Review by April Harris
Review by John Scales
Review by Ed Kennedy
Review by Arley McCormick
Review by Arley McCormick
Review by Ed Kennedy
Review by Arley McCormick
The Last Words: The Farewell Addresses of Union and Confederate Commanders To Their Men At The End of the War Between The States, Michael R. Bradley, Charleston Athenaeum Press, July 2022, 350 pages. A Tennessee Valley Civil War Round Table Review by Ed Kennedy.
Dr. Bradley continues to produce outstanding books on the War Between the States. This is another in a series of superlative works and serves a number of purposes. While many commanders of note on both sides gave farewell addresses, only a few survived in written form. As is pointed-out in the book, the demobilization of the armies, particularly the Confederate Army in short order after the end of hostilities, meant that many men were dispersed without hearing their commanders farewell them. In the rush to demobilize, not many thought to record the addresses to the men, especially if the commanders spoke extemporaneously. That said, locating extant copies of farewells is limited to key commanders whose words were recorded for posterity. This book gives the addresses of seventeen commanders. Nine are US and eight are CS commanders.
What the commanders on both sides almost unanimously do is thank their soldiers for their service. A common theme is recounting the mutual hardships experienced and wishing the soldiers well in their future endeavors. What is not discussed are politics. In fact, LtGen Nathan Forrest encourages his soldiers to bury their animosities and become good citizens of the reunited country in order to engender “magnanimous” treatment. Of course this was written prior to the institution of “Reconstruction” by the radical Republicans. MajGen George Meade wrote of “devotion to…country, …patience and cheerfulness under all the privations and sacrifices”. Additionally, he spoke of why the war was fought —- and it was not about slavery. In fact, only one US commander even mentioned slavery. None of the Confederates mentioned it as a reason for fighting. The common theme with the US commanders was that the war was about “union”.MajGen Hoke (CS) spoke of fighting to rid the South of centralized, federal power. This was not uncommon. The reasons the soldiers fought were largely divorced from the political reasons of the war however.
Each commanders’ address is given with an analysis by Dr. Bradley. The seventeen authors of the addresses are discussed with a brief overview of their military service and the perspective from which they wrote their farewells. “The Epilogue: Why did they fight?” is an articulate and short discussion on why the soldiers themselves say they fought. This goes hand-in-hand with Dr. James McPherson’s findings in his extensive study recorded in “For Cause and Comrade”. McPherson reiterates that for the Northerners it was “union”. For the Southerners, he said it was “liberty”. Bradley largely reinforces this finding by McPherson. Appendices add pertinent context information about the six Union slave states and the ordinances of secession for Arkansas and Alabama with short extracts of each.
This is an exemplary book that not only informs but gives basis for more detailed study for true students of the war. It is a great resource. I always contend there is more to learn, even for those of us who have studied this topic for years. Dr. Bradley shows again that his work adds significantly to our body of knowledge of the war and we owe him a debt of gratitude for continuing to publish scholarly studies such as “The Last Words”.
Tennessee Valley Civil War Round Table (TVCWRT) review by Former President of the TVCWRT; Ed Kennedy, Jr.
Dr. Bradley continues to produce outstanding books on the War Between the States. This is another in a series of superlative works and serves a number of purposes. While many commanders of note on both sides gave farewell addresses, only a few survived in written form. As is pointed-out in the book, the demobilization of the armies, particularly the Confederate Army in short order after the end of hostilities, meant that many men were dispersed without hearing their commanders farewell them. In the rush to demobilize, not many thought to record the addresses to the men, especially if the commanders spoke extemporaneously. That said, locating extant copies of farewells is limited to key commanders whose words were recorded for posterity. This book gives the addresses of seventeen commanders. Nine are US and eight are CS commanders.
What the commanders on both sides almost unanimously do is thank their soldiers for their service. A common theme is recounting the mutual hardships experienced and wishing the soldiers well in their future endeavors. What is not discussed are politics. In fact, LtGen Nathan Forrest encourages his soldiers to bury their animosities and become good citizens of the reunited country in order to engender “magnanimous” treatment. Of course, this was written prior to the institution of “Reconstruction” by the radical Republicans. MajGen George Meade wrote of “devotion to…country …patience and cheerfulness under all the privations and sacrifices”. Additionally, he spoke of why the war was fought —- and it was not about slavery. In fact, only one US commander even mentioned slavery. None of the Confederates mentioned it as a reason for fighting. The common theme with the US commanders was that the war was about “union”. MajGen Hoke (CS) spoke of fighting to rid the South of centralized, federal power. This was not uncommon. The reasons the soldiers fought were largely divorced from the political reasons of the war however.
Each commander’s address is given with an analysis by Dr. Bradley. The seventeen authors of the addresses are discussed with a brief overview of their military service and the perspective from which they wrote their farewells. “The Epilogue: Why did they fight?” is an articulate and short discussion on why the soldiers themselves say they fought. This goes hand-in-hand with Dr. James McPherson’s findings in his extensive study recorded in “For Cause and Comrade”. McPherson reiterates that for the Northerners it was “union”. For the Southerners, he said it was “liberty”. Bradley largely reinforces this finding by McPherson. Appendices add pertinent context information about the six Union slave states and the ordinances of secession for Arkansas and Alabama with short extracts of each.
