative tour de force biography of Thaddeus Stevens.  The only fault I find with Levine’s work is it is a strictly political biography; precious little appears in regard to Stevens’ personal life, which would have made a fuller rounder biography. But taken as it is Thaddeus Stevens shines in his time in the spotlight at center stage.

Bruce Levine is the bestselling author of four books on the Civil War era, including The Fall of the House of Dixie and Confederate Emancipation, which received the Peter Seaborg Award for Civil War Scholarship and was named one of the top ten works of nonfiction of its year by The Washington Post. He is a professor emeritus of history at the University of Illinois

ISBN 978-1476793375, Simon & Schuster, © 2021, Hardcover, 320 pages, Photographs & Illustrations, End Notes & Index. $28.00.  To purchase click HERE.

Review: The Vicksburg Assaults, May 19-22, 1863

The Vicksburg Assaults, May 19-22, 1863

Edited by Steven E. Woodworth & Charles D. Grear

With “The Vicksburg Assaults: May 19-22” Southern Illinois University Press has added another volume to its “Civil War Campaigns in the West” series. It is the second volume in the series to cover Major-General Ulysses. S. Grant’s Vicksburg Campaign.  Picking up where the previous volume “The Vicksburg Campaign: March 29-May 18, 1863” left off,  it covers the four days between May 19 and May 22, 1863 during which Grant made two suicidal, uphill frontal assaults on the Confederate earthworks surrounding the heavily fortified city.

This small book, only 136 pages, is a treasure trove of information and firsthand accounts of the fighting which demonstrated to Grant that Vicksburg, “The Gibraltar of the West,” couldn’t be taken as easily as Mississippi’s State Capital, Jackson.

In the book’s Introduction Charles D. Grear gives a brief sketch of the last few days of the Vicksburg Campaign and brings readers up to May 19, 1863.

J. Parker Hills follows up with two essays covering both assaults “Haste and Underestimation: May 19” and “Failure and Scapegoat: May 22”

“The Assault on the Railroad Redoubt” by Stephen E. Woodworth analyzes the fight for the Railroad Redoubt, the site of bloodiest fighting from the viewpoint of the Union men who fought there while Brandon Franke conversely examines it from the point of view of it’s Confederate defenders in his essay “Texans in the Breach: Waul’s Legion at Vicksburg.”

The title of the final essay of the book by Charles D. Grear speaks for itself, “The North-West is Determined with the Sword”; Midwesterners’ Reactions to the Vicksburg Assaults.”

The assaults against the outer works of Vicksburg are rarely given treatment of their own by authors.  They are usually folded into the final few pages of books about the Vicksburg Campaign, in the first few pages of books about the Siege of Vicksburg, or sandwiched between the two in books covering both the campaign and the siege.

Each essay is well researched and well written by its author.  There are end notes following each essay. Taken independently of the others each essay is a slim slice that doesn’t fail to deliver upon its topic, but together the four days between May 19 & May 22, 1863, are completely covered.  “The Vicksburg Assaults: May 19-22, 1863” rightly deserves to take its place on the shelf among many other scholarly works of the Vicksburg Campaign and Siege.

ISBN 978-0809337194, Southern Illinois University Press, © 2019, Hardcover, 136 pages, Photographs, Maps, End Notes at the end of each essay & Index. $29.50.  To purchase this book click HERE.

Review: The Vicksburg Campaign, March 29—May 18,1863

The Vicksburg Campaign,

March 29-May 18, 1863

Edited by Steven E. Woodworth

and Charles D. Grear

Prologue:

During the Civil War one of the first objectives in Winfield Scott’s “Anaconda Plan” was control of the Mississippi River.  Confederate control of the Mississippi River made shipping the crops of Midwestern farmer’s to eastern markets more difficult and more expensive.  If the Federal Government could gain control of the River it would not only give farmers easier access to the markets by making shipping cheaper, but it would also sever the Confederacy in two.

Starting on the last day of February 1862, Union forces slowly made their way down the river, with the capture of Island No. 10 on April 8th and Memphis, Tennessee surrendered to Union forces on June 6, 1862. At the same time Union forces worked their way up the river from the Gulf of Mexico.  New Orleans on surrendered to Union forces April 28th. At the end of 1862  much of the Mississippi River was under the control of the Union. Only two strong holdouts remained in Confederate hands, Port Hudson, Louisiana and Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Holding the Mississippi river between Vicksburg and Port Hudson was a military necessity for the Confederate government. It was the linchpin that held the two halves of the Confederacy together.  Vicksburg, on high bluffs on the eastern bank of the river was the citadel that guarded against a Yankee invasion from the river.

Major-General Ulysses S. Grant of the Union Army of the Tennessee, after his victories of Forts Henry & Donelson, Shiloh and Corinth set his sites on breaking the Confederate stronghold, Vicksburg, Mississippi. Grant assigned his friend Major-General William T. Sherman to work finding a route of attack from the Mississippi River north of Vicksburg. In late December 1862 Sherman probed Chickasaw Bayou but failed to defeat the Confederate forces there.

