Tennessee Valley Civil War Round Table

Victors in Blue – How Union Generals Fought the Confederates, Battled Each Other, and Won the Civil War

By Albert Castel with Brooks D. Simpson

(Lawrence:  University Press of Kansas, 2011), 362 pages.

Reviewed by Emil Posey, Tennessee Valley Civil War Round Table

This is a book about the maturation of senior Union leadership and how, despite themselves, they managed to win the war.  At times it seemed like the Union raised incompetence to an art form – Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville come immediately to mind – but to be fair, when the Civil War started, both sides had to learn their trade at the larger organizational level (divisions, corps, and armies).  Many key leaders, north and south, were West Point cadets, and most of them had gained some experience in large unit maneuver warfare in the War with Mexico.  Still, the Union’s learning curve seemed to be shallower, at least as compared to its Confederate counterparts’, and that climb to competence was made against a backdrop of egos, animosities, rivalries, and ambitions.  And therein lays the tale Albert Castel and Brooks Simpson tell – “the war within a war that occurred among the top Union generals and how it affected their conduct of military operations.”

This is not a detailed description of the ebb and flow of the war per se.  As the authors point out (pg.195), “…the primary purpose of this book is not narration but interpretation designed to demonstrate why certain battles or campaigns were decisive in determining the outcome of the Civil War and thus the status, then and afterward, of the Northern generals who won them or in some cases lost them.”  It does walk us through chronologically the major campaigns of the war in both the Eastern and Western theaters, but the central theme is the interplay of relationships among senior Union leaders.

There is much here to intrigue Civil War enthusiasts, particularly those (like me) that have less-than-expert knowledge of the war.  The cast of characters was selected on the basis of their contribution to various key Union victories.  Discussion then revolves around four more criteria:  (1) why he won that battle or campaign (and this can cover a lot of ground, from superior skill on his part, to brilliant feats of arms of his subordinate generals, to sheer chance), (2) what his objectives were and how he set about realizing them, (3) the degree to which he accomplished as much as could be reasonably expected under the circumstances, and (4) if not, what he could and should have done on the basis of information available to him at the time, and why he did not do it.  The descriptions of the battles and campaigns are sufficient to put into context the broader discussion of these criteria.

With those criteria, Castel and Brooks have a wide catch.  They start with William Starke Rosecrans (and McClellan) and in western Virginia and the Battle of Rich Mountain, which resulted in Robert E. Lee’s failure in his first field command (at least in terms of keeping Virginia whole).  They follow this with Henry Wager Halleck and Ulysses Grant.  Given Halleck’s position and stature within Union political circles and his disfavor of Grant, it was no minor feat for Grant to persevere to the levels of command that he eventually reached.  This interplay alone is worth the price of the book, but they don’t stop there.  They go on to discuss William T. Sherman, George B. McClellan, Rosecrans again (actually he makes several appearances), John S. Schofield, George H. Thomas, and Phil Sheridan.  There are other players in this story – Joseph Hooker, John Pope, Fitz John Porter, among others – but they are in supporting roles.  Depending upon one’s predilections, you might be disappointed at some of these being included and other not, but the plate is full enough.

This is an even-handed and substantive discussion of these Union leaders and the interpersonal relationships that affected their careers.  There are a couple of downsides to the book.  One is maps.  They include maps of each major campaign, but the detail is somewhat lacking and, I have confess, there are never enough maps and never enough detail for me.  I also noted a spate of editorial mistakes clumped together towards the middle of the book.  These were not typos, but factual statements that are incorrect:  Cashtown, Pennsylvania is not east of Gettysburg (it’s about eight miles northwest), Reynold’s I Corps (being led by Abner Doubleday following Reynold’s death) did not deploy east of Gettysburg while in the process of relieve Buford’s troopers on Seminary Ridge, Milliken’s Bend is not northeast of Vicksburg (it’s northwest-to-north), and Porter’s gunboats attacked Grand Gulf on April 29, not May 29.  These are not horrendous in themselves, but they do beg the question of how many others escaped my notice.

The biggest let down, though, was the Epilogue, The Victors in Blue – Who and Why.  It is all too short.  It doesn’t bring the story together.  It isn’t climatic.  It adds little if anything to the main body.

Still, this is a valuable read (and easily read) with its focus on leaders more than events.  For novices and intermediates, it’s a great overview of the war.  For those more knowledgeable, even for you it should be well worth your time

This is a volume in the Modern War Studies, a broad series published by University Press of Kansas.  Castel is an accomplished Civil War historian and author, with a long list of books to his credit: books about Bloody Bill Anderson, Nathan Bedford Forrest, Sterling Price, William Quantrill,  Civil War Kansas, the Atlanta Campaign, and The Army of Tennessee, to name a few.  Brooks has contributed to several books as well, on such topics as the first year of the civil war, Gettysburg, Chattanooga and Shiloh, and authored two books on Grant, among others.

Revolutionaries and Rebels; the Story of an American Family’s Fight for Freedom

by Jerry Barksdale

The long standing rules of literature define the book as a novel but it’s about history, family, the struggle to separate from Britain, and the fight for Southern independence. The story is told through the cautious eye of an author educated in law and, thriving on the details that separate each generation from the other and define the courage of an American family.

Jerry Barksdale, a member of our Round Table, weaves a tale through the experience of his forefathers; capturing, and amplifying the causes of the initial rebellion from England and all the antagonist views that separated farmer from slave holder, poor mountain people from land barons, and pulled communities in North Alabama together and apart. The book is also a study of the politics of the nation and the region; and the dramatic action that caused many southerners to pick up the sword and fight for their family and homes. There is hardly a battle or skirmish that is not touched upon in some fashion. It is a history of the United States in 498 pages.

For student of war that enjoy the drama of battle, the author provides details through the eyes and the actions of his characters resulting in perspective on hunger, personal tragedy, silent victory over fear, and perseverance in a Union prison. It is easy to become engrossed in the dialogue of all his characters yet feel the passion of a diary or letter describing a special event or incident.  He makes the space to insure each place and description is illustrated within the greater perspective of war.

If you want to lean back and learn about American history and North Alabama the fun and easy way, this narrative of history as a novel brings life to events like few others.  Jerry Barksdale and other authors will be selling books at our book sale on May 8.

The reviewer: Arley McCormick is the Newsletter Editor for the Tennessee Valley Civil War Round Table, a former soldier, consultant, and operations and training analyst. He contributed articles to the Military Review, published by the Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, KS and is the author of numerous reports on the operations of the United States Army Europe.

