Gettysburg: The Living And The Dead. By Kent Gramm. Photographs by Chris Heisey. Illustrated. Southern Illinois
Joshua Chamberlain believed that Civil War battlefields wer vision-places of souls, where “the shadow of a mighty presence” abides. For those who vis and linger on a battlefield per it is as Chamberlain stated whi dedicating the 20th Maine’s mon ument at Gettysburg. Is there “a mighty presence” as one stands by the edge of the Cornfield at Antietam, in the Hornet’s Nest at Shiloh, on the crest of Snodgrass Hill at Chickamauga, or the bottom of the long slope at Malvern Hill? The answer likely lies within each of us, who come to these vision-places, walk across the hallowed ground, honoring those who fought there, and trying to understand it all. At its opening, this book quotes Chamberlain’s words, a wisely chosen prologue for what follows. In its pages the dead have been given voices in finely wrought prose and poetry. We hear from many who were there, unidentified but present, Yanke and Rebel alike. We hear from those who come later, who just visit or lead tours.
Charleston, SC 29412 Email cover image to bookrevi
The book’s narrative is divided into four sections, one for each day of the battle and one fo its aftermath. The author, Kent Gramm, Professor at Gettysburg College, further divides the work into 87 poems or pieces of prose, nearly all of which are one or two pages in length. The voices of the dead describe many events of the three-day engagement that are familiar to any serious student of Gettysburg. It seems that a soldier from nearly all the sta present at the battle has been gi en a voice. The book is, however, a work of historical fiction. The poetry and the prose, stories and dialogues, have been crafted by the author. There is a historical basis for nearly all but, while the words seem to ring true, they are Dr. Gramm’s creation. Many passages are finely, if not beautifu composed. Chris Heisey’s photographs, nearly all in color, grace these pages and add immeasurably to the book’s appeal. His and Dr. Gramm’s collaboration offers a sobering, even haunting, portrait of one of Chamberlain’s vision-places. In a way, this book a memorial to those who fought there and the battlefield itself, and an anti-war, elegiac work. Unquestionably, this book is different from any recent study of our most written about battle. Perhaps, it conveys what many of us have felt as we walked through the Peach Orchard, stood beside the 20th Maine’s monument, looked at Iverson’s pits, or gaze across the ground from Cemetery Ridge toward the Virginia monument. It is recommended without reservation.
Jeffry D. Wert, of Centre Hall, P a longtime book reviewer for Civi War News, is the author of nine books on the Civil War, including Gettysburg-Day Three and Cavalryman of the Lost Cause: A Biography of J. E. B. Stuart.
New Lincoln Book is a Pleasure to Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington. By Ted Widmer. Simon &
Something seemed familiar as the reading of Ted Widmer’s Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington began. Familiar, but in the best of ways like talking with a friend. It to a while to figure out. Finally, the inside back cover provided the answer; Ted Widmer is one of the New York Times writers who created “Disunion” during the Civil War 150th. He is also a Distinguished Lecturer at New York’s City University and writes for The Washington Post, The New Yorker, as well as The Times. A voice like Widmer’s guarantees this new book is a pleasure to read. The author used close readings of Lincoln’s whistlestop speeches at towns along the presi dential train trip from Springfie to Washington as well as newspaper articles to create the basi for his unique point of view: the Inaugural Express allowed president-elect Lincoln to tie the Nor together, readying the Union for the fight ahead. Widmer quotes George Nicolay: “As Mr. Lincoln’s journey progressed, his wisdom in making it one of public oration became apparent. His whole bearing, manner, and utterance carried convic
