Customer Reviews:
A WORTHY BIO OF JEFFERSON DAVIS.......2007-10-10
rHE AUTHOR WILLIAM C. DAVIS HAS WRITTEN MANY BOOKS ON THE CIVIL WAR AND THIS PERIOD OF OUR HISTORY. FOR A LONG TIME HE WAS EDITOR OF THE MAGAZINE CIVIL WAR ILLUSTRATED. SOME OF HIS BOOKS BELONG MORE IN THIS MAGAZINE THAN IN BOOK FORM. THISIS ONE OF HIS BEST, COMPARABLE TO HIS FINE WORK ON BRECKENRIDGE AND LIKE THAT EARLIER BOOK THIS OFFERS US A GOOD READ ABOUT THE POLITICS OF THE TIME BOTH NORTH AND SOUTH. IT IS A GOOD READ IN THE SENSE THAT THEE AUTHOR HAS GIVEN A GREAT DEAL OF TIME TO RESEARCH AND THINKING ON HIS SUBJECT. HOWEVER, IT IS NOT AS WELL WRITTEN AS SOME OTHER BIOS OF JEFF DAVIS.
WM. DAVIS ATTEMPS TO BE FAIR IN HIS ASSESSMENT OF DAVIS, NEITHER PRO NOR CON TO A GREAT EXTENT AND THIS SEEKING FOR FAIRNESS TAKES SOME OF THE EXCITEMENT FROM THE SUBJECT. ON THE WHOLE IT IS A WORTHY BOOK FOR ANY READER--PROFESSIONAL OR BUFF.
An excellent analysis of the man and his time.......2004-08-13
Davis presents casual readers and historians with an excellent bio of Davis and his tenure as president of the short-lived Confederate nation. His meticulous research is evident in this interesting account of the man AND his motivations. I had the privilege of hearing Mr. Davis address a Civil War Round Table shortly after the publication of this book. His other works, especially "The Deep Waters of the Proud" are also highly recommended
Davis on Davis........2004-06-23
William Davis has written many has written many wonderful books about the Civil War and quite frankly he has come a long way as a writer since he wrote this book. In this book all too often his sentence structure is poor and I had to read some sentences two or three times to see what he meant. There are also a few typos in this edition but that is hardly Davis' fault. On the other hand there is a reference in the book about Bedford Forrest being from Alabama which is hard to explain. Overall though this book is well written and will certainly hold the reader's attention.
All in all, this is an excellent biography of Jefferson Davis. I would suggest that anyone who reads this book also read William Cooper's biography of Davis because the two authors take different approaches to their subject and together they offer a great insight into the life of President Davis.
This biography tends to delve more into the personality quirks that made Davis who he was and is sometimes very critical of these quirks. In fact, this book is sometimes much more critical of Davis than is Cooper but on the other hand there is plenty of praise for the subject also. The author tends to focus on Davis as commander in chief and generally on his relationship with his generals, especially Joe Johnston, Beauregard and Bragg. These three relationships Davis argues were devastating to the Confederacy and were examples of Jefferson Davis at his worst. Full credit is given to Davis however for realizing what he had in Robert E. Lee and for doing all he could to support his best general through good times and bad.
After all is said and done the author reaches what seems like a sound conclusion. Jefferson Davis probably did as well or better than any of the other possible choices the South could have picked as their leader. He made mistakes but it was he who set up the structure that kept the armies in the field for four years. Davis was the one who persuaded Congress to pass the laws that sent the armies men and food, Davis chose Lee for command when "Granny Lee" was not at all popular, and Davis dealt with the obstinate Governors who tried to keep men and arms to themselves when they were desperately needed elsewhere. In short, Davis held the new nation together longer than most any other Southern leader could have.
Finally, the author deals quite well with the process that brought Davis to near sainthood in the South after the war. It was a process that started with his imprisonment in Fort Monroe and ended with one of the largest funerals in Southern history. Together, Cooper and Davis cover most every aspect of the life of Jefferson Davis and the two books compliment each other quite well. What Davis misses, Cooper takes care of and what Cooper only touches upon, Davis completes. These two books will serve as the most complete biographies of Jefferson Davis for years to come, and they may never be surpassed.
Best Book on Jefferson Davis: A Much Challenged Man.......2004-05-22
WC Davis writes a thorough bio on one of the most unique icons in our history. Jeff Davis is shown from his youth, painful first marriage, through his political and military rise, to the senate and to the Chief Executive position in the Confederacy. WC's bio helps explain why Davis was so unwilling to give up to the point of unrealistic dreams during the final month of the war particularly when Lee's army collapsed. WC notes the sad loss of Jeff Davis' first wife that left him a social cripple for several years to his slow rebirth. His success in the Mexican war seemed to lead him to conclude that he was a superior military man and his role as the Secretary of Defense perhaps encouraged his perspective. More a man of criticism than bright ideas in the senate, he seemed to hold his perception of honor above all else. WC does a great job describing Jeff's relations with his generals particularly Lee who seems to placate Davis' need for detail unlike Johnson and Beauregard. At the end, Jeff Davis seems to hold the Confederacy by himself and his only last political hurrah may have been allowing Alexander Stephens to make his futile effort at peace in March 65. In the end, WC notes that Jeff Davis seems to rebound with the southern public aided by his cruel treatment at Fort Monroe by his captors; however, his two-volume book seems a disaster of disorganization. One has to respect Davis for holding the Confederacy together in spite of his true desire to be a general and particularly because of his ill health and fractured political support. The book answers the question of how Davis could ever imagine that the Confederacy could survive as he was riding with a small protective band through Georgia in his last hours acting more like a fugitive than the President of a country that could still rally.
best biography on Davis.......2004-02-07
Once more, William C. Davis have provided us Civil War readers with another pure winner. Of all the biographies I have read on Jefferson Davis, this book definitely proves to be the best. It highly readable, interesting as well as entertaining and after you finished with the last page, you actually feel like you know something about Jefferson Davis, his talents which was outweighted by his weaknesses. The biography paint a rather tragic figure of man who was so devoted to his cause but yet, did so much to defeat it. The irony will proves to be unforgettable to anyone who read the book. I would considered this book to be one of these so called "must read" book by anyone who have a slightest interest in the Civil War.
Book Description
Steven Woodworth's previous book, the critically acclaimed Jefferson Davis and His Generals, won the prestigious Fletcher Pratt Award and was a main selection of the History Book Club. In that book he showed how the failures of Davis and his military leaders in the west paved the way for Confederate defeat. In Davis and Lee at War, he concludes his study of Davis as rebel commander-in-chief and shows how the lack of a unified purpose and strategy in the east sealed the Confederacy's fate.
Woodworth argues that Davis and Robert E. Lee, the South's greatest military leader, had sharply conflicting views over the proper conduct of the war. Davis was convinced that the South should fight a defensive war, to simply outlast the North's political and popular support for the war. By contrast, Lee and the other eastern generals--notably P.G.T. Beauregard, Gustavus Smith, and Stonewall Jackson--were eager for the offensive. They were convinced that only quick and decisive battlefield victories would prevent the North from eventually defeating them with its overwhelming advantage in men and materials.
Davis and Lee, Woodworth shows, shared a mutual respect for each other for most of the war. But it was respect mixed with a stubborn resistance to the other's influence. The result of this tense tug-of-war was Davis's misguided pursuit of a middle ground that gave neither strategy its best chance for success. The war finally ground to a bloody conclusion with Davis as indecisive as ever and virtually blind to how little confidence his generals had in his leadership.
Drawing extensively upon the papers of Jefferson Davis and the works of leading Civil War historians, Woodworth places the eastern military campaigns in an entirely new light and expands our understanding of Davis as leader of the Confederacy.
This book is part of the Modern War Studies series.
Customer Reviews:
was easy to find and was a great thing to read!.......1999-05-11
It was ok but if your doing a report then it could get a little boring but it is great information!
One of the best books on war time leadership.......1998-04-10
I found this book to be one of the best books about command decisions and relationships between Politicians and generals during the Civil War I have ever read. It covers the battles and the leaders of the Confederacy, both great and flawed. I found it hard to believe that some Southern leaders/generals fought harder against their own side in stupid little infights and disputes. The book goes a long way in explaining Lee's strategy and that of Davis and how they were different and the results of that difference. This book concentrates on the Eastern Theatre, the author's other book 'Jefferson Davis and his Generals' covers the Western Theatre of operations and is brillant in its examination of this area. Both books are well worth reading.
Book Description
This volume provides the complete text of key Scripture passages that form the basis for theological study. The text used is the highly readable and modern New International Version. The verses listed are grouped by the classical categories of systematic theology (e.g., God, Christ, Salvation); on disputed points, verses from which the major theological views derive are given. Footnotes provide clarification and brief commentary on verses as appropriate. This work is intended to assist the theological student who might not take the time to look up the verses cited in systematic theologies, but it will also be useful to anyone seeking to better understand the major themes of Scripture.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent Quick Reference and Great Footnotes!.......2002-01-22
Sometimes, when reading a book, I skip the footnotes in order to save time. I wouldn't dare do that with this book! The footnotes are the best part because they show HOW the verses are understood by those with opposing beliefs. They show why, for example, you can have two or more different theological views each supported by the SAME bible verses! Very interesting reading. This book is a great quick reference and is also good for devotional reading. I assign this book when I teach new members classes in my church! This is a book that should never go out of print!
helps you decide for yourself what the text actually says..........2000-05-25
This is an excellent book to help you understand the basic theological differences between major doctrinal interpretations. Instead of giving you "unbiased" commentary on each verse which is almost always, by definition, slanted toward one side or another, the author simply gathers together the main texts each side uses to prove their position. This not only helps you decide for yourself if you agree with any of them or not, but it also trains you to recognize a good or bad argument when you hear one.
Since the different views must rely only upon the scriptures to support them in this book, you begin to see which arguments are the strongest biblically and which ones seem to be stretching the truth. All of the comparative doctrinal texts are placed in close proximity for easy comparison. You will learn a lot of theology (hopefully not just your own) by simply reading this book.
Amazon.com
The title might seem odd, given that Jefferson Davis (1808-89) served as president of the Confederacy during the Civil War, and never once, in the 34 years between the end of the war and his death, expressed any remorse for his part in the conflict that tore America apart. Yet, as historian William J. Cooper Jr. reminds us in his sober, comprehensive biography, Davis "saw himself as a faithful American ... a true son of the American Revolution and the Founding Fathers." Indeed, Davis's own father had fought in the Revolution, and Davis himself was a West Point graduate and Mexican War veteran. He declared January 21, 1861, "the saddest day of my life," as he resigned his U.S. Senate seat to follow his native state of Mississippi out of the Union; yet he also unflinchingly defended secession as a constitutionally guaranteed right. Cooper's measured portrait neither glosses over Davis's lifelong belief that blacks were inferior nor vilifies him for it: "My goal," he writes, "is to understand Jefferson Davis as a man of his time, not condemn him for not being a man of my time." The chapters on the Civil War show Davis intimately involved in military decisions, as well as in diplomatic attempts to gain foreign support for the Confederacy. Cooper acknowledges the irony of his subject--who interpreted the Constitution as strictly limiting federal authority--being forced by the war's exigencies to create a powerful, centralized Confederate government. Yet, this depiction of a forceful, self-confident Davis makes it clear that he never could have been anything but "a vigorous and potent chief executive." The author also paints an attractive picture of a warm family man who was devoted to his strong-minded wife and their children. Neither hagiography nor hatchet job, this evenhanded work sees Jefferson Davis whole. --Wendy Smith
Book Description
From a distinguished historian of the America South comes this thoroughly human portrait of the complex man at the center of our nation's most epic struggle.
Jefferson Davis initially did not wish to leave the Union-as the son of a veteran of the American Revolution and as a soldier and senator, he considered himself a patriot. William J. Cooper shows us how Davis' initial reluctance turned into absolute commitment to the Confederacy. He provides a thorough account of Davis' life, both as the Confederate President and in the years before and after the war. Elegantly written and impeccably researched,
Jefferson Davis, American is the definitive examination of one of the most enigmatic figures in our nation's history.
Customer Reviews:
Couple of Comments to Add to Other Reviews.......2007-09-23
Like many of the reviewers, I think this is very good. I came to this biography because I wanted to understand The Civil War better from the perspective of the South. This book covers that well in that it does provide a good overview of how Davis viewed equality as being about equality and balance between the states in the union and not equality between people. For Davis, the Constitution was primarily about the interactions between states.
On the reviews that say that the book glosses over Davis's owning of slaves, I saw these sections differently. It appears that Cooper did not have any evidence that Davis had abused his slaves in the cruel sense. So, he can't write that. However, just the simple description of how many slaves Davis owned, how old they were (adult, old, and children), and how Davis's slave "assets" grew from the birth of children was disgusting to me. There did not need to be cruelty for the idea that a child born into slavery could not decide on their own future. While it is hard for me to fathom how Davis could speak of liberty while owning slaves, Cooper did a good job of framing how Davis probably thought about slavery. In the end, the overview made me more thankful to have not lived in those times, just as living in even more ancient times would have been even worse.
The other sections that I found interesting were the descriptions of Davis' participation in the Mexican War. Having recently read a biography of James Polk and now this, I think I will have to look for a good history of the Mexican War.
Lastly, I agree with the reviewer that the book needed an epilogue that spoke to Varina Davis's last years. Throughout the book, she is a large part of the story and to stop the book with Jefferson's death just didn't work.
Excellent Work on Davis and his Times.......2007-07-10
It is rare that a biographer can capture both the essence of his/her subject and the historical context of that particular subject's time. Cooper not only does so, he does so brilliantly, like no other biographer of Davis has done to date. Cooper focuses less on Davis's role as leader of a doomed Confederate Nation and more on his accomplishments as a Mississippi politician. That is not to say that Cooper ignores Davis's role in the Confederate war effort and national politics. He writes extenisvely on the friction between Davis and two of his leading Generals, explaining how Davis went from being a luke-warm secessionist to the most ardent Confederate Nationalist in the South. Cooper also focuses on Davis's role in the Mexican War and his youth at West Point, his managing of slaves, his friction with his wife, and his constant battles with weak health. Cooper also focuses rather extensively on Davis's time after the war and his travels abroad. In this excellent biography, Cooper captures Davis the man, not Davis the symbol of a lost cause, setteling ultimately on Davis as a patriot and American.
A complicated man...an ongoing story...........2007-06-18
Alone among historical events from which the participants are all dead, our Civil War continues to ignite passions. Many treat the issues as current, and see the personages as a still-living presence. Trust me; I live in a suburb of Richmond, and see it all the time. Up front, let me say that I respect President Davis; I visit his house and grave, and contribute to the maintenance of both.
Was Davis the right man for the job? He was probably the best man available. Bob Toombs? He would have been perfect if he could have been depended on to be sober. Breckinridge? Sure, but he was Vice President of the United States when the Confederacy was formed, and he also knew which end the bottle poured out of. Louis Wigfall? Brilliant, loyal, but an alcoholic hot-head. Alex Stephens? Please. A brilliant man; a good and decent man, but not a true leader.
This is an absolutely outstanding biography of a very difficult man to study. Sure, it's a long book, but Davis' life was long, and complicated. Reading it, one doesn't notice the length; Cooper is such a superb writer that this is a "page turner". Davis gets full cradle to grave coverage. The tough issues are in no wise avoided. His early education, West Point training, and U.S. Army career are all well documented. The stories of Davis' all too brief marriage to Sarah Knox Taylor, and the subsequent seven years of isolation are particularly poignant. Marriage to Varina gave him a second start, and he made the most of it. To my mind, Varina Davis is the absolute definition of "First Lady".
Jeff Davis was a man of his time and place. Before anyone would criticize him, it is well to reflect on the danger of applying the standards of our day to a man from another; Thomas Jefferson, Ty Cobb, even FDR, all came from a different age; so did Jeff. In his day, the right [NOT wisdom] of secession was assumed; the White man's right to own, and obligation to care for, the Black were instilled from birth. On the record, Davis was probably as humane a slave owner as existed anywhere. Only once did he ever break up a family, and that was after much begging by the slave. Davis DID NOT want secession; he followed reluctantly.
The tragedy of Jefferson Davis is that he was called to lead a country founded on State's Rights, which was then done-in by State's Rights. Vain, obstinate, and difficult, he was loyal and devoted. His mistakes are not glossed over. His loyalty to a fool like Lucius Northrop, and his tragic inability to get the most out of Joe Johnston and Beauregard are both part and parcel of the man. One of Jeff's flaws was the inability to work with people he didn't like, which FDR, for example, did quite well. One of his very worst errors was in thinking that Braxton Bragg was a field commander; placed behind a desk in Richmond, Bragg could have done for Davis what Marshall did for Roosevelt. By the time Bragg got his desk, it was too late. Davis could also be unwaveringly supportive of great men, like Robert E. Lee, and Judah Benjamin. Was his overall strategic vision the correct one? Who knows? A case can certainly be made either way. Jeff tried his best; I doubt anyone could have done better. Though some may call him obstinate, his strength and refusal to quit kept the country going long after others would have given up.
If I have to criticize something about a great book, it's this: Jeff had a lot of health problems [which may well have affected his job performance], and they are documented as if writing for physicians. No problem here, but...while Plasmodium falciparum and herpetic keratoiritis may be perfectly understandable to me, others may need explanation. You may know a lot about the Civil War, but your knowledge is incomplete unless you know something about the political leaders behind the Generals. Reading this book will be time well spent.
well.......2007-01-22
I thought this was a good book. William Davis' "Davis" was better in that it gave a more honest personal portrayal. However, and editors do listen up, most of us in the real world don't have time to read an immense book. Keep succinct; keep around 300-350 pages. Thank you.
Great biography.......2005-11-23
With so many reviews already, it is hard to add much so I'll keep this short and sweet. This is a great book and the seminal biography of Davis. Historians will be hard pressed to top Cooper's work. The book on the years preceding the Civil War were, at times, not overly inspiring, but the chapters on the war years and Davis' post-war life more than made up for it. Page turning reading and solid research to boot. This book is the best kind of history--readable, entertaining, yet solidly researched and educational as well. Having read other books that discussed Davis in varying capacities, I feel like I have a much better grasp on Davis the man than ever before. Highly recommended for any and all history buffs.
Book Description
In DIXIE BETRAYED, David Eicher reveals for the first time the story of the political conspiracy, discord, and dysfunction in Richmond that cost the South the Civil War. Drawing on a wide variety of previously unexploited sources, Eicher shows how President Jefferson Davis fought not only with the Confederate House, Senate, and state governors, but also with his own vice-president and secretary of state. He interfered with his generals in the field, micromanaging their campaigns and playing favorites, ignoring the chain of command. He trusted a number of men who were utterly incompetent. Secession didnt end with the breakaway of the Confederacy and Daviss election as president; some states, led by their governors, debated setting themselves up as separate nations, further undermining efforts to conduct a unified war effort. Sure to be one of the most provocative and controversial books about the Civil War to be published in decades, DIXIE BETRAYED blasts away previous theories with the force of a cannonball and the grace of a gentleman.
Customer Reviews:
Provocative Title with Little Substance.......2007-05-21
Dixie Betrayed tells of the relationships between Jefferson Davis as President of the Confederacy and many of the politicians and generals in that nation. The idea that a government dominated by state-rights advocates is weak is certainly not new. Eicher sets out to show the weakness of the Confederate central government through a series of vignettes describing the relation between Davis and some other person in the government. The two main problems with this approach are: (1) Eicher assumes I know lots of things about the obscure people in the Confederate government already (which I don't); and (2) there seems to be no central thesis that is supported.
I expect that a well written biography of Davis would cover most of this material in a much more comprehensive manner.
A really boring book.......2006-12-02
I agree with others who label this book as a misdirected bit of poor analysis. It's hard to find a book on the Civil War with less support for its thesis than this one. Every nation has political divisions. The author does not explain why those divisions were the reason why the South lost. The South had a variety of disadvantages that could not be overcome. The war was indeed won by the side that had four times the amount of people and much stronger industrial resources. When the North found good leadership, it was only a matter of time before the South would lose.
Another really annoying thing about this book: The author discusses the military campaigns too much. If you're writing a book about how political divisions doomed the South, why talk about the Battle of Gettysburg for four pages? Chickamauga and Chattanooga for four pages? Why discuss the many divisions in the North? Why didn't political divisions doom the Yankee war effort?
I think the author is using this book to try to sell his other one about the military history of the war. He sells this book as a groundbreaking discussion of the problem of states rights in a nation trying to win a national war, but I'm not convinced that he even develops that argument much.
This book of elementary analysis offers little that students of the war wouldn't know. Not worth your time.
Eicher's Analysis.......2006-10-28
Eicher offers his own significant analysis of what he views as the central issue: I don't need it and I want buy it!
Would someone please tell me any war in any country that has not, does not have disputes, factions and all the rest that Eicher's describes in his Analysis.
It is obvious that the winners of these wars are alkl about stiking terror into the hearts of the people, who they deem their foes. They are terriorist, demanding, cruel and want to win at any cost (ex:LINCOLN, HITLER), they should be judged by their actions and not what they say.
The South lost the War because they were too Civilized!
Intriguing ideas and some excellent points.......2006-10-27
As Eicher eloquently points out, notable men such as John Calhoun and Louis Wigfall wanted secession desperately for years before it finally happened. Most of the politicians and more than a few Confederate officers saw secession as a way to win personal glory and a brilliant future in a new nation for themselves.... remember that they had grown up with Grandpa's glorious tales of fighting for liberty in the American Revolution. And, as usual, it was the common man who had to actually fight and die in the war.
There were many causes of this war.....states' rights, tariff issues, slavery, agrarian economy vs industrial, a sense of personal honor and duty to defend one's home state...and yes, unfortunately, greed and EGO also played a big part for some.
I gave this book only three stars because Eicher does refer with derision to "lost causers." The south DID lose the war...but that doesn't mean that the honor and courage of southern soldiers was all in vain. The average citizen was defending his home and family, and saw his whole way of life destroyed. THe southern armies WERE overwhelmed by numbers (as well as the lack of proper supplies) and not by lack of personal courage.
This book will undoubtedly raise hackles despite its many harsh truths. Worth a read by historians, War Between the States buffs and scholars, and political scientists.
Analyzes the Confederate government and how its decisions caused it to lose the war.......2006-08-18
DIXIE BETRAYED: HOW THE SOUTH REALLY LOST THE CIVIL WAR analyzes the Confederate government and how its decisions caused it to lose the war. The Confederate politicians have long been applauded as fighters but in fact were divided by conspiracy and dysfunction. Previously unexplored sources are used to document in-house battles that even evolved to threats and physical violence. With military decisions coming more from political influence than skill and years of unresolved debates evolving over government setup, the South was doomed to lose.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Book Description
Jefferson Davis is a historical figure who provokes strong passions among scholars. Through the years historians have placed him at both ends of the spectrum: some have portrayed him as a hero, others have judged him incompetent.
In Jefferson Davis and His Generals, Steven Woodworth shows that both extremes are accurate--Davis was both heroic and incompetent. Yet neither viewpoint reveals the whole truth about this complicated figure. Woodworth's portrait of Davis reveals an experienced, talented, and courageous leader who, nevertheless, undermined the Confederacy's cause in the trans-Appalachian west, where the South lost the war.
At the war's outbreak, few Southerners seemed better qualified for the post of commander-in-chief. Davis had graduated from West Point, commanded a combat regiment in the Mexican War (which neither Lee nor Grant could boast), and performed admirably as U.S. Senator and Secretary of War. Despite his credentials, Woodworth argues, Davis proved too indecisive and inconsistent as commander-in-chief to lead his new nation to victory.
As Woodworth shows, however, Davis does not bear the sole responsibility for the South's defeat. A substantial part of that burden rests with Davis's western generals. Bragg, Beauregard, Van Dorn, Pemberton, Polk, Buckner, Hood, Forrest, Morgan, and the Johnstons (Albert and Joseph) were a proud, contentious, and uneven lot. Few could be classed with the likes of a Lee or a Jackson in the east. Woodworth assesses their relations with Davis, as well as their leadership on and off the battlefields at Donelson, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, and Atlanta, to demonstrate their complicity in the Confederacy's demise.
Extensive research in the marvelously rich holdings of the Jefferson Davis Association at Rice University enriches Woodworth's study. He provides superb analyses of western military operations, as well as some stranger-than-fiction tales: Van Dorn's shocking death, John Hood and Sally Preston's bizarre romance, Gideon Pillow's undignified antics, and Franklin Cheatham's drunken battlefield behavior. Most important, he has avoided the twin temptations to glorify or castigate Davis and thus restored balance to the evaluation of his leadership during the Civil War.
This book is part of the Modern War Studies series.
Customer Reviews:
Boldly Written Account of a Crucial Subject.......2004-11-04
Seemingly endless Civil War books are written rehashing every minute move of Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia. There are far fewer that cover the situation of the Confederacy's western armies and generals, despite, or perhaps because of the fact that it was in the west that the Confederacy lost the war. With Jefferson Davis and His Generals: The Failure of Confederate Command in the West, Steven E. Woodworth steps up to fill this gap with a first rate book that every serious student of the Civil War should read. He presents a clear and reasoned argument that the failure of the Confederacy in the west was not due to the quality or quantity of its armies or even of its supplies, but a direct result of a monumental failure in its high command.
Woodworth writes of Jefferson Davis as a man who seemed to be eminently and uniquely qualified to become commander in chief of the Confederacy. He was a West Point graduate, a Mexican War hero, had served as a particularly effective secretary of war under President Franklin Pierce, and had been a United States senator. He understood politics, and he clearly understood war. His resolve for his cause, like his loyalty to his friends, was unshakable. Contained within these impressive qualifications and traits, however, were flaws and blind spots that would severely hinder Davis' management of the war in the west, where he had no Lee to take charge. Foremost of these faults was a lack of judgement when appointing friends as generals, and unreasonable loyalty to them thereafter. Compounding these problems was a fierce pride in his own military judgement that left him unable to acknowledge and correct mistakes. Finally, his pride led him into bitter personal feuds with key generals that hindered his ability to utilize them to the fullest.
Woodworth follows Davis' moves in the west, from his initial organization of the Western theater, through the high stakes game played and eventually lost to gain Kentucky for the Confederacy, to the crisis at Shiloh, where with the death of General Albert Sidney Johnston, the Western Confederacy lost its best hope for competent command. The catastrophe of the loss of Vicksburg, the disastrous infighting among the generals under Bragg in the Army of Tennessee, the loss of Tennessee, the Atlanta Campaign, and Hood's final failed campaign are all covered. In each instance, Woodworth notes the command decisions that Davis made, or failed to make, in the crisis. At the end of each chapter, he summarizes and critiques Davis' performance, highlighting areas where Davis was at least partly responsible for the problems, as well as pointing out where he performed as well as could have been expected.
Woodworth clearly has a strongly opinionated point of view. He is nearly unique among the Civil War historians that I have read in his spirited defense of General Braxton Bragg as a competent commander, and lays all of the blame for the failure of Bragg's campaigns on incompetent and insubordinate generals under his command, chiefly Davis' personal friend General Leonidas Polk. He also repeatedly accused General Joseph Johnston of lacking a will to win, and of never believing that the Confederacy could win the war. While many will disagree with these positions, his boldness in stating them is characteristic of the bold approach that is evident throughout his book.
Jefferson Davis and His Generals is a bold, original work, that addresses a theme that is too often neglected in Civil War studies. It is consistently engaging, insightful, and controversial. It is clearly written, well researched, and a pleasure to read. I consider it to be among the very best books that I have read on the Civil War, and would recommend it highly, especially to those with a specific interest in the war in the west.
Theo Logos
Insightful and thought provoking.......2004-09-10
Insightful and thought provoking analysis of what Davis did and did not do to save the West. I feel this is a very important book and one that a serious student of the war should read. Additionally, I feel that this book should be read after Connelly and Horn to preserve a balanced picture. Woodworth presents a more favorable view of Bragg than I have seen from other authors. Some of this is fair and some maybe the author's perceptions of Bragg. It takes getting used to and the more you know about Bragg and his failings the better off you are. He scores many good points and made me modify my view of Bragg and the problems he had with Polk and Hardee.
His treatment of Jefferson Davis is very fair. His points are valid and well supported, showing where Davis did well and where he did poorly. The reasons for the decisions are supported and logical, given Davis' personality. This is the best part of the book and balances the blame the "Eastern Block" that is found in other books.
I am less happy with his treatment of Longstreet, feeling that he has accepted the "Lost Cause Myth" and not explored the situation. Rather than dismiss Longstreet, I would have liked to see an explanation of his relationship with Davis and Lee's influence in this area.
This is a well written, easy to read informative book. Not without faults but a valuable addition to my ACW library.
A very good analysis of the Western Theater strategy.........2000-08-21
I re-read Woodworth's excellent treatise on Jefferson Davis and his involvement in the Western Theater. The chapters are succinct and focus more on strategy than in specific battle details. My favorite parts are the reviews at the end of each chapter. I have always believed that Lee's strategy to invade the North rather than deploying his forces in the West was a major blunder. If there is one salient point that screams from this book it is that Jeff Davis' personal relationships with his generals (Polk??) definitely was a detriment to his decision making. This book should be required reading for high school and undergraduate students. Indeed any leader could profit from the analysis and history rendered here.
A Must Read.......2000-06-02
This book is a must read to understand the generals, campaigns, strategy, and the thinking of Jefferson Davis in the Western Theater. The book is well-written, informative, and features good analysis of the differing generals, Davis' actions, and some very good mini-biographies of the major players. Although the book does not go into major detail about specific battles, Woodworth does give a good overview of the major campaigns and battles of the West. The book also has some interesting theories on why Davis failed in the West. Although I disagreed with some of Woodworth's conclusions, especially regarding Braxton Bragg's capabilities as a commander, I found his arguments well-reasoned, although I thought he went out of his way to bash James Longstreeet. The major sticking point I had with the book was Woodworth's analysis on Bragg and his theory that J.E. Johnston thought the CSA's cause was doomed so he didn't really try to win. I thought that was utter nonsense, but that was really my only quarrel with the book. Well-written, informative, just an excellent book.
Excellent Book, must read.......1998-04-10
After reading 'Davis & Lee at War' I ordered this book from my local book shop and I loved it, more so than the first book. The author explains the relationships between Davis and his Generals who were trusted with the Confederacy's command in the West. That so much damage could be done to the Southern cause by these men in petty infighting is amazing. Beside analysising the Command/Leadership relationships it provides an overview of the battles and fighting in that theatre of operations. I highly recommend this book, it's a great read.
Book Description
Jefferson Davis is one of the most complex and controversial figures in American political history (and the man whom Oscar Wilde wanted to meet more than anyone when he made his tour of the United States). Elected president of the Confederacy and later accused of participating in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, he is a source of ongoing dissension between northerners and southerners. This volume, the first of its kind, is a selected collection of his writings culled in large part from the authoritative Papers of Jefferson Davis, a multivolume edition of his letters and speeches published by the Louisiana State University Press, and includes thirteen documents from manuscript collections and one privately held document that have never before appeared in a modern scholarly edition. From letters as a college student to his sister, to major speeches on the Constitution, slavery, and sectional issues, to his farewell to the U.S. Senate, to his inaugural address as Confederate president, to letters from prison to his wife, these selected pieces present the many faces of the enigmatic Jefferson Davis.
As William J. Cooper, Jr., writes in his Introduction, “Davis’s notability does not come solely from his crucial role in the Civil War. Born on the Kentucky frontier in the first decade of the nineteenth century, he witnessed and participated in the epochal transformation of the United States from a fledgling country to a strong nation spanning the continent. In his earliest years his father moved farther south and west to Mississippi. As a young army officer just out of West Point, he served on the northwestern and southwestern frontiers in an army whose chief mission was to protect settlers surging westward. Then, in 1846 and 1847, as colonel of the First Mississippi Regiment, he fought in the Mexican War, which resulted in 1848 in the Mexican Cession, a massive addition to the United States of some 500,000 square miles, including California and the modern Southwest. As secretary of war and U.S. senator in the 1850s, he advocated government support for the building of a transcontinental railroad that he believed essential to bind the nation from ocean to ocean.”
From the Hardcover edition.
Download Description
Jefferson Davis (1808¿1889) was the president of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, served in the House of Representatives and the Senate, and was secretary of war under Franklin Pierce.
William J. Cooper, Jr., is Boyd Professor of History at Louisiana State University. His most recent book is Jefferson Davis, American, winner of the 2001 Los Angeles Times Book Prize in Biography and the Jefferson Davis Award. He lives in Baton Rouge.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Jeff Davis, An Authentic Man.......2005-05-20
Davis's humanity comes across in poignant, almost heartbreakingly vivid style, in particular when he is forwarding his love to his children in one of the many letters to his wife, Varina. Also so much more vivid than in any other "Civil War book" are the hundreds of travails and picayune distractions he endured as chief executive of the Confederacy, and his desperate attempts to hold back the invasion of his country from all points. I never before realized how really hopeless the Southern war of independence was, facing what they ultimately had to face. Reading these accounts, unless they have been severely skewed to whitewash Davis, I cannot believe charges that he mismanaged the war or his country.
Davis's authority and resolve grow throughout the course of the book. And his often lengthy letters recreate in vivid detail the context in which he writes. He has a wonderful (for us) habit of recounting all that has occurred that prompted each letter or report or speech, and thus little editorial explanation is really required. Sometimes, however, his accounts of events are almost diffident and self-effacing, and lack true context, as for example in his official report of his tactical decisions at the battle of Buena Vista in the Mexican War. The context, of course, is that it was a splendid victory, and he returned home to Mississippi as a war hero and important national figure. During writings like these, I longed for a more intrusive role from the editor, but Davis's words are left to speak for themselves.
One of Davis's most remarkable attributes is how strikingly different his written communiques are from his speeches. The first are straightforward, almost as functionary as that Mexican War report. His speeches, however, are powerful and full of ringing phrases and colorful metaphors and similes. It is true that Davis studied rhetoric and highly prized the flourishes and style of the classical orator, but we have here before us vivid proof of his extempore style in glorious bloom, filled with clarity and humor. His written prose often sits a bit sullenly on the page.
This selection of writings also makes plain Davis's unapologetic views on slavery and blacks, along with his clear-eyed opinions of states' rights versus federalism, the U.S. Constitution, and the right of secession. Time and again he details ideas that seem shocking to us today: he justifies slavery because blacks can't take care of themselves, or because it exposes them to Christianity. He believed slavery also to be good for whites, because it "elevates" poor Southern whites to work above the menial, and to enjoy an equality with the wealthy. Some of these views seem laughable and antique (if not deplorable) to our 21st Century ears. Some of them even appear apologetic and self-serving. But Davis was no hypocrite; further, his writings (and the writings elsewhere of many others) point up how contemporary Northerners (excluding, officially, abolitionists) felt complete distain for blacks. He also notes the shocking scenes of extreme white poverty he saw in Northern cities, and the sweat-shop conditions of working whites in Northern factories, virtually slavery. Davis's point to Northern moralizing was simple: Put your own house in order before condemning and trammeling on the institutions of others.
Most dramatically, Davis comes across not as a secessionist. His closest equivalent today would be the "strict constructionist" judges and politicians who believe the U.S. Constitution meant exactly what it said. And what it said was, slavery is legal, the states are voluntary members of a voluntary union, and people have a right to their property (even if that property is another human). Davis condemned Northern-sponsored restrictions on the rights of slave-owners to migrate with their slaves to the western territories. Others could bring their property with them to these new lands, presumably held in common by every American; why not slave holders? Davis saw Northern agitators, attacking legal institutions which Southerners had inherited, as the true instigators of disunion. Throughout the war, he insists again and again, the Yankees had usurped the true American nation, forcing out Southerners now intent on recreating the original vision of the Founding Fathers.
Depending on your point of view, Davis either was out of step with the times, or a man refusing to yield on a point of principle. In reality, he straddled a critical transition between the old ways and the new. Like standing over an earthquake fissure, he had to jump one way or the other. He and his countrymen jumped firmly on the side of the old, and the South went down in flames. But Davis never went down. He was unreconstructed to the end, the original father and symbol of the Southern cause. Who knows ... he may have hated the role. But he played it out perfectly to the end.
excellent, gripping, comprehensive.......2000-04-28
Jefferson Davis remains a dark, remote Civil War figure, hardly as romantic as Lincoln or as inspiring as Lee.
What William C. Davis has done is to make both the man and the forces that gave him fire and light more immediate and tangible.
Weaving through the myriad controversies and struggles of the pre-Civil War, Civil War and post war years, the author somehow manages to explain endless geographical, political and societal issues without ever losing sight of Davis' central role in them.
A dense but vastly entertaining book that even readers who are not interested in the Civil War would find fascinating.
Fascinating version of Jeff Davis and the Confederacy........1999-09-22
Really enjoyed listening to this book, especially the themes in which Jeff Davis' strengths and flaws were carry on throughout his entire adult life. The last few tapes are outstanding on how the confederacy got reduced to a well guarded 3 mile wagon train.
superb work by a master historical author........1998-07-04
William C. Davis has written THE biography of Jefferson Davis. The book not only reads as easily as a novel, it also has been meticulously researched. Keep your eye on this Davis. He is fast becoming one of America's best popular historian.
Average customer rating:
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Amazon.com
In the final days of the Civil War, when defeat loomed for the South, Confederate Secretary of War John C. Breckenridge warned, "This has been a magnificent epic. In God's name, let it not terminate in a farce." To be sure, there were plenty of farcical moments--even pathetic ones--as the Confederate government breathed its last. President Jefferson Davis fled capture but was ultimately apprehended in disguise; he was wearing his wife's clothing. Union soldiers detected his "distinctly unfeminine cavalry boots and spurs" and arrested him. Then there was "the last official act of the Confederate government itself"--Breckinridge giving a commission in jest to a soldier who had already surrendered because the man wanted to outrank one of his fellows.
William C. Davis is the perfect author for An Honorable Defeat. He is an accomplished Civil War historian and previously has written excellent biographies of Jefferson Davis and John Breckinridge, the two figures who dominate this book. It also serves as a fitting bookend to A Government of Our Own, an earlier volume on the birth of the Confederate government. An Honorable Defeat is an absorbing story of desperation, as President Davis contemplates waging a guerrilla war against the North and continues to believe the South can prevail even when its mighty armies have been reduced to almost nothing. "A narrow divide separates heroic commitment from sheer fanaticism," writes the author, who nevertheless defends Davis against the charge of fanaticism. He shows, for example, that Davis almost certainly was not aware of any plot on the life of Abraham Lincoln--even though one obviously existed and elements of his secret service probably encouraged it. On the whole, the Confederate president comes off as a man ill-suited to the task that confronted him, which, in time, included graceful surrender. Breckinridge, by contrast, emerges as a hero who made decisions in those last hours that saved lives and fostered national reconciliation. This is a fine book on an overlooked episode, and fans of Jay Winik's masterful April 1865 will find that it deepens their understanding of how the Civil War came to a close. --John J. Miller
Book Description
In February 1865, the end was clearly in sight for the Confederate government. Lee's defeat at Gettysburg had dashed the hopes of the Confederate army, and Grant's victory at Vicksburg had cut the South in two. An Honorable Defeat is the story of the four months that saw the surrender of the South and the assassination of Lincoln by Southern partisans. It is also the story of two men, antagonists yet political partners, who struggled during this time to achieve their own differing visions for the South: Jefferson Davis, the autocratic president of the Confederate States, who vowed never to surrender whatever the cost; and the practical and warm General John C. Breckinridge, Secretary of War, who hoped pragmatism would save the shattered remnants of the land he loved so dearly.
Pulitzer Prize nominee William C. Davis traces the astounding flight of these men, and the entire Confederate cabinet, as they flee south from Richmond by train, then by mule, then on foot. Using original research, he narrates, with dramatic style and clear historical accuracy, the futile quarrels of Davis and Breckinridge as they try to evade bands of Northern pursuers and describes their eventual--and separate--captures. The result is a rich canvas of a time of despair and defeat that is exciting and highly readable, a charged tale full of physical adventure and political battle that sweeps from the marble halls of Richmond to a dingy room in a Havana hotel.
Customer Reviews:
Not As Good As I Thought.......2007-08-14
This book wasn't as good as I had hoped it would be or as good as some of the reviews make it sound. I felt like this author tried to make a story of it but he didn't have enough factual evidence and background about what happened to truly make it interesting. I felt his writing style dragged on and he was repetitive. He rambled a lot at the end of the book and flipped around to the different players in the Confederacy without really getting anywhere. Just wasn't what I thought the book was going to be or should be.
Excellent vignettes depicting last days of the confederacy........2005-12-28
This book will give you a detailed account of the happenings amongst significant characters of the confederacy during the last days of the Civil War. William C. Davis certainly has hit the mark with this work. The narrative is very interesting and a true page-turner. Many a vignette will give you a feeling of listening in to the events and thought processes of people like Jefferson Davis, Joseph Johnston, Robert E. Lee etc.
In this narrative John Breckinridge, the senator from Kentucky, is fleshed out as a man of vision, common sense, and decency. Of all the southern leaders who had a chance of influencing policy, perhaps only personalities like Breckinridge, Johnston, and Lee saw the inevitable during the closing days of the war. However, only Johnston and Breckinridge tried to get Ole Jeff Davis to see the light. A sad part of the book is when Breckinridge thinks Lee agreed to speak up and directly inform Jeff Davis that a peace settlement should be sought but when the moment came Lee decided there was still hope of victory.
This is a classic narrative of where one leader, Jefferson Davis, to fulfill personal "honor" needlessly squanders lives of young men. I am sorry to come to this conclusion but any military tactician worth his salt could have noted that the war was lost back in early '64. Herein lies my one cavil with this book. I wish Mr. William C. Davis had devoted more space to analyze the decision-making processes of the confederacy and the impact of personal character on historical events.
Great work with good narrative.......2005-10-28
I certainly enjoyed this book because it chronicles the way the Confederate Goverment reacted when confronted with the inevitable defeat during the civil war.Mr Davis does a great job in narrating all the events that ocurred when Jefferson Davis and his staff where retreating from the advancing North Army.I specially enjoyed the description of all the people around Davis.The author describes the way they think, how they acted and the way the saw their situation as it got worse and worse.Good work and great narrative.
An error.......2005-07-28
On page 394 William Davis discusses the termnination of the legal proceedings against Jefferson Davis. Davis did not go to trial but raised as a defense to the charges of treason Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. The provision provides that those who had been an elected official in the Confederacy could not hold public office except for those who had been pardoned by a 2/3 vote of each both houses of Congress to remove the disability. Davis' defense asserted that the imposition of this prohibitian from holding office was a penalty and any further penalty imposed against him would be a violation of his 5th Amendment rights which bar double jeopardy. William Davis incorrectly states that "any futher trial would be a violation of the ex post factro statute." Ex post facto would be punishment for a law that did not exist at the time of the act.
The Dramatic Final Days of the Confederate Government.......2005-04-22
Admirably told by William C. Davis in perhaps his best work outside of "Lincoln's Men".
Unlike "Look Away" or the two biographies penned by Davis on the two central subjects of this book - Jefferson Davis and former U.S. Vice President-turned Confederate General-turned Confederate Secretary of War John C. Breckenridge, this work concentrates on the last days of the Confederate government, fleeing from Richmond as Lee's final defenses crumble before Grant's all-out assault after the Five Forks debacle.
On one hand you have Jefferson Davis, devoid of all reality even as he flees the falling Confederate capital, exhorting the shattered, destroyed armies to fight on even as Lee's starving men are stumbling into Appomattox Court House, or as Johnston is all but cornered in North Carolina. Davis, Judah Benjamin, and a few other sycophantic souls seem to think the Confederate Armies in Texas and the Transmississippi will fight on till victory.
Then there is the realist and reluctant secessionist but gifted general Breckenridge. Even as he was appointed Confederate Secretary of War, Breckenridge knows the war is all but lost. He urges Lee to send him reports on the true status of the Confederate Armies - and subtlely but firmly urges Davis to come to grips. "Let us not end this with a farce" he tells Davis as the Confederate government leaves Richmond for the last time.
The true dramatic scenes are in the first half of the book when Davis, attending church the morning following Sheridan's crushing defeat of Pickett at Five Forks, is handed a note from Lee, saying Richmond can no longer be held. Davis quietly gets up from his pew, and walks out of the church, followed slowly by other members of the Confederate government. The congregants slowly realize what is happening and they too, shocked and in a daze walk out even though the minister is still trying to conduct his service! (Jay Winik also retells this tale in APRIL 1865). The government boards a special train bound for Danville on the Virginia border with North Carolina - hoping to meet up with General Johnston's Army of the Tennessee.
The Danville days - where Davis does act like an Adolf Hitler or Saddam Hussein - though not necessarily as evil as they were - exhorts the disspirited folks of southern Virginia and North Carolina to fight on, sends out orders to units that no longer exist, with all of the cabinet realizing they were in danger of being killed or captured by Union Cavalry operating nearby, is probably the most gripping part of the book. Also the flight of Breckenridge from Richmond, and his irregular contacts with Lee, up to two days before the surrender. In fact, Davis sends out scouts that reach a village 12 miles from Appomattox on the morning of Lee's meeting with Grant. Hoping to find the Army of Northern Virginia nearby, they find Breckenridge instead, who, along with Rosser's brigade of cavalry that barely escaped the Union pincers, tell these envoys from Davis the terrible truth that Lee, instead of fighting on, is on the verge of meeting with Grant. As Breckenridge proceeds south with the scouts from Davis, he tells them that he has heard no gunfire from Appomattox that morning of April 9th, even though they are scant miles away from Lee.
Those days in Danville must have been very surrealistic. Especially when Davis refuses to accept the fact that Lee would surrender. But the fog suddenly wears off - with the news that Johnston too, with Breckenridge's support, has entered into surrender negotiations with Sherman. How Davis could even think that Johnston, and his associate commander Pierre Gustave Tourant Beauregard, both of who detested him, would squander the lives of their men just to keep him in temporary power is mind boggling to say the least.
The book slows down its pace following Johnston's surrender, and the assasination of Lincoln, with only bits and spurts of it a pick up in the successful flight of Breckenridge and his immediate party to Cuba. The capture of Davis by Wilson's cavalry, a tale retold too many times, is just an anti-climatical read here.
And while Davis doesn't cover the final battles in the Transmississippi, or the surrenders of Forrest, Kirby-Smith, Taylor and others, what he does cover here he does so in an exciting, fast-paced narrative. A great Civil War work about the end of the Confederacy - overshadowed by the landscape of Winik's outstanding APRIL 1865.
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