From Paradise to Hell

 by Marjorie Ann Reeves

Reviewed by Rosemary Miller

This book is written in a journal style by the main character Rose and begins in April of 1844 and ends in May 1891. There are also several chapters throughout the book written by Rose’s daughter.  This book describes her happy life as a young southern lady, a wife and then a mother.  The difficult times arrive as the Civil War turns her life upside down.  Her writings give a through view of life during this period in our history.

This historical fiction book takes place in north Alabama where Rose, is anxious about her upcoming marriage to Nathan Flower. I immediately felt a connected to this book when I read the main character’s name was Rose.  She was described as a tall young lady at the beginning of the story, another personal association.  Rose is an educated southern lady who is very interested in current events.  Throughout the book she stays connected to politics and the changing events happening around the country by reading whatever newspapers she can get her hands on.  While reading these newspapers she fills the pages of her journal with many historical facts.

This book would be a good introduction for someone wanting to get an overview of family life during the mid and late eighteen hundreds.  I enjoyed reading Rose’s journal.  It kept my interest throughout her story to hear how she would take on all of life’s challenges and her survival during those difficult times.

“I begin to fear the enemy will not attack us. We shall therefore have to attack him.”  Robert E. Lee; 30 September, 1861, Letter to John B. Floyd.

Robert E. Lee in War and Peace: the Photographic History of a Confederate and American Icon

by Dr. Donald A. Hopkins 

Reviewed by TVCWRT Member John Mason

Donald A. Hopkins, a surgeon who resides in Gulfport, Mississippi, has enjoyed a lifelong fascination with American Civil War and Southern history and has now developed a recent interest in photographic history, particularly those photographs concerning Gen. Robert E. Lee.  This is his first offering on this subject, although he previously published The Little Jeff: the Jeff Davis Legion, Cavalry, Army of Northern Virginia, for which he received the United Daughters of the Confederacy’s Jefferson Davis historical gold-medal.  He has also published numerous articles on a number of medical as well as Civil War subjects.

   Robert E Lee in War and Peace is a story within a story.  First, it is a meticulously researched work that isolates and presents all of the 61 known “from life” photographs of the General still in existence.  In so doing, Hopkins provides for both the historian and the collector with a veritable trove of information on when, where, and by whom these photographs were taken, along with the means to differentiate the actual “from life” pictures from the numerous copies made since.  Second, it provides an in-depth history of the processes of photography.  As Hopkins says, “Lee’s lifetime (1807 to 1870) spanned the period from the early development of the photographic image to the dawn of modern photography.” ¹Beginning with daguerreotypes, which were used for Lee’s first two “from life” images, he goes on to trace the history of 19th century photography and photographers.

Daguerreotypes were developed in France in 1839.  The first two known images of Lee were made this way, one around 1845 with his son (although many argue that this photo is actually Lee’s brother Sydney and his son Fitzhugh.  The family resemblance IS astonishing.)  The second picture was taken around September, 1852, perhaps in Baltimore (but equally as possible in Alexandria, Washington, New York, or even West Point), at about the time he was appointed Superintendent of the United States Military Academy.  As with the location, the exact identity of the photographer(s) is(are) also in question.

By the start of the Civil War, daguerreotypes had begun to be replaced by new and improved photographic process employing the use of negatives.  These were called either ambrotypes or tintypes, depending on whether the images were fixed respectively on glass or tin.  There are no known ambrotypes of Lee made “from life”, but there are two tintypes.

Dr. Hopkins proceeds to provide detailed information on all the various types of pictures

1. Hopkins, Robert E. Lee in War and Peace, p. xii. available during this period be they collodion, Carte de Visites, or stereographic images.  He also traces all of the photographers that worked with Lee, providing brief biographical sketches of each one, the addresses and locations of their offices, and much other information that would help the collector or historian differentiate as to who took what picture when.  His detailed examinations of the various photographs are astounding, pointing out the smallest variations in the photos themselves, down even to the angle of Lee’s bow tie.  But this attention to detail is what makes this work so important.  It is just these small differences that can make the difference in determining time and place.  Is it real or is it Memorex?

Every chapter (there are 15 including six appendices) is replete with photographs of General Lee, ordered chronologically, as he advances throughout his life.  Most are military in nature, taken at different times during the war.  But there are also a fair number taken after the war up until the time of Lee’s death.  Here they are, all 61 of the “from life” originals, as well as numerous examples of the various copies other photographers made from them at later dates, be they authorized or not.  Many of the pictures include the back marks and logos of the photographers (identifying marks) and even the custom stamps applied by the states were the pictures were taken.  The information thus presented is invaluable.

While there are several other books on this subject available (Roy Meredith’s Lee in Life and in Legend, Eicher’s Robert E Lee: a Life Portrait, and Emery Thomas’ Album), Dr. Hopkins’ Lee in War and Peace is the only work that provides a complete cover of the subject at hand.  The reader comes away not only being able to recognize the real pictures from all the copies but he/she also gains a rather intimate knowledge of the photographers and photographic techniques involved, as well as the various styles of photographs that were prepared for public consumption.  There is indeed a lot of worthwhile history to be found within these pages, whatever your interest might be.

As with any work of this sort, they are always going to be some discrepancies among the experts concerning some of the subject matter.  A good example found here is of the early photo in which Dr. Hopkins maintains his Lee and his son Custis.   The prevailing opinion is that this picture is actually of Sydney Lee in his son Fitzhugh.  Dr. Hopkins does not hide from these discussions, where they occur, but goes out of his way to fairly present both sides of the argument while providing all the evidence he used to reach his own opinion.  In the end, it is up to the reader to decide with which opinion he agrees, but should that not always be the case?  Critical thinking, after all, is essential to the historian.

Dr. Hopkins intended Lee in War and Peace to be the definitive work on the photographic history of the great General.  It was obviously a labor of love.  The pictures are magnificent, the research impeccable.  The prose is light, the chapters short and concise, and the documentation thorough.  But more importantly, the information one gains on the era itself, General Lee, photography in general, and the important ability to distinguish “from life” images from copies is invaluable.  This work is eminently readable, and will be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in either history or photography.

Your reviewer is TVCWRT member John Mason. For most of his adult life he was a contracting specialist with the U.S. Government.  Now happily retired, he spends his time in Huntsville, Alabama studying the American Civil War, particularly as it relates to the state of Alabama.  Heroes Afloat:  Federal Medal of Honor Winners at the Battle of Mobile Bay is his first book length work after publication of several works in various historical magazines.  He enjoys researching the historical niche of the Medal of Honor, and is currently working on a companion work centered on the Vicksburg campaign.  When not researching his favorite pastime, he likes to spend time reading, computer gaming, walking, and playing a really bad game of golf.  John has lived in Huntsville since 1987 with his two sons, Derek and Jared.

