Book Description
In a groundbreaking, comprehensive history of the Army of Northern Virginia's retreat from Gettysburg in July 1863, Kent Masterson Brown draws on previously unused materials to chronicle the massive effort of General Robert E. Lee and his command as they sought to move people, equipment, and scavenged supplies through hostile territory and plan the army's next moves.
More than fifty-seven miles of wagon and ambulance trains and tens of thousands of livestock accompanied the army back to Virginia. The movement of supplies and troops over the challenging terrain of mountain passes and in the adverse conditions of driving rain and muddy quagmires is described in depth, as are General George G. Meade's attempts to attack the trains along the South Mountain range and at Hagerstown and Williamsport, Maryland. Lee's deliberate pace, skillful use of terrain, and constant positioning of the army behind defenses so as to invite attack caused Union forces to delay their own movements at critical times.
Brown concludes that even though the battle of Gettysburg was a defeat for the Army of Northern Virginia, Lee's successful retreat maintained the balance of power in the eastern theater and left his army with enough forage, stores, and fresh meat to ensure its continued existence as an effective force.
Customer Reviews:
Great book on the aftermath of Gettysgurg.......2007-06-08
This book has far more detail on the events of Lee's retreat and Meade's pursuit after the Gettysburg battle than any other book I have read. It gives a lot of reasons why Meade was not able to quickly pursue and re-engage Lee before Lee crossed the Potomac. There is also a lot of insight into what Lee hoped to accomplish with his invasion of the North, and why Lee considered it worthwhile, even with his defeat at Gettysburg.
Lee's Highest Achievement.......2007-02-20
Like many of the other reviewers here, I am in awe of the detail here regarding Lee's retreat from Gettysburg. More than any other campaign of Lee's, this movement revealed his true abilities. The most difficult operation for any military organization is retreat. Lee conducted a masterful retreat. Mr. Brown illuminates this in painful detail, right down to the placing of skirmish lines and Lee's minute orders to his commanders.
Unlike some of the other reviewers, I do take exception to the idea of the entire ANV operation in Pennsylvania being a great raid as novel. This has been advanced by several other historians for some time. What is done here in this book, however is to detail just how much it was a foraging raid done on an army scale. He actually lists the CS regimental seizures down to individual horses and curry combs. He then notes Federal messages regarding the clothing, toys, etc found in captured or broken down CS wagons. All of this provides plentiful evidence that the ANV's primary mission was foraging with a major battle being secondary at best.
The maps and illustrations are good, the prose is readable, and though the detail at times can be mind numbing, the book remains a fast read. Mr. Brown has taken a subject covered almost to overkill and written something fresh and thought provoking. As noted above, anyone (like myself) who had been a critic of Meade's for failure to bring Lee to battle on advantage will likely change their mind after reading this evidence. Meade's people were in worse straits than the retreating CS forces due to logistical failures. His cavalry was worn and poorly supplied, it actually can be considered a minor miracle they were as successful as they were in their pursuit. The pursuing Federals had to follow through areas repeatedly stripped of food and supplies by the retreating CS forces. Conversely, the CS forces as they contracted became stronger (relatively) while the Federals became more strung out. Mr. Brown's illustrations of the strength of CS defenses at Falling Waters and Williamsport highlight the correctness of Meade's decision not to attack with his strung out forces before it was too late.
This book does a great service to a largely ignored aspect of the Gettysburg campaign. I do agree that Gettysburg was not the decisive point in the East and also that in a logistical/strategic sense Gettysburg was a victory for the CS. The ANV survived and despite the irreplaceable manpower loss, gained enough materially wise to last until homegrown resources could sustain it further.
This book is well worth the price. It is an eye opener and knocks some traditional historical concepts on their butts. Mr. Brown has done history a great service with this book.
Gettysburg - The Rest of the Story.......2006-10-07
Most accounts on the Battle of Gettysburg give limited coverage to R.E. Lee's retreat from Gettysburg.. The text notes "The idea for the Pennsylvania campaign arose many months before. It was born in a desperation caused by the looming collapse of the Army of Northern Virginia if it remained in war-ravages central Virginia without adequate food and supplies for its men and fodder for its horses and mules." Consequently, from the moment that Lee reached the Maryland side of the Potomac River the countryside was scoured by Confederate quartermasters and commissaries of subsistence for food, fodder and supply. Interestingly, "The effort to obtain food, fodder, and equipment would never stop; even the three days of battle at Gettysburg did not interfere with it." The author, Kent Masterson Brown, addresses in detail the acute logistical problems attendant to Lee's army's retreat from Gettysburg with the critical supplies that had been foraged.
The text is broadly arranged into three sections: 1st disengagement at Gettysburg and crossing the South Mountain range; 2nd travel to Harrisburg and Williamsport; 3rd defense of Williamsport and Falling Waters, Virginia then travel to Staunton Virginia. "A slow, fighting retreat sounds simple in theory, but it is extraordinarily difficult in practice, particularly with a large army burdened by enormous trains." The trains were more than fifty-seven miles of wagon and ambulance trains plus ten of thousands of livestock. The text gives excellent, brief narratives of Lee's army's travels to the Potomac River, the cavalry attacks on the trains plus the engagements of the rear guard troops as Meade attacked.
