Missouri. From my ing, it’s a Feder pin. I was curious a and value.
Dear Mr. Kage: The small silve found is actually the first example There are numerou identification publicly to Civil from many venues. common are dog ta forms sold by sut stamped inscripti this. As you can printed below, on in New York was m badge along with
This ad was copie Stanley Phillips’ War Corps Badges Related Awards, B Medals of the Per taken from a wart a Civil War perio as Harper’s Weekl Navy Journal.
in his day. There is ve information available o soldier. “St. George W.
shows up on the roster Pa. Cav. on March 29, 1 Co. I, being discharged
with no further informa the slight disparity in engraved and the name f
the records is unknown, are often typographical made on these badges an
numerous small dings, d and folds. The badge ha been holed so it could to uniform coat or hat. this thin-stamped badge made with a T-bar pin; still see the solder ma it was attached. Going
I.D. pins and badges, t wide range of prices ov
Vol. 42, No. 3 Battlefield Of Franklin Land Prese By GreGory L. Wade
FRANKLIN, Tenn. — What is considered the bloodiest acreage i the Nov. 30, 1864, Battle of Frank is now being reclaimed as part of evolving Carter Hill Battlefield P Local preservation leaders recentl
from owners Reid and Brenda Lovell after a months-long process
sources for the critical 1.6 acres adjoin the Carter House, a major battle landmark. Details were recently provided a press conference led by Franklin Charge board member Julian Bibb, who praised the “remarkable transition” of the Franklin battlefiel Franklin’s Charge is a coalition o
civic and preservation groups who joined together more than ten year ago to purchase local battleground Over 150 years ago the Army of Tennessee stepped off in a series of charges to be virtually destroy by Federals under John Schofield i hopes of taking Franklin and later Nashville.
At that time, most of the terra was open farmland on the outskirts of what was once a small Middle Tennessee farming community. Over time development covered much of the battlefield with houses, light dustry, and small businesses. All that remained of the critic area where the Confederates tem-
porarily broke the Federal line wa the small farmhouse and a few acre known as the Carter House farm. The 1.6 acres purchased, which adjoin the southern boundary of th Carter House property, is comprise of two lots. Today, they are occup
of Franklin Parks Department by Franklin’s Charge and the Battle o Franklin’s Trust (BOFT), managers of the Carter House the nearby Car ton Plantation. The structures wil removed in coming months, possibly relocated for other use. The purchase is only the latest in a long and arduous effort to re
“It had to be a miracle,” quipp Civil War Trust (CWT) President James Lighthizer, referring to the most recent acquisition. Local res ident Michael Grainger, long time Trust board member and former chairman, said, “Local leadership has been incredible and will conti ue to be a partner [with the CWT].
In 2005, after years of frustra attempting to preserve Franklin ba tleground, local preservationists cided it would have to be done the hard way, by buying properties, of ten with buildings on them. The largest parcel of land was originally a local golf course sla to be sold to a developer to build
houses on what was the right flank of the Confederate attack north to ward the Federal lines just south the town. It was then that Franklin’s Cha came into existence. Funds have
chase from private donors, the CWT the City of Franklin and others. T
110-acre segment, now fully interpreted and known as the Eastern Flank Battlefield, is what got the preservation ball rolling in Frank Since that time nine other parc in proximity to the Carter House have been purchased and have been, or will be, turned over to the Fra
at the Lovell purchase regory L. Wade photos)
lin Parks Department, according t Bibb. But it was the land just south Carter House, long considered the
most bloodied ground in Franklin, and some say in America, that was the most coveted. BOFT Chief Executive Officer Eric Jacobson noted, “to not have this ground reclaimed and preserv would be like having Omaha Beach cut out of Normandy.” The most recent acquisition
evolved when Franklin’s Charge an the BOFT began discussions with t Lovells, who have a strong sense the history of the land, having g up in Franklin. “I was born and raised in Fran lin on ground many believe should have been a national park,” said Lovell. He recalled when visitors
what happened, not walk on ground where it transpired. “My great-grandfather, who fou here, and my parents would be pro of what we are doing here today,” said at the press conference. The Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted unanimously in February to fund part of the
remaining debt on the Lovell property purchase. The previously
paid by the city on a non-interes basis over seven years. These funds will cover the bal now bridged by a local bank and w
be derived from the city’s hoteltel tax. Local banker Chuck Isaac was instrumental in working out t loans. All the city funds are all
by his employer, First Farmers an Merchants Bank.