The Railroads of the Confederacy

Robert C. Black III

(Chapel Hill, The University of North Carolina Press, 1952), 360 pages.

Reviewed by Emil Posey, Tennessee Valley Civil War Round Table

I became interested in this book on the recommendation of Greg Biggs during our field October 2011 field trip to trace General Sherman’s Atlanta campaign (Part 1, up to Kennesaw Mountain).  Greg was talking about Southern railroads and their different gauges, and pointed out that Robert Black’s book has a nifty fold-out map in the back that depicts these.  And indeed, it does.

The War of Southern Secession was considered the first modern war, one indicator being the widespread use of railroads for strategic and operational maneuver as well as logistical support, so I was fascinated at the idea of the differing gauges and the problems that would cause.  Napoleon said an army marches on its stomach.  More contemporarily, it is said, “Amateurs study tactics; professionals study logistics.”  Be that as it may, the importance of railroads and their contribution to the Southern war effort was a topic ripe for deeper inquiry.

For depth on the subject, this book fits the bill.  It opens with a tour of Southern railroads – where they were, how they operated, and who operated them.  Aspect by aspect, state by state, it is a comparison of rail lines and companies, personalities civilian and military, as well as successes and failures.   It describes in great detail how keeping Confederate railroads operational was a struggle within a struggle – growing scarcity of parts due to blockade, limited sources internally and overseas – all had telling effect, which Robert Black captures in abundant detail.  He covers technical details of tracks, locomotives, and rolling stock; ownership and corporate structures; personalities; conflicts and cooperation between the various railroad companies, the Confederate government, and the Confederate military; way bills and passenger fares; capacities and capabilities; corporate economies and struggles; and the list goes on.

The large fold-out map in the back of the book is outstanding, but it isn’t alone.  Robert Black filled the books with outstanding rail line maps to cover every sector of the South as he worked his way through them geographically and chronologically.  He also has period photos, drawings and facsimiles of various locomotives, personalities, documents, and other aspects of the history.

It is interesting to see how the Confederacy, with no experience with railroads in time of war, grappled with and learned to use them – never fully efficiently, I might add.  The Confederate war effort needed the railroads, but as commercial business enterprises, the war crushed the railroads.  He details the deterioration of capabilities, railroad by railroad, due to steady depletion of engines and rolling stock, rails, repair facilities, wood (for fuel) and other commodities needed for operation of the trains, and, most especially as the war wore on, trained personnel to run and service the locomotives, rolling stock, rail lines, and rail yards.

Moreover, there was continuing and escalating friction within and between the Confederate military and the railroad companies as the war progressed.  The friction extended to the various states and the central government in Richmond.  Ironically, the philosophical core of the Confederacy – independence of the states – got in the way of the efficient operation of the railroads and their collective contribution to the Southern war effort.  Surprisingly (to me, at least), the Confederacy not only never nationalized the railroads, it never developed and implemented an efficient nationwide rail management system in cooperation with the States.  The Confederate Army stepped up and struggled with the problem, but its efforts were just as disjointed between the various military departments and major commands.

Nonetheless, the railroads of the Confederacy played a critical role in the conduct of the war.  Mr. Black describes the central importance of Corinth, Mississippi in the Western Theater, and how it led to Shiloh and subsequent movements in northern Mississippi and Alabama as operations shifted towards Chattanooga.  While he doesn’t go into great detail, leaving that to other, more specific histories, he does provide overviews of the various strategic movements such as the movement of Johnston’s army to join Beauregard’s at First Manassas, connecting Jackson’s Valley Campaign to the Peninsula operations, the movement of Bragg’s army from Mississippi to Chattanooga, and Longstreet’s corps from Richmond to Chickamauga, among others.  And, of course, he touches on the Great Locomotive Chase.  Again, these are at summary level, but nonetheless effectively demonstrate the importance of rail movements.

As I worked my way through the book, I was struck once again by the enormity of the economic and social dislocation and harm wrought on the South by the war, and the numbing magnitude of rebuilding and renovation that lay before them once the war ended.  Surprisingly, the railroads rebounded rather quickly.  Their importance for rebuilding the South was recognized and leveraged.

Robert Black was a Trinity College history professor (1950-1967), author, and longtime railroad buff.  He died February 5, 2011. According to his obituary in the Hartford Courant (Connecticut), he became fascinated by railroads when he received a set of toy trains from his grandmother when he was 3. After graduating from the Taft School in Watertown and Williams College in Massachusetts, Black pursued his passion by landing a job as a freight clerk for the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad.  That passion led to Railroads of the Confederacy.

In sum, this is an outstanding book.  It provides an in-depth look at a strategic Confederate resource and, in the process, gives insight to the strengths and weaknesses of the Confederacy itself.  Despite the detail, it is an easy and fun read.  At 360 pages, including Index, it overflows with information critical to understanding how the Confederacy prosecuted the war.

And by the way, if you read this book and want still more detail, try http://www.csa-railroads.com/.  If the book and the website don’t do it for you, your next step is probably professional therapy!  In the meantime, get your hands on this book, and enjoy!

The Petersburg Campaign, volume II: The Western Front Battles (September 1864-April 1865)

Authors, Edwin C. Bears and William Wyrick. Editor Bryce A. Suderow

Book Review by David Lady

I’ve been waiting over a year for this second volume to be released by Savas Beatie Press, and am glad to report that this book is worth the wait! Author and researcher Bryce Suderow has completed one of Ed Bearss’ most important projects, completing histories of every major battle of the nine-month long Petersburg Campaign.

Ed Bearss, the senior National Park Service historian, originally prepared a series of documented narratives with supporting Troop Movement Maps, as part of his service as the Richmond Regional Research Historian during the nineteen-sixties. Starting with the Battle of Five Forks, Ed created a series of comprehensive narratives for almost all of the main battles associated with the nine and one-half month siege of Petersburg. Over the past several years Bryce Suderow convinced Ed to permit publishing these accounts for the larger audience, and then edited, updated, and placed the twelve articles into chronological order. He also wrote introductions for each battle, tying them all into a more unified campaign history. Where Bearss had not written a complete battle narrative, Suderow brought in another expert to fill in the gaps.