Most interesting is Brown's accounts of attending to the sick and wounded. Those that could walk accompanied the trains while other wounded rode in ambulance wagons if available. However, for those seriously ill or wounded or who lacked transportation, surgical teams were ordered to stay with them. For example, of the 1,300 wounded in Johnson's Division, 446 were left behind. Ever effort was made to care for the sick and wounded whether they could travel or had to be left behind. Protecting the trains was exceedingly difficult; the escorts suffered along with the helpless wounded.
The entire army was in Hagerstown by the morning of 7 July. The author notes that"The movement of Lee's army from the morning of 5 July until the afternoon of 6 July was one of the most critical episodes of the retreat from Gettysburg, although it was far from being filled with battle action." "Lee's slow march and bold rear guard on 5 July had a profound effect on Meade and his lieutenants." Next Lee had to set up strong defenses until he could make arrangements for crossing the Potomac River. Using the ferries at Williamsport was exceptionally slow so that Lee's defenses must hold until he could build a pontoon bridge at Falling Waters. By 10 July the Williamsport defense line was almost ready, but Lee had limited time to cross the Potomac. The last person crossed the pontoon bridge on 14 July. The text narrates Meade's attempts to engage Lee and prevent his army from crossing the Potomac. However, the text concludes that "....there was nothing Meade could have done to prevent Lee from winning the race to the Williamsburg defense line or holding it."
Once across the Potomac River, The Shenandoah Valley served as the corridor for Lee's army's evacuation. The problem now was to take care of the sick and wounded and get them to the General and Receiving Hospital at Staunton, Virginia. Staunton was soon overrun with sick and wounded soldiers. The text provides a brief but excellent account of this phase of the retreat.
President Lincoln blamed Lee's escape on Meade's slow response. While Meade undoubtedly could have done better, Brown notes Meade's army "was in a desperate condition, many artillery batteries could not accompany their corps while his horses and mules pulling many of the guns and caissons were so exhausted and weakened by excessive campaigning and lack of forage that they collapsed...." Throughout Lee's retreat, Meade had critical supply problems that limited his response.
The author concludes "Although the battle of Gettysburg was indeed a Confederate loss, the invasion of Pennsylvania may not have been. In fact, Lee successfully brought his army and all its trains across the Potomac River. In the process, he managed to get out of Pennsylvania and Maryland more than forty-five miles of quartermaster and substance trains filled with impressed stores." One can only speculate on how, or if, the Army of Northern Virginia would have survived without these supplies. Lee's very successful retreat maintained the balance of power in his theatre of operations.
This is an excellently researched work; Kent Brown uses much previously untapped source material. This book is the major source of information on the retreat from Gettysburg and will be of interest to all serious students of Civil War History.
Retreat from Gettysbury: Lee, Logistics, and the Pennsylvania Campaign.......2006-08-06
A must read for anyone how has intrest in the Gettysbury Campaign. The Author Mr. Kent Masterson Brown has capture every detail of General Lee's Retreat. He capture many details that other authors have never mention such as how General Lee went about evaucation of the many field hospitals. The again is a must read for everyone with a Logistics background.
a compelling lookat a neglected aspect of the Gettysburg campaign.......2006-06-13
Kent Masterson Brown's treatment of the Army of Northern Virginia's retreat of the after the bloody battle at Gettysburg is meticulously researched, and fills a notable gap in the literature on the campaign. The story focuses on the retreat of the ANV, and the strategic decisions made by the Southern leaders, rather than that of their adversary the Army of the Potomac. To some degree this is as it should be; Lee arranged the retreat masterfully and restored the balance of power between the armies in a matter of days, while Meade, commanding the Union AoP, was content to cede the initiative, and eventually allow his enemies to escape.
Meade was unable to capitalize on the tactical victory at Gettysburg in a way that more thoroughly relentless, risk taking generals such as Grant or Sherman would have. Brown speaks to both the skill of Lee's command in arranging the retreat as an aggressive rear-guard action (keeping Meade uncertain of his intentions), but also the hesitancy and trepidation with which Meade pursued him. One of the great what-ifs of the war imagines a more aggressive Union commander attempting a counter-punch to break the retreating ANV decisively.
Brown argues that Lee's ability to manage the logistics of the retreat, namely to return to Virginia with enormous stores of livestock and supplies foraged from Pennsylvania, turned the Gettysburg campaign from a tactical defeat into a minor victory. But this argument I believe entirely overstates the importance of logistics and supply. Although it's true as Brown argues that the escape of the ANV with its supply trains full allowed the army to continue the war re-sustained, the loss of such a large part its the manpower and the officer corps at Gettysburg would eventually prove decisive. But the argument that the logistical aspect of the campaign turned a strategic disaster into a strategic success is certainly provocative, at the very least demonstrates fresh thinking about the campaign.