During the first quarter of 1863 Grant continued to explore the option of a northern approach to Vicksburg and an alternate route on the western side of the Mississippi River to bypass the city’s  strong fortifications high up on the bluffs on the eastern side of  the river. During the same period the Yazoo Pass Expedition led by Brigadier-General Leonard F. Ross & Lieutenant Commander Watson Smith continued to probe the probed Yazoo Pass from the north but was repulsed by Confederate forces lead by Major-General William  W. Loring at Fort Pemberton.

The Williams Canal across De Soto Peninsula on the western side of the river offered a possibility for Grant to bypass the Confederate guns and pass ships around Vicksburg to approach the city from the south. In January 1863 Sherman’s men resumed digging on the trench which was previously abandoned by Admiral Farragut and General Williams the previous July. By late March work on the canal had to be abandoned after the dam at the head of the canal burst and flooded the project.

Grant concurrently ordered the Brigadier-General James B. McPherson to dig another canal from the Mississippi River to Lake Providence north of the city which would allow passage to the Red River and allow Grant’s forces to bypass the Vicksburg defenses and join with Banks at Port Hudson.

Grant had run out of options to reach Vicksburg from the North.  This is all prologue to Southern Illinois University Press’ “The Vicksburg Campaign: March 29—May 18, 1863,” edited by Steven E Woodworth and Charles D. Grear.

The Review:

“The Vicksburg Campaign,” the first of five projected volumes, starts with a brief seven page introduction before diving into second phase of a multifaceted campaign to capture the “Gibraltar of the South.”

Garry D. Joyner’s essay “Running the Gauntlet,” explores the effectiveness of using a combined army and navy force in the campaign. And detailing how Grant worked closely with acting Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter on a “Hail Mary” attempt to run ships of the “Brown Water Navy” down the Mississippi River and passed the Confederate forces watching from above on the Vicksburg Bluffs on the eastern banks of the river. Meanwhile Grant marched his troops south on the western side of the river to meet up with the ships that passed by the gauntlet of Vicksburg guns.  Joyner also chronicles Porter’s attack of the Brown Water Navy on Confederate forces at Grand Gulf and the crossing of Grant’s troops to the east bank of the river.

“Through the Heart of Rebel Country,” by Charles D. Grear, is the second essay in the book and highlights the contribution of Colonel Benjamin H. Grierson and his men’s diversionary raid through middle Mississippi form the Grand Junction to Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The third essay, “In the Enemy’s Country,” penned by Jason M. Frawley, covers the battle of Port Gibson which he names “the turning point of the Vicksburg Campaign.”

J. Parker Hills’ essay “Roads to Raymond,” covers the northeastern trajectory of Grant’s Vicksburg Campaign and the Battle of Raymond.

In the fifth essay, “The First Capture and Occupation of Jackson,” by Stephen E. Woodworth highlights the Battle of Jackson & Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston’s evacuation of the city, and the destruction of the railroads in and out of the city.

John R. Lundberg follows that up with an essay entitled “I am too Late,” discussing Johnston’s lackluster performance during Grant’s campaign.

“Grant, McClernand and Vicksburg” by Michael B. Ballard covers the tempestuous relationship between Grant and Major-General John A. McClernand and the events that lead up to McClernand’s dismissal.

William B. Feis’ essay “Developed by Circumstances,” illuminates Grant’s use of Brigadier-General Grenville M. Dodge’s developing intelligence network during the Vicksburg Campaign.

The ninth essay in the book, penned by Timothy B. Smith, is “A Victory Could Hardly Have Been More Complete,” examines the Battle of Big Black River Bridge.

“The ‘Stealing Tour,’” by Steven Nathaniel Dossman, discusses the not always chivalrous interactions between the soldiers of the Army of the Tennessee and the Mississippi civilians with which they came in contact.

In the final essay of the book, “Politics, Policy and General Grant,” Paul L. Schmeltzer discusses Grant’s war strategy and tactics in comparison with those of Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz.  Clausewitz was the author of “On War,” an unfinished work edited and published by his wife in 1832. Originally published in German “On War” was largely unknown in the United States during Grant’s time, and did not become widely available until its first English translation in 1873. Though unfamiliar with Clausewitz, Schmeltzer states Grant’s approach to the problem of Vicksburg was “intuitional and largely an outgrowth of his common sense.”

I highly recommend “The Vicksburg Campaign: March 29–May 18, 1863” as book for both those unfamiliar with Grant’s campaign and those well read students of the campaign and the war itself.   Each essay is well written on its own merit and could stand alone without the others in the volume, but arranged together they present a multifaceted look at the most complicated campaigns of the Civil War.

ISBN 978-0809332694, Southern Illinois University Press, © 2013, Hardcover, 272 Pages, Photographs, Maps, Chapter End Notes & Index. $32.50.  To Purchase the book click HERE.

Review: The Generals of Shiloh

The Generals of Shiloh:

Character in Leadership, April 6-7, 1862

By Larry Tagg,

American Civil War was painted on millions of individual canvasses. You can mix them up to make larger pictures which feature different aspects, different battles, differing sides and can be viewed from different angles.  Rearrange the canvases again and you have a different picture of the war.  The Civil War is an era of American history, that it is so vast with multiple moving parts, it can never be viewed as a single picture.  Students of the Civil War can be inundated with facts about the people, places and events of the war that they can quite literally sometimes get lost in the fog of war. While looking at one person, aspect or event of the war others must fade into the background. Turn around, look left, look right, look up or look down and the canvasses shift again and other canvasses must fade into the background. Sometimes students of the war need a guide to lead them through the shifting fog of 150+ years since the end of the war.