In the case of this second volume, Suderow invited William Wyrick to expand his own published study of the entire Five Forks Campaign; three battles taking place south west of Petersburg between 29 March and 1 April 1865.  These three closely-connected chapters are a great improvement on Bearss’ original study, and present a comprehensive review of the Federal offensive to cut the Confederacy’s last railroad supplying Petersburg and Richmond while destroying General Lee’s remaining mobile field force.

In all, five Federal offensives are covered, as well as the Army of Northern Virginia’s last offensive against the besieging Federal forces at Fort Stedman. The Federal offensives took place between October 1864 and 2 April 1865, concluding with the final, successful assault of the Petersburg fortifications.

Two significant themes appeared to me as I read through the book’s nine chapters. The first is how the Army of the Potomac recovered its confidence and offensive spirit during the last autumn and winter of the war. Federal victories in the east and the west, including the Army of the Potomac’s own victories in the Shenandoah Valley, had inspired the President Lincoln’s re-election, stimulated a rush of new enlistments and bank loans to resource the war, and lifted the morale of enough old soldiers to reenergize the Federal armies. Additionally, after nearly a year of weeding out his uncooperative, incompetent and worn out leaders, U. S. Grant had formed a confident team of leaders ruthless enough to press the Confederates past the breaking point.

The second theme is the Army of Northern Virginia’s loss of aggressiveness and efficiency by 1865. A succession of Confederate defeats, the winter’s short supplies, the news of General Sherman’s Army marching north from Savannah, finally eroded the morale of a majority of “Lee’s Miserables.” Confederate attempts to blunt these later Federal offensives never succeeded in routing the attacfkers, and Lee’s last offensive to seize Fort Stedman ended in disaster for the remnants of Stonewall’s Second Corps. Despite some inspired fighting by a few leaders and organizations, the last battles of Five Forks and Third Petersburg ended in the complete defeat of the Confederate defenders.

I recommend this book to you all as the better of the two volumes.  Both Ed Bearss and Bryce Suderow have written excellent introductions to this book, analyzing the circumstances and reasons that caused Generals Grant and Lee send their armies into vicious combat time and time again. Mr. Wyrick’s account of Five Forks is excellent, and each of the Bearss/Suderow rewrites maintains the high standard of the first volume. Reading this book will reward those readers who already possess a good general knowledge of the Petersburg Campaign and an appetite for further tactical detail. Other readers should read a book covering the entire Petersburg Campaign and then enjoy Bearss, Suderow, and Wyrick’s coverage of the individual battles.

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David Lady is a native of Washington, D. C., and grew-up in northern Virginia during the Civil War Centennial. His branch of the Lady family lived in eastern Tennessee and southwestern Virginia during the Civil War and his forebears served on both sides of this war. David graduated from Wittenberg University in Springfield OH with a degree in History. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1974, and during his thirty-three year military career served as an Armor and Cavalry soldier and later as the Command Sergeant Major (CSM) of the U. S. Army Armor Center, the U. S. Army Europe, and the U. S. Army Strategic Command. He and his wife Ellen reside in Huntsville, and he is employed on Redstone Arsenal with the U. S. Army Strategic Command. He serves on our Board of Directors as membership chairman, and is an enthusiastic participant in the Little Round Table and the Round Table Brigade.

The Maps of Chickamauga: An Atlas of the Chickamauga Campaign, Including the Tullahoma Operations, June 22 – September 23, 1863

by David A Powell & David Friedrichs

Reviewed by Roger Lee Hattabaugh II

I eagerly jumped at the chance to get my hands on this and provide the TVCWRT members with a short review of this excellent work by historian David A. Powell and cartographer Davi d A Friedrichs.  According to Amazon.com, Mr. Powell is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute (1983) with a BA in history. He has published numerous articles in various magazines, and more than fifteen historical simulations of different battles. For the past decade, his focus has been on the epic battle of Chickamauga, and he is nationally recognized for his tours of that important battlefield. He lives and works in Chicago, Illinois, where he owns and operates a delivery company. David A. Friedrichs graduated from University of Wisconsin in 1982 and has worked as a civil engineer since then. He is the author of numerous articles and papers on topics ranging from public asset management to military history.

This is the third book in a series of campaign studies published by Savas Beatie LLC.  The first two in the series, written by Bradley M Gottfried, discussed and explained the battles of First Bull Run (Manassas) and Gettysburg. A fourth volume on Antietam (Sharpsburg), also by Mr. Gottfried, is also now in print.  The series of atlases uses what is considered to be a different approach toward military history and the study of battlefields/campaigns by directly combining a written “action-section” with one, or more, maps that illustrate the written word.  In The Maps of Chickamauga, this is accomplished by text on one page and a map on the opposite page, giving readers an opportunity to see what they are reading without having to flip through or bookmark a separate map page in the book.

While the chapters at the beginning and end of the book describe the approach to and retreat from, the area, the “action-sections” in this volume cover a range from 15-20 minutes to several hours throughout each day (18-20 September 1863) of the battle, and each map is beautifully illustrated (by David Friedrichs) in color with ‘standard’ symbols used for the various units and movements.  The 129 maps graphically illustrate “the complex tangle of combat’s ebb and flow that makes the titanic bloodshed of Chickamauga one of the most confusing actions of the American Civil War,” (quoted from the publisher’s website).  There are also several appendices which provide orders of battle and battlefield losses for both the opening movement from Tullahoma as well as the Battle of Chickamauga.

I particularly enjoyed the closing sections of the book which discussed what happened to various participants and commanders after the action at Chickamauga and Chattanooga was ended.  The book is highly recommended to both the seasoned battlefield trekker and the novice who is just beginning their study of this crucial battle of the American Civil War.

Roger Lee Hattabaugh II has a long-time love of history and spends most of his ‘spare’ time reading about various historical periods, researching family histories/genealogies and visiting local cemeteries.  He joined the TVCWRT in 2009, and is the Treasurer since 2011.  He is, by virtue of his 2d great-grandfather’s service, a member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, Thomas H Hobbs Camp 768, in Athens, Alabama.  Lee received his Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Norwich University in 1994, and served in the US Army from 1997-2003 as a satellite communications operator. He currently is a Project Engineer for Shearer & Associates of Huntsville focused on projects ranging from electronic security systems to energy management. Having lived, and traveled, in many states and a few countries (courtesy of Uncle Sam), Lee now lives near Capshaw, Alabama, with his wife and two male clones. 

George Henry Thomas ~ As True as Steel

By Brian Steel Wills

(Lawrence, University Press of Kansas, 2012), 585 pages.