tion to all beholders that the ma was of them as well as for them.” p. 435 Widmer builds a sturdy frame-
work for his political musings. The inaugural journey has been
even more conjecture. Once regarded as a complete fabrication, the Baltimore Plot to assassinate
president-elect Lincoln as he changed trains in Baltimore, Md., has been proven to absolutely
have existed. Pinkerton’s diary, as well as modern digital research, has turned up messages, t-mails, and other tasty allusion to the murder conspiracy. With the plot as a given, Widmer moves into an artistic weaving of modern politics with the Lincoln election of 1860. Lincoln’s speeches evolved as the inaugural train journey lengthened. At first, excepting his short statement in Springfiel Lincoln was unclear and vague as to how he and the Republican party were going to deal with secession, slavery, and a possible war. The news reporters brutally pointed out every error or hesita tion. The speeches changed, however. By the time Lincoln reached Philadelphia on Washington’s Birthday, the president-elect had found his voice, and a magnificent one it was. An excellent retelling of smal stories about the trip is part of Widmer’s book as well. The nearloss of the inaugural speech by Robert Lincoln, who may have been enjoying himself a little to much, thank you John Hay!), the foibles concerning an anxious Mrs. Lincoln, the careful plans that fell apart almost immediately, leaving a shortage of beds food, and everything else; they are all there and more. Arms get broken, hair gets pulled, Lincoln cannot speak for a while. Against this chaos, Dorthea Dix, General Winfield Scott, Allen Pinkerton, two Sewards, and Samuel Felton collude with Norman Judd to upset a plot to end Lincoln’s presi dency before it even begins. If t stakes had not been so high, the comedy might have outweighed the tragedy. However, the stakes were high and continued to be so until April 14, 1865. Ted Widmer writes this story with care, respect, and dignity. The quotes from John Hay and George Nicolay, scattered copiously throughout the book, give a definitive air of authenti ity to Lincoln on the Verge. The Lincoln family made it safely to
Washington due to the care of the group of supporters who saw to Lincoln’s secure arrival. Widmer
manages to sprinkle a little Walt Whitman in, along with Homer,
and a beautiful map on the endpapers. This reviewer was sorry
time in our history. Widmer began with the idea of a snapshot look at America, as well as Lincoln,
“on the verge” in February 1861. Somewhere along the line his point of view changed. According to a short conversation with the author, “I went somewhere deep as I thought about all of these things, I stopped being a ‘histor an’ and became something more like a documentary filmmaker.” The snapshot took on many different dimensions. As Widmer finished his book, the current political scene took a change in focus. America of today and the past have developed many similarities. They also share some of the same stresses. “I didn’t know our politics would be so bad when I started it, but somehow, it doe feel as if Lincoln might be able help us get better again.” Covid-19 has impacted writers, historians, museums, and booksellers, among others. Many have lost speaking engagements. Tours, conferences, and other events have been canceled. Timely promotional efforts for upcoming books are almost impossible to plan. New publication opportunities may be postponed or even canceled. Please take advantage of the opportunity to purchase and read Ted Widmer’s Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington while it is new. Then talk about it and share this book with friends and coworkers. Everyone reading this is affected by changes in publishing. Support the authors and historians you enjoy and take a little time to explore new ones. Verge is a great place to start.