Larry Tagg is our guide through the two-day Battle of Shiloh which took place on April 6 & 7, 1862. His book “The Generals of Shiloh: Character in Leadership, April 6-7, 1862,” brings order out of chaos by focusing on the generals and colonels (acting brigadier-generals), and the divisions, corps and brigades they led.

Arranged as in an order of battle, the book is divided into three parts, one for each of the armies involved in the battle on the Tennessee River: The Army of the Tennessee, The Army of the Ohio, and The Army of the Mississippi. Starting with the commanders of each Army, Ulysses S. Grant and Don Carlos Buell for the Union and for the Confederacy Albert Sidney Johnston and Pierre G. T. Beauregard, Tagg follows the structure of the armies chains of command in descending order from division (for the Union Army) and corps (for the Confederate Army) to brigade command.

Sixty-six men make up the leadership structure of the rural Tennessee battle, each is featured with a photograph (when available) and a brief biographical sketch highlighting the lives of each man before the battle, and then a brief paragraph outlining what happened to each of them after the battle.  Each biography is then followed by the pre-battle history of their commands and their participation in the battle.  One could make an argument for titling Tagg’s book “The Brigades of Shiloh.”  However here the fog of war envelopes the reader and obscures the larger picture of the battle, as the author leads his readers through the minutia of the movements of each, division, corps and brigade.  Since this is a nonlinear approach the reader can easily get lost while following each command around the battlefield. There are only two maps in the book.  More maps would certainly have made following the generals and their commands around the battlefield easier to follow and understand.  To readers of “The Generals of Shiloh” I would recommend copying the maps in the beginning of the book and use them as a bookmark as you read through the book.

“The Generals of Shiloh” is a great book for those well versed in the Battle of Shiloh.  It should be used as a quick reference guide to the commanders and their commands.  Its table of contents makes it very easy to find any individual in just a few seconds.  Larry Tagg has written a book that is easily read in short spans of time, and would be a fantastic companion book to any narrative history of the battle.

ISBN 978-1611213690, Savas Beatie, © 2017, Hardcover, 312 Pages, Maps, Photographs, End Notes & Critical Bibliography. $32.95.  To Purchase the book click HERE.

Review: Amiable Scoundrel

Amiable Scoundrel: Simon Cameron,

Lincoln's Scandalous Secretary of War

by Paul Kahan

When most people think of Simon Cameron, Abraham Lincoln’s first Secretary of War, the first thing that typically comes to mind is the label, “corrupt politician.”  Paul Kahan, lecturer at Ohlone College in Fremont, California, examines the life of the 26th United States Secretary of War in his biography, “Amiable Scoundrel: Simon Cameron, Lincoln's Scandalous Secretary of War.”

“Amiable Scoundrel” chronicles Cameron’s rise from poverty to wealth and political power. Kahan sets the record of Cameron’s political life straight and documents though Cameron was not always the most honest of politicians he was not the corrupt politician of his historical reputation.

Kahan’s tome is well researched, well written and quotations from primary sources are liberally spread throughout his narrative. He has done an admirable job of resuscitating, clothing and restoring to Cameron his true and accurate historical legacy.  “Amiable Scoundrel” is perfect reading for those interested in the Civil War and those interested in United States politics of the latter half of the 19th century.

ISBN 978-1612348148, Potomac Books, Inc, © 2017, Hardcover, 384 pages, Photograph & Illustrations, End Notes, Bibliography & Index. $36.95.  To purchase a copy of this book click HERE.

Review: Hallowed Ground

Hallowed Ground: A Walk at Gettysburg

The Illustrated Edition

By James M. McPherson

In 2003 Crown Publishing released “Hallowed Ground: A Walk at Gettysburg,” written by James M. McPherson, the George Henry Davis '86 Professor of History Emeritus at Princeton University, and author of the Pulitzer Prize winning “Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era.”

Having over the years led countless tours of Gettysburg National Military Park, Dr. McPherson leads his readers on a tour of the battlefield, stopping at Seminary Ridge, the Peach Orchard, Cemetery Hill and Little Round Top, as well as many other key sites related to the pivotal battle which in conjunction with the surrender of Vicksburg, Mississippi marked a turning point in the American Civil War.  McPherson reflects on the meaning of the battle and sets Battle of Gettysburg in its proper context in American and World history, while describing the action of the battle at each site. He debunks many popular myths about the battle, and relays stories of his own encounters.

Zenith Press has recently given Dr. McPherson’s text a bit of a facelift with its new release of “Hallowed Ground: A Walk at Gettysburg – The Illustrated Edition,” enhancing it with period photographs, color photographs (many of which are modern photographs of the battlefield and its monuments), maps, paintings and illustrations.  Many of the books photographs and artwork consume an entire page and sometimes even a two-page spread.  Zenith Press transformed McPherson’s 2003 book from its original 144 page, 5.2 x 7.9 x 0.6 inch size to a 9.6 x 11.2 x 0.9 inch coffee table book of 224 pages. The illustrated edition has given more depth to McPherson’s original text, and in the process has made a beautiful book just to sit and thumb through.