Reviewed by Emil Posey, Tennessee Valley Civil War Round Table

 “’George Thomas, you know, is slow, but as true as steel.’  –William T. Sherman before the battle of Atlanta, Georgia, 1864” —

So begins the Introduction to Brian Wills’ biography of General Thomas.  It is also the definitive, if succinct, description of General Thomas, as Wills goes on to illuminate so well in the following 471 pages of text, which are accompanied by two short appendices, an ample Notes section, and a comprehensive Index.

This is a sympathetic biography.  Wills’ purpose is to describe the General – what made him tick, how he thought, how he carried himself, and so forth, and to improve his place in history.  He accomplishes this through Thomas’s own words, remembrances, and self-assessments, along with those of family, contemporaries, and other historians.  He develops the values and traits that underpinned Thomas’ professional development:  attention to detail, broad interests (environment, science, and politics) and a serious, professional approach to duty tempered with an underlying humor that would occasionally shine through.  He depicts Thomas’ firmness, loyalty, and willingness to stand up for himself and his beliefs.  He shows how Thomas paid attention to orders, was practical and paternalistic, and would weigh costs and benefits before action.  And he shows how Thomas, ever the professional, liked campaigning and life in the field.

From graduation from West Point in 1840 through 1860, Thomas’ was a modestly eventful military career with service and posts typical of the period – Florida, the Mexican War (seeing some combat under General Taylor) and frontier duty in Texas (wounded by a Comanche arrow near Camp Cooper, Texan in August 1860), intermixed with various administrative assignments elsewhere including a stint at West Point.  All in all, not very dramatic except for his action at Buena Vista on February 23, 1848.  (His battery commander, Captain Braxton Bragg, singled him out for praise in his report, “Lieut. Thomas more than sustained the reputation he has long enjoyed in his regiment as an accurate and scientific artillerist”.  Ironically, recalling the action in later years General Thomas said of himself, “I saved my section of Bragg’s battery at Buena Vista by being a bit slow.”  Shades of things to come.)

General Thomas was a Virginian, but first and foremost an officer in the US Army.  When it came to deciding whether to stay with the North or go South, Thomas Jackson let God show the way, J.E.B. Stuart let Virginia show the way, and George H. Thomas let his oath of service show the way.  Service to the nation overrode all else.  He did not hesitate to stay with the US Army.

Some consider Thomas to be one of the top Union generals of the war – certainly in the top five.  His reputation would be even higher had he not been dogged by a reputation for slowness.  Not a reticence to fight, but rather something more of a plodding and not particularly aggressive general.  He was undefeated on Civil War battlefields, but this slowness worked against him in the eyes of Generals Halleck, Grant, and Sherman, and Secretary of War Stanton.  Otherwise, he might have been given more assignments – combat commands and campaigns – where his tactical and operational prowess would have lofted him to greater historical recognition.  Greater aggressiveness would have worked for him, increasing his opportunities; as it turned out, his slowness worked against him.

Being Southern caused a lingering suspicion among his Union commanders, but it was his reputation for being slow that plagued him throughout the war.  A central focus of the book is his relationships with those controlling his career – General Halleck and Secretary of War Stanton, and most particularly General Grant.  While not his enemy, General Grant comes across as something of an antagonist, borne of a clash of battlefield sagacity.  Tactically competent, operationally Thomas was virtually the opposite of Grant.  Where Grant was aggressive and dogged; Thomas was methodical and set piece.  Where Grant saw battlefield opportunity, Thomas saw risk.  Where Grant grasped the enemy at every turn, Thomas moved more cautiously.  Sherman thought like Grant and, therefore, was in favor – in partnership, in fact.  Thomas didn’t, and therefore wasn’t.

Wills provides sound descriptions and analyses of operations supported by comprehensive research.   Take, for example, the Battle of Mill Springs (January 19, 1862).  Not well known, this was Thomas’ first significant battle – a victory, albeit somewhat incomplete.  Wills’ discussion spans several pages, including the lead-in to the battle and its aftermath, with descriptions and views by a variety of sources – all in all a somber, thorough, and well-rounded analysis.  This technique is repeated throughout.  (His maps, by the way, are numerous and adequate to the narrative, but could better depict battlefield topography and meteorological conditions.)

Wills follows Thomas in detail through the whole of the war, showing how his professionalism and studied mannerisms (his concern for appearances) competed with and channeled his ambition and reach for senior positions of command.  He provided credible leadership in Kentucky in 1861 and at Shiloh and Corinth in 1862.  His performance at Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge in 1863 brought him fame and recognition, but it was Sherman who was selected to lead the campaign for Atlanta in 1864.  He performed decisively in that campaign as well, but Sherman was again selected to lead the key strategic drive through Georgia to the sea.  Given the crucial mission of opposing Hood’s counter-advance into Tennessee, Thomas blunted his drive at Franklin and then smashed him in front of Nashville.  These gained him even more fame and recognition (including promotion to Regular Army Major General), but a slow follow-up after Nashville effectively sidelined him from remaining combat operations and from prominence in subsequent memoirs and histories of the war.

Reading Wills’ account, particularly of the operations in Tennessee in 1863 and 1864, it is easy to conclude that General Thomas was not treated fairly.  The criticisms and proddings from afar to pursue and destroy Hood’s defeated Army of the Tennessee by Grant, Stanton and even President Lincoln in the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Nashville are a case in point.  Still, even in a biography as favorable as this one, you can see how Thomas’ deliberate and methodical approach to performance of duties and the planning and execution of combat operations were too mundane for the more vigorous and daring Union officers under whom and with whom he served.  It was, after all, they that set the tone for – that wrote, so to speak – the “official” history of the war.  Whether history has so far been unkind to General Thomas will continue to be argued, but Wills has provided a solid attempt to rehabilitate his reputation and his standing in Civil War history.

It’s a good biography, a good history, a good read, and certainly worth your time, whether new to the subject or a seasoned student of the war.  Heartily recommended.

