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This isn't the first biography to be written on Confederate General James Longstreet, but it's the best--and certainly the one that pays the most attention to Longstreet's performance as a military leader. Historian Jeffry D. Wert aims to rehabilitate Longstreet's reputation, which traditionally has suffered in comparison to those of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Some Southern partisans have blamed Longstreet unfairly for the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg; Wert corrects the record here. He is not uncritical of Longstreet's record, but he rightly suggests that if Lee had followed Longstreet's advice, the battle's outcome might have been different.
The facts of history cannot be changed, however, and Wert musters them on these pages to advance a bold claim: "Longstreet, not Jackson, was the finest corps commander in the Army of Northern Virginia; in fact, he was arguably the best corps commander in the conflict on either side." Wert describes his subject as strategically aggressive, but tactically reserved. The bulk of the book appropriately focuses on the Civil War, but Wert also briefly delves into Longstreet's life before and after it. Most interestingly, it was framed by a friendship with Ulysses S. Grant, formed at West Point and continuing into old age. Longstreet even served in the Grant administration--an act that called into question his loyalty to the Lost Cause, and explains in part why Wert's biography is a welcome antidote to much of what has been written about this controversial figure. --John J. Miller
Book Description
General James Longstreet fought in nearly every campaign of the Civil War, from Manassas (the first battle of Bull Run) to Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chickamauga, Gettysburg, and was present at the surrender at Appomattox. Yet, he was largely held to blame for the Confederacy's defeat at Gettysburg. General James Longstreet sheds new light on the controversial commander and the man Robert E. Lee called "my old war horse."
Customer Reviews:
I disagree with the title............2007-07-30
....but not much else. General Braxton Bragg was, and is, the South's most controversial solder. With that out of the way....
.....to the subject. This is an absolutely superb study of a man who was a genius far ahead of his time. Another author once wrote an article speculating as to which Civil War General, were he to rise from the dead and get a shave, would have the shortest "learning curve" to become a General in the modern Army; his answer was James Longstreet, and he may very well be right [my own answer was Bragg...there I go again]. Both men were 20th century Generals trying to fight the last 18th. century war; naturally, there were some problems.
James Longstreet was born in South Carolina of a Georgia family, but he was certainly not of the old Southern aristocracy in the way Lee, Johnston, Polk, and others were. The original family name was Langestraet, and they were Dutch from New Jersey who moved to Georgia. Longstreet went to West Point and then commenced a career of one boring assignment after another, in an Army where promotion only came when somebody died. The war in Mexico proved he was a real soldier, but afterwards he was a lowly paymaster in Texas.
When the war came, he went South just because his state did. Had his family stayed in New Jersey, Lee would have had a very tough opponent, instead of his "Old War Horse". Longstreet commanded the First Corps thru the whole war, except for his detached service in Suffolk that kept him out of Chancellorsville, and the months after Gettysburg when he was in Tennessee. Severely wounded in The Wilderness, he returned, and was with Lee at the end.
Longstreet was loved by his troops; he fought on the defensive, never wasting his men's lives. He could march, and charge, as well as Jackson when necessary, but preferred to let the enemy make the mistakes. Further, he was "human", sharing the vices of his troops, unlike Lee and Jackson. At Second Manassas and Antietam he proved his greatness, and at Fredericksburg came his finest hour as wave after wave of Blue troops bravely, but foolishly, charged up Mayre's Heights.
Gettysburg...THAT is where most discussions of James Longstreet begin and end. He and Lee had different ideas as to how [and whether] to fight the battle, and Lee was the boss. Longstreet [and Hood] wanted to move to the right, get between Meade and Washington, and hold on the defensive. Lee wanted to fight the enemy where he was. Who was right? God knows that what we did didn't work, but we forget that it dern near did. Lee took the blame; as commander, that was proper. Dick Ewell's lethargy and Jeb Stuart's independent brashness weren't noted at the time, though they contributed massively to the Confederate defeat. Generations of Southerners have blamed Longstreet for Gettysburg, but that didn't start till well after the war, and the causes were political, not military. I guess my own opinion of who was right is obvious, but I yet maintain that Robert E. Lee was the greatest soldier that ever lived.
After the war, Longstreet was a cotton merchant in New Orleans, and did well until he wrote a letter in 1867 essentially stating that the South needed to build a bridge and get over it; for this, he remained an outcast the rest of his life. Dr. Freeman stated that after the war, if a man "became a Republican or consorted with Negroes", those sins would never be forgiven. Longstreet was reduced to living on Republican political appointments. [Billy Mahone likewise became an apostate, but at least he became rich; Beauregard said nothing; he simply got over the bridge to wealth. But Beauregard was always different]. Longstreet wrote his memoirs, but did it badly, and made his cause worse.
This is a superb book that does a wonderful job defending a man who, in a just world, would need no defense...I've saved the best till last...the opening two pages of the book, describing General Longstreet's appearance at the dedication of the Lee statue on Monument Avenue in Richmond in 1890, is the very finest piece of historical writing I have ever read, anytime, anywhere. Period. The other Generals saw James Longstreet as an apostate, but his old troops knew what made a leader, and loved him for it.
Longstreet the military might.......2007-07-16
I like how the book goes into detail on General Lee and the problems of being a Staff Officer under a "Demagod". General Longstreet's request for a flanking movement, if greated by General Lee, could have changed the course of the war.
Who is to blame for Gettysburg ?.......2007-01-31
Historians since 1865 have blamed General James Longstreet for the Confederacy losing the Battle at Gettysburg. This book places the blame on Robert E Lee, which after reading this book as well as other books recently, I would tend to agree with that assumption. The writer seems to be a Longstreet fan though, and seems to add to Longstreet's capability as a General, while placing the blame for several Confederate losses on General Stonewall Jackson which I do not agree with at all. In essence, the writer's purpose of the book is to clear Longstreet's name at the expense of Robert E Lee and Stonewall Jackson, as well as other Generals that Longstreet came in contact with during the Civil War. Unfortunately the author feels that is the only way to clear Longstreet's name.
The Old War Horse Examined.......2006-12-29
General James Longstreet was one of the major corps commanders in the Confederate Army. At one point, General Robert E. Lee referred to Longstreet as his "Old War Horse." Nonetheless, considerable controversy swirls around Longstreet.
This book does a solid job on outlining the controversy and Longstreet's record. One theme in the South after the Civil War was the "Lost Cause" thesis. Here, Longstreet was a central element. The author, Jeffry Wert, says (page 14):
"A significant. . .victim of the 'Lost Cause' interpretation of the conflict was James Longstreet. A crucial element of the myth was that the Confederacy nearly attained victory except for the mortal wounding of Stonewall Jackson at Chancellorsville and the defeat of Robert E. Lee's army at Gettysburg two months later. . . . The burden for Gettysburg fell on Longstreet. . . ."
This book lays out a nicely rendered biography of Longstreet. A series of helpful maps provides context throughout the work. The book takes a standard approach and provides detail on Longstreet's early life and career (his action in the Mexican War and his friendhip with Ulysses Grant). The work chronicles his rise in the Confederate Army after war broke out. He went from commander of a small unit at First Manassas to division commander to corps commander in a fairly short period of time, matching Stonewall Jackson's rise in responsibility. Both had poor moments in the Peninsula Campaign; by the end of the Seven Days, Longstreet had grown considerably. By Second Manassas, Jackson and Longstreet were the two corps commanders in the Army of Northern Virginia and both performed well.
By that time, certain aspects of Longstreet's style became clear. At Second Manassas, he delayed attack until the situation was to his liking. Just slow? Or calculated to gain maximum effect against the Union forces under General John Pope? Then Antietam, where Longstreet gained the nom de guerre of "My Old War Horse" from Lee.
Fredericksburg? The classic Longstreet-favored approach. Take a position and let the Yankees attack and lose large numbers of troops. Longstreet was convinced that the Confederacy could not fight long odds battles with fewer men than in the Union army. He missed Chancellorsville, while on a mission on the Peninsula. Then Gettysburg. Was he petulant and someone who undermined the Confederate effort and chances of victory? Or was he clear eyed, seeing the impending defeat? Wirt addresses this issue in a sensitive manner.
Later, we see Longstreet at his worst (feuding with Braxton Bragg and performing badly against the pathetic Ambrose Burnside at Knoxville) and at his best (his tour de force rolling up Winfield Scott Hancock's line at the Wilderness). With respect to the latter, as he was planning yet another movement against the Union army, he was shot by other Confederate troops.
After a lengthy convalescence, he rejoined the Army of Northern Virginia at Petersburg, fought with Lee until the end of the Civil War. Then, he became a Republican (alienating many southerners), criticized Lee while defending his own record (heresy to the south), and overall had a checkered career.
Nonetheless, this book provides useful context for evaluating Longstreet. One fair conclusion is that he was one of the best corps commanders on either side (there were a lot of bad ones and some very good ones)--but one who also was far from perfect (again, note his performance under Braxton Bragg). A nice book for those wanting to know more about "The Confederacy's Most Controversial Soldier" (the book's subtitle).
An Amazing Little Book.......2006-02-19
I was fourteen years old, and we were discussing the Civil War in history class. I had an especially enthusiastic teacher and several well-informed friends, and a desire to learn about the War Between the States was fast budding within me. By the strangest stroke of luck, I found this very same book on a bookshelf at home. Was it my fathers? Was it divine intervention? I don't know the answer, but I started to read it, and I didn't put it down. Several years and countless books later, I'm considering pursuing a PhD in history (specializing in the Civil War era.) Fate?
This books is wonderful both as an account of Longstreet's life and, surprisingly, as a general introduction to the war in the East (plus a bit about Longstreet's stint in the West.) Wert provides well-detailed descriptions of the tactical elements of each battle involving Longstreet without becoming boring, even to the inexperienced reader. His views on Longstreet are intriguing and thought provoking, and a more balanced and objective account is, as far as I've read, not to be found.
I apologize if my rather sentimental past with this particular tome has skewed my analysis of it, but this book will always hold a special place in my heart.
Book Description
A vivid, unprecedented account of why Union and Confederate soldiers identified slavery as the root of the war, how the conflict changed troops’ ideas about slavery, and what those changing ideas meant for the war and the nation.
Using soldiers’ letters, diaries, and regimental newspapers, Chandra Manning allows us to accompany soldiers—black and white, northern and southern—into camps and hospitals and on marches and battlefields to better understand their thoughts about what they were doing and why. Manning’s work reveals that Union soldiers, though evincing little sympathy for abolitionism before the war, were calling for emancipation by the second half of 1861, ahead of civilians, political leaders, and officers, and a full year before the Emancipation Proclamation. She recognizes Confederate soldiers’ primary focus on their own families, and explores how their beliefs about abolition—that it would endanger their loved ones, erase the privileges of white manhood, and destroy the very fabric of southern society—motivated even non-slaveholding Confederates to fight and compelled them to persevere through military catastrophes like Gettysburg and Atlanta, long after they grew to despise the Confederate government and disdain the southern citizenry. She makes clear that while white Union troops viewed preservation of the Union as essential to the legacy of the Revolution, over the course of the war many also came to think that in order to gain God’s favor, they and other white northerners must confront the racial prejudices that made them complicit in the sin of slavery. We see how the eventual consideration of the enlistment of black soldiers by the Confederacy eliminated any reason for many Confederate soldiers to fight; how, by 1865, black Union soldiers believed the forward racial strides made during the war would continue; and how white Union troops’ commitment to racial change, fluctuating with the progress of the war, created undreamt-of potential for change but failed to fulfill it.
An important and eye-opening addition to our understanding of the Civil War.
Customer Reviews:
Citizen Soldiers.......2007-09-22
I was very impressed with the way Union soldiers debated the issue of slavery in their letters (Slavery was not a controversy in the slave states, so no comparable debate took place among Confederate soldiers). Few Americans are also aware that Union soldiers' experience with confronting slavery in the South provided essential support for emancipation.The Forgotten Cause of the Civil War: A New Look at the Slavery Issue
A Compelling Examination of the Civil War.......2007-09-20
WHAT THIS CRUEL WAR WAS OVER: SOLDIERS, SLAVERY, AND THE CIVIL WAR examines why slavery is an essential part of Civil War history. Chandra Manning asks interesting questions pertaining to the how and why Confederate and Union soldiers fought one of the most intense wars in American history, which was fought in order to preserve the principles of the US Constitution, which involved patriotism, life, liberty, freedom, and slavery as well as revisit the legacy of the Revolutionary War. In addition, Manning provides an introspective study where she delves deeper into how soldiers lived, fought, and perceived their fellow comrades and foes. With the discussion of race, gender, social, and political issues that cover the home front as well as the battlefields that crossed the Southern lines from Mississippi to the Northern lines of ravaged Gettysburg, readers may have a better understanding of the war.
The book has three main themes as they pertain to the war experience. First, white Southern patriarchy, slaves were a part of the Southern family in order to maintain their livelihood. Second, African Americans became empowered and liberated as a result of their involvement in the democratic process, interpreting the law and their rights, and their participation in the war. Third, Union soldiers' motivation through African Americans' contribution to the war effort that helped to bring equality for men a reality.
The interesting and insightful aspect about Manning's narrative is that she attempts to provide a balanced perspective from each side by emphasizing the family, God, and the patriotic fervor that occurred within the Confederate and Union sides without making the claim that slavery caused the Civil War. For example, she does not present a divided narrative where one chapter is dedicated to the discussion about the Confederate cause or the Union cause, or where race is clumped in one section; Manning integrates the discussion so that all groups are discussed within each chapter as it relates and interconnects to the issue of slavery and the war, white Confederate and Union soldiers, and African American soldiers who fought on both sides.
For readers interested in seeing a different perspective of the Civil War, WHAT THIS CRUEL WAR WAS OVER will provide that view. It is a good reading supplement for those that would like to read about the social history side of the Civil War, and how the issue of slavery created animosity and divided the United States. But at the same time, soldiers attempted to unite and understand why they fought. Indeed, the book is an informative and detailed narrative about one of the most debated wars in American history, which continues to be discussed and examined.
Reverent and Insightful.......2007-07-27
Chandra Manning's first book, "What This Cruel War Was Over," squarely rebuts the popular belief that Civil War soldiers did not care about slavery. Manning places in the lap of the reader countless letters penned by soldiers to families and loved ones attesting to slavery's role in starting the war, stirring up morale, and being the ultimate reason to fight on. Instead of leaving the telling of history to speeches by great generals and politicians, Manning firmly directs our eyes to the very words of the rank and file who gave the war meaning.
Personally, I found the incredible degree of dissent within both the Union and Confederate camps to be most interesting. Some idealistic Union soldiers protested slavery to assure liberty and freedom for all, while other soldiers kept rigidly racist views of slaves but still demanded an end to slavery because they felt slavery would inevitably lead to more clashes between the North and South. Southern soldiers, frustrated by the growing power of the Confederate government to seize their family's assets for the war effort, often questioned their own motivation for defending a government as invasive as the North. Still, fearful of a world in which former slaves might come to own their land and intermarry with white women, Southern soldiers persisted on in battle for the Confederacy. Even yet, some Confederate soldiers thought serving in the war might be a foot in the door to someday owning slaves.
Of particular interest to the reader will be letters from African-American Union soldiers who labored in battle not only to end slavery but to earn equal pay and respect from the army. Despite their additional hardships, these soldiers came to be known as some of the bravest and most dedicated soldiers on the battlefield. Letters reveal that white soldiers often came away so impressed that many began to reconsider their previously held racist ideologies.
An enjoyable read! Guaranteed to change the national conversation about the Civil War and the end of slavery.
Historical Misunderstanding for Many Readers.......2007-06-25
As an avid war historian with notable interest in the Civil War, I believe this book may leave people with a somewhat jaded view of the War itself. Especially those that have not studied the actual history before, during, and after the War. I understand and appreciate the depth of research that went into this book. I also understand that the author tried to present actual testamonies rather than personal opinion. However, the format of the book will leave many thinking that the War was only about slavery and periferal support of that cause.
"A Rising Star Among American Historians".......2007-05-17
This book has been quickly reviewed by major hitters among American historians. Chandra Manning has been described as the "rising star of new American historians." Such high praise might make one assume this is a book geared to knowledgable scholars and enjoyable only by them. The truth is Dr. Mannings writing style and skill make this work both enlightening and enjoyable to the scholar and the history enthusiast. Any one interested in this "cruel war" will find enlightenment not shown by the earlier greats in historic writing and teaching. We can only hope that Professor Manning does not make us wait long for her next work. What William Freehling offers us in antebellum literature Chandra Manning provides in the psychology of the war itself.
Book Description
Using widely scattered and previously unknown primary sources, Parrish's biography of Confederate general Richard Taylor presents him as one of the Civil War's most brilliant generals, eliciting strong performances from his troops in the face of manifold obstacles in three theaters of action.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting read on an interesting man.......2005-11-04
It is hard to believe that other people have not written about Richard Taylor, but they need not bother now that Parrish has written this book. This book on Taylor is engaging and interesting, but also very scholarly. Although Parrish's writing style can be dry at times, his topic does not allow the book to get mired in details or become boring. Instead, Taylor's life jumps off the pages and Taylor led such a life that we, the reader, get a great overview of pre-Civil War politics, the war in the Trans-Mississippi, and the Reconstruction Era. Normally, I find the pages on the time before and after the war somewhat boring, but this was not the case with this book. The whole book really kept my attention and was very interesting. Thinking back, I really cannot think of any criticisms of this work. Just a good, solid history book.
Excellent bio.......2004-08-09
This is the best bio I have read to date of General Taylor, although sometimes one must wonder if Mr. Parrish had much sympathy for his subject, with his sometimes disparaging remarks about Southern patriarchy. Perhaps he was simply trying to be PC on the slavery issue, but this didn't add much to the book for me. Still, serious students of General Taylor's exploits and the Western theater of the war will find this book an excellent resource
Excellent Biography on a Fascinating Man!.......2004-05-07
In my humble opinion, Parrish's is one of the best biographies I have ever read. Admittingly, the book is about a fascinating person: the son of a US President and Mexican War Hero who continues his family's military heritage by becoming a Lieutenant General in the Confederate Army without the benefit of a West Point education and becomes power in pre and post Civil War Louisiana. Writing a book about such a person should result in an interesting read!
Throughout the book, Parrish maintains an excellent balance in presenting Taylor's life, including: early life and pressures as the son of a famous hero, early indifference to formal education, success as a wealthy plantation owner, relationships with slaves, views of slavery, entrance into Louisiana politics, CSA military service eventually leading to the rank of lieutenant general, post Civil War years, and later years. Parrish does an excellent job of covering each area and as a result, the reader learns the many sides of a fascinating character.
Particularly interesting to me were the descriptions of Taylor's relationships with several noted Civil War personalities: Lee, Davis, Beauregard, Johnston, Jackson, Grant, Sibley, Smith, Forrest, Bragg, and others. With few exceptions, Taylor was able to get along with most of the people he encountered during the war - a rare accomplishment indeed. Parrish does an excellent job or summarizing Taylor's valuable service to the CSA and the book contains excellent maps of the battles Taylor participated in.
All in all, an excellent and highly recommended read of one of the Civil War's most fascinating personalities!
A solid, scholarly effort.......2001-05-21
This is a highly readable yet scholarly treatment of an important nineteenth century Southerner. Dick Taylor, son of President Zachary Taylor, was a Yale-educated aristocrat and Louisiana sugar plantation owner when the Civil War broke out. By war's end he was a Lieutenant General. Although he had no pre-war military training, he became one of the Confederacy's most able commanders. Parrish expertly covers Taylor's entire life, but naturally focuses on the Civil War exploits. In addition to being an excellent strategist and tactician, Taylor was colorful, self-confident, oblivious to what others thought of him, and a lifelong practitioner of noblesse oblige. Parrish is clearly enamored of his subject, but this does not stop him from critically examining the contradictions and hypocrisies inherent in Taylor's worldview. The book is free of the anachronisms and politically correct jargon which mar so much recent American historical scholarship.
A solid, scholarly effort.......2001-05-21
This is a highly readable yet scholarly treatment of an important nineteenth century Southerner. Dick Taylor, son of President Zachary Taylor, was a Yale-educated aristocrat and Louisiana sugar plantation owner when the Civil War broke out. By war's end he was a Lieutenant General. Although he had no pre-war military training, he became one of the Confederacy's most able commanders. Parrish expertly covers Taylor's entire life, but naturally focuses on the Civil War exploits. In addition to being an excellent strategist and tactician, Taylor was colorful, self-confident, oblivious to what others thought of him, and a lifelong practitioner of noblesse oblige. Parrish is clearly enamored of his subject, but this does not stop him from critically examining the contradictions and hypocrisies inherent in Taylor's worldview. The book is free of the anachronisms and politically correct jargon which mar so much recent American historical scholarship.
Book Description
First-hand accounts that include diary entries and personal letters describe the experiences of boys, sixteen years old or younger, who fought in the Civil War.
Customer Reviews:
The boys war.......2006-11-28
With the many boys who fought in the civil war most of them lied about their age. A lot of them wrote letters or had a diary. Johnny Clem had run away from his home at 11. At age 12 he tried to enlist but they refused to let him join because he was clearly too young. The next day he came back to join as a drummer boy. "I was not happy to trade a musket for a stick". He got his wish in the battle of Shiloh and he became a soldier. I recommend this book to people who want like war and/or personal stories. I liked it. I hope you will to.
EXCELLENT STARTER WORK FOR THE YOUNG READER.......2006-01-20
Jim Murphy has given us a wonderful account of the Civil War with emphasis on the role the young soldier (teen and pre-teen) played in that conflict. The text is quite understandable and the illustrations, black and white photo of the Civil War, make this a valuable and interesting tool in sparking an interest in the young reader. The author uses many first hand accounts and has done a very good job with his research. The writing is not of the dry variety and seems to be able to hold the youner readers interest while still filling his or her head with many interesting and important facts. Highly recommend this one.
Very good book.......2003-03-06
This book is very good & understandable. I like it mainly for the pictures.
Wonderful intro to young soldiers lives in the Civil War.......1999-01-07
Read this aloud with my children about 2 years ago. It sparked my son's interest in Civil War historical fiction. He is not an avid reader, but has read several civil war books including "Red Cap" by Clifton Wisler and just picked up "Across Five Aprils" for his sixth-grade historical fiction assignment. Jim Murphy is a fine writer, weaving quotes, diary entries and anecdotes into a lucent and revealing account of the lives of youths who participated in the Civil War. A fine book!
Customer Reviews:
Most insightful.......2006-06-16
Few books are written of the common soldiers of the wars. Most are written of the battles they faught in and the generals they served under. This is a nice exception.
A most insightful and highly informative study of the common soldier of the Confederacy. Well written and very well reseached.
A must have for anyone interested in the Civil war.
Outstanding, a classic.......2005-12-02
I read this book for a military history class and came away very glad I did. The book really lets you know what it was like to be a common soldier in a Confederate army. I agree with another reviewers sentiments that the book reads very much like a research paper, but a well written one at that. You won't always feel like you are right there, but you will come away knowing exactly what these men did, how they did it, and why. To understand the common Southern soldier in the Civil War, start here. Other books have been written since Wiley's, but this is still the place to start.
A Pioneering Study of the Confederate Soldier.......2004-08-17
Bell Irvin Wiley (1906-1990), a scholar of the American Civil War, is best known for his two early books describing the lives of common soldiers in the Union and Confederate Armies. His book, "The Life of Johnny Reb" appeared in 1943 and was followed in 1952 by its companion volume "The Life of Billy Yank". At the beginning of his career, Wiley tended to concentrate on the Confederate War effort and wrote his book on "Billy Yank" as a result of the fascination he developed from writing his initial work with the common soldier. Ironically, Wiley's book on "Billy Yank" is the stronger of the two in terms of detail, organization, factual material, and analysis. His book on the Confederate soldier remains an important effort, essential to understanding the Southern Civil War experience.
In the Preface to his book, Wiley points out the fascination that the campaigns and personalities of Lee, Jackson, Stuart, and other Southern leaders exert (and continue to exert) on students of the Civil War. He aimed in his book to discuss the life of the soldier "as it really was" including among much else "how the hungry private fried his bacon, baked his biscuit, smoked his pipe". His book succeeds in that aim. Wiley's book gave me a good picture of life in the Southern Army with all its privations and hardships. He does not romanticize his subject or, for all his affection for the Southern soldier, fall prey to "Lost Cause" mythology.
The book opens with a discussion of the enthusiasm of the Southern soldier during the early stages of the War -- largely resulting from the conviction that the War would be short and that the Yankees would go home. He discusses how the dream of a short, decisive conflict quickly faded and how the troops were left with the dangerous, boring, and dehabilitating business of soldiering. Some men continued througout with their convictions and enthusiasm but for most the War became something that could not end soon enough.
Wiley gives good pictures and stories of the tedium of life in the camps during the winter and during the long periods when the armies were not in combat or on the march. He describes the bad food, shoddy clothes, and low pay that were the lot of the Confederate soldier. He discusses the various ways the troops spent their time. ranging from the sins of gambling, drink, and vice to the repeated attempts at religious revivials. Wiley is sensitive to the instances of cowardice and fear in the Confederate war effort but he rightly praises the valor and courage, overall, of the Confederate soldier. They fought tenaciously and hard. Wiley discusses the loneliness of soldier life as the men in the lines went to great efforts to write letters home and thought of their wives and sweethearts.
I thought Wiley's discussion of the unsanitary conditions of the camps and the toll taken by disease and poor medical treatment among the best sections of the book. He also discusses well the ambivalent relationships that frequently developed between Johnny Reb and his enemy in blue. Although it became a total and brutal combat, the Civil War was marked by attempts at fraternization, and what later writers have termed the "brotherhood of men at arms." The feelings the combatants developed for each other became important in the reconciliation efforts following this devastating conflict. Wiley also offers a good discussion of the various types of shoulder arms used by the Southern troops during the war, their manufacture, and their limitations.
There is a great deal of anecdotal material in this book. The text is repetitive at times. But this book and its companion volume remain essential Civil War reading and will give the student a feel for life in the lines.
Overlooked heroes.......2004-06-28
Bell Irvin Wiley seems to have been the first historian/writer to realize that the Civil War was not just about Lee, Pickett, Grant or Stuart or any of the other guys with stars on their shoulders. The real truth about what happened on those battlefields had to do with the guys in the tattered uniforms and the rotted shoes, trying to fight with defective rifles.
As in his companion book, "The Life of Billy Yank", "The Life of Johnny Reb: The Common Soldier of the Confederacy" is an unflinching look at the seemingly endless plight of a Confederate soldier. This is a very sobering account, and some of the letters the soldiers wrote home are nothing short of heartbreaking. Even as defeat was becoming more and more apparent, the courage and determination of these men did not waiver. This is a truly admirable account of men who were more than common soldiers. I believe they were really common heroes.
Excellent Research Work.......2004-02-18
This is an excellent book if you're looking to read about "The Life of Johnny Reb." For once, the title of the book reflects what it really is about ; )
Clearly Wiley has done his homework. You will walk away having learned pretty much everything there is to know about fighting for the CSA.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I started reading as far as style went. I wasn't sure if it would read like a memoir or rather collection of memoirs. The style was actually more along the lines of a research paper. It's a very nuts and bolts portrayal of every day camp life with each chapter focusing on a certain element (Why, Who, How, etc.). You don't get the pit in your stomach or wind in your hair sort of sensation, but you do get a very accurate read of the life and times of those soldiers.
If you're looking for more of a "romantic" or spirited read, I think you'll be disappointed. You're probably better off going with a true memoir. "The Life of Johnny Reb" does not read like a story or memoir. What's great about it is that each chapter stands on its own, so it would be easy to pick up and read from time to time.
In any case, as I mentioned the research is impecable and clearly after reading I can say that I understand the common soldier of the CSA.
Book Description
"An eye-opening, myth-shattering, stereotype-breaking work of originality, elegance, and wisdom. A must-read for Civil War buffs, Jewish history fans, and all Americans interested in learning—and you will learn much—about Jewish southerners who placed loyalty to their adopted states above the moral teachings of their tradition (at least as we now interpret them). You may not agree with these Jewish Confederates, but you will surely understand them better." —Alan M. Dershowitz
Rosen N. Rosen's JEWISH CONFEDERATES shows that the breadth and strength of Southern Jews' commitment to the Confederate cause is undeniable. Focusing on the Jewish communities throughout the South, Rosen explains each city's reasons for supporting the cause of Southern independence. Those motivations were as complex as their positions and roles in Southern society.
Profiling the prominent and humble, who volunteered for service, Rosen shows a Confederate army and government remarkably free of anti-Semitism and a Southern leadership, especially Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee, without prejudice against the Jews (as opposed to Union generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman who issued anti-Semitic edicts).
The text is supplemented with 160 photographs and illustrations-- many previously unpublished and recently discovered images contributed by the descendants of Jewish Confederates.
Customer Reviews:
And you never knew..............2007-07-01
....that The Confederacy had Jews. Surprise...A true story: in my exam room, there is always a book on my side table. One day, this was the book; a young girl [I take care of Army Privates] went over and picked it up as if she were touching pork. She informed me that the book was a lie, because there could not possibly have been any Jews in The Confederacy. I pointed to Judah Benjamin's picture among the other Confederate heroes on my wall and told her his story, including the slave owning. She was appalled. She soon knew that the CSA had around 2000 Jews, from Private to Colonel. Then, she asked me the question for which I still have no answer: "How is it that I, a Jew, living in America, don't know that significant a part of my own history?" Sadly, she's a very bright girl, who just didn't know. Much more sadly, BOTH of her parents are history professors. The encounter happened right before Christmas break, and she informed me that she was going to ask her mother about the matter. I gave her several references, and wished her Happy Chanukkah. After the break, she said that her Mom told her that, yes, this is something they knew, but just don't talk about. Look, all of us who deal with history can tell stories of astonishing ignorance. But I've never forgotten that girl; whenever I see ignorance, she reminds me of the obligation that all us who know have to impart [gently] unto those who don't.
Bob Rosen, has, indeed, imparted, and done it superbly. He gives us the story of all the major, and many of the minor, Jews who saluted the Stars and Bars. The two most prominant Jewish Confederates, Judah P. Benjamin, and Phoebe Yates Pember, were civilians, but many wore the gray uniform; Abraham Myers was the Quartermaster General, David DeLeon was the first Surgeon General [Rosen gives the bad with the good; Dr. DeLeon was a drunk, who was soon cashiered]. Major Adolph Proskauer led a charge at Gettysburg, and lived to tell it for many years. Ironically, the two highest ranking Jews killed in the war both fell at Vicksburg, and have monuments near each other. They were Colonels Leon Dawson Marks [Confederate] and Marcus H. Spiegel[Yankee]. Dr. Simon Baruch was a highly respected surgeon during, and after, the war; his son, Bernard, gained fame as a financier. Sgt. Moses Ezekiel was a VMI Cadet who fought at New Market, then was one of the finest sculptors on earth for many years. Many gave much in support; Mrs. Pember's sister, Eugenia Phillips, was a Spy who went to jail twice, and won the hearts of all Southerners by slapping Beast Butler. Rabbis Max Michaelbacher and George Jacobs were central figures in the Richmond religious community. There's even humor here; witness the "damn yankee Jew" asking a child in Norfolk asking a child for a piece of matzoah during The Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Interestingly, while the Yankees had around 10,000 Jews in uniform, and the South 2,000, it was the supposedly "racist" South that had Benjamin and Mrs. Pember. Only The Confederacy put Jews in leadership positions. Robert E. Lee and Jeff Davis strongly, and openly, supported the Jewish community, while Grant and Sherman were stark-raving anti-Semites.
This is not just a great book, it's an artistic masterpiece. Great illustrations, well presented. Bob Rosen deserves all our thanks, even those of a goyim like me. Do not fail to read this book.
A Gorgeous . . . Info Dump.......2007-05-31
This is truly a beautiful book. It occupies a prominent place on my library shelf. The subject matter is fascinating, and important. Considering how Jews came to be treated in the South after the Civil War, the story of how Jews other than Judah Benjamin loyally served the Confederacy most certainly should be told.
For telling this story, Robert Rosen deserves credit. But the writing in The Jewish Confederates is pedestrian at best. Most chapters consist of paragraph after paragraph of short recaps of the military service of people with nothing in common other than being Jewish. Rosen diligently did his research, then regurgitated what he found.
In short, I do recommend this book for those interested in either the history of Jews in America or the Civil War, but do not expect to be captivated -- not an unreasonable expectation given the beautiful cover artwork. You will learn, but it will be a chore. Kind of like school, but there are certainly worse ways to spend some time.
An Interesting account of Jewish life in the South before and during the Civil War........2005-09-23
I've had Jewish friends in Memphis and New Orleans whom I was surprised to learn had Ancestors in the Army of Northern Virgina and the Army of Tennessee. Rosen's book shows that the Civil War truly was a War of Brother against Brother no matter the ties by social status, national origin, or religion.
Rosen has done quite a bit of research and presents his narrative with the recollections, diaries, and letters of the participants and their families and friends. This kind of history by correspondance has always appealed to me more than the memoir type that is carefully thought out later to put the event or individual in the best light.
Rosen presents us with Jews living a normal life in the antebellum South similar to that enjoyed by their White Christian neighbors. The same predjudices and toleration for the "peculiar institution" exist for them as it does for their neighbors but I sense there is more of a toleration amongst this community for the Abolitionists Movement among Antebellum Jews than other groups in the South.
When War comes young men enlist and fight for the same cause as their Christian neighbors and with the same Gallantry. First hand accounts of the struggles and hardships of the War come from the letters soldiers write home to their families.
Rosen presents Jewish Life from the viewpoints of many players from well known Lousiana politician Judah P. Benjamin who held many positions in Jefferson Davis' Cabinet to less well known immigrants from Spain and Germany who started stores in rural Mississippi and Arkansas.
One story that I could not find was that of Sergeant Mordecai Solomon or Solomon Mordecai of Jackson, Mississippi who won the Confederate Medal of Honor at Spotsylvania Court House in 1864 and whose Synagogue was bombed by the KKK 100 years later
The book is a must for Civil War enthusiasts and may be helpful in Geneology research.
The Jewish Confederates.......2004-05-15
The world is full of people who just don't get it, thanks to the ultra-leftist American media. They consider South "the land of bigotry" and portray the War Between the States, as some sort of referendum on slavery and bigotry. In their minds, the thought a Jew in a Confederate uniform is an oxymoron.
Of course, the historical record is as clear as a bell-the so-called "Civil War" was a result of high tariffs and the average Southerner's fear of a new political party that sought even more "tax and spend" polices.
During the antebellum times, Jews were an integral part of the South. A substantial amount of their contribution to the region is still part of the Southern landscape.
When a Jewish friend of mine from the north side of Chicago recently had an opportunity to travel in the South, he was amazed to learn that the South was not the land of anti-Semitism, as the media-dominated northern urban culture had led him to believe. He was also surprised to discover how much evidence of early Jewish influence in the South still remains.
Of course, I recommended that he read The Jewish Confederates to help him put it all into perspective. It really shows that many Jewish men and women were proud citizens of the Confederacy.
Some of the details presented make it clear that many of these brave soldiers of the Confederacy were very serious about their faith and culture. A portion of the book that detail the way the Jewish soldiers were allowed the opportunity to celebrate their holidays was especially enlightening.
It took a lot of courage on the part of Robert N. Rosen to write such a book. In a day and age when many people arrogantly display their ignorance by equating the Confederate flag with racism, Rosen should be considered national hero for having the guts to bring the world the truth.
If it were up to me, Rosen's The Jewish Confederates would be required reading for any program on "multiculturalism." It would also be required reading for every liberal history professor who teaches the era of the War Between the States.
Seven Score and Three Years Ago.......2004-02-16
First, I commend Robert Rosen for his dedication to this subject and for publishing this work. I am sure that it ought to be as controversial as recent books (and film) showing dedication of Blacks to the Southern Cause for Independence. I recall as a child watching the march on Montgomery, the seat of the first Confederate Capitol, before it was moved to Richmond. And had it remained in Montgomery, what then?
Mr. Rosen, an attorney, is clear with his research. Anyone who might wonder why Jews would fight for the Confederacy, or Blacks for that matter, will find this fascinating. Jews from South Carolina, from Louisiana, many of German or Spanish (Sephardic) heritage, were there. I hope that more books, and personal accounts, will follow, from groups whose support for the rights of the States to determine their destinies will be forthcoming. We must learn from history.
Anyone who would hope to understand what it means to be an American should have this book on the shelf, and read it. To paraphrase Shelby Foote, before this war, the United States could only be conceived of as a plurality, after, a singularity. Yet today, we are no doubt in danger of falling into an abyss of pluralism that threatens any kind of national identity. Yet Irishmen fought one another--at Fredericksburg, and elsewhere--as did Jews, and Blacks, and Hispanics--across stone walls at point-blank range, leaving a legacy of maiming of soul and flesh. We have only to look back 3 score years to the bloodbath of Europe to see we are not yet free.
Jews fought for home and hearth, "Pro Aris et Pro Focis"--a common Latin phrase embroidered on flags North and South. In the American South, many Jews found that was worth fighting for against an invasion from afar. That experience unites them with us, today.
Most highly recommended for scholarship and readability!
Average customer rating:
- Finally a book on the Jeff Davis Legion
- Correction
- Great
- As author I consider this a unique C.S.A. Regimental History
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The Little Jeff: The Jeff Davis Legion, Cavalry Army of Northern Virginia
Donald A. Hopkins , and
Donald Hopkins
Manufacturer: White Mane Publishing Company
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ASIN: 1572491728 |
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The Jeff Davis Legion, Cavalry Army of Northern Virginia
Customer Reviews:
Finally a book on the Jeff Davis Legion.......2000-03-04
The author expended a tremendous effort in researching the Jeff Davis Legion. He has created an interesting history of this unusual cavalry unit. Any one who is interested in the Confederate Cavalry will enjoy the detail information the author has dug out of the archives.
Correction.......2000-01-07
Amazon says book has 40 pages. It has 325
Great.......1999-12-01
The author obviously performed a great deal of research in order to extract such detailed and little known facts about the "Little Jeff". Truly a gem for all interested in the Civil War. Highly recommended.
As author I consider this a unique C.S.A. Regimental History.......1999-10-19
This is the first complete history of The Jeff Davis Legion, initially designated the 2nd Mississippi Cavalry Battalion. Fighting under Jeb Stuart and Wade Hampton it later followed Hampton to Georgia and the Carolinas. Though companies from Georgia and Alabama joined the regiment, it remained officially a "Mississippi" cavalry unit. They were the only Mississippi cavalry to fight as part of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.
Among the men of the "Little Jeff" were educated elite from Natchez and Savannah and rustic farmers and country tradesmen from Kemper County, Mississippi and Sumpter and Barbour Counties, Alabama. Through first hand accounts we follow these soldiers from their early enthusiasm until camp life and sickness brought war into perspective. They fought their first engagement in late 1861 and from then on fought in most of Lee's campaigns. They were at Williamsburg, Seven Pines, Seven days, Antietam, Trevilian Station, Brandy Station, Gettysburg and countless smaller engagements They sustained some of their greatest losses at lesser known places like Upperville, Funkstown, Stony Creek, and Bentonville.
Readers of this history should come away not only with an accurate characterization of the Confederate cavalryman, but also with an understanding of their place in the overall strategy of Lee's army. The related book, published simultaneously, "Horsemen of the Jeff Davis Legion" gives information taken from the individual cavalryman's service record from the National Archives as well as a wealth of information from other sources about each man. This should be useful as a geneological reference. Also contains statistics related to the Jeff Davis Legion and brief biographies of senior officers associated with it.
Donald A. Hopkins
Book Description
To some, Robert E. Lee is a beloved general, held in the highest regard. To others, he is one of history's most paradoxical heroes. He fought passionately to defend his homeland and was one of the nation's greatest soldiers, yet his name is often inextricably linked with slavery and secession.
In 1861 Lee was Lincoln's first choice to lead the Union troops in the Civil War. But a strong loyalty to Virginia held Lee back. Instead he chose to become the commanding officer of the Confederacy. Lee had great success in battle by spitting his forces and unleashing suprise attacks. His victory at Chancellorville, where his troops soundly defeated an enemy twice their size, remains the most astonishing.
However, only when he surrendered in 1865 did the nation understand the kind of man Robert E. Lee truly was. He was kind and loving, giving all of himself to a reconciliation between the North and the South. In this meticulously researched biography, James I. Robertson explores the life of one of the most revered -- and misunderstood -- Civil War Generals.
Customer Reviews:
I have read this book..........2007-01-22
and heard the author speak today at the 200th anniversary of Robert E Lee's birthday. What hero worship? What aggrandizing? Robert E Lee, himself, would have blushed! James I. Robertson is more of a minister than a historian... his religion is Lee, his analysis is flawed. Lee was not raised by Washington, George was dead in his grave 8 years before Robert E. Lee was even born. Lee was a reaction. A reaction to his father, Harry 'Light-Horse' Lee; a fabuluous military man in his own right, with a penchant to trust too much; especially, George Washington, who advised him on property speculations, which ultimately left Harry Lee broke. Harry, like Washington was a Federalist, a believer of a strong central government. Robert was taught to despise his father, by anti-federalists, who couldn't stand the idea of "America," were threatened by it, and were ultimately destroyed... a confederacy of weakness against a Nation of strength. ( See: Light-Horse Harry Lee and the Legacy of the American Revolution (Paperback) by Charles Royster if you want to read the facts)
A solid intermediate biography of Robert E. Lee for younger readers.......2006-05-16
There are a couple of interesting things about the cover of this juvenile biography of Robert E. Lee. First, the complete title of the book is "Robert E. Lee: Virginian Solider, American Citizen," and the sub-title James I. Robertson, Jr. picked set up an ironic juxtaposition. Because Lee considered Virginia to be his country, rather than the United States of America, he turned down President Abraham Lincoln's offer to become the commander of the Union armies, choosing instead to side with Virginia and the Confederate cause. Consequently, Lee's fame as a solider was in part because he decided he was more of a Virginian than he was an American. There is the additional irony that at the end of his life, after the Civil War, when he was no longer a soldier, he was not exactly considered an "American citizen" by the North. The painting of Lee that appears on the cover shows him in the dress uniform of a lieutenant of the engineers in the U.S. Army, when he was in his mid-twenties, several decades before he made his fateful decision. So the cover does take a step or two back from the picture we have of Robert E. Lee as the commanding general of the Army of Northern Virginia.
The paradox of Lee is that we consider him to be our greatest military commander even though he was on the losing side of the Civil War. The only other general from the "other" side that I can think of who has anything close to that level of respect would have to be Germany's Erwin Rommell from World War II, whose Afrika Corps had a reputation comparable to that of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. We tend to think of such men as existing independent of the ideologies of the nation's for whom they were fighting. Robertson deals up front with that idea, noting that on the one hand Lee is a beloved general, held in the highest regard to such an extent that he has practically become an American saint, while on the other his name is inextricably linked with the issues of secession and slavery associated with the Southern Confederacy. Robertson's introduction begins by touching on Lee's greatest military triumph at the Battle of Chancellorsville, where he defeated a Union army twice his size by dividing his smaller force in two, but most of the focus is on the Lee legend that exists today.
Eight of the ten chapters in this book focus on Lee during the Civil War: (1) The Making of a Soldier covers how the son of "Light Horse Harry" Lee graduated second in his West Point class of 1829, married Mary Anne Randolph Custis, and served with distinction during the Mexican War in what proves to be the chapter's longest section. (2) Nation Versus Country begins with Lee being appointed superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy and his confirmation in the Episcopal faith, and ends with his wife inheriting the Custis estates in Arlington, his role in the capture of John Brown at Harper's Ferry, and his resignation from the U.S. Army on the eve of the Civil War. (3) Rocky Path to Army Command is one of the most interesting chapters because it reminds us that Lee did not start off the war as a commander, but rather as President Jefferson Davis' confidential military adviser. It was not until June 1862 that Lee was place in command of troops, with low expectations exemplified by his nicknames as "Evacuation Lee" and "Granny Lee."
The Lee that history remembers emerges in the next chapters. (4) Brilliance in the Field shows how Lee bested General George B. McClellan, the overly cautious commander of the Union's Army of the Potomac in the Seven Days' Campaign, and his replacement John Pope at the Second Battle of Manassas (a.k.a. Bull Run, but I go with the belief the winning side gets to name the battle). Robertson underscores the importance of General "Stonewall" Jackson to Lee's successes. (5) The Bloodiest Day is about Lee's first invasion of the North and the Battle of Antietem (a.k.a. Sharpsburg), and the slaughter of Union troops at the Battle of Fredericksburg. (6) Loss of an Arm contrasts Lee's greatest military achievement at the Battle of Chancellorsville with the devastating loss of Jackson. (7) Gettysburg explains Lee's desperate gamble in invading the North a second time, focusing on how he came to order Pickett's Charge, his biggest military mistake.
The next two chapters play out the end of the war, as Lee once again becomes the "King of Spades." (8) Forced on the Defensive looks at how General Ulysses S. Grant forced Lee's army to move backwards to protect Richmond. (9) From Siege to Defeat begins with Lee's entrenchments along the Richmond-Petersburg line and ends with the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House when Lee's starving troops were surrounded by several Union armies. (10) National Symbol is the final chapter, which details what Lee did after the Civil War in becoming the president of what was then Washington College and what is now Washington and Lee University, and covers how his death in 1870 brought on national mourning.
This is a solid intermediate biography of Lee for younger readers, which goes to pains to explain the major battles he fought during the Civil War. The book is illustrated with dozens of black and white etchings and photographs from throughout Lee's life. Robertson also wrote a similar biography, "Standing Like a Stone Wall: The Life of General Thomas J. Jackson," which would certainly provide a nice complement to this volume (Robertson also has written an adult biography of Jackson, "Stonewall Jackson: The Man, the Solider, the Legend").
A Solid Biography Written for Younger Readers (12 and up).......2006-03-17
Part of the books for young readers put out by this publisher, this is a fairly short and not filled with complexity. Having said that, this is also a very well researched, very well written biography of General Lee. It is profusely illustrated, particularly the Civil War years which generated a lot of photographs.
All in all, this is an excellent short biography. I recommend it for not only young readers (Grades 6 up) but for anyone wanting a fairly quick biography that captures the essese of the mas as well as books several times this one's size.
Average customer rating:
- A look to the west. . .
- This is an extremely important Civil War source book.
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The Civil War Reminiscences of Major Silas T. Grisamore, C.S.A.
Silas
Manufacturer: Louisiana State University Press
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Customer Reviews:
A look to the west. . ........2000-01-21
This book is a must read. A refreshing glimpse into the adventures of a Western Theater Quartermaster. Obviously intense and very thorough research was done editing these memoirs. Dr. Bergeron is indeed a premier Civil War historian.
This is an extremely important Civil War source book........1997-12-05
Grisamore's memoir is an important source of information on the Western and Trans-Mississippi theaters of the Civil War. Because he was a quartermaster, his story is a unique one because few quartermaster officers left memoirs. The book is full of humor as well as little known episodes of the war. Grisamore was a native of Indiana but felt strongly enough about the Confederate war effort to join the army and risk his life.
Average customer rating:
- Still the Standard Account of Johnston's Life After 40 Years
- An Important Biography of a Major Military Officer of the Civil War Era
- Balanced.
- Daft Reviewer
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Albert Sidney Johnston: Soldier of Three Republics
Charles P. Roland
Manufacturer: University Press of Kentucky
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Jefferson Davis's Greatest General: Albert Sidney Johnston (Civil War Campaigns and Commanders Series)
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Joseph E. Johnston: A Civil War Biography (Norton Paperback)
ASIN: 0813190002 |
Book Description
Selected as one of the best 100 books ever written on the Civil War by Civil War Times Illustrated in 1981 and by Civil War: The Magazine of the Civil War Society in 1995.
A new, revised edition of the only full-scale biography of the Confederacy's top-ranking field general during the opening campaigns of the Civil War. Albert Sidney Johnston was selected as one of the best one hundred books ever written on the Civil War by Civil War Times Illustrated in 1981 and by Civil War: The Magazine of the Civil War Society in 1995.
“Roland offers a useful corrective to some of the harsher critiques [of Johnston] . . . portraying him as an officer who, just one year into the war, was still growing as a leader.”—from the foreword by Gary Gallagher
Customer Reviews:
Still the Standard Account of Johnston's Life After 40 Years.......2007-01-03
The University Press of Kentucky reissued Charles P. Roland's impressive biography of Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston in 2001, and readers will be glad they did. It is telling, writes historian Gary Gallagher in a new Foreword, that no new biography of Johnston has come out in almost 40 years. Roland's balanced, entertaining, and informative work still stands as the standard account of this martial man's life. In telling Johnston's story, Roland emphasizes his devotion to duty no matter how distasteful the assignment. Time and time again, whether in Texas, Utah, or Tennessee, Johnston was faithful in discharging his duty despite any personal misgivings with those in authority. Many thought Johnston would run for President of the eponymous three republics, Texas, the United States, and the Confederate States. In all cases, Johnston declined, preferring military duty as the best way to help whatever cause he was then involved with. As of early 2007, Roland's study is and will remain for the foreseeable future the standard work on Albert Sidney Johnston's life.
Albert Sidney Johnston was born in Kentucky in 1803, the son of a practicing doctor who originally hailed from New England. Despite these Yankee roots, Johnston would become a thoroughly southern man. Johnston initially enrolled at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, and he later attended West Point. Johnston counted future Confederate President Jefferson Davis as one of his close friends while at the military academy. Johnston was a good student and finished eighth overall, requesting a commission in the infantry. Johnston seemed to be attracted to the most active areas all his life, first participating in the Black Hawk War in 1832, then moving on to the newly created Republic of Texas in the 1830's. Johnston became a General an d commanded Texas' main army after she had won her independence from Mexico. While in Texas, Johnston eventually found himself in a feud with prominent Texan Sam Houston, a situation which would endure even after Texas joined the United States. From Texas, Johnston also participated in the 1846-48 War with Mexico, first as a Colonel of volunteers and then as an honorary aide. After the Mexican War, Johnston became chief paymaster of the Department of Texas, and also unsuccessfully ran a plantation in that state. His job entailed long, lonely journeys away from his family, a situation that finally ended when Johnston was placed in command of the famed 2nd United States Cavalry. While in this position, Johnston commanded an expedition to Utah to possibly fight a war with the Mormons in 1857. Johnston's treatment of the Mormons was impeccable, though he disagreed with their way of life. Later, Johnston became commander of the Department of California, and was at this post when the Civil War broke out. Johnston, who identified strongly with Texas, decided to join the Confederacy as soon as the Lone Star state seceded.
Johnston was soon appointed as one of the five senior generals of the Confederacy, and his experience was so extensive that his personal friendship with Jefferson Davis never even factored into the equation. Davis considered Johnston to be the finest general he had available, and assigned him to command the entire western theater from eastern Kentucky to western Arkansas. What Davis didn't give Johnston enough of was men and materiel. He was expected to cover this massive amount of territory with less than 60,000 men initially, facing over twice that number in Union troops. Johnston's attempts to defend the easter expanse of this department failed when one of his strong points at Forts Henry and Donelson was taken. Not only did Johnston fail to hold the forts, but he also lost 15,000 badly needed men in the process. Roland rightly criticizes Johnston's actions during this time frame. To Johnston's credit, he managed to hold together his army through a long and demoralizing retreat which saw the loss of all of Kentucky and most of Tennessee including Nashville. Johnston and P. G. T. Beauregard now called in reinforcements from across the Confederacy in an attempt to overwhelm Grant's Army of the Tennessee at Pittsburg Landing. At the height of the attack, Johnston was hit and his boot heel torn partially from the boot. Johnston seemed fine, but in reality an artery had been nicked and the general bled to death in a short while. Johnston was never given the chance to achieve greatness, argues Roland, so we cannot honestly say what might have been regarding his development. Men such as Grant learned from their early mistakes; whether or not Johnston would have done the same is open for speculation.
Johnston spent most of his adult life in and around the military in one form or another, so this biography is naturally enough concerned with a lot of military matters. Roland moves equally well in military and non-military discussions of Johnston's life. His portrayal of Johnston's family and the general's inability to house all of his children in one home due to his financial situation was especially touching. That Roland's book still stands as the standard account of Johnston's life testifies to his mastery of the subject. From Johnston's days as a cadet at West Point to the various campaigns for different countries Johnston found himself in, Roland covers all aspects of Johnston's life in a consistently fair manner, giving the man's failures (mainly financial) and successes (mainly military) equal attention. Roland ultimately concludes that Johnston handled his military commands with aplomb throughout the antebellum years, and he was possibly on his way to this same success in the Civil War before his life was cut short at Shiloh.
The maps in this book were standard for their time (1964), and I was actually pleasantly surprised by most of them. They serve their intended role of familiarizing the reader with the situation without being too vague or too few in number to make a difference. Roland uses the footnote method at the bottom of each page, a process which works better for me in terms of actually looking through the notes at the pertinent point in the text rather than at the end of a chapter or at the end of the book. Roland's bibliography is extensive and uses quite a few manuscript collections as the foundation of his research. Johnston's letters to and from family, friends, and acquaintances are used to especially good effect. The index is functional and serves its intended purpose quite well.
Charles P. Roland's biography of Albert Sidney Johnston continues to stand as the only modern work of the general. The quality of the book will insure that it stays this way for the foreseeable future. Those readers interested in biographical works on the Civil War's leaders would do well to have a copy of Albert Sidney Johnston: Soldier of Three Republics on their shelves. No portion of Johnston's life, from his military and personal affairs, his financial failures and military successes, is left uncovered. This biography of Johnston can also be seen as a microcosm of the difficult choices facing men who had previously or were then serving in the United States Army in 1860. For many of these men, their state was more important to them than their country. This biography was also mentioned in several Civil War periodicals as one of the 100 best books written on the Civil War, a sentiment which is pretty close to the mark. Albert Sidney Johnston: Soldier of Three Republics will appeal to students of antebellum America almost as much as students of the Civil war, for most of Johnston's life was spent in those pre-war years. Considering the relatively low price and solid account of Johnston's life, this biography belongs in every Civil War buff's collection.
(Note: Special thanks goes to The University Press of Kentucky.)
An Important Biography of a Major Military Officer of the Civil War Era.......2006-01-28
I first read an earlier edition of this book in graduate school in the latter 1970s and found it an interesting and useful work. On re-reading "Albert Sidney Johnston: Soldier of Three Republics," it remains a very fine biography that may be appreciated by anyone interested in antebellum military history and the Civil War. Johnston, one of the senior commanders of Confederate troops in the first part of the Civil War was killed at Shiloh in 1862. Beforehand, he had enjoyed a significant career as both a U.S. Army officer and commander of the Army of the Republic of Texas. The U.S., Texas, and Confederate State of America are the "three republics" of the title.
Born in Washington, Kentucky, in 1803, Johnston was a West Pointer who gained broad experience in military command. In 1832 he participated in the Black Hawk War as adjutant to the commander. In 1834 he resigned his commission and two years later moved to the new Republic of Texas, where he soon became the ranking military official. He served in the Texan army for several years and later as the Texas Secretary of War. When the Mexican War arose in 1846, Johnston raised a regiment of Texas volunteers and commanded it until his men's enlistments expired.
After the Mexican-American War, Johnston remained in the U.S. Army and by 1855 had attained the rank of colonel. In 1857 when President James Buchanan named new officials to Utah Territory, reports from U.S. officials there declared the Mormons in rebellion against the government. To counter the situation, Buchanan sent a military expedition to Utah to quell the Mormons and install the appointed territorial governor, Alfred Cumming. Departing in July 1857, 2,500 troops marched from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to Utah, at first under the command of General William S. Harney but within a month Johnston was named as his replacement. During the two year period that Johnston headed this expedition, negotiations were conducted that eventually led to a peaceful settlement of the controversy and the installation of federal officers in Utah. His success in handling this crisis led to Johnston's promotion to brevet brigadier general and his appointment in 1860 to command the Department of the Pacific.
Johnston commanded the Pacific Department at the time of the secession of the lower south in the winter of 1860-1861 and it led to a difficult career choice. Since his strongest loyalties rested with Texas, Johnston resigned his commission when Texas seceded although he was never an advocate of secession. In June 1861 he and a company of other southerners marched cross-country to offer military service to the Confederacy. As one of the most experiences military officers available, Johnston was immediately appointed by a personal friend, Jefferson Davis, a general in the Confederate army with command of the western theater.
Johnston immediately set about to prepare for war. Outnumbered and outgunned, his army's first real test came in the battles of Forts Henry and Donelson, in Kentucky, which fell to Union forces in February 1862. This defeat prompted a southern outcry against Johnston, but Jefferson Davis defended his friend as the best commander the South could muster. The next test came in April 1862 when Johnston gathered many of his troops around Corinth, Mississippi, from which he attacked Union forces under Ulysses S. Grant near the Shiloh church. Nearly successful in crushing the Federals the first day of the battle of Shiloh, April 6, Johnston was fatally wounded late in the day and his second in command, P.G.T. Beauregard, halted the attack until the next morning. This gave Grant time to reorganize his forces and bring in reinforcements. The next day Union troops drove the Confederates back to Corinth.
Since Johnston was killed so early in the Civil War it is difficult to assess his abilities as a commander of large numbers of troops, but Roland takes on this task. He notes that Johnston demonstrated caution early in the war, but showed tactical brilliance while commanding at Shiloh. The effect of his death has been a point of endless controversy ever since Shiloh. J.F.C. Fuller, the well-known British military analyst, called Johnston "brave but stupid," but others such as Charles Roland have assigned Johnston a place somewhere in the middle, neither brilliant nor stupid in his command decisions. One conclusion is appropriate, and Charles Roland makes this case well in his biography of this soldier, Johnston was a capable military officer. He was successful in every position of command he ever held, and at least in his handling of the Shiloh battle, he showed real ability to lead a large army to victory.
Balanced........2003-09-21
This is the story of a very interesting life. A good soldier and a fine man, Albert Sidney Johnston served in the background for so long that history questions his ability to rise to the top.
Adept at politics and administration, his leadership remains questioned despite involvement in the Black Hawk Indian War in Illinois, the protection of the early Texas Republic and frontier, the War with Mexico, the Mormon Campaign, and the stability of pre Civil War California.
Killed at Shiloh, the first top Confederate commander to die during the war, his death leaves the question of an unfulfilled life and thoughts of what might have been. His involvement in so many of the key areas associated with the early stages of this nation's Manifest Destiny, his life is an important one, one that impacts the long procession of events that lead up to the Civil War.
He is a person worth knowing about.
Daft Reviewer.......2003-04-12
One has to question the opinion of a reviewer who cannot even state the proper name of the focus of the biography and seems more interested in detailing his genealogy instead. The proper name of the General is Albert Sidney Johnston, NOT Sidney Albert Johnston, for those passersby who may be interested in the book. Also, I doubt the reviewer's assumption that possessing the name "Sidney" can be directly correlated to ignorant racist Southerners, or any Southerner, as he seems to assume.
Haven't read this book, but want laypersons to be familiar with the correct name of the General. Don't use "stars" as a way to rate books, either.
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