McPherson is often accused of resting on the laurels he received for “The Battle Cry of Freedom,” by writing “popular history” books for eager readers who will buy his books; that his books forgo historical detail and new research, to appeal to a wider and more general reading audience.  Even the topic of Gettysburg can set some academically minded reader’s eyes spinning to the back of their heads.  With hundreds of titles dedicated to the three-day battle of July 1st – 3rd, 1863 why do we need yet another book on Gettysburg.  Indeed there is some validity in both arguments, but Dr. McPherson knows his audience, and as long as there are people willing to buy books about the Battle of Gettysburg, there will be people who will write them.  Putting James M. McPherson’s cachet as one of this country’s greatest historians together with Gettysburg as a topic seems like a win-win scenario for publishers, and making an illustrated edition is a brilliant marketing strategy.

ISBN 978-0760347768, Zenith Press, © 2015, Hardcover, 224 glossy pages, Photographs & Illustrations, Maps, & Index. $35.00.  To purchase a copy of this book click HERE.

Review: Co. "Aytch" - The Complete Illustrated Edition

Co. "Aytch": The First Tennessee Regiment

or a Side Show to the Big Show,

The Complete Illustrated Edition

By Sam Watkins

Even before it was prominently featured in Ken Burns’ award winning documentary, The Civil War, Sam Watkins’ memoir Co. “Aytch” The First Tennessee Regiment or a Side show to the Big Show, was a classic of Civil War literature, and widely heralded my many historians as one of the best memoirs of the war written by a common soldier.

At the outset to the Civil War Watkins was one of 120 men who enlisted in Company H of the 1st Tennessee Infantry.  He and his comrades were in virtually every major battle of the war in its Western theater.  By the time the war ended in April 1865, Watkins was one of seven members of the company who were still alive when General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered the Army of Tennessee to Major-General William Tecumseh Sherman.

Soon after his return home Sam Watkins began to write his memoir.  His engaging narrative captures the pageantry and monotony, the glory and misery, the humor and drama, the pride and horror experienced by a common soldier of the Confederate in the Western Theater.

Zenith Press has pulled Watkins’ dusty and well worn volume from the shelf and republished it in a new and glorious illustrated edition.  Every word of Sam Watkins’ text has been preserved and supplemented with 175 color photographs, illustrations and maps.  Period photographs and illustrations of politicians and military men, places and landmarks, camp life and battle scenes take their place beside post-war artworks, modern photographs of artifacts, battlefields, monuments, and reenactments which have been gathered from the Library of Congress, the George Eastman House, the National Parks Service, the National War College, as well as many other of this country’s major Civil War collections.

Supplementary text is added from the Civil War generals such as James Longstreet and William T. Sherman as well as modern Pulitzer Prize winning historians Doris Kearns Goodwin, James M. McPherson, Allan Nevins and Bruce Catton.

Zenith Press’ Co. "Aytch": The First Tennessee Regiment or a Side Show to the Big Show: The Complete Illustrated Edition breathes new life to Watkins’ memoir for its 21st Century readers.  It would be a welcome addition to any Civil War student’s library, even if he already owns an earlier, and I’m sure dog-eared and well read, edition.

ISBN 978-0760347751, Zenith Press, © 2015, Hardcover, 9.5 x 10.5 x 1 inches  256 glossy pages, Maps, Photographs & Illustrations, Index. $35.00.  To purchase a copy of this book click HERE.

Review: General Grant and the Rewriting of History

General Grant and the Rewriting of History: How the Destruction of General William S. Rosecrans Influenced Our Understanding of the Civil War

By Frank P. Varney

Just a few days before his death on July 23, 1885, former President, Ulysses S. Grant, penned the final pages of his memoirs.  Published posthumously, consisting of two volumes, the “Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant,” was an instant best seller, and the income derived from its royalties restored the Grant family fortune which he had lost through several bad business decisions.  Mark Twain, Grant’s publisher, lauded the memoir as a “literary masterpiece.”  The memoirs are highly regarded by military historians and literary critics alike, and nearly 140 years after its author’s death it has yet to go out of print.

Ulysses S. Grant parlayed his fame as the victor of the Civil War into a political victory when he was elected the 18th President of the United States in 1868.  Periodically historians tend to rank the Presidents from best to worst, and Grant’s lack luster performance as President, combined with several political scandals of those in his administration, typically leaves him ranked near the bottom, with most historians summarizing Grant as an honest man but a poor judge of character.

In his memoirs Grant makes several negative representations of a few fellow Union Army generals.  If Grant was such a poor judge of character, then why do most historians take what Grant wrote in his memoirs as the gospel truth?  If Grant could be wrong about the character of the men that he appointed to places of high esteem during his administration, couldn’t his negative characterizations in his memoirs be incorrect as well?  Frank P. Varney, Professor of History at Dickenson State University, has asked that very same question and his research has led him to some startling conclusions about what we think we know about the Civil War, and how much of it was shaped by the writings of Ulysses S. Grant.