Divided Loyalties; Kentucky’s Struggle for Armed Neutrality in the Civil War

by James W. Finck

Reviewed by Arley McCormick

It is always interesting to review a different perspective and James W. Finck clearly describes and provides an excellent analysis that could influence your opinion of Kentucky’s neutrality stance. Is it possible that the definition of armed neutrality is a euphemism for Northern sympathy? Is it possible that Kentucky’s flirt with armed neutrality was indeed a political realization that the citizens wanted to remain neutral or could it be possible that the course Kentucky’s leader’s chose and influenced was driven more by economics than any other factor that could save the commonwealth from a scorched earth experience similar to Georgia? Could a state with a life style built at the expense of a populace that held 17% of its population in bondage, seven hundred miles of border along the Ohio River fording excellent avenues of approach to the south’s heartland, and five states with either a hardliner northern, secessionist, or undecided sentiments; all great trading partners influence a decision? The author builds the case that self preservation was indeed the principle factor and that most research, explaining the Kentucky condition, in the past placed too much credibility on the outcome of voting rather than the meandering landscape of political leaders and parties seeking an advantage, a compromise, or focused clearly on an emotional responses to the events of the day. All influenced fear, apathy, and absenteeism from the poles. Divided Loyalties is easy to read and Dr. Finck’s analysis seems feasible, and provides another perspective of the view that Kentucky was really Northern at heart. Even as its population is clearly southern by location and disposition; but in fact, leaders gambled that to save the state it must remain neutral. If you enjoy evaluating the preamble to the fight to save the nation, Divided Loyalties is one piece to the puzzle you will enjoy.

John Bell Hood: The rise, fall, and resurrection of a Confederate General

by Stephen M. Hood

(Savas Beatie, 2013).

A Tennessee Valley Civil War Round Table book review by David Lady.

Stephen Hood has written a most interesting and compelling book, inspired by a filial duty to his ancestor, Confederate General John Bell Hood. As Stephen points out, for one-hundred and fifty years General Hood has been castigated by Confederate apologists, newspapermen, historians, and novelists for his failures as a soldier and commander:   For disputing with his leaders at Gettysburg, for losing Atlanta to Sherman’s Army, for his later defeats at Franklin and Nashville, for ‘destroying’ the Army of Tennessee. In addition, Hood has been accused of personal failings:  stupidity, love-sickness, drunkenness, drug addiction; of “attack addiction” that wasted his soldier’s lives. Worst of all, the general has been held in contempt for belittling his soldiers as ‘cowards’ who failed to win battles with those attacks.

With this book, Mr. Hood discredits many of these critics for failing to carefully compare and weigh the original sources, preferring to use single unsubstantiated testimonies or even simply repeating hoary old stories and anecdotes. In some cases, Stephen accuses the critics of lying or fabricating incidents and anecdotes. Using a topical and not a chronological approach, he takes separate accusations and shows the weakness of many specific criticisms.

Stephen argues for a re-evaluation of the meaning of Robert E. Lee’s ‘tepid’ recommendation of General Hood’s potential as an Army commander; also of General Hood’s indifference to feeding and supplying his army, of his callousness of death and injury, and his preference for frontal assaults. He takes issue with General Hood’s criticism of his soldier’s lack of offensive spirit by the time of the battles around Atlanta, showing that it should not be viewed as an accusation of individual or collective cowardice. General Hood’s reputed disloyalty to General Joe Johnston, and his reproach of Patrick Cleburne after the none-battle of Spring Hill are also disputed by the author.

Mr. Hood has succeeded in showing that General Hood has often been unfairly maligned. In particular, he has shown the unreliability and prejudice contained in the proceedings of the Southern Historical Society Papers, where General Hood fares very poorly, not being a Virginian and sometimes disagreeing with his Virginian commanding general at Gettysburg, and having ‘lost the war along with Atlanta.’ Several well-received later-twentieth century histories about General Hood are sharply attacked: in particular Wiley Sword’s Embrace an Angry Wind and The Confederacy’s Last Hurrah, and Thomas Connelly’s Autumn of Glory. As part of his contraction, Stephen Hood calls attention to numerous veteran testimonials and nineteenth-early twentieth century histories that place General Hood in a much more favorable light.

The book is not just an exercise in textual criticism. Stephen Hood does examine General Hood’s major actions as Army of Tennessee Commander: Peach Tree Creek, Bald Hill, Ezra Church, Jonesboro in the Atlanta campaign; Spring Hill, Franklin, and Nashville in the Middle Tennessee Campaign. However, these chapters focus on taking on the critics as much as on laying out the events of the battles. He offers context and alternative explanations for some of Hood’s strategic or tactical decisions, and identifies the culpability of other commanders in these defeats or missed opportunities. He does not lay out a closely reasoned case for regarding Hood as more than a mediocre Corps or Army commander.

I recommend this book to those interested in learning more about General John B. Hood. Stephen Hood is generally successful in defending his ancestor’s character and intelligence. He is less successful in providing a thorough and well-grounded reevaluation of General Hood as a commander, strategist, and tactician.  Other historians have begun to do that, notably Stephen Davis for General Hood’s decisions during the Atlanta Campaign and Eric Jacobson for the Nashville Campaign. With this book, and with his recently published The Lost Papers of General John Bell Hood, Stephen Hood should energize Civil War historians and the interested public to work toward a more balanced and favorable evaluation of Lieutenant General John B. Hood.

David Lady is a native of Washington, D. C., and grew-up in northern Virginia during the Civil War Centennial. His branch of the Lady family lived in eastern Tennessee and southwestern Virginia during the Civil War, and his forebears served on both sides of this war. David graduated from Wittenberg University in Springfield OH with honors in History. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1974, and during his thirty-three year military career served as an Armor and Cavalry soldier and later as the Command Sergeant Major (CSM) of the U. S. Army Armor Center, the

1. S. Army Europe, and the U. S. Army Strategic Command. He and his wife Ellen reside in Huntsville, and he is employed on Redstone Arsenal with the U. S. Army Strategic Command. He serves on our Board of Directors as membership chairman, and is an enthusiastic participant in the Little Round Table and the Round Table Brigade.

Tennessee’s Civil War Battlefields: A Guide to Their History and Preservation,

By Randy Bishop

Photos, maps, notes, bibliography, index, 456 pages, 2010, Pelican Publishing.

Mississippi’s Civil War Battlefields: A Guide to Their History and Preservation

By Randy Bishop

Photos, maps, notes, bibliography, index, 432 pages, 2010, Pelican Publishing.

Reviewed by John Mason, Tennessee Valley Civil War Round Table

Although I was, unfortunately, unable to finish reading both of these books, I heartily recommend both of them (as well as Mr. Bishop’s similar study of Kentucky’s battlefields) to members of the TVCWRT. Mr. Bishop has created books which are suitable for either bed-side reading or as a field guide. Using maps of each battle area, first-hand accounts, and a plethora of other sources (footnoted and indexed), both of these publications provide a brief history of the area, a narrative of the battle(s) as well as the area’s current state of preservation (i.e. what you’ll see if you visit).

Regarding the book’s use as a field guide, I must confess that they are a bit bulky, at over 400 pages each, for carrying in the field. I was happy to find that the Mississippi and Kentucky books are available in e-reader versions, and I hope that an electronic version of the Tennessee book will be made available soon.

