Those that can’t write, Review!
December 2011
James W. Durney
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Gift List
This is the gifting season any suggestions about what to buy or ask for usually are welcome. These are some books that a Civil War person should be happy to receive:
Eric Wittenberg’s, Gettysburg’s Forgotten Cavalry Actions: Farnsworth’s Charge, South Cavalry Field, and the Battle of Fairfield, July 3, 1863 won the Bachelder-Coddington Award. There is a new edition with additional material on the shelves. Additionally, Eric’s The Battle of White Sulphur Springs is available.
Scott Mingus’ excellent Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Confederate Expedition to the Susquehanna River, June 1863 has been reworked for the new edition.
Thunder Across the Swamps: The Fight for the Lower Mississippi, February-May 1863, and Fire in the Cane Field: The Federal Invasion of Louisiana and Texas, January 1861-January 1863 are the first two books in the Louisiana Quadrille series. Fire won the Laney Prize.
The Rashness of That Hour by Robert J. Wynstra is a great book see Book News below.
Dakota Dawn: The Decisive First Week of the Sioux Uprising, August 1862 by Gregory Michno is one of the few times that the Civil War and the Indian Wars truly are one.
The Last Lincolns: the Rise and Fall of a Great American Family by Charles Lachman is a well written, informative and very sad look at Lincoln’s descendants.
Stephen Sears’ Chancellorsville is simply the best history of that battle that I’ve found.
A Glorious Army: Robert E. Lee’s Triumph, 1862-1863 by Jeffery D. Wert is a readable history of that time.
You could consider some of the regional publications that are part of the Civil War Sesquicentennial. Joseph Bilby and Scott Mingus have done excellent work in this area.
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New Releases
In the Stores
Thunder Across the Swamps: The Fight for the Lower Mississippi, February-May 1863, the second book in the Louisiana Quadrille series. The first book in the series won the Laney Prize. This excellent series is highly recommended.
The Artillery Service in the War of the Rebellion edited by Lawrence M. Kaplan written by John C. Tidball, a distinguished artilleryman of the era, first appeared in the Journal of the Military Service Institution from 1891 to 1893. The initial reviews on this book are very good and it is a selection for History and Military book club.
A Generation at War: The Civil War Era in a Northern Community by Nicole Etcheson is a detailed study of Putnam County, Indiana, from the Compromise of 1850 to the end of Reconstruction.
The Body of John Merryman: Abraham Lincoln and the Suspension of Habeas Corpus by Brain McGinty is the first book-length examination of this much-misunderstood chapter in American history.
The Fate of War: Fredericksburg, 1862 by Duane Schultz is the latest book from this good author.
In 1998 Eric Wittenberg’s, GETTYSBURG’S FORGOTTEN CAVALRY ACTIONS: Farnsworth’s Charge, South Cavalry Field, and the Battle of Fairfield, July 3, 1863 won the Bachelder-Coddington Award for the year’s best new work interpreting the Battle of Gettysburg. The new edition adds about 14,000 words on new material, comes with additional illustrations and a new map. The History Book Club & the Military Book Club will issue a special hardcover edition of the book for their members. Eric Wittenberg’s Blog reports this has “slowed up the printing process”.
Price’s Lost Campaign: The 1864 Invasion of Missouri by Mark A. Lause covers an area that we have almost nothing on.
Pinkerton’s War: The Civil War’s Greatest Spy and the Birth of the U.S. Secret Service by Jay Bonansinga the title makes this a hard item to sell.
Virginia at War, 1865 edited by William C. Davis and James I. Robertson Jr. is the last book in this series.
The Battle of White Sulphur Springs by Eric Wittenberg covers the August 26-27, 1863 fight between Averell and George S. Patton near The Greenbrier resort. This book is part of The History Press’ Sesquicentennial series. Steven Stanley did the maps for the only detailed tactical narrative of this battle.
Victors in Blue: How Union Generals Fought the Confederates, Battled Each Other, and Won the Civil War by Albert Castel & Brooks D. Simpson should be an interesting read.
Sustaining Southern Identity: Douglas Southall Freeman and Memory in the Modern South by Keith D. Dickson is not a Civil War history but a history of how history is written.
A book by Mark Neely dealing with how law shaped the struggle for national survival is Lincoln and the Triumph of the Nation: Constitutional Conflict in the American Civil War.
Troubled Commemoration: The American Civil War Centennial, 1961-1965 by Robert J. Cook looks at the people & events of 50 years ago.
CSS Alabama vs. USS Kearsarge: Cherbourg 1864 by Mark Lardas Illustrated by Peter Dennis & Peter Bull is part of a Duel series and might be fun.
December 2011
The Confederate Heartland: Military and Civilian Morale in the Western Confederacy by Bradley R. Clampitt looks at the region that witnessed the most consistent Union success and Confederate failure.
Righteous Violence: Revolution, Slavery, and the American Renaissance by Larry J. Reynolds examines the struggles with the violence of slavery and revolution that engaged the imaginations of seven nineteenth-century American writers—Margaret Fuller, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Frederick Douglass, Henry David Thoreau, Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Herman Melville.
Unholy Sabbath: The Battle of South Mountain in History and Memory by Brian Jordan. The author is working on a Ph.D. in History at Yale University while speaking at Round Tables and acting as a guide. This book looks at South Mountain as a separate distinct battle not a prelude to Antietam. This book looks at how “history is made” by following the battle into the post war years and what did and did not become “history”.
January 2012
The Maps of Antietam: An Atlas of the Antietam (Sharpsburg) Campaign, including the Battle of South Mountain, September 2 – 20, 1862 by Bradley Gottfried is the newest full color entry into the fine Savas Beatie Military Atlas Series.
The Northern Home Front during the Civil War edited by Randall M. Miller & Paul A. Cimbala is a look at a nation under the strain of war.
Decided on the Battlefield: Grant, Sherman, Lincoln and the Election of 1864 by David Alan Johnson is another look at the events and election of 1864.
February 2012
Brigades of Gettysburg: The Union and Confederate Brigades at the Battle of Gettysburg by Bradley M. Gottfried is being released in Paperback.
Giant in the Shadows: The Life of Robert T. Lincoln by James Emerson is a chance to look at this complex man.
Freedom’s Cap: The United States Capitol and the Coming of the Civil War by Guy Gugliotta tells about the clash of personalities behind building the Capitol its’ extraordinary design and engineering. The building runs from 1850 to 1863, taking place during one of the most contentious times in our history.
A History of the Negro Troops in the War of Rebellion, 1861-1865 by George Washington Williams is a paperback of the 1887 book.
The Civil War: The Second Year Told By Those Who Lived It edited by Stephen Sears is part of a four-volume series.
March 2012
The Civil War in the West Victory and Defeat from the Appalachians to the Mississippi by Earl J. Hess is a comprehensive look at how the Union won and held this area.
The Petersburg Campaign: The Eastern Front Battles, June – August 1864, Volume 1 by Edwin Bearss and Bryce Suderow is a “must have” book. This is 488 pages with original maps by Civil War cartographer Steven Stanley.
Eric Wittenberg’s Protecting the Flanks: The Battles for Brinkerhoff’s Ridge and East Cavalry Field, Battle of Gettysburg, July 2-3, 1863 is a new edition with a new map, additional illustrations, two new appendices, and other material.
Shiloh, 1862: The First Great and Terrible Battle of the Civil War by Winston Groom should be a good read.
The Second Day at Gettysburg: The Attack and Defense of the Union Center on Cemetery Ridge, July 2, 1863 by David Shultz & David Wieck. This book expands on their excellent The Battle Between the Farm Lanes. This is a completely revised and expanded study including new photographs, original maps, and a self-guided tour.
When General Grant Expelled the Jews by Jonathan D. Sarna. This action caused Grant problems for the rest of his public life. A complete account is overdue and badly needed.
Rules of Rebellion: Guerrilla Warfare during the Civil War by Daniel E. Sutherland is only a title, author and date at this time.
April 2012
The Peninsula Campaign and the Necessity of Emancipation by Glenn David Basher augers that this campaign is the pivotal event in the emancipation process.
Jeffry Wert’s A Glorious Army: Robert E. Lee’s Triumph, 1862-1863 is going to be released as a Paperback.
May 2012
Richard Taylor and the Red River Campaign of 1864 by Samuel Mitcham Jr. looks at this campaign from the Confederate point of view.
Joshua Chamberlain: The Life in Letters of a Great Leader of the American Civil War by Thomas Desjardin brings to public light 300 never-before-seen letters.
Kentucky’s Civil War Battlefields: A Guide to Their History and Preservation by Randy Bishop looks at thirteen major conflicts and details the level of preservation for each site.
Americans Remember Their Civil War by Lesley J. Gordon looks at remembrances from the immediate postwar era to the early 21st century. The conflicting tensions as people sought to commemorate “their” war. The epilogue examines current memories of the war, debates and controversies.
June 2012
The Northern Home Front during the Civil War edited by Randall M. Miller and Paul A. Cimbala promises a great deal in 250 pages.
Remembering The Battle of the Crater: War as Murder by Kevin M. Levin, no information beyond the title and publication date.
Mightier than the Sword: Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the Battle for America by David S. Reynolds is being released as a Paperback.
July 2012
Montreal and the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln: John Wilkes Booth’s Unexplained Visit to Montreal in October by Phil Sherman Taylor looks at the possible connection between the city and the assassination.
Edifice of Freedom: The Civil War Amendments in Historical Perspective by James S. Hunphreys looks at the 13th, 14th & 15th Amendments in detail. The book looks at both the historical and contemporary significance of the Civil War Amendments.
The Long Road To Antietam: How the Civil War Became a Revolution by Richard Slotkin has no information other than the title and publication date.
Unavailable Dates
The Maryland Campaign of September 1862, Volume 2: Antietam edited by Thomas G. Clemens is the second part of the Ezra Carman manuscript, covering the battle has no publication date.
Ethan Rafuse has an essay in the Campaign Chattanooga edited by Steven Woodworth, the next book in the excellent Civil War Campaigns in the Heartland series.
Ethan Rafuse and Charles R. Bowery Jr. are working on a War College guide for Richmond-Petersburg expected in 2012.
Steve Stanley and J. David Petruzzi are hard at work on The Complete Antietam Campaign Guide. Antietam Chief Historian Ted Alexander is doing the Forward. This is a full color book styled on The Complete Gettysburg Guide. The book will feature Harpers Ferry, South Mountain, Antietam, and Shepherdstown plus many points in between.
Eric Wittenberg is working on a project is for The History Press entitled The Battle of Yellow Tavern: Jeb Stuart’s Last Battle. This will be a study of Phil Sheridan’s May 1864 raid on Richmond, with particular focus on the May 11, 1864 Battle of Yellow Tavern, where Jeb Stuart is mortally wounded.
James M. Schmidt is doing a book for The History Press, tentatively titled Galveston and the Civil War: An Island People in the Maelstrom scheduled for mid- to late 2012.
A complete history of the Iron Brigade from Lance J. Herdegen is in the works. His Those Damned Black Hats!, the Iron Brigade during the Gettysburg Campaign won The Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award for Operational Battle History.
Savas Beatie has an option to publish Scott L. Mingus, Sr.’s next book titled Gettysburg’s Controversial Old Confederate General: Gov. William “Extra Billy” Smith of Virginia.
Joseph Reinhart sent the manuscript for Yankee Dutchmen under Fire: Civil War Letters from the 82nd Illinois Infantry to the publisher. The book is undergoing peer review.
Nancy Dane reports book four in The Tattered Glory series is being edited before going to the publisher. The title is An Enduring Union.
Francis Hamit, author of The Shenandoah Spy, reports The Queen of Washington is going to the printer. This is the next novel in his series on women spying for the Confederacy.
Tom Desjardin has written a biography of Joshua L. Chamberlain that is due out in 2013.
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Book News
The Bachelder-Coddington award is one of the most prestigious awards for books on Gettysburg. Each year, the best new work on the battle is selected to receive this award. The 2011 winner is The Rashness of That Hour by Robert J. Wynstra. This is a detailed look at Brig. Gen. Alfred Holt Iverson, politics and favoritism in the Confederacy. The result in the slaughter of his brigade in front of a stonewall on Oak Ridge. This is addition to the 2010 Dr. James I. Robertson Literary Prize for Confederate History.
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Civil War Sesquicentennial Publications
In an effort to support, sesquicentennial publishing this will be part of this column through 2015. If you know of a book, please contact me so it can be included.
New Jersey
New Jersey Goes to War part of the New Jersey Civil War Sesquicentennial is in its’ second printing. It is so popular that New Jersey’s Odyssey using the same format is available. This book is “An Anthology of Civil War Tales from 1850 to 1961”; Joseph G. Bilby edits both books.
Discover Your Community’s Civil War Heritage, by Steven D. Glazer, is a comprehensive and up-to-date manual for those wishing to research the stories of their own community’s Civil War veterans.
Only available from www.njcivilwar150.org 100% of the purchase price goes to support the New Jersey Civil War Sesquicentennial. All those involved contributed their time and contributions paid for printing.
York County, Pennsylvania
Civil War Voices from York County, Pennsylvania: Remembering the Rebellion and the Gettysburg Campaign by Scott L. Mingus Sr. and James McClure contains the rich oral tradition coupled with letters, diaries, photographs and newspaper accounts to tell the stories of York in those bleak days 150 years ago. They give a vibrant voice to those living, serving and dying in this most tumultuous period in America’s history.
Adams County-based Colecraft Industries published the book.
The authors coordinated the project with the Pennsylvania Civil War 150, the York County Heritage Trust and the York Daily Record/Sunday News.
Contact: Scott Mingus, scottmingus@yahoo.com.
Virginia
Lists the book America on the Eve of the Civil War edited by Edward L. Ayers and Carolyn R. Martin, as 160-page book with four black & white photos.
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I would like to wish all of you
a Merry Christmas or Happy Chanukah
“God bless us, one and all!”
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