Reviews of Civ Stephe Book on Battle of Monocacy is Well R Determined to Stand and Washington Fight: The Battle of Monocacy, ingly July 9, 1864, by Ryan T. Quint. Illustrations, maps, photos, index, online footnotes, appendices, 113 pp., 2017. Savas Beatie,
Not too many years ago, Monocacy was a relatively obscure and underappreciated battle. If you searched for a book about Confederate General Jubal Early’s 1864 invasion of Maryland—of which Monocacy was a key engagement—you discovered that there was only one volume in print. Today, public interest in the bat tle has risen, and books have been flying off the presses. During the last half-dozen years or so, there have probably been the same number of new books published either about Early’s invasion or the Battle of Monocacy itself. Determined to Stand and Fight, part of the Emerging Civil War series, is the latest volume in this category. Monocacy, which took place on July 9, 1864, is commonly known as “the Battle that Saved
Historically based fictional no commencing with one rural famil experiences before centrally fo upon a tight knit pack of class experiencing the battles of the together. A true “you are there
War Books ovide our readers with timely anal arched and Illustrated since the surpris- rushed to Frede ubborn Union defense there in the there delayed Early’s assault on Washington, D.C., by one day— thereby enabling Northern troops to reinforce the city and prevent from being captured. At the time, Washington’s ring of fortifications was lightl manned. Most of the garrisons had been sent south to assist Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s siege of Petersburg, Va. Early’s goal was to relieve th pressure on Petersburg by forcing the Federals to transfer troo back to Washington. Another aim was to embarrass Lincoln a few months prior to the critical 1864 presidential election. At the start of the invasion e lier in June, Early had marched north through the Shenandoah Valley with about 12,000 troops and crossed into Maryland. Although warned about a possible Confederate thrust at Washington, Grant at first didn’t tak the threat seriously and delayed sending reinforcements. The Northern commander in Baltimore, Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace, was quicker to recognize the danger. He was limited by the fact that he had only 3,200 troops at his disposal, and most of them were inexperienced 100day enlistees. Wallace dashed off a telegraph begging Grant to send troops immediately, and rushed off to establish a defensive line east of Frederick on the bank of the north-south-flowin Monocacy River. Wallace’s men were deployed so as to block the fords and brid es needed to cross the river. At this point, Grant began sending reinforcements both to Baltimore and Washington. First to arrive in Baltimore was the 4,000-man veteran division of Brig. Gen. James B. Ricketts. Once unloaded from ships, the men were put on trains and
Shelby’s Competen They arrived Trans-Mississippi Ra f time: Early’s vanguard arrived in the city from the west the following day. Given the odds—the defenders were outnumbered by more than two-to-one—the battle’s outcome was never in doubt. Early’s men found an undefended ford about a mile south of Wallace’s position. They crossed the river and struck Wallace’s left flank. The fighting flowed back and forth until the flank caved in and Wallace was forced to withdraw. Although Early won a tactical victory, the valiant defense by the Union helped turn Early’s attack on Washington into a strategic Southern defeat. This book not only covers the whole Early invasion from the entry into Maryland to the climactic battle at Fort Stevens, but also overviews a number of colorful secondary issues, including: the ransom of Frederick; medical care during the battle; the attempted cavalry raid to free 12,000 Rebel prisons at the Point Lookout, Md., prison camp; the cavalry raid that successfully cut the direct rail lin between Philadelphia and Baltimore; the McCausland cavalry raid that resulted in the burning of Chambersburg, Penn., a month after Monocacy; and Wallace’s post-war literary career as the a thor of the best-selling novel, B Hur. Included in the appendices is a comprehensive self-guided tour of the Monocacy National Battlefield. While this book does not have any major new revelations or reinterpretations, it is well researched, exhaustively illustrate and provides a number of supplemental details to widely known facts and stories. The volume is concise, but is still densely packed with facts. It’s an ideal troduction to someone new to the battle, and also a valuable companion guide for someone who wants a self-guided park tour.