A masterful, compelling book.
Average customer rating:
- Excellent memorandum of the period and more!
- A heartwarming look at a lovely girl
- The Journal of Agnes Lee
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Growing Up in the 1850s: The Journal of Agnes Lee
Agnes Lee
Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
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ASIN: 0807842435 |
Customer Reviews:
Excellent memorandum of the period and more!.......2004-11-05
Miss Agnes Lee, as the daughter of the famous general, was in a unique position to record the inner workings of one of America's oldest families. She records a touchingly ordinary life of a typical 19th-century young woman; home life, going to school, her hopes and dreams. Truly interesting to historians should be her position as "teacher" for her grandfather's slaves, who were being prepared for their freedom. General Lee wanted them to be taught to read and write so they could make a living, and Miss Agnes and her beloved sister Annie (who died tragically of typhoid during the war) taught the classes. Agnes, like her sisters, never married although she had a hearbreaking love over with Orton Williams, whom the war turned into a hard-drinking man. She tearfully refused his proposal and never healed from her grief when he was hanged by Union troops. This is an invaluable resource for a young girl's life of the period. Highly recommend
A heartwarming look at a lovely girl.......2003-10-16
The Journal of Agnes Lee was written over a 5-year period while Agnes was between 12 and 17, and before the Civil War that would make her father such a legend. Don't expect breathtaking adventure here, but rather sit back and enjoy a view of this young girl coming of age in the 1850's. My strongest reaction to the book was, "How I would have loved to know Agnes!" She really does come alive here with exuberant spontaneity. Her writings provide many glimpses into the overall family life and way of thinking about her life. Agnes' love for her family is intense, and it can make the reader jealous of such closeness, rarely seen in today's society. I do recommend this book to those who want to know about General Lee's family life, and those who are interested in knowing more about this delightful girl, taken from the world by illness at age 32.
The Journal of Agnes Lee.......2000-07-25
Eleanor Agnes Lee was the daughter of General Robert E. Lee, the famous Conferderate Commander in the War Between the States. This is the journal from her girlhood. I thoroughly enjoyed it. There are many books about Robert E. Lee, but there are very few about the rest of his family. This is one of the only sources on his third, beautiful daughter, Agnes, and lets us see better the life of the Lee family. It tells of her faith, her struggles, and her wonderful relationship with her family. I loved this book!
Book Description
The Richmond campaign of April-July 1862 ranks as one of the most important military operations of the first years of the American Civil War. Key political, diplomatic, social, and military issues were at stake as Robert E. Lee and George B. McClellan faced off on the peninsula between the York and James Rivers. The climactic clash came on June 26-July 1 in what became known as the Seven Days battles, when Lee, newly appointed as commander of the Confederate forces, aggressively attacked the Union army. Casualties for the entire campaign exceeded 50,000, more than 35,000 of whom fell during the Seven Days.
This book offers nine essays in which well-known Civil War historians explore questions regarding high command, strategy and tactics, the effects of the fighting upon politics and society both North and South, and the ways in which emancipation figured in the campaign. The authors have consulted previously untapped manuscript sources and reinterpreted more familiar evidence, sometimes focusing closely on the fighting around Richmond and sometimes looking more broadly at the background and consequences of the campaign.
Contributors:
William A. Blair
Keith S. Bohannon
Peter S. Carmichael
Gary W. Gallagher
John T. Hubbell
R. E. L. Krick
Robert K. Krick
James Marten
William J. Miller
Customer Reviews:
Insightful essays about Richmond Campaign.......2001-09-19
I agree with an earlier reviewer who writes that this book is a great companion (or follow-up) book to Stephen Sears "To the Gates of Richmond". Mr. Sears books gives a vivid account of the overall campaign, while this book offers some insightful essays about certain aspects of the campaign. The authors are all experts in the field, and offer well written essays for the reader to contemplate.
I really enjoyed this book because the authors cover a wide range of topics to include General McClellan's flawed performance, "Stonewall" Jackson's less than stellar leadership during the campaign, the artillery battle at Malvern Hill, "Prince" John Magruder's struggles, and the affect of the campaign on both Northern and Southern society. These detailed essays offer readers the latest and greatest scholarship about the Richmond campaign. They really helped me gain a much deeper understanding about what the campaign was like, why it was so important to the overall war effort (for both sides), and most importantly, how did if affect those involved.
I highly recommend this book for those "students" of the Civil War (like me) who are looking to gain a richer grasp of the events that happened during the Richmond campaign. If you have not read anything about the Richmond campaign (usually referred to as the Pennisula and Seven Days campaign) then I suggest that you read "To the Gates of Richmond" by Stephen Sear first, then this book.