Randy Bishop is also the author of Pelican’s The Tennessee Brigade. In addition to teaching history at Middleton High School, he is an adjunct for Jackson State Community College. Bishop received the Teacher of the Year Award six times and was recognized in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. He resides in Middleton, Tennessee.

De Bow’s Review: The Antebellum Vision of a New South

John F. Kvach, assistant professor of History University of Alabama, Huntsville.

Who is James Dunwoody Brownson De Bow? Challenging our prominent students of the Civil War few recall the name and those that do branded him as one of the lesser Fire-aters, a term reserved for the most prolific and influential protagonist for Session, but there is far more to De bow than merely a mouthpiece calling for Rebellion. Where most Northern historians describe the Old South as stale with tradition, static in mind, unwilling to change, Dr. Kvach, through analysis of all the publications of the De Bow’s Review, illustrates a slightly different picture of agriculture and manufacturing and his analysis of the Review subscribers; their acknowledgment and acceptance of De Bow’s theories add credibility to the character that pushed to modernize the South before tragedy. De Bow was first and foremost a journalist and editor of his own magazine and influenced the affluent in both the North and the South, particularly, in the last two decades preceding war, and with regret but optimism returned to similar economic based themes after the war until his death.  He seldom spoke to arouse the passion for Session but to challenge Southern leaders to accept agricultural diversity and expand the manufacturing capability of the region. Dr. Kvach describes De Bow’ character while defining the economic conditions and philosophy of the Old South which ultimately ended in a tragic war that, aside from passion, the South was little equipped to win. De Bow’s pen was noticed in the North and revered by most leaders in the South and the overwhelming passion of the era may have influenced his pen to support his paying customers and his own economic interest as he joined the chorus for Session, thus earning the brand of Fire-eater. You can decide.

This is a must read if you’re interested in understanding the decades of political and economic turmoil contributing to the American Civil War.

THE GOD OF WAR:  WHEN I RODE WITH N.B. FORREST – THE LETTERS OF HENRY WYLIE, A HISTORICAL INTREPRETATION BY ROBERT S. CHAMBERS (King Phillip Publishing, Cleveland, Ohio, 1996, 288 pages) Book Review by TVCWRT Preservation Chair John D Mason

Robert S. Chambers is a former high-school teacher and parks manager in the Cleveland, Ohio area where he has lived for the past twenty years.  A self-professed student of the American Civil War for the past three decades, in this, his first novel, he has used the construct of a soldier’s letters home to bring the sterling career of Confederate Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest to life.  Concentrating on the period between December 1861 and August 1865, this book chronicles Forrest and his “Critter Cavalry’s” activities through a series of letters from the protagonist of the book, Henry Wylie, to his wife Elizabeth.  These letters were, as Wylie points out in an early missive, written “whenever he had a moment off the saddle.”

Not only do the letters cover all of Forrest’s major engagements throughout the war, they also perhaps cleverly set the stage for a future series of novels also based on Wylie’s letters.  As Chambers says (page 3), “[Wylie’s] almost clairvoyant ability to be at the site of breaking news events was uncanny.”  Apparently, Wylie was present at the murder of “Wild Bill” Hickock, on vacation in Martinique when Mount Pele erupted, saw John L. Sullivan win boxing’s heavyweight championship after a herculean 77 round brawl, and was even present at the wreck of the famous Locomotive 382 and horrific death of its engineer – Casey Jones.  Sadly, Wylie’s news career was cut tragically short on April 15, 1914 when he perished from the deck of the Titanic after heroically saving a number of the doomed luxury liner’s passengers.  Yes, we still have a lot yet to learn from the pen of Mr. Wylie.

There have been a number of books published on the life and campaigns of LTG Forrest that will provide considerably more detailed information about his individual actions than that provided in The God of War.  Three that come quickly to mind are A Battle from the Start:  the Life of Nathan Bedford Forrest by Brian Steele Wills, That Devil Forrest by John A. Wyeth and Albert Castel, and Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Escort and Staff by Michael Bradley (I mention this latter work in particular because Wylie was purportedly a member of Forrest’s escort).  In fact, Wills and Wyeth have both authored multiple works on Forrest’s career, and all are certainly worth reading.  But the book that kept coming to my mind as I read of Wylie’s travails was Henry Kyd Douglas’ I Rode with Stonewall, more snarkily known among some Civil War historians as Stonewall Rode with Me.  And I believe this comparison may well have been at least unconsciously intended by the author, but intended in a positive way, for it gives the author the leeway to tell the story as it happens.

The book begins with a letter dated October 3, 1861, in which Henry informs Elizabeth that he had joined Company C of the Forrest Rangers commanded by Captain Charley May.  In this, Wylie details a pretty good account of the way in which a regiment was formed as well as what the early days of basic training were like.  While May was in fact a historical character, most of the other men mentioned are fictional.  This is important to remember, or otherwise, the reader will quickly forget that this work is historical fiction:  this story is a fictional tale of historical events.

From here, Wylie goes on to describe all of Forrest’s major campaigns – the escape from Fort Donelson, Shiloh, the multiple raids  into Tennessee, Brentwood and Brice’s Crossroads, Fort Pillow, on to Franklin and the Battle of Nashville, and finally to the defeat at Selma and final surrender.  There are also detailed accounts of the chases and capture of the forces of Samuel Sturgis, Abel Streight, and William Sooy Smith.  While not reported in depth, the engagements as presented are generally presented accurately – at least as accurately as they could have been from the viewpoint of a solitary soldier.  And the asides Wylie injects in reporting on these battles give them life.

There are some discrepancies here and there, mainly things that Wylie probably would not have known at the time.  For example, he discusses the fighting at the “Hornet’s Nest” at Shiloh, when, according to Steven Woodworth in The Shiloh Campaign, there was no evidence that that name would have been used at the time of the battle (page 70).  And in one letter, Wylie confided to Elizabeth that “the general if fixin to cut off the movement of Gen. Sturgis and his big army at a small crossroads on Brices farm . . .”  I suspect that at the time this letter was written, very few people outside of LTG Forrest himself knew what he was planning to do.  But these small blips can be forgiven because they give perspective to the reader, and keeps them up to date on the pending action.