Citing multiple historians, tracing their sources Dr. Varney uncovered many noted historians have taken Grant at his word, using his memoirs as a single source for various incidents of the war.  Professor Varney, using multiple primary sources, compared them to Grant’s writings to uncover striking differences compared to what his contemporaries wrote.  And in at least one instance it appears that Grant falsified the records of the War Department to the detriment of others.

Though several of Grant’s brothers-in-arms careers were, or were very nearly ruined, by his unflattering assessments of their abilities, Dr. Varney’s book, “General Grant and the Rewriting of History” focuses mainly on William S. Rosecrans, and discusses in some depth the battles of Shiloh, Iuka, Corinth, Stones River and Chickamauga.

Dr. Varney’s chapters are organized much like a geometric proof.  Each starts out with “The Context” where he sets the stage for what is about to be discussed.  “The Controversies” follow, first giving a brief bullet point list of the controversies discussed in the chapter, and then one by one discussing each controversy in depth.  Varney’s “Evaluation” follows, and when appropriate the professor discusses the historiography of the topic discussed.  He compares what both Grant and other historians have said against the primary records, and states his conclusions.

“General Grant and the Rewriting of History” is a stunning example of the craft of history.  Professor Varney may have changed future narrative of the Civil War, and William S. Rosecrans may at long last get credit where credit is due, for both his triumphs and his failures.

Professor Varney’s book is well and convincingly written and exhaustively written.  Though not a book for Civil War novices, students of the war will have their long held views of the war challenged by this thought provoking work.

ISBN 978-1611211184, Savas Beatie, © 2013, Hardcover, 336 Pages, Photographs, Maps, Footnotes, Appendix, Bibliography & Index. $32.95.  To Purchase the book click HERE.  

Review: Smithsonian Civil War, Inside the National Collection

Smithsonian Civil War:
Inside the National Collection

by Smithsonian Institution,
Edited by Neil Kagan,

Photography by Hugh Talman.

Established in 1846, The Smithsonian Institution has often been described as “the nation’s attic.”  Stored within its many museums and research facilities are 137 million items, the treasures of the United States.  Its facilities contain items from every era of American History, including the 1903 Wright Flier, and Archie Bunker’s chair from the television series “All in the Family.”

One Hundred Fifty years have passed since the end of the Civil War, and the Smithsonian’s collection of items related to the war began during the war and continues to grow today.  The very best of the Smithsonian’s collection has been gathered together in a lush “coffee table” book, “Smithsonian Civil War: Inside the National Collection.”

Issued to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, “Smithsonian Civil War,” contains 150 brief chapters, each dedicated to some aspect of the war, its participants, or items in the Smithsonian’s collections.  Its article by article narrative begins with the antebellum era, works its way through the war and ends with reconstruction.  It also spans the breadth of those who experienced the war, from Secessionist “Fire-Eaters,” abolitionists, The Union, the Confederacy and also African-Americans; men, women and children.

Contained within its covers are hundreds of photographs, sepia toned, black and white, and lush color photographs of the items within the institutions vast collections.  Among the items featured are a slave ship’s cargo manifest, flags of the Confederacy, soldier’s uniforms, weapons and accoutrements, camp equipage, period photographs of many of the war’s participants, letters, drawings and paintings, Major-General Phil Sheridan’s mounted horse “Winchester,” Mary Lincoln’s purple velvet dress and Varina Davis’ jewelery, Abraham Lincoln’s pocket watch and stove-pipe hat, the chairs from Wilmer McClean’s parlor in which Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee sat and the table on which Lee’s surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia was signed, the cuff from Laura Kean’s dress stained with Lincoln’s blood, the hoods that covered the faces of the men accused in the Lincoln assassination conspiracy, just to name but a few.

“Smithsonian Civil War” is a fantastic book, its contents will provide many hours of page turning pleasure for both the Civil War enthusiast, scholar and novice alike.

ISBN 978-1588343895, Smithsonian Books, © 2013, Hardcover, 368 pages, 9.7 x 1.1 x 11.3 inches, 4.4 pounds, Photographs & Illustrations, Object List & Index. $40.00.  To purchase a copy of this book click HERE.

Review: Civil War 360

Civil War 360

Ashley Judd, Trace Adkins and Dennis Haysbert lead viewers on a journey 150 years back in time to learn about America’s greatest conflict in a Smithsonian Channel three part documentary, “Civil War360,” now available on DVD.

The documentary delves deep into the archives of the Smithsonian Institution to explore the war from three differing perspectives.  Ashley Judd hosts part one of the documentary, The Union; Grammy-nominated country singer Trace Adkins follows up with the documentary’s second segment, The Confederacy; and Dennis Haysbert heads the documentary’s final installment, Fight For Freedom, which traces the African-American experience and view of the war.  Each of the documentary’s three hosts have ancestors who were greatly affected by the war. Lincoln’s Washington at War, narrated by Barry Zate, is included on the DVD as a bonus feature.

Each of the documentary’s episodes bring insights and stories of the war to life through dramatic recreations, analysis by a long list of noted Civil War historians and scholars, and the Smithsonian Institution’s vast collection of treasured artifacts (including one of Abraham Lincoln’s stove-pipe hats).