Fascinating Detail on Key Battles , Leaders and Politics.......2001-06-01
Great book to read after Stephen Sear's Penninsula Campaign (even noted by the editor). This great collection of CW historians take the leading characters and events of the 7 days campaign and provide insights to this fascinating series of battles that set the Union back three years. Fascinating writing of John Bankhead Magruder, the hero of the lower Peninsula, whose prewar reputation for drink and ladies combined with lack of sleep, stress, illness and improper medical treatment created a magnifyer for his failures particularly at Malvern Hill. Lee's desire to rid himself of Magruder who was a hero just weeks before is in stark contrast to his retaining of Stonewall who as R. K. Krick writes was virtually ineffective for a multitude of reasons, primarily due to sleep deprivation. Also, great essays on McClellan whose grandiose ego was not able to stand upright on the battlefield and his engineers who could build anything he needed but were used as scapegoats just like anyone else to excuse his own conduct. Additional essays are on the great importance of the seven days battles to lift southern morale and the enhancement of the radicals position contributed to by McClellan's failures during the campaign. Superb article on the artillery duel on Malvern Hill and confederate attack that collapsed under murderous and accurate union artillery fire. The Union's artillery was no match for its southern counterparts. R.E.L. Krick highlights Whiting's Division (with Hood) breaking the Union line decisively at Gaines Mill. No one knows the battlefield better than Krick. Longstreet may have wished he never picked up a pen after Krick writes of Longstreet's post war confusion of facts over his command of Whiting, "It appears an unusually early example of the gasconade for which Longstreet is now famous". That commentary would have made "Old Jube" proud.
Nine essays exploring questions regarding high command.......2001-03-11
The April-July 1862 Richmond campaign was a critical point in the American civil war that resulted in more than 50,000 casualties, 35,000 of whom fell in seven days (June 26 - July 1). The Richmond Campaign Of 1862: The Peninsula & The Seven Days offers nine essays exploring questions regarding high command, strategy and tactics, the effects of the fighting upon the politics and society of both the Union and the Confederacy, and the ways in which emancipation figured in the campaign. Included is an invaluable analysis of the Richmond campaign's place in the broader sweep of the war in 1862, assessments of George B. McClellan's generalship and Stonewall Jackson's flawed performance, an examination of the campaign's impact on white and black civilians in the region, the role of the engineers in the Union effort, the role of artillery in the battle of Malvern Hill, and more. Highly recommended for personal and academic Civil War studies reading lists and reference collections, The Richmond Campaign Of 1862 is an impressive work of painstaking, informative, insightful scholarship.
Book Description
The crucial Civil War battles in the East—from First Manassas to Antietam to Gettysburg—are described from the point of view of General Robert E. Lee’s staff officer, Walter Taylor. Originally published in 1906, General Lee: His Campaigns in Virginia, 1861–1865 is rich in reminiscences. Working closely with Lee, Taylor prepared reports, delivered messages, and saw the general every day. As postwar controversies swirled, he was often called on to set the record straight. This book is important not only for Taylor’s military knowledge but also for his perception of the character of Lee. Others shown under the stress of fire are Stonewall Jackson, James Longstreet, Jeb Stuart, and A. P. Hill. But the true heroes are the Confederate soldiers who fought doggedly, though outnumbered and often poorly provisioned. Well documented and carrying valuable maps of major battlefields, Taylor’s book reveals how participants in the Lost Cause chose to remember it.
Customer Reviews:
General Lee.......2005-05-12
A memoir by Lee's aide Walter Herron Taylor.
Very similar to Taylor's other memoir, this is a history of the Army of Northern Virginia's war, with here and there a brief, stiff and cold personal reminiscence. Taylor's work does not exude the winning personality of a Porter Alexander or a Sam Watkins. Especially as Taylor paid considerable attention to the numerical strengths of the respective armies, this is an important primary source, but it's hard to imagine it capturing nonspecialist readers' attention.
Taylor owed his career to Lee both before and after the war and clearly felt an admiration amounting to worship for his chief; like all personal accounts, this one should be read with the author's perspectives and biases in mind.
Historical interest.......2001-07-11
I am a bit new to the Civil War history ranks, but I have read several books over the last few years. I just completed Grant's memoirs, and decided I needed more information about Lee, hence this book. I could not rate it higher, due to the apparent inaccuracies (too many to detail, primarily with regard to numbers in the ranks and casualties), and the racist attitude that prevails. Taylor was clearly a loyal soldier, and true to his cause, but his mis-guided attack on General Longstreet became tiresome.
An exellent account of the ANV!.......1999-12-12
Walter Taylor offers a great perspective into the charater of General Lee, the ability of his subordinates, and the fighting courage of the army itself. Taylor's book should be read by any Civil War buff since Taylor was actually there as Lee's adjutant general. While those critical of Lee may find Taylor to be too defensive and loyal to Lee, one can only continue to admire the Greatest General of the Civil War. I like to take in both sides of the issue concerning Lee, but I have found that Lee was an able, moral, and intelligent leader with weaknesses like every human. The only reason I didn't give this book a five is because of Taylor's subtle criticism of General Longstreet, while he does give him deserved credit.
Book Description
The Spotsylvania Campaign marked a crucial period in the confrontation between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee in Virginia. Waged over a two-week period in mid-May 1864, it included some of the most savage fighting of the Civil War and left indelible marks on all involved.