This is an exemplary book that not only informs but gives basis for more detailed study for true students of the war. It is a great resource. I always contend there is more to learn, even for those of us who have studied this topic for years. Dr. Bradley shows again that his work adds significantly to our body of knowledge of the war and we owe him a debt of gratitude for continuing to publish scholarly studies such as “The Last Words”.
Hearts Torn Asunder, Trauma in the Civil War’s Final Campaign in North Carolina
By Ernest A. Dollar, Jr. Savas Beatie Publishing, 2022, 264 pages
a Tennessee Valley Civil War Roundtable Review
by Robert Hennessee
This book recounts the events of the Civil War’s final days and focuses attention to the suffering it caused the impacted civilians and soldiers of both armies. It was well researched providing pages of footnotes citing its sources.
Gen. Sherman’s final campaign into North Carolina began shortly after Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox. Because of that, civilians had to guard against not only Sherman’s army, but alsofrom plundering by surrendered Confederates returning from Virginia along with atrocities committed by Union soldiers that went beyond Sherman’s concept of total war.
It provides examples of soldiers who suffered from what is now called Past Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) and the addictions, alcoholism and mental illness suffered by soldiers, civilians and former slaves in the war’s aftermath, citing the creation of asylums and their overcrowding after the war.
The book starts by citing an incident during the surrender of Raleigh, NC. Some of Confederate Gen. Wheeler’s cavalry (referred to as the “Debris of the Confederacy”) were looting a jewelry store. The former governor, who was present to surrender Raleigh to Union Gen. Fitzpatrick, warned them to leave because Union troops were approaching. One man stayed and fired into the Union column. He was captured and questioned by Gen Fitzpatrick, who he told he did it because he, “Hated the Yankees.” When Fitzpatrick sentenced him to be hung, he replied, “Kind of you sir.”; then laughed maniacally until his neck broke from the hanging.
I found the book fascinating and well written and easy to read. Rate it as 3 on the scale of 5. Maybe it deserves to be rated higher, but its focus on suffering and mental illness prevented it from being enjoyable to read.
If the subject of PTSD from the Civil War interests you, another book on that topic is “Mental Illness and Civil War Soldiers” by Dillon J. Carroll.
The Summer of ’63: Vicksburg & Tullahoma Favorite Stories and Fresh Perspectives from the Historians at Emerging Civil War, by Chris Mackowski and Dan Welch, Savas Beattie, 2022, 288 pages, A Tennessee Valley Civil War Round Table review by Arley McCormick.
This is another book in the Emerging Civil War series created by Savas Beatie. At first glance it is a curious link between two different campaigns; Vicksburg, a campaign that clearly employed deception, maneuver and siege and, Tullahoma, one army, more or less chasing the other. Vicksburg, a strategic objective, that when taken, would divide the Confederacy and the Tullahoma operation, focused on destroying a Confederate army and ridding Tennessee of a belligerent foe.
On a curious note; Tullahoma is not recognized by the U.S. Army as a campaign and there is no Tullahoma campaign ribbon on its flag staff, but the authors are in good company because many creditable Civil War historians refer to Tullahoma as a campaign.
Many pages are devoted to Vicksburg and include compelling narratives regarding the controversial topics and relationships between General Grant and Admiral Porter, Grant’s disfavor with General McClernand, General Sherman’s feints, Colonel Grierson’s raid, and a key battles leading to the siege and capture of Vicksburg.
It should not be unexpected that the majority of the book is devoted to Vicksburg and it is not a distracter. There are 13 points of interest at Vicksburg described and many are supported by the narrative of the Campaign and the narrative adequately describes the execution of General Grant’s operations and the Confederate response.
The portion of the book devoted to the Tullahoma may be smaller and less dramatic but understanding the terrain features that logically drove General Rosecran’s operations plan and the fights at Hoover and Liberty Gaps, a cavalry engagement at Shelbyville, and smaller actions at river crossings; one of which occurred on the banks of the Elk River resulting Medal of Honor awards for a large number of infantrymen, certainly provides an understanding of the impact the tactical conditions.
The drama of the Tullahoma operation is focused on General Braxton Bragg who is already suffering from bad press in the South, mixed with, often unsolicited advice from his subordinates, and untethered contempt for his leadership.
The authors cannot escape comparing the significance and impact of the Union victories at Vicksburg, Gettysburg, and Tullahoma. One defeated a small Confederate Army and influenced a change in the Union Army leadership of the very top. One repelled a large Confederate Army’s northern invasion with massive casualties and solidified a Union Army leadership team that would be, for the most part, sustained for the remainder of the war, and one chased a large Confederate Army from Tennessee yet the Union Commander was replaced.
1863 was a decisive year in the fight to save the Union and this particular book illustrates how it impacted the Western Theater. It is worthy of a good easy read and, as is often the case, a useful companion if your journeys take you to the terrain cited in the narrative.