Walt Albro is an editor and write residing in Rockville, Maryland.
Deadlines for Advertising or Editorial Submissions is the 20th of each month. Email to:
General J. O. Shelby at Clarendon, Arkansas: The Capture and Destruction of the U.S.S. Queen City. By Don Roth. Maps, photos, footnotes, appendix, bibliography, 60 pp., 2017. Camp
This brief but interesting gem is by retired armed forces vetera and first-time author Don Roth. Roth succeeds in telling the grip ping tale of a Confederate cavalr commander and raider extraordinaire in Kirby Smith’s and Sterling Price’s command, Brig. Gen. Joseph O. Shelby. Shelby led his troops in a surprise 3:30 a.m. at tack, June 24, 1864, on a Federal lightly armored former ferryboat, Queen City, in the White River, Arkansas. After capturing it and offloading materiel of value, Shelby ordered the igniting of th ship’s magazine. The well-known USS Tyler attempted to recover the Queen City, but to no avail. Roth’s research shows a solid grasp of the timeline as we are introduced to the principals. He sets the stage for Shelby as a co harasser-in-chief in disrupting Union Navy inland river movements (along with “Admiral” Nathan B. Forrest, so named for his
CWN Book Review Editor, Step 3670 Falling Leaf Lane, Cummin
capture of a gunboat in the Tennessee River and turning it on nearby vessels). Shelby demonstrated strategic and tactical sk though having no formal military training, that early brought him the attention of Southern and Union leaders alike. Readers will glimpse Shelby’s masterful and silent preparations in the dead of a sweltering June night. This account comes from an artillery sergeant, his guns positioned fifty yards from the ship: “All our guns were loaded and ready to fire, but we were ordered to keep quiet and wait... There we waited for two hours. Think of it! Two hours there with that great monster liable to wake up and annihilate us in a minute! And to give you an idea of how quiet we were, the gun I was with was 20 feet from the front door of a dwelling, and none in the house or boat knew we were within a hundred miles of the place.” During the twenty-minute action, the ship took 54 artiller hits from the Southerners’ unrelenting shore battery, as well as rifle fire from Shelby’s dismount ed sharpshooters. After capturing the vessel, the Southerners set h ablaze, thus sending a clear visu al message to the enemy. Roth’s narrative includes a good account of those onboard the surrendered craft and those who captured her, as well as a de scription of looted stores and ma teriel. This is a good account of just one instance of Jo Shelby’s contributions to the Confederate war effort.
Joan Wenner is a longtime history magazines. A resident of eastern North Carolina, she has a special interest in naval operations during the Civil War, well as military courts of inquir Comments are welcomed at joan_
White. Illustrations, notes, bib liography, index, 296 pp., 2017. University of North Carolina
In his latest book, historian athan W. White plunges into the arena where psychology wrestles with history, and he emerges aft a 290-page matchup with mixed results. Seeking new insights in the emotional states and deepest desires of ordinary Americans during the Civil War, White gath ered an impressive trove of over 400 dream reports, largely recorded by soldiers and non-combatants in private correspondenc and diaries. He reviewed each report and searched for patterns of shared wartime experiences, which he identifies, describes, and categorizes in Midnight in America: Darkness, Sleep, and Dreams During the Civil War. However, the insights that his ardent efforts provide are less revelation than a recapitulation of numerous studies, published since the 1980s, that use social history methods and first-person accounts of soldiers’ and ci vilians’ daytime preoccupations to draw conclusions about their
prevalent thoughts and emotions during the Civil War. White, whose previous books include a study of the Union army and Abraham Lincoln’s re-
election campaign, sought Civil War dream material by searching
“as diligently, as thoroughly, a as creatively” as he knew how to
een Night and Day North Carolina do. While he acknowledges that
the dream reports he found are not necessