That Body of Brave Men: The U.S. Regular Infantry and the Civil War in the West by Mark W. Johnson

Comments:

New: 1/03/07

Mark W. Johnson. That Body of Brave Men: The U.S. Regular Infantry and the Civil War in the West. Da Capo Press (September 2, 2003). 784 pp., 31 maps, illustrations, notes, bibliography, index.. ISBN: 0-30681-246-0 $45.00 (Hardcover).

When the United States found itself at war in 1861, the Regular Army was ill prepared and lacked the manpower to subdue the seceding states. To make matters worse, existing regiments were scattered across the country, mostly in the west, and would not be available quickly. As a result, eleven new United States infantry regiments were formed. Four of these new regiments, the 15th, 16th, 18th, and 19th U.S., eventually comprised the Regular Brigade in the Army of the Cumberland. Author Mark W. Johnson chronicles the Civil War journey of these four units from initial formation to their final garrison duty at Lookout Mountain. Though the Regulars might not have been the best unit in the Army of the Cumberland, given the difficulties they were forced to work through they provided much solid work, especially at Stones River.

The birth of what would become the four regiments attached to the Regular Brigade came in 1861. The antebellum United States Army was expanding with eleven new infantry regiments designed on a new model. Rather than ten companies to a regiment, the new units would have three battalions of eight companies each for a total of 24 total companies. These new regiments had difficulty recruiting members, especially given the advantages a prospective soldier gained by joining a volunteer regiment instead. Better pay, higher enlistment bounties, and less discipline were only some of the items in favor of the volunteers. Despite these shortages, recruiters slowly managed to bring in manpower, some based on the prospect of earning commisions in the Regular Army. Noteworthy in the recruting aspect were Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Shepherd of the 15th U.S. and Colonel Henry Carrington of the 18th U.S.

Once the Regular regiments formed permanent training camps, they found other difficulties to contend with. Chief among these was a lack of suitable officers. Many of these men were used in staff positions in Union brigades, divisions, corps, and armies. Others resigned to lead volunteer regiments. Still others were given the necessary duty of recruiting. Throughout the war, common themes for the Regular Army regiments would be lack of manpower and lack of officers to lead what manpower there was. As companies were trained and deemed ready, they were shipped off to the front. This led to some companies becoming stranded from their parent battalions while performing garrison and provost duty. Given the lack of Regular regiments, these units were coveted even in small portions by district and department commanders. Once at the front, the regiments usually did not have enough strength to field the regulation three battalions. Early in the war, the 15th, 16th, and 19th regiments each had one battalion in the field, usually composed of various companies from the three component battalions. Due mainly to the efforts of Colonel Henry Carrington, the 18th United States was able to field two battalions.

During their time in the Army of the Ohio under Don Carlos Buell, the 18th United States was in a separate brigade (and even a separate division) from the other three units. This resulted in several incidents which started when members of the volunteer regiments, especially the 9th Ohio, interfered with what they considered to be overly harsh discipline in the 18th. The regulars fought under this arrangement at Shiloh, their baptism of fire, and also later in 1862 at Perryville.

When William Rosecrans took command of what he would rename the Amry of the Cumberland in the fall of 1862, he brigaded all four of the Regular regiments into what he naturally called the "Regular Brigade", and he used this force as his army reserve. The Regulars would be used in this fashion at Stones River, where their stand in some woods in all likelihood saved the Union army from a disaster. This stand, though it cost the Regular Brigade dearly, allowed Rosecrans to form a final defensive line which ultimately blunted the Confederate attack. This brigade continued its solid if unspectacular service through the Atlanta Campaign, participating in battles from Chickamauga (where the Regulars were routed on the first day) and Chattanooga all the way to Jonesboro in early September 1864.

As the war wore on, the government realized that a fully manned army would be essential for the proper garrisoning of the South during Reconstruction. To make matters worse, the replacements the Regulars were receiving grew steadily worse. As a result, all Regulars in the east and west were taken off of the firing line starting in 1863 and extending into late 1864 in order to build up strength and train those new to the regiments. The Regular Brigade found itself on garrison duty at Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga, Tennessee for the end of the war. The end of the war found these units garrisoning portions of the South, just as the government had anticipated.

Author Mark Johnson has produced a masterful and definitive account of the western United States Regulars during the Civil War. Their tale is told comprehensively through their own and others' words. The author moves seamlessly from times of drill and training to campaign and then battle narrative with ease. The story of these men is told in an engaging and interesting way, with the author showing excellent writing skills in weaving together his various sources into a finished product. Many of these are primary sources, allowing the Regulars to speak for themselves concerning their exploits and failures during the war. The tacit admission by the author that these were not supermen is another strong point in his favor. The Regulars were crushed on September 19, 1863 in a devastating flank attack, and Johnson pulls no punches when describing the scene. Johnson's effort stands up well when compared with Timothy Reese's book Sykes' Regular Infantry Division, 1861-1864: A History of Regular United States Infantry Operations in the Civil War's Eastern Theater, by all accounts an excellent book in its own right. I would have liked to have seen the experiences of the 13th U.S. of the Army of the Tennessee covered as well, though this may have been unwieldy giving the need to discuss numerous other battles. The maps in this volume are excellent and deserve to be discussed in a new paragraph.