Meg Groeling received Master’s Degree in Military Histo with a Civil War emphasis, in 201 from American Public University. Savas Beatie published her first book, The Aftermath of Battle: The Burial of the Civil War Dead, in the fall of 2015. Her biograph First Fallen: The Life of Colonel Elmer Ellsworth, the North’s Firs Civil War Hero. It will be publis by Savas Beatie in 2020. She is a book reviewer for LSU, Civil War News, and a regular contributor t the blog Emerging Civil War. She lives in Hollister, Calif., in a
bungalow with her husband, her cats, and a lot of books and rose
Don Shomette, an author with numerous Chesapeake and Maryland historical and archaeological books to his credit, has taken on the little known story of how Southern Maryland was turned into a militarized zone, t Potomac River shores into a frontier, and Confederate sympathies crushed under a Federal occupation. There have been virtually n adequately researched studies of Civil War activity and its impact on Southern Maryland. Across the Potomac, Virginia’s Northern Neck also lacks a detailed examination yet the two areas were closely linked by water and trade Anaconda’s Tail is a study of the Civil War from a new angle; as one example, the Battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam) does not appear in the index, because the war effort in Southern Maryland was another thing entirely. The winner of the Bancroft Prize, Anaconda’s Tail is THE text for those who think they know nearly everything about the War. Military activity was certainl present, well over a brigade of Union soldiers literally occupied the region; four regiments of US Colored Troops, the 7th, 9th, 19t and 30th were raised and trained at Camp Stanton, near Benedict, the largest training base for bla troops in the state. There were raids and ambushes as Union troops attempted to eradicate net works moving information and supplies to the Confederacy and intimidate those with any tinge o Southern sympathy. There were repeated naval bombardments of Virginia’s Northern Neck from the Potomac River, especially
when the U.S. Navy tried to break the Confederate blockade against vessels going up to the District Columbia. Anaconda’s Tail was originally intended to be a two volume study but publishing demands reduced it to one without many illustrations and maps that would be helpful. The text seems, in fact compressed to tell a border state story that, to most, if they ever think about it at all, relates on to John Wilkes Booth. Even then, most folk don’t understand how the Union pursuit knew where to go and who to intimidate for information. They knew because they had been there almost four years conducting an unsuccessful counterinsurgency operation less than 20 miles from the District o Columbia. Like the other Border States, Maryland was a zone of intrigue and smuggling. Southern Maryland played a significant, although overlooked, role in the Civil War. The peninsula, especially the Potomac shore, thrived on it, even as late as 1865. Basically surrounded on three sides by navigable water, it had ways in and out that dictated combined operations, and generated over almost three pages of vessel names in the index. It had dual existences for everything from the 44-vessel Potomac Flotilla’s naval operations and amphibious assaults, to clandestine signal stations, regular mai routes with post offices, and mil itary supplies. Each side existed unto itself but constantly cross linked with the other as life alo the Potomac went on. Just the Potomac River crossing activity, the people and watercraft involved, and the Union’ efforts to interdict it, make thi book worth reading. It might encourage people to wonder, and perhaps understand, why Surrattsville, named for the post office where Mary Surratts’ husband handled both Union and Confederate mail, had a name change to Clinton, but the elementary, middle, and high schools are still named Surrattsville. Th occupation’s impacts linger even today.
Larry Babits lived in Southern Maryland, then went to the University of Maryland and Brown University before becoming a professional archaeologist working on sites ranging from prehistoric to WW II. Now retired, he writes, consults, and also shoots black powder competitively.
A New Study on an imp Civil War Battle’s Tu The Cornfield: Antietam’s Bloody Turning Point. By David A. Welker. Appendices, Bibliography, Endnotes, and Index, 384 pp., 2020. Casemate
At the start of David Welker’s stunning new title on the battle of Antietam, Generals Robert E. Lee and George B. McClellan plant the seeds of a campaign tha moves the fighting to Northern territory. It was the culmination of Lee’s goal to change the map of the eastern theater with hopes of winning the war, threatening Washington, D.C., convincing the United States population to turn away from preserving the Union, and gaining foreign intervention or recognition by England or France. The Battle of Antietam, also called the Battle of Sharpsburg, occurred on Sept. 17, 1862, along Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Md. In the end, this fight was America’s single bloodiest day when 22,000 soldiers became casualties. The battle’s outcome would be vital to shaping America’s future. Welker is one of the most read able of historians. With his late book, “The Cornfield,” he tells the story about one of several turning points in the Civil War. Considered an important moment in the conflict, the author shows how Lee’s first invasion of the North changed the impetus of the war, since prior to September 1862, the Confederacy had lost several naval and military battle in the Western Theater to Union forces. A Southern victory in the east might lead to the end of hos tilities and foreign recognition. However, the Union victory at Sharpsburg reversed a terrible