Approaching topics related to Spotsylvania from a variety of perspectives, the contributors to this volume explore questions regarding high command, tactics and strategy, the impact of fighting on officers and soldiers in both armies, and the ways in which some participants chose to remember and interpret the campaign. They offer insight into the decisions and behavior of Lee and of Federal army leaders, the fullest descriptions to date of the horrific fighting at the "Bloody Angle" on May 12, and a revealing look at how Grant used his memoirs to offset Lost Cause interpretations of his actions at Spotsylvania and elsewhere in the Overland Campaign.
The contributors:
—William A. Blair, Grant's Second Civil War: The Battle for Historical Memory
—Peter S. Carmichael, We Respect a Good Soldier, No Matter What Flag He Fought Under: The 15th New Jersey Remembers Spotsylvania
—Gary W. Gallagher, I Have to Make the Best of What I Have: Robert E. Lee at Spotsylvania
—Robert E. L. Krick, Stuart's Last Ride: A Confederate View of Sheridan's Raid
—Robert K. Krick, An Insurmountable Barrier between the Army and Ruin: The Confederate Experience at Spotsylvania's Bloody Angle
—William D. Matter, The Federal High Command at Spotsylvania
—Carol Reardon, A Hard Road to Travel: The Impact of Continuous Operations on the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia in May 1864
—Gordon C. Rhea, The Testing of a Corp Commander: Gouverneur Kemble Warren at the Wilderness and Spotsylvania
Customer Reviews:
The Best CW Historians Essays on this Brutal Battle.......2001-01-14
Gallagher hits homeruns with this wonderful series of books on the critical campaigns of the CW. Not a continuous retelling but Gallagher and company get into specifics of the campaign through separate essays that allow greater detail on controversies, personnel, mistakes, and many subjects that prior to this were limited in detail. An example is Krick the Younger's detailed essay on the little known battle of Yellow Tavern that cost Jeb Steuart his life. The other essays all offer new detail and great insight. I was particularly fascinated by Gallagher's own essay on Lee's grappling with command erosion through the loss of Longstreet, Ewell's collapse and Hill's physical erosion. Show's Lee as a great commander much like a coach that loses star players but still manages a great game. All the essays are excellent by Matter, Reardon, Blair, Rhea and Carmichael but Krick senior's feature on the Mule Shoe exhibits great detail on one of the most horrid portions of any battle of the CW involving endless hours of close up fighting in the salient. The fighting involves trench warfare, attacking and shooting from just a few feet apart, hand to hand combat, continuous rain and a continuing of a struggle with death that seemed to have no end. After you read Krick's Mule Shoe, you recognize how the war changed dramatically from Bull Run to an incredible desperate struggle of all out war. Read closely Krick senior's dig at Longstreet who was not present after being shot down in the wilderness. Krick, a legendary critic of Longstreet, cannot leave him alone even in his absence.
Another tour de force from Gallagher et al........1999-02-18
A great addition to the Campaigns of the Civil War series, and proof that there is always something fresh to say about any historical subject. I especially liked the essay concerning Lee's personnel moves in the wake of The Wilderness; it's becoming increasingly politically incorrect to praise Marse Robert. Also, the essay on the fighting at the Bloody Angle is a wonderful piece of microhistory. The maps are excellent. As with the rest of the series, a must- read for the hardened Civil War student.
Product Description
The life and character of Gen. Robert E. Lee is excellently portrayed in this biography along with accounts of the ordinary soldiers who fought in the Civil War. The victories, defeats, successes and failures of each side are portrayed in vivid and personal detail. 201pg
Customer Reviews:
An engaging juvenille biography of Robert E. Lee.......2003-06-10
As if often the case with any examination of the life and military career of Robert E. Lee, author Albert Marrin begins "Virginia's General" with the pivotal date of April 18, 1861, when Lee rejected taking battlefield command of the United States Army. Lee is the most revered general in American History, mainly because of the inherent nobility in fighting brilliantly for a lost cause, an effect that can be traced back to Homer's "Iliad" and Hector, breaker of horses. One of the inevitable questions in studying his life is what his reputation would have been in the American history books if he had accepted that offer instead. Would he have led the Federal forces to a quick victory thereby saving hundreds of thousands of lives? Would the abolition of slavery have gone "better" if the South had not been devastated by the war? However, as interesting as these questions are to pursue, they are just idle speculation and Marrin's task is to understand Robert E. Lee as both a person and a solider, setting him in his own time.
Marrin devotes his first chapter to Lee's life and military career through John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, where Lee led the marines who retook the arsenal. The rest of the book divides Lee's actions during the Civil War into distinct periods defined by various tasks and battles (e.g., Savior of Richmond deals with Lee taking command of the Confederate Army after General Joseph E. Johnston was wounded and Lee's Masterpiece is about the Battle of Chancellorsville). What is revealed is the portrait of a young officer who graduated West Point without receiving a single demerit and whose loyalty to his native Virginia convinced him to serve the Confederacy. But Marrin also describes the battles in such a way that young readers can appreciate Lee as a military strategist, both in terms of his many successes and his final defeats.