The thirty-one maps in That Body of Brave Men stand out to such an extent that they merit further discussion. Theater and campaign maps for various periods of the war detail the major battles fought in that time frame and the participation and location of the western Regulars. The battle maps really stand out. With few exceptions, the positions of every single brigade in each army are listed, and insets show the regimental alignment of the Regular Brigade and both friends and foes in the general vicinity. Multiple battle maps exist for many of the battles, including Shiloh, Stones River, and Chickamauga. The presence of these maps made it very easy to follow the action of the Regulars as they participated in these engagements. The maps in That Body of Brave Men exceed the industry standard to such an extent that I have not seen superior examples in any of the unit histories I own.

The four appendices also merit additional comment. Appendix A covers "Regimental Strength and Battle Casualties" for all of the Regular Brigade's fights. This section is ideal for wargamers, though it is limited in scope to only the Regular Brigade. Appendix B shows the reader "Orders of Battle" for the organizations containing regular battalions and regiments for each battle of the Army of the Ohio and the Army of the Cumberland, going down to company level in all cases. The unpublished (in the Official Records or Broadfoot's Supplement to the Official Records) reports of the Regular Brigade are listed in Appendix C. Johnson was able to find four such reports in existence. Appendix D lists the "Colonels of Regiments" for the regular infantry regiments that existed during the Civil War.

That Body of Brave Men is an exceptional unit history in all respects. Author Mark Johnson has in this reader's judgment produced a definitive history of the Western Regulars during the Civil War. The books follows the Regulars of the Army of the Cumberland from their formation in 1861, through numerous major battles, to their use as garrison troops at Lookout Mountain. Men integral to the development of these regiments are profiled throughout the book. This effort is able to hold up to scrutiny when compared to some of the best unit histories available, including Mother May You Never See the Sights I Have Seen. The book will appeal to multiple groups. In addition to holding the interest of students of the Civil War's Western Theater, this book can also be enjoyed and appreciated by those with an interest in the history of the United States Army, especially since this is literally the only book covering this subject. I cannot recommend That Body of Brave Men highly enough. It is an excellent example of a Civil War unit history which prospective authors should aspire to.