t Point deterioration in the confidence of Northern soldiers and citizens. Military historians consider th Battle of Antietam a tactical stal mate and a Union strategic victory. After the Army of Northern Virginia departed the battlefield and returned to Virginia, President Lincoln was able to finally release his Emancipation Proclamation on September 22, 1862. The end of slavery in the territory in rebellion became the second main reason for the Union fighting the Civil War against the Confederate States of America, weakened the South’s ability to win the war, and helped the Federal’s ability to ultimately win this important moment in U.S. history. One essential location in this important battle, Miller’s Cornfield, passed through both armies’ hands several times and led to many casualties. Union General “Fighting Joe” Hooker led three divisions to the Cornfie where they fought with ferocity with men from Lee’s elite forces, including Hood’s Texas Brigade and others to win the day. This small thirty-acre farmland saw many regiments on both sides confronting and counterattacking for many hours, until this land was filled with many dead bodies. This significant piece of lan and the efforts of the Union army did not allow the Confederate army to achieve their goal of a significant victory but did stall McClellan’s overall plans. Welker has done excellent work in clarifying the scrambled story of the battle of Antietam and the fighting that took place in the Cornfield. McClellan’s many difficulties in directing thi fight, the complicated contexts of Yankee and Southern plans, and in assessing the successes and failures of Lee and McClellan. He was able to weave the various threads of a back and forth fight for this contested ground in real time with numerous units fighting to gain ground during terrible carnage. Readers will gain a comprehensive and convincing understanding of what took place and will be yearning for more. The author’s analysis is often right on and groundbreaking. An important example is showing that after the Confederates determined to fight the battle, it was unable to seize the initiative and gain an advantage during the many counterattacks launched throughout this critical phase of the battle. The failure of Souther commanders such as Jackson,
Longstreet, Hood, and others enabled Northern forces to regroup, attack over, leading to far too many lives lost, but in the end, a political victory. Welker makes the important observation that McClellan was unable to change his battle plan and failed to make changes as the fighting went on throughout September 17, 1862. Perhaps if the Union commander adapted to the fighting, then he would have been able to use a greater amount of his forces throughout the battlefield and won a decisive victory. This new text is lucid, lively, well written, and energetic, meticulously researched, the prose flows, and people will read from cover to cover without putting this exciting volume down. Welker’s scholarship provides an important contribution to the study of the battle of Antietam that complements an important body of work as well as enhances our understanding of the fighting in the Cornfield. It is a valuable addition to the genre. The author has woven a fascinating story that includes many firsthand accounts by officers and common soldiers not usually found in modern scholarship. The twenty maps and twenty illustrations greatly illuminate the tactics and the battle action for the reader. The author could have increased his coverage of the Confederate forces throughout this wonderful narrative and included many more pages on each phase and individual in his index. One of the best features of this narrative is Welker’s fabulous breakdown of both armies’ commanders decision making throughout. He mentions goals, successes, and failures by both commanding generals and other leading figures during this signif icant conflict which greatly helps make this an enlightening experience for scholars, students, and enthusiasts of the Civil War battles in the Eastern Theater. Highl recommended by this reviewer.
David Marshall is a high school American history teacher in the Miami-Dade School district for the past thirty-three years. A lif long Civil War enthusiast, David is president of the Miami Civil Wa Round Table Book Club. In addition to numerous reviews in Civil War News and other publications, he has given presentations to Civil War Round Tables on Joshua Chamberlain, Ulysses S. Grant, Abraham Lincoln, and more.
Timely New Biography of Confeder Texas Brigadier to the Fall of Atlanta: John Bell Hood. By Stephen Davis. Maps, bibliography, index, 514 pp., 2019. Merce
Among the eight men who attained the rank of full general the Confederate army, John Bell Hood’s ascension to that rank wa the most improbable. Hood was barely 33 when commissioned a full general, making him the youngest such officer in a group of predominantly middle-aged or older men. Hood alone advanced upward through the ranks from lieutenant to full general. The fact that Hood lost a leg during the war at Chickamauga and the use of his left arm at Gettysbur in 1863 makes his promotion to full general the following year the more remarkable. Steve Davis’ superb new book is the first of a planned two-vo ume biography of General Hood.
Too Useful to Sacrifice: Reconsidering George B. McClellan’s Generalship in the Maryland Campaign from South Mountain to Antietam. By Steven R. Stotelmyer. Photos, notes, index, 272 pp., 2019.
It’s a good time to be a controversial Civil War general. In recent years, historians have plied readers with reappraisals of Braxton Bragg, John Bell Hood, Roswell Ripley, and George Gordon Meade. George B. McClellan has been the beneficiary of several fresh takes o the years, but the publication o this daringly revisionist study
neral John Bell Hood As the first full-length biograph of the general in nearly 40 years Davis’ study benefits from the re cent discovery and publication of a trove of the general’s previous ly unknown private papers. Born in Kentucky in 1831, Hood pulled political strings to win an appointment to West Point. An undistinguished academic record at the Military Academy resulted in Hood’s commission into the infantry at graduation. Stationed at an isolated fort in California, Hood longed for the greater excitement he perceived in the cavalry. Political influen also may have been a factor in Hood’s obtaining a transfer in 1855 to the newly formed 2 US Cavalry, a posting that brought Hood to Texas for the first time. Over the next five years, Hood chased Comanches across Texas, but seldom found them. As uneventful as his service in Texas was, it would prove pivotal in his future. When war came in 1861 and Hood’s native Kentucky remained in the Union, Hood’s service in the Lone Star State gave him a second identity as a Texan. Thin as his claim to Texan status was, it was sufficient to secure his promotion in Sept. 1861 to colonel of the 4 Texas Inf. Regt., one of the thre Texas infantry regiments brigaded together in Virginia that, with the 3rd Arkansas, came to be called the “Texas Brigade.” When command of the Texas Brigade became vacant early in 1862, Hood’s ties to Texas let hi leapfrog a senior colonel with no such ties and take command of the brigade. The heroics of the Texas Brigade at Gaines Mill during the Getting right with suggests that the work is not yet finished. In Too Useful to Sacrifice, au thor Steven R. Stotelmyer, a founding member of the Central Maryland Heritage League and
Seven Days, Second Manassas, and Sharpsburg in 1862 and the next year at Gettysburg and Chickamauga reflected well on Hood’s generalship and, to some extent, propelled him to ever higher command. Davis devotes the great bulk of his book to Hood’s service in the Army of Tennessee, beginning with his assumption of corps command in Feb. 1864 and ending with the fall of Atlanta in e ly Sept. The author of four books on the Atlanta Campaign, Davis’ encyclopedic knowledge of the subject shows through in his account of this phase of Hood’s military career. As a corps commander during the retreat of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston’s army from Dalton to Atlanta in the spring and early summer of 1864, Hood performed creditably in the field. Johnston called upon Hood to execute key assignments during this retrograde movement, and consulted closely with Hood in his tactical planning. Less to his credit, Hoo corresponded clandestinely with Richmond in a transparent attempt to undermine confidence in Johnston and to position himself as Johnston’s successor. Davis is unequivocal that Hood’s intrigue with Richmond, as unprofessional as it was, did not result in Johnston’s removal from command on July 17, 1864. Jefferson Davis removed the Army of Tennessee commander only after Johnston failed repeat edly to assure the president that he would not abandon Atlanta without a fight. As for Hood’s appointment as Johnston’s successor, Davis presents it as some thing of a fait accompli: there e Mac longtime South Mountain and Antietam battlefield guide, draws on his intimate knowledge of the campaign and its landscapes. His scholarship also builds on the pioneering work of Joseph Harsh, whose untimely death prevented him from producing a Union counterpart for Taken at the Flood, his classic treatment of Confederate strategy in the Maryland Campaign. Stotelmyer’s long-awaited book is really a collection of fi essays assessing McClellan’s generalship during the 1862 Maryland Campaign. Each essay can stand alone, but they are perhaps best consumed together. Collectively, they render a portrait of an embattled Union general: one forced to confront not just an invading rebel enemy, but also supply woes, sniping
was simply no better alternative to Hood. As everybody who has seen the movie Gone With the Wind knows, Atlanta eventually fell to Sherman, notwithstanding the change in Confederate command. It was not without a fight on Hood’s part, however. Shortly after taking command on July 18, Hood did what his government had asked by launching three offensive strikes. Despite being re pulsed, Hood slowed Sherman’s advance. During August Hood’s cavalry defeated three separate Yankee advances against his rail lines. When Sherman finally succeeded in maneuvering Hood out of Atlanta, he did so by cutting Hood’s last railroad supply arter after stretching the Southern defensive lines beyond their abilit to fend off Union attacks. Davis assesses Hood’s performance favorably despite failing to hold Atlanta, an outcome he views as “inevitable after Joseph E. Johnston crossed the Chattahoochee River.” Hood ultimately gave way, Davis asserts, only under the weight of Sherman’s superior numbers. Davis writes well. His text is also exceptionally well edited, with a minimum of distracting typos or factual errors. The book features more than two dozen maps. Each map occupies a full page and, with few exceptions, is easily readable without resort to a magnifying glass. My (mild) criticism is tha the maps are bunched together in the middle of the book, instead of being dispersed throughout the book near the accounts of the particular battles or marches the
subordinates, and the machinations of determined political enemies in Washington. The first chapter considers McClellan’s response to finding the Lost Orders. In a field near Frederick, Md., on Sept. 13, 1862 a party of Union soldiers discovered a stray copy of Confederate Special Orders No. 191 wrapped around three cigars. Generations of historians have reliably scold ed McClellan for failing to act o this extraordinary find. Instead acting with alacrity, they conten that McClellan tarried for eighteen hours, squandering a choice opportunity to destroy Lee’s army. Stotelmyer counters these claims with some welcome context. First, the discovery of the Lost Orders was hardly exceptional. “McClellan’s ‘singular’
depict. Davis’s text is heavily footnoted, attesting to the prodigious research the author put into the book. Davis packs a good deal of collateral as well as bibliographi information into many footnotes. In one footnote, for instance, Davis ridicules the persistent but baseless accusation that Hood self-medicated his wounds with the opiate laudanum to the point of his actual addiction to the dru While on the subject of footnotes, kudos to Mercer University Press for setting the text in easy to-read double spaced type, and for including the notes at the foo of the pages instead of parking them in the back of the book, thus sparing diligent readers the chore of flipping back and forth between text and end notes. A photo or two of Hood, however, would have been a nice addition to the book. This book should appeal to a broad range of Civil War enthusiasts, particularly those with an interest in the Atlanta Campaign, the Texas Brigade, or Hood himself. If Davis’ second volume of his biography of Hood is up to the high standards he has set in his first, it will be another wort addition to Civil War historiography. This reviewer can hardly wait to reread it.
C. Michael Harrington is a retired lawyer, resident in Houston. He’s authored several published articles on South Carolina soldiers, and he’s lectured to Civil War organizations in Houston on multiple topics, including Yale’s Confederate alumni and South Carolinians in the war. He’s president of the Houston CWRT.
find,” he writes, “was in reality the fifth such incident” in less than a month (26). Second, McClellan was already moving “as rapidly as he could to engage Lee’s army” (44). McClellan faced not insignificant logistical obstacles, especially as his columns moved through the knotted streets of Frederick. It is al worth mentioning that McClellan mined “little new information” from the orders (30). The author concludes that the discovery of the Lost Orders was neither a missed opportunity nor a turning point in the campaign. The next essay considers the fi combat that erupted in the gaps of South Mountain on Sept. 14, 1862.
H Little Mac . . . . . . . . . . . see page 27