"Virginia's General: Robert E. Lee and the Civil War" is illustrated with historic photographs and paintings, as well as small maps of each of the major battles of the war. Marrin provides an engaging narrative that covers a lot of information and works in a lot of quotations to maintain the effect that this is an interesting story and not just a history book. I also appreciate that Marrin covers the entire Civil War, since what was happening in the West affected Lee's decisions as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. Consequently, this is not the first book that a young reader would turn to for an introduction to Lee, but it for a more in-depth examination of his Civil War career this is a solid choice.
Book Description
More than just military history, George Walshs narrative digs deeper, revealing the humanity of Lee and his lieutenants as never beforetheir nobility and their flaws, their chilling acceptance of death, their tender relations with sweethearts in the midst of all of the carnage that was the American Civil War.The Civil War is one year old in 1862 when the fifty-five-year-old Robert E. Lee assumes command of the Army of Northern Virginia. Damage them all you can, he exhorts his men. His army, ragtag in uniform and elite in spirit, responds ferociously in one battle after another, from the Seven Days and the Valley Campaign through Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, to the final siege of Richmond and Petersburg.Here we encounter in depth the officers who stir the imagination: the dutiful Lee, Stonewall Jackson, stolid James Longstreet, egotistical Jeb Stuart, and many others.
Customer Reviews:
Excellent One Volume Treatment of ANV.......2003-06-21
George Walsh hit a grand slam with DAMAGE THEM ALL YOU CAN: ROBERT E. LEE'S ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA. Told almost exclusively from the point of view of the Confederate side this book does a wonderful job of getting into the hearts and minds of the men who fought for the Confederacy. The stereotypes of the lost cause or southerners as a pack of racists are replaced by a very human portrait of the men (and sometimes their loved ones too) who fought and died for what they believed in. Walsh has done a very real service to the memory of the Army of Northern Virginia. The battle narratives are really good as is the analysis of Lee's thoughts, decisions and occasional frustration with his subordinates. An excellent treatment!
Walsh does a superb job chronicling Lee's Stalwart Army!.......2003-04-13
Strolling through the Mall I decided to stop in for a brief visit to the mass market oriented bookstore. Thumbing through the Civil War offerings I picked up this outstanding book. I did not recognize the name of George Walsh. He is a Yankee writing on the army whose story has been so well told from Southern superstars such as Douglass Southall Freeman, Clfford
Dowdey and Shelby Foote. Why plunk down a Visa card to purchase it?
Curiosity satisfied is the answer! Walsh writes in a personal style introducing the men and the units making up Lee's fabled Army of Northern Virgnia. Even an old Civil War buff such as I learned new things about the Victorian warriors of Dixieland who lend the forces of Lee against the enemy.
This book is an excellent survey of the war in the Eastern theatre. It is a valuable additon to my Civil War library. I highly recommend Walsh's book to anyone even casually interested in learning more about the American Illiad that is our Civil War!
Damage Them All You Can: R.E. Lee's Army of No. Va........2002-12-28
"Damage Them All You Can:" Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia written by George Walsh is quite frankly one of the best accounts of The Army of Northern Virginia that I've ever read. General Robert E. Lee assembled the best army to ever, to this point in time, fight on American soil. In fact, The Army of Northern Virginia man for man, out Generaled, out fought all that the North could throw against it.
Walsh's book is a true delight to read, the principles in the book seem to come alive as you read on in the book. The prose is written with vivid descriptions and the author gives the reader insights albeit shrewd of how the battles were fought.
I got the inpression that I was there with the incisive insights the author gives the reader, from the Generals, to the commanders, right down to the trenches, told with deeply moving detail. I encourage anyone interested in reading about the Civil War or the "Yankee War of Aggression" to read this book.
I've read Foote, McPherson, and Catton's writings about this time in American History, but Walsh's account here is the best and most personal one that I've ever read, with a probing into the character and the battles that made them feel like they were fought right before your eyes.
This book is, by all accounts, for a single volume the best book written about one of the best fighting armies the Confederacy ever had... the Army of Northern Virginia. This book is worthy of a place in your library on American History.
"Damage Them All You Can" should a have a sub-title.......2002-12-09
I am the author of "Damage Them All You Can." Would you please run the subtitle of my book on your web page?
The subtitle is: Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.
By running it you will provide the potential buyer with instant information as to what the book is about.
Thank you.
Average customer rating:
- Col. Allan's Classic Work
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Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee; And the Army of Northern Virginia, 1862
William Allan
Manufacturer: Westview Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 0306806568 |
Book Description
This volume unites two classic Civil War campaign studies by the foremost southern historian of the immediate postwar era: History of the Campaign of Gen. T. J. (Stonewall) Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and The Army of Northern Virginia in 1862. Together they comprise a brilliant, breathtaking chronicle of the high tide of the Confederacy in 1862: Jackson's dazzling generalship in the Valley Campaign; Lee's bold offensive during the Seven Days Battle; the stunning Confederate victory at Second Manassas; Lee's decision to carry the war to enemy territory; the capture of Harper's Ferry; the bitterly fought Battle of Sharpsburg; and the bloody, humiliating Federal defeat at Fredericksburg.