Mark W. Johnson	That Body of Brave Men: The U.S. Regular Infantry and the Civil War in the West
Comments: New: 1/03/07 Mark W. Johnson. That Body of Brave Men: The U.S. Regular Infantry and the Civil War in the West. Da Capo Press (September 2, 2003). 784 pp., 31 maps, illustrations, notes, bibliography, index.. ISBN: 0-30681-246-0 $45.00 (Hardcover). When the United States found itself at war in 1861, the Regular Army was ill prepared and lacked the manpower to subdue the seceding states. To make matters worse, existing regiments were scattered across the country, mostly in the west, and would not be available quickly. As a result, eleven new United States infantry regiments were formed. Four of these new regiments, the 15th, 16th, 18th, and 19th U.S., eventually comprised the Regular Brigade in the Army of the Cumberland. Author Mark W. Johnson chronicles the Civil War journey of these four units from initial formation to their final garrison duty at Lookout Mountain. Though the Regulars might not have been the best unit in the Army of the Cumberland, given the difficulties they were forced to work through they provided much solid work, especially at Stones River. The birth of what would become the four regiments attached to the Regular Brigade came in 1861. The antebellum United States Army was expanding with eleven new infantry regiments designed on a new model. Rather than ten companies to a regiment, the new units would have three battalions of eight companies each for a total of 24 total companies. These new regiments had difficulty recruiting members, especially given the advantages a prospective soldier gained by joining a volunteer regiment instead. Better pay, higher enlistment bounties, and less discipline were only some of the items in favor of the volunteers. Despite these shortages, recruiters slowly managed to bring in manpower, some based on the prospect of earning commisions in the Regular Army. Noteworthy in the recruting aspect were Lieutenant Colonel Oliver Shepherd of the 15th U.S. and Colonel Henry Carrington of the 18th U.S. Once the Regular regiments formed permanent training camps, they found other difficulties to contend with. Chief among these was a lack of suitable officers. Many of these men were used in staff positions in Union brigades, divisions, corps, and armies. Others resigned to lead volunteer regiments. Still others were given the necessary duty of recruiting. Throughout the war, common themes for the Regular Army regiments would be lack of manpower and lack of officers to lead what manpower there was. As companies were trained and deemed ready, they were shipped off to the front. This led to some companies becoming stranded from their parent battalions while performing garrison and provost duty. Given the lack of Regular regiments, these units were coveted even in small portions by district and department commanders. Once at the front, the regiments usually did not have enough strength to field the regulation three battalions. Early in the war, the 15th, 16th, and 19th regiments each had one battalion in the field, usually composed of various companies from the three component battalions. Due mainly to the efforts of Colonel Henry Carrington, the 18th United States was able to field two battalions. During their time in the Army of the Ohio under Don Carlos Buell, the 18th United States was in a separate brigade (and even a separate division) from the other three units. This resulted in several incidents which started when members of the volunteer regiments, especially the 9th Ohio, interfered with what they considered to be overly harsh discipline in the 18th. The regulars fought under this arrangement at Shiloh, their baptism of fire, and also later in 1862 at Perryville. When William Rosecrans took command of what he would rename the Amry of the Cumberland in the fall of 1862, he brigaded all four of the Regular regiments into what he naturally called the "Regular Brigade", and he used this force as his army reserve. The Regulars would be used in this fashion at Stones River, where their stand in some woods in all likelihood saved the Union army from a disaster. This stand, though it cost the Regular Brigade dearly, allowed Rosecrans to form a final defensive line which ultimately blunted the Confederate attack. This brigade continued its solid if unspectacular service through the Atlanta Campaign, participating in battles from Chickamauga (where the Regulars were routed on the first day) and Chattanooga all the way to Jonesboro in early September 1864. As the war wore on, the government realized that a fully manned army would be essential for the proper garrisoning of the South during Reconstruction. To make matters worse, the replacements the Regulars were receiving grew steadily worse. As a result, all Regulars in the east and west were taken off of the firing line starting in 1863 and extending into late 1864 in order to build up strength and train those new to the regiments. The Regular Brigade found itself on garrison duty at Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga, Tennessee for the end of the war. The end of the war found these units garrisoning portions of the South, just as the government had anticipated. Author Mark Johnson has produced a masterful and definitive account of the western United States Regulars during the Civil War. Their tale is told comprehensively through their own and others' words. The author moves seamlessly from times of drill and training to campaign and then battle narrative with ease. The story of these men is told in an engaging and interesting way, with the author showing excellent writing skills in weaving together his various sources into a finished product. Many of these are primary sources, allowing the Regulars to speak for themselves concerning their exploits and failures during the war. The tacit admission by the author that these were not supermen is another strong point in his favor. The Regulars were crushed on September 19, 1863 in a devastating flank attack, and Johnson pulls no punches when describing the scene. Johnson's effort stands up well when compared with Timothy Reese's book Sykes' Regular Infantry Division, 1861-1864: A History of Regular United States Infantry Operations in the Civil War's Eastern Theater, by all accounts an excellent book in its own right. I would have liked to have seen the experiences of the 13th U.S. of the Army of the Tennessee covered as well, though this may have been unwieldy giving the need to discuss numerous other battles. The maps in this volume are excellent and deserve to be discussed in a new paragraph. The thirty-one maps in That Body of Brave Men stand out to such an extent that they merit further discussion. Theater and campaign maps for various periods of the war detail the major battles fought in that time frame and the participation and location of the western Regulars. The battle maps really stand out. With few exceptions, the positions of every single brigade in each army are listed, and insets show the regimental alignment of the Regular Brigade and both friends and foes in the general vicinity. Multiple battle maps exist for many of the battles, including Shiloh, Stones River, and Chickamauga. The presence of these maps made it very easy to follow the action of the Regulars as they participated in these engagements. The maps in That Body of Brave Men exceed the industry standard to such an extent that I have not seen superior examples in any of the unit histories I own. The four appendices also merit additional comment. Appendix A covers "Regimental Strength and Battle Casualties" for all of the Regular Brigade's fights. This section is ideal for wargamers, though it is limited in scope to only the Regular Brigade. Appendix B shows the reader "Orders of Battle" for the organizations containing regular battalions and regiments for each battle of the Army of the Ohio and the Army of the Cumberland, going down to company level in all cases. The unpublished (in the Official Records or Broadfoot's Supplement to the Official Records) reports of the Regular Brigade are listed in Appendix C. Johnson was able to find four such reports in existence. Appendix D lists the "Colonels of Regiments" for the regular infantry regiments that existed during the Civil War. That Body of Brave Men is an exceptional unit history in all respects. Author Mark Johnson has in this reader's judgment produced a definitive history of the Western Regulars during the Civil War. The books follows the Regulars of the Army of the Cumberland from their formation in 1861, through numerous major battles, to their use as garrison troops at Lookout Mountain. Men integral to the development of these regiments are profiled throughout the book. This effort is able to hold up to scrutiny when compared to some of the best unit histories available, including Mother May You Never See the Sights I Have Seen. The book will appeal to multiple groups. In addition to holding the interest of students of the Civil War's Western Theater, this book can also be enjoyed and appreciated by those with an interest in the history of the United States Army, especially since this is literally the only book covering this subject. I cannot recommend That Body of Brave Men highly enough. It is an excellent example of a Civil War unit history which prospective authors should aspire to.