Actually, and this is a tribute to author Chambers, the reader comes to like and appreciate Wylie’s reporting more and more as the book progresses, and forgets that he is not real.  As with Henry Kyd Douglas, Wylie does sometimes come off as being too necessary to the events at hand.  But the reader can overlook this because of the humanity with which he reports those events.  Plus, his presence allows the author a vehicle to more fully tell Forrest’s story.  Those who have served will easily recognize the different emotions soldier’s experience, especially those in combat, go through, and Wylie’s evolution is no exception.  First there is the exuberance – the excitement of battle.  Then, once one has “fought the bull” as Wylie likes to say, that starts to change.  Loneliness creeps in.  And fear.  And sadness at the loss of friends.  The angst that soldiers feel becomes almost palpable.  Wylie makes this clear in his reporting on the massacre at Fort Pillow where the reader can almost trace the progression from one emotion to the next.  The desire to return home to family is poignant.  Wylie fast becomes a family friend.

If truth be told, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and indeed, probably looked forward to each letter as much as Elizabeth would have.  Each chapter is accompanied by a “footnote” at the end of the book that adds substance where needed, but also points out what is factual and what is fictional.  It is the perfect book for the individual who wants to learn generally about Forrest’s campaigns without the in-depth narratives found in standard historical texts.  More importantly, the reader comes to like Henry Wylie, indeed to the point of pulling for him.  It is a work that is fun and easy to read, and I recommend it to anyone interested in this country’s most seminal event.  Besides, who can’t wait to get Wylie’s insights on boxing?

Failure in the Saddle:  Nathan Bedford Forrest, Joseph Wheeler, and the Confederate Cavalry in the Chickamauga Campaign, by David A. Powell

Reviewed by John Mason, Tennessee Valley Civil War Round Table

In this book, Failure in the Saddle, author David Powell seeks to lay the blame for the CSA’s loss of the Chickamauga Campaign – and perhaps the entire American Civil War – squarely in the laps of the Confederacy’s famous cavalry leaders, Nathan B edford Forrest and “Fighting Joe” Wheeler.

An equestrian myself, I have ridden my horse at the Chickamauga Battlefield more than once.  I have a hard time believing that armies can use horses in war, since horses are naturally prey animals and tend to run – fast – when things frighten them.  And, being prey animals, almost anything frightens them – from a clap of thunder to a deer bounding from the forest to a shopping bag blowing across a field half a mile away.  So I have a good deal of curiosity about the mounted warriors of the civil war.

Some 15 years ago I served as chaperone when a daughter’s 5^th grade class visited Pond Spring, the plantation home of General Joseph Wheeler, located near Courtland, Alabama.  The tour guide’s glowing reports of General Wheeler’s wartime exploits and government service career certainly made an impression.  So when a book became available for review, featuring General Fighting Joe Wheeler, I thought I’d take the plunge to learn more.

Some historians picture the cavalry as being the mobile soldiers assigned to guarding the flanks, escorting wagons, and serving as rear guards, while some have pictured them as outlaws and bandits.  Few show them as having an intricate and critical part in the outcome of a war.  Powell singles out this description of the work of the cavalry, written by William Woods Averell, a Union Cavalry general who fought in the Civil War:

Reliable information on the enemy’s position or movements, which is absolutely necessary to the commander of an army to successfully conduct a campaign, must be largely furnished by the cavalry.  The duty of the cavalry when an engagement is imminent is specially imperative – to keep in touch with the enemy and observe and carefully note, with time of day or night, every slightest indication and report it promptly . . . . On the march, cavalry forms in advance, flank, and rear guards, and supplies escorts, couriers and guides.  Cavalry should extend well away from the main body on the march like antennae to mask its movements and discover any movement of the enemy.  Without this kind of work, strategy is impossible.

Mr. Powell, who has authored at least one other book on the Chickamauga campaign, lays out some pretty damning evidence against the fabled CSA generals.  He says that while Bragg historically gets the blame for the losses at Chattanooga and Chickamauga, a reexamination suggests that Wheeler and Forrest were at fault.  Specifically he cites “mounted miscues, mistakes, and outright refusals to follow orders” which led directly to General Bragg’s loss of Chattanooga.  Military politics and petty personality conflicts seem to play a part as well.

Powell’s chronology of the Chickamauga campaign was minutely detailed.  Here’s where the author’s brief biographies of the generals and the division commanders, which appear at the beginning of the book, came in handy.  Of course, the author was seeking to prove his point, so he used a great many items of documentation to illustrate the actions he interpreted as mistakes or dereliction of duties.  The text is full of maps, footnotes, and eye-witness accounts of troop activities.

Powell states his case well and believably.  He certainly tarnished my romantic impression of the brave, gallant, and chivalric Joe Wheeler.

One of the best parts of the book I discovered in the appendix:  A driving tour of the cavalry actions from the Chickamauga Campaign.  Complete with photographs, descriptions, and even GPS coordinates, the driving tour sounds like a fascinating way to further study the campaign.

Another interesting item in the appendix is Colonel Alfred Roman’s Inspection Report of Joe Wheeler’s Cavalry Corps, dated January of 1865, which comments on misconduct, discipline, incompetency, and weapons of the cavalry.

You may find this book interesting, as I did.  Powell comments in his introduction:

My hope is that you come away from this work with a challenged—and even changed—perspective of the Chickamauga Campaign and the men who waged it and, perhaps, a few new questions of your own.

Review provided by Kathi Paul, formally Kathi Arnould the voice of the TVCWRT on Huntsville’s Public Radio. Station WLRH/89.2 FM Kathi has lived in north Alabama over 20 years and tells everyone she’s a born southerner even though she was born in the “south end” of Toledo, Ohio, the oldest girl in a family of eleven children. For the past nine years she has worked as the secretary/receptionist at Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind in Huntsville. But her “full-time job” is as volunteer director of Happy Trails Therapeutic Riding Center (A Spirit Horse Facility) at her farm in New Market.  She cares for ten horses every morning and evening.  And every weekend children and adults with disabilities troop to Happy Trails for a little fun with horses.  Get in touch with Kathi if you have an interest in improving the lives of folks with disabilities through activities with horses.

Her interest in the Civil War was stimulated by her reading of Gone With the Wind as a teenager but she has gained a more realistic knowledge by attending the Round Table meetings and field trips.  

A Short History of Reconstruction; by Eric Foner

This is the beginning.  A total overview of the Reconstruction era and it is written by one of the best history authors in the United States. It is on the Tennessee Valley Civil War Round Table Official Reading List and addresses every action and decision, characters  both parasites and well intended progressives, and a political process flawed by greed and a change in Northern sentiment toward the future opportunities over the horizon and imbedded in the Westward expansion. It illustrates the passion former slaves endorsed as free men in a land with lingering sentiment regarding their integration as complete citizens of the United States. This works stands alone as a primer for understanding and discussing the war after the War.