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Book Purchases: September to October 2006

It's been awhile since I catalogued my latest Civil War book purchases, so I'll throw this out in several parts.  The first is from September and October of 2006.  I've slowed down on the number of books for several reasons, but I still managed to pick up sixteen volumes over that two month period.

Louis J. Baltz. The Battle of Cold Harbor (Virginia Civil War Battles & Leaders). H.E. Howard (November 1994).
I already have the Cold Harbor campaign studies done by Ernest Furgurson and Gordon Rhea, so this is a bit of overkill.  With that said, I have become increasingly interested in the campaigns of 1864, not only in the East, but everywhere.  To be honest, I haven't heard anything about Baltz' interpretation of Cold Harbor, which is by all accounts a controversial battle.

Terry Lowry. The Battle of Scary Creek: Military Operations in the Kanawha Valley, April-July 1861. Quarrier Press; 2nd edition (April 1998).
By all accounts Terry Lowry produces solid, sought after battle studies of some of the obscure battles which occurred in the (future) state of West Virginia, including titles on Carnifex Ferry and Droop Mountain.  I found this particular volume on eBay, and it struck me as something I would be very interested in after reading several overviews of the early campaigns in the state.  The Kanawha Valley was the southern invasion route into West Virginia from Ohio, and Jacob Cox wound up facing several former Virginia governors turned general in Floyd and Wise, though I am not familiar enough with the operations to know if Wise plays a part or if he only arrived later (after July 1861). 

Gary C. Walker. Hunter's Fiery Raid Through Virginia Valleys. A & W Enterprise; Revised edition (July 1989).
This was another eBay purchase, and Hunter's Raid is an event occurring in that endlessly fascinating year of 1864.  With the removal of Breckinridge's Division from the Valley to reinforce Lee and the defeat of the remaining Confederate forces at the Battle of Piedmont, David Hunter's forces were free to move down the Shenandoah Valley virtually unimpeded.  They took advantage of this opportunity and started to burn vital Confederate supplies and buildings.  However, many believed Hunter went too far with his incendiary efforts.  Lee needed to do something about this threat, so he detached most of Early's veteran Second Corps from the Army of Northern Virginia in mid-June, and they managed to drive Hunter into the mountains of West Virginia after the Battle of Lynchburg.

Eric J. Wittenberg, J. David Petruzzi. Plenty of Blame to Go Around: Jeb Stuart's Controversial Ride to Gettysburg. Savas Beatie (September 1, 2006).
In the interest of full disclosure I know both of the authors, read their Civil War blogs, and generally enjoy talking about the Civil War with them.  With that said, this particular book has been given five stars at Amazon.com by every single reviewer.  Amazon does seem to be known as a company that deletes too many bad reviews (bad for sales), but that seems to be far from the case with this particular book.  As the title suggests, Eric and J.D. take a look at Jeb Stuart's third ride around the Army of the Potomac, this time during the Gettysburg Campaign.  The ride is considered controversial in that Stuart lost contact with Lee during this time frame, essentially depriving the Army of Northern Virginia of most of its cavalry screen during the hazardous march north into Maryland and Pennsylvania.  After reading over the dust jacket blurbs and the index as well as listening to J.D.'s recent appearance on Civil War Talk Radio, it appears that the authors give a detailed tactical account of the ride and then dedicate three chapters at the end of the book to the controversy it generated.

Civil War Society. Civil War Society's Encyclopedia of the American Civil War. Gramercy (September 2, 1997).
I have one other Civil War Encyclopedia, but I figured it would be good to have several of these reference works around as insurance.  I don't plan to read this one straight through, but rather to simply use as a reference tool from time to time.  Let me know if you have a favorite Encyclopedia of the war, or if one is known to stand out above all others.

Garland A. Haas. To the Mountain of Fire & Beyond: The Fifty-Third Indiana Regiment from Shiloh to Glory (Great Lakes Connections: The Civil War). Guild Press of Indiana (February 1997).
My current MO is to pick up regimentals on eBay when and where I can.  If a book is going for less than typical value (as calculated by several used book web sites I use), I'll bid on it every time.  I don't know much about the 53rd Indiana, but obviously I hope to after reading the book.  This regiment served in the West, so this is not the typical regimentals I buy involving units which served in the Petersburg Campaign.

Philip Katcher. The Army of Northern Virginia (Men at Arms Series, 37). Osprey Publishing (April 30, 1975).
I use the various Osprey books as introductions to various topics.  I have found that the series tends to be less than detailed in many areas and really shouldn't be viewed as more than a primer.  To do otherwise would be a mistake.

G. Howard Gregory. 53rd Virginia Infantry and 5th Battalion Virginia Infantry (Virginia Regimental Histories Series). H.E. Howard; 1st ed edition (1999).
This series of books is growing increasingly rare and expensive, so when I see one going for less than face value you can be sure I'll be buying it.  A lot of 34 of these books recently went for almost $700 on eBay.  The seller should have sold these individually, as he/she would have gotten well over $1000 for them.  I guess the extra work wasn't worth it.

J. Britt McCarley. The Atlanta Campaign: A Civil War Driving Tour of Atlanta-Area Battlefields. Cherokee Publishing Company (GA); 1st ed edition (April 1989).
I enjoy taking a look at driving tours of Civil War battlefields, and of course I use them when I visit said places.  This one is doubly attractive due to the dearth of good titles focusing on the Atlanta Campaign.  I saw this one going for cheap and picked it up.  I knew of the title before it showed up on eBay, so this was a no-brainer.