Customer Reviews:
Col. Allan's Classic Work.......2003-07-04
An essential for any serious student of Jackson or the Army of Northern Virginia. Five stars plus, but not for the novice. Col. Allan was Jackson's ordnance officer, and after the war he devoted the better part of his remaining years to these two comprehensive works included under one cover. Allan intended to write a comprehensive history of the Army of Northern Virginia for the entirety of the war, but his premature death left this greater work unfinished. His work on Jackson, which primarily covers the Valley Campaign, I consider the better of the two works because of its greater completeness. Both, however, are superb, early intensely scholastic efforts on the war, fully deserving of the stature as primary source works on the Civil War. The footnotes are old-style, page by page. Read them that way; slow, but it adds flavor. Buy this one while it is available.
Book Description
The termination of the war and the fate of the Union hung in the balance in May of 1864 as Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Potomac clashed in the Virginia countryside—first in the battle of the Wilderness, where the Federal army sustained greater losses than at Chancellorsville, and then further south in the vicinity of Spotsylvania Courthouse, where Grant sought to cut Lee's troops off from the Confederate capital of Richmond.
This is the first book-length examination of the pivotal Spotsylvania campaign of 7-21 May. Drawing on extensive research in manuscript collections across the country and an exhaustive reading of the available literature, William Matter sets the strategic stage for the campaign before turning to a detailed description of tactical movements. He offers abundant fresh material on race from the Wilderness to Spotsylvania, the role of Federal and Confederate calvary, Emory Upton's brilliantly conceived Union assault on 10 May, and the bitter clash on 19 May at the Harris farm. Throughout the book, Matter assesses each side's successes, failures, and lost opportunities and sketches portraits of the principal commanders.
The centerpiece of the narrative is a meticulous and dramatic treatment of the horrific encounter in the salient that formed the Confederate center on 12 May. There the campaign reached its crisis, as soldiers waged perhaps the longest and most desperate fight of the entire war for possession of the Bloody Angle—a fight so savage that trees were literally shot to pieces by musket fire. Matter's sure command of a mass of often-conflicting testimony enables him to present by far the clearest account to date of this immensely complex phase of the battle.
Rigorously researched, effectively presented, and well supported by maps, this book is a model tactical study that accords long overdue attention to the Spotsylvania campaign. It will quickly take its place in the front rank of military studies of the Civil War.
Customer Reviews:
Reader from Maine.......2000-01-20
If you really want a serious consideration of what happened at Spotsylvania, I highly recommend William Matter's book. While other works may offer an entertaining read, Matter avoids clogging his work with anecdotal material, useless hearsay and speculation, and offers as near an accurate view of what really happened as we are likely to get.
it took more than a summer.......1999-02-18
Although this book is extremely informative, it's also extremely ponderous. It's a slow read. Turning all the pages may take more than just a summer. It's just not as enjoyable as other accounts. Try Gordon Rhea's book.
Book Description
Never did so large a proportion of the American population leave home for an extended period and produce such a detailed record of its experiences in the form of correspondence, diaries, and other papers as during the Civil War. Based on research in more than 1,200 wartime letters and diaries by more than 400 Confederate officers and enlisted men, this book offers a compelling social history of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia during its final year, from May 1864 to April 1865.
Organized in a chronological framework, the book uses the words of the soldiers themselves to provide a view of the army's experiences in camp, on the march, in combat, and under siege—from the battles in the Wilderness to the final retreat to Appomattox. It sheds new light on such questions as the state of morale in the army, the causes of desertion, ties between the army and the home front, the debate over arming black men in the Confederacy, and the causes of Confederate defeat. Remarkably rich and detailed, Lee's Miserables offers a fresh look at one of the most-studied Civil War armies.
Customer Reviews:
Fascinating book on a still-relevant subject.......2005-08-21
If you like Civil War history, you'll love this. Lee's Miserables is an account of the last year of the Civil War from the point of view of the Confederates--specifically, the Army of Northern Virginia. What is stunning is the optimism. While Lee's soldiers clearly recognized that their army and the Confederacy were in a tough spot, most seem to have believed that they would still succeed. Many Confederate soldiers believed very sincerely that God was on their side and that a miracle would save their beloved country. Only in the last few months did their confidence really begin to waver, and some kept it up until Lee's actual surrender. Until then, Lee's soldiers fooled themselves that the North was even worse off than they were. This was true, of course, if you looked only at the number of casualties on both sides; but the fact was that by the winter of the Petersburg campaign the Army of Northern Virginia and the Confederacy were seriously overmatched. The North still had a vastly greater population, industrial capacity, you name it, and was not inclined to give up now after all the sacrifices they had made earlier in the war. In reading the Confederates' optimistic letters, I was reminded again and again of today's cheery bulletins about how we are going to achieve success in the Iraq war. Self-delusion played a big part in keeping the Civil War going as long as it did. Self-delusion today by George Bush and other military and political leaders is keeping us in a pointless and unwinnable war. This book is a great reminder that it is always wise to keep in mind that there are some things that cannot be done.
This War is Real.......2001-11-06
Superb account of the soldiers who made up Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Tracy Power brings them to life for us as he digests their hopes, fears, and passions in this wonderful account of "Lee's Miserables" in the final year of the Civil War in Virginia. Covering a period during which Lee must continue to hold the Union armies at bay even though he has been deprived of his most talented subordinates, the author provides us with marvelous insights into what kept Lee's soldiers in uniform and willing to follow their commander despite the shadows lengthening over the Confederacy in 1864-65.
I recommend this book to all of my students in a Civil War history course that I teach. Every student who has read it has thanked me for the suggestion. Well organized, highly readable, and thoroughly balanced, this is "must" reading for anyone who wishes to understand the 19th Century southerners who fought on even when hope had all but disappeared. Great work by a fine historian and talented author!
An intimate look at the decline and fall of Lee's army.......2000-05-21
By ancestry and upbringing I am a Connecticut Yankee and, while for many years I have been a keen student of the American Civil War, my interests and sympathies are definitely pointed towards the Union (my relatives wore the blue). Thus, it is comparatively rare for me to enthusiastically read a book which is about a distinctly Confederate subject. I happily made an exception for J. Tracy Power's "Lee's Miserables". As it happens, a special focus of mine has long been on the Virginia campaigns of 1864-65, perhaps due to the early influence of Bruce Catton's wonderful "A Stillness at Appomattox". Mr. Power describes his book as a "hybrid of social and military history" and that is indeed an apt desciption. Although the reader can follow the course of the campaigns well enough through Power's narrative, the primary focus of the book is firmly upon how the men and officers of the Army of Northern Virginia perceived their situation and viewed the future, as told in their letters, journals, and other first-hand accounts. Although some soldiers in Lee's army remained confident to very end that they would ultimately achieve victory, "Lee's Miserables" chronicles a broad decline in morale over the winter of 1864-65. An army which could still defend its ground in September and October had become vulnerable by March and April.
I strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in Civil War realities and who are ready to reject the hagiographic myths which have far too often dominated books about the Army of Northern Virginia. And I hope that someday there will be a comparable social/military history published about the Army of the Potomac during these same campaigns.
Good, not great........1999-11-27
It should be obvious to anyone who reads this book that Mr. Power is a skilled researcher and writer. His narrative is well documented and clearly organized. But I found it a bit short in analysis and narrow in coverage. Basically, this book traces the changes in morale among the Army of Northern Vigrinia's rank and file soldiers, something Power attributes to their own battlefield performance and results. He largely neglects to address other key contributors to morale (or lack of morale) in sufficient detail, for instance, the significance of religious revivals among the troops. In addition, most of Power's conclusions are not original. He basically reenforces--effectively, of course--earlier scholars' opinions regarding the ANV during the late months of the conflict. Still, this one is worth adding to your shelf.
Inspiring Southern history up close and very personal.......1999-02-12
Lee's Miserables covers the period from May 1864-April 1865 in great detail. It uses voluminous private correspondence and diaries from that time to give a very personal view of the campaigns beginning with The Wilderness and ending at Appomatox. The research done by Mr. Power is impressive and the documentation quite complete. As I read this book my respect for the Army of Northern Virginia increased with each page. Many of the men who fought for Southern Independence went in to the 1864 Campaign with every expectation of ultimate victory. As Grant's Army was repelled at Wilderness, then Spotsylvania, and again at Cold Harbor it did seem the future of the Confederacy was viable. But Grant did not march away after being defeated as his predecessors had done, even to the point that after Cold Harbor he had lost more casualties than Lee had in his whole army but Grant and his army stayed on Southern soil. Grant was undeterred, and pressed on to Petersburg and began the stalemate of trench warfare. The Spring Campaign of 1865 opened on a much-depleted Army of Northern Virginia and only the strongest diehards were still in the trenches when Grant began his offensive that lead to Lee's surrender at Appomatox. Throughout it all, Lee's Miserables were prolific writers corresponding with their wives, mothers, fathers, etc., regarding the substance of their daily thoughts and trials. This book gives great insight into the motives of the patriots and what kept them going under extremely difficult conditions. Their ability to withstand the privations of low rations, inadequate clothing, scarce footwear, and sinking civilian morale in the South are a testament to the spirit and determination of many in that dedicated army. One of the somewhat surprising events the author brings out is the number of defections from both the Union army and the Army of Northern Virginia. Many soldiers on both sides simply couldn't stand the stalemated conditions and growing hopelessness any longer and preferred life in a POW camp to that in the trenches. This is fine book about the reality of the decline and death of the Confederacy and well worth reading.
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