Through its varied perspectives “Civil War 360” gives its viewers a panoramic view of the war’s events and those who participated in them.  It is a terrific addition to any history lover’s video library; it is a perfect introduction to the Civil War to those who are just beginning to learn about the war; and it presents sometimes overlooked stories of the war that students of the war may want to go back and revisit.

Not Rated, Region 1, Widescreen, 1 Disc, 184 Minute Run Time.  To purchase this DVD click HERE.

Review: Of Blood and Bothers - Book Two

Of Blood and Brothers: Book Two

by E. Michael Helms

To say this is the second in a series is a little bit of a stretch.  It is, however, the second half of a single novel.  Helms frequently refers back to events from his first book with no exposition of those events.  A reader not having read the first book would not pick up on these queues nor understand their inferences.  Consequently, “Of Blood and Brothers: Book Two” is merely a continuation of the original story and not a stand-alone book.

That aside I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with the stories of the Malburn brothers.  Daniel, fighting on for the Confederates and Elijah fighting with the Union Army during the Civil War, their reunion and the fiery aftermath of the early stages of reconstruction in the South.

The war is not the only thing dividing the Malburn brothers.  The love of a woman also pits Daniel and Elijah against each other in a love triangle.  We already know that Elijah is the brother who won Annabelle “Annie” Gainer’s hand in marriage, now we find out how that happened and what the fallout from that event was.  Needless to say the Malburn’s reunion at the war’s conclusion does not bring forth only tears of joy but tears of anguish as well.

Calvin Hogue, the newspaper reporter who brings the saga of the Malburn brothers to the readers of his uncle’s newspaper, is noticeably absent during most of this book.  His interactions with the brothers and other members of the extended Malburn family were part of the driving narrative of the first book in this series.  In this second installment he only appears in the beginning of the book, to restart the story, and at the end of the book, asking what became of the rest of the family.

Taken together, the two parts of “Of Blood and Brothers” is a great retelling of the Civil War, from both sides (though Eli is not a willing volunteer for the Union Army) and shows the horrors of battle and its aftermath, as well as life in the Northern Confederate Prison Camps.  In an interesting twist to the Civil War Fiction genre, Helms demonstrates that the conditions in Northern Prison Camps was just as bad as those in the South, such as Andersonville and Libby, which are overly portrayed in Civil War fiction.

Helms’ writes in a smooth, easily read style, and the story of the Malburn brothers is a compelling page turner.  I just wish it had been published as one book instead of being split into two, as each is weaker without its other half.

ISBN 978-1938467509, Koehler Books, © 2014, Paperback, 274 pages, $17.95.  To purchase click HERE.

Review: The West Point History of the Civil War

The West Point History of the Civil War

by The United States Military Academy, Edited by
Clifford J. Rogers, Ty Siedule & Samuel J. Watson

The United States Military Academy was established at West Point, New York on March 16 1802.  The Academy, colloquially known as “West Point” has and continues to train its cadets in a rigorous four-year program for future service as officers in The United States Army.  Graduates of the academy have led soldiers into battle in every American conflict since the War of 1812, including the Civil War.

New estimates of the put the casualties of the Civil War at over 700,000, a figure more than all other American wars combined.  Officers trained at “The Point” led armies on both sides of the war, and often classmates found themselves opposing each other on opposite sides of the battlefields of the war.  Therefore it is fitting that the Academy has published “The West Point History of the Civil War.”  Published by Simon & Schuster, it is the first volume in a series “The West Point History of Warfare.”

“The West Point History of the Civil War” is a large book of 448 pages, measuring 10.9 x 8.6 x 1.6 inches, and weighing 4.2 pounds.  Its semi-glossy pages are richly illustrated with maps, photographs and illustrations highlighting the personalities, battles, and places of the Civil War era.  The book is divided into 6 chapters, each covering a period or aspect of the war and each written by some of Americas best and most prominent historians:

• Origins of the Civil War and the Contest for the Borderlands by Mark E. Neely Jr.
• The War in the East: July 1861-September 1862 by Joseph T. Glatthaar.
• Lee’s War in the East, by Joseph T. Glatthaar.
• Grant’s War in the West by Steven E. Woodworth.
• Coordinated Strategy and Hard War by Earl J. Hess.
• The End of the War and Reconstruction by James K. Hogue.

An in dept study of the war it is not, but nor does it claim to be.  It is an excellent survey of the war, its battles and its participants.  The maps alone, many of them 2 or 3 page fold-outs, are worth the price of this book, not only are they large and clear, but also include nearly 360° eyelevel panoramas of battlefield terrains as the participants would have seen them 150 years ago.

In addition to the text short thumbnail biographies of the war’s most notable participants are peppered throughout the book, and not only include their birth and death dates, but also when applicable the class in which they graduated from the Academy.

The books thick semi-glossy pages are a perfect format for duplicating the maps, photographs and works of art featured between its covers.  It is a thoroughly beautiful book, and would be completely enjoyable just to thumb through on a rainy day and peruse its many gorgeous illustrations.

“The West Point History of the Civil War” is a fantastic book, and would be an excellent addition to any history lover’s library.  It serves as a great introduction to the Civil War for novices, and I think even heavily read students of the Civil War would take something away from it.