Peter Cozzens. The Shipwreck of Their Hopes: The Battles for Chattanooga. University of Illinois Press (September 1, 1994).
This was a case of upgrading a paperback book with the hardcover version.  Those of you who have gone through my Civil War Book Collection online probably know I am a big fan of Cozzens' work.  He has done quite a bit to further the knowledge of some of the largest battles fought in the West, including Iuka and Corinth, Stones River, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga.  I highly recommend this book and the others written by this author.

John T. Hubbell (Editor). Battles Lost and Won: Essays from Civil War History (Contributions in American History). Greenwood Press (January 20, 1976).
I'm afraid this book was a bit of a shot in the dark on my part.  I saw it going for very little on eBay and took a chance.  It is a collection of essays from various authors on a wide topic of Civil War subjects.  The one person who rated it at Amazon.com seemed to like it.  Is anyone else familiar with this title and its merits (or lack thereof)?.

Allen Salisbury. The Civil War and the American System: America's Battle With Britain, 1860-1876 (University Editions). New Benjamin Franklin House (June 1978).
This is also a complete shot in the dark, so see above.  A common complaint is that the Civil War is studied by Americans in a largely America-centric manner at the expense of what was happening in the rest of the world.  I was interested in the subject matter here, and the price was obscenely low, again on eBay (noticing a pattern here?).  If you've read it, let me know what you think.

Jamie Gillum. The Battle of Spring Hill ... Twenty-five Hours to Tragedy. Self-Published (2004).
I was contacted by Jamie while writing a multi-part blog entry on Eric Jacobson's book for Cause and for Country. Jamie and Eric had talked quite a bit about the Battle of Spring Hill.  He pointed out to me then that he had also written a book on the subject.  In 286 pages, it covers Spring Hill and the actions at on the Duck River and at Thompson's Station on November 29, 1864. It appears that the best place to order the book is directly from The Carter House. The Carter House Museum Shop's phone number is 615-791-1861. It is not listed on the Museum Shop web page, but the book is available if you call and inquire.  All of the books are signed by Mr. Gillum as well.  I hope to do a blog entry covering it as an addendum to Eric Jacobson's look at the battle, an incredible lost opportunity for Hood and his Army of Tennessee.

Robert F. Morrow, Jr. 77th New York Volunteers: "Sojering" in the VI Corps. White Mane Publishing Company (May 2004).
Here is another in the growing line of Petersburg-related regimentals I've been accumulating since this summer.  The book has the dreaded "White Mane" reputation of poor fact checking and editing, not to mention stealing of maps in several cases.  Despite this, I'm hoping the book is one of the better White Mane titles.

Stephen W. Sears. Landscape Turned Red: The Battle Of Antietam. Ticknor & Fields (1983).
This is another upgrade of a paperback.  In this case, that paperback holds special significance to me.  It was the first campaign or battle study I purchased with my own money.  I picked it up some time in the late 80's or very early 90's.  That puts me in 5th or 6th grade.  I even remember that I purchased the book at the Waldenbooks Bookstore in St. Clair Square, the mall located in Fairview Heights, Illinois.  Enough of the reminiscing.  The point is that I finally have a hardback version of the book, and I'm quite pleased at the price I got it for.  As long as you read Sears knowing he is not fond of McClellan, you can find some good information in here.

Eric J. Wittenberg. Little Phil: A Reassessment of the Civil War Leadership of Gen. Philip H. Sheridan. Potomac Books (January 1, 2003).
What can I say?  Eric W. writes books on subjects I'm very interested in.   He likes detailed tactical studies.  I like detailed tactical studies.   He likes many, many maps.  I like many, many maps.  He loves the cavalry, I...okay I won't go that far!  I've grown more interested in cavalry actions as I've gotten more and more into the 1864 campaigns.  Watching Civil War cavalry evolve into what were essentially mounted infantry by the end of the war is a fascinating thing.  As Eric has said on more than one occasion, this is NOT a biography of Sheridan.  Instead, Eric (a lawyer by profession) chose to treat this subject as if he were arguing a case.  Here is an excerpt from one of Eric's early blog entries:

There has been one very notable exception to this rule. My book Little Phil makes no attempt at objectivity. From the very beginning of the book, I tell the reader that I am serving as an advocate, that the book has been written as a lawyer’s brief. I lay out my case—as if I was trying it to a jury—with no pretense of objectivity. I’ve been criticized for that, but I think that it was important to be honest and up front about the approach. That approach was admittedly taken from the work of Alan Nolan, and I have always freely acknowledged that his book Lee Considered was very much the model for my Sheridan book. It bears noting, though, that the Sheridan book was probably a once in a lifetime thing—while I try never to say never again for the most part, I can’t envision myself undertaking such a project again. My subsequent work has gone back to an objective telling of the story, punctuated by my take on events, and that’s how I expect to proceed as time passes.

I guess you could say that Eric is to Little Phil as Stephen Sears is to Little Mac.  ;-)

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Comments

Like you, I've heard about Amazon removing negative reviews, but I've never had any of mine removed. It must be a response to pressure from certain publishers who choose to do it. Whatever it is it certainly doesn't make Amazon look good.

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