ISBN 978-1476782621, Simon & Schuster, © 2014, Hardcover, 448 pages, 10.9 x 8.6 x 1.6 inches, Maps, Photographs, Illustrations, End Notes & Index. $55.00.  To purchase this book click HERE.

Review: The Ones They Left Behind

The Ones they Left Behind

By Antonio Elmaleh

Harriman Hickenlooper, a veteran of the 6th Iowa Infantry, came back from what some would call “The War of the Rebellion” and what others later would call the “War Between the States” with an unkept promise, a score to settle and a debt to repay.  His parents who had taken out a mortgage on the family farm had both died during the war; his brother Alonzo would also die in the war in Harriman’s arms.  It has been two years since Harriman had returned home.  The Appanoose County farmer was heavily in debt, behind on the mortgage payments and struggling to keep up the family farm all on his own.

Walter Ridley, formerly the Colonel of the 6th Iowa Infantry and now after the war was on the board of directors of the “Farmer’s and Merchant’s Bank,” Centerville, Iowa’s only bank, which held the note on the Hickenlooper farm.  In a move to avoid the embarrassment to bank foreclosing on one of Appanoose County’s war veterans, Ridley, bought the loan from the bank.

At a meeting of Centerville’s veterans, Harriman proposes a bet between he and Colonel Ridley; that Harriman could walk from Atlanta to Savannah, following the path taken by the 6th Iowa during William T. Sherman’s March to the Sea, unarmed, while carrying a United States flag, and return to Centerville unharmed by January 1, 1868 (giving Harriman 44 to complete the fete) with tangible proof of his journey.  If he makes it back by New Year’s Day he will get his farm free and clear, if he doesn’t Ridley will get the farm.

Seventeen year old Rufus Dewes, a young man wanting desperately to become a newspaper reporter, instantly senses Harriman’s journey would make a great story, and convinces Harriman to let him tag along on the journey.  Rufus periodically sends back dispatches to Jack Connolly, editor of Centerville’s newspaper, The Loyal Citizen, in which they are published.  The articles are quickly picked up by other newspapers across the country, and Harriman’s journey becomes a nationwide sensation as people clamor for details and wonder whether or not he will make it back in time, or even make it back at all.

Along the their journey Harriman and Rufus are joined by a former slave named Jed, emancipated in name only, until the timely arrival of the Northerners, and Lucinda McWhorter, a young Georgia woman left destitute by the misfortunes of war.  Will the quartet make it alive to Savannah?  And if they do will Harriman make it back to Centerville in time to save his farm?  And who are “The Ones They Left Behind?”  You will have to read the book to find out for yourself.

Iowa and family connections added to my experience of reading this book.  Being a native of south-central Iowa, I was greatly surprised to pick up Mr. Elmaleh’s book, and realize it was partially set in Centerville, a real town in Iowa, and county seat of Appanoose County.  My great Grandmother, Mary Alice Byrd Luce, is buried in Jerome, a small town just a few miles west of Centerville, so I am familiar with the area.  Centerville and the 6th Iowa Infantry are the only real things in this book; the bank, the newspaper, the townspeople, and the members of the 6th Iowa Infantry are all fictional creations of the author.  My father’s uncle, Lowell Miller, a medic during the Korean War, was killed in action and died in his brother’s arms, which reflected the story of Harriman and Alonzo, and gave to me an extra sense of poignancy to the story.  And further my great great grandfather’s name was Alonzo Luce, and three of his brothers served in the Union Army during the Civil War, all of them, however were in different units and did not serve together.  I also have several other relatives who participated in the march to Savannah.

Mr. Elmaleh states he based his novel on a newspaper article about a real Civil War Veteran who retraced Sherman’s route from Atlanta to Savannah, but he does not reveal any details of the actual historical event.  “The Ones They Left Behind” is well written and engaging.  It is a quickly read page turner that I found myself unable to put down.

ISBN 978-0990640622, 21 Cent Imprints Llc, © 2014, Hardcover, 260 pages, $19.95.  To purchase click HERE.

Review: Embattled Rebel

Embattled Rebel:

Jefferson Davis as Commander in Chief

by James M. McPherson

Thousands of books have been written about Abraham Lincoln, but comparatively few have been written about his Confederate counterpart Jefferson Davis.  Davis and his role in the American Civil War will never get the same attention as Lincoln, but he does deserve much more shelf space in the library of Civil War literature that he has been given.

Professor James M. McPherson, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his book “The Battle Cry of Freedom,” has added a volume to the shelf of books about Jefferson Davis with “Embattled Rebel: Jefferson Davis as Commander in Chief.”

Davis, when compared to Lincoln, is very nearly eclipsed by him.  To his credit, Professor McPherson explains in his introduction to “Embattled Rebel” that comparing Jefferson Davis to Abraham Lincoln is like comparing apples to oranges; they both had different challenges and different resources and personnel to deal with them; therefore he has intentionally resisted the temptation to compare the two Commanders in Chief.

“Embattled Rebel” is not a biography of Jefferson Davis, nor was it intended to be.  It is rather a chronological narrative of his role as Commander in Chief of the Confederate Army during the Civil War, and that is the entirety of its primary focus.  Very little biographical information is discussed, nor is the politics of the Confederate government greatly discussed by the professor.

McPherson gives a somewhat sympathetic view of Jefferson Davis, pointing out that many of his health issues may have contributed to his mediocre performance as the Confederacy’s Commander in Chief.  That being said, McPherson is completely forthcoming that his relationships with the generals he commanded was lackluster at best.  If his playing of favorites with some of his generals and displaying outright hostility to others did not lead to the failure of the Confederacy to gain its independence, it surely did not help it.

Davis’ insistence on micromanaging all aspects of the war, as well his refusal to delegate authority, as Professor McPherson also points out, negatively impacted his health, therefore inflaming his unstable temperament.

Some discussion is given to Davis’ strategy of a total defense of all of the Confederacy’s territory, thereby spreading out and weakening the Confederacy’s military forces, as opposed to a concentration of the Confederacy’s military, as opposed to a Fabian strategy of yielding territory to the enemy army, luring it in until it is vulnerable to be attacked and defeated.  The strategy of an offensive defense is also discussed by Professor McPherson, including Lee’s two northward attacks at Antietam and Gettysburg, drawing the Federal Army away from the South and into the North.

“Embattled Rebel” is a fast read, well written in an easily read style.  It is adequately researched, and cover’s its topic well enough.  No new information appears between its covers, but Professor McPherson’s views are insightful.  Well schooled students of the Civil War might find this book a bit of a rehash, but it is an excellent place to start for those who may not know much about Jefferson Davis and the role he played during the war.

ISBN 978-1594204975, The Penguin Press HC, © 2014, Hardcover, 320 pages, Photographs & Maps, End Notes & Index. $32.95.  To purchase this book click HERE.

Review: The Medal of Honor

The Medal of Honor:
A History of Service Above and Beyond

by The Editors of Boston Publishing Company

The Medal of Honor is the United States’ highest military honor.  It is awarded by the President of the United States in the name of the United States Congress to U. S. military personnel for personal acts of valor above and beyond the call of duty.

Since its creation in 1861 the Medal of Honor has been awarded to nearly 3,500 men and 1 woman, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, from the Civil War to the present. “The Medal of Honor: A History of Service Above and Beyond” from The Editors of Boston Publishing Company and published by Zenith Press is a gorgeous book detailing the history of the medal and the persons to whom it has been bestowed upon.  It is a history told in deeds, of self-sacrifice and acts of valor, for which of the Medal of Honor has been awarded.

The book has been divided into seven chapters; one for each period of active conflict involving the United States Military, beginning with the Civil War and traveling through The Indian Campaigns, the Wars of American Expansion (Korea and China in 1871 & 1900, Latin America 1898-1933 and the Philippines and Samoa 1899-1913, and encapsulating the Spanish-American War), World War I, World War II, and the Cold War (the Wars of Korea and Vietnam).  The final Chapter titled “new Enemies, New Conflicts, covers the Persian Gulf War, The Iraq War and the Afghanistan War.

Each chapter begins with a brief historical overview of its assigned era and sets the stage for the following stories of unreluctant heroism in the face of mortal danger, of men reluctant to call themselves heroes: of such men as Second Lieutenant Edward M. Knox who rushed his cannon ahead of the Union Lines during the 2nd day of fighting during the Battle of Gettysburg; Sergeant Benjamin Crisswell who recovered the body of Lieutenant Hodgson from the banks of The Little Big Horn River; Lieutenant Richmond P. Hobson who guided the USS Merrimac into Santiago Harbor under heavy Spanish fire before He and his crew were captured and held as prisoners of war; Marine Gunnery Sergeant Earnest A. Janson who received two Medals of Honor under two different names; Major John Jerstad who volunteered for the Ploieşti raid even though he had flown enough missions to be eligible to return home; Private First Class Joseph R Ouellette who braved enemy fire to retrieve ammunition; Sergeant Alfredo Gonzalez, Company A, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines who was killed in the fight to retake Hue; Master-at-Arms Michael A. Monsoor and Pfc. Ross A. McGinnis who both jumped on grenades to save the lives of their fellow soldiers; and Lieutenant Michael Murphy who was killed trying to save his fellow SEALs while fighting in Afghanistan.  These are but a few of the deeds of heroism featured in “The Medal of Honor.”

The Medal is often awarded posthumously, and those who have lived to wear it say it is much harder to wear than to earn.

In a final tribute to those who have been awarded the Medal of Honor, “The Medal of Honor: A History of Service Above and Beyond,” concludes with a Register of the Recipients of the Medal of Honor from 1861 to June 2014.

The Editors of Boston Publishing Company and Zenith Press have produced an impressive book. “The Medal of Honor” is contains 70 color and 218 black and white photographs and illustrations.  It is a book that they should be justifiably proud of authoring and publishing.

ISBN 978-0760346242, Zenith Press; New Edition, © 2014, Hardcover, 11.2 x 9.5 x 1 inches, 304 pages, Maps, Photographs & Illustrations, Appendix: Register of Recipients, Bibliography, Photo Credits & Index. $40.00.  To purchase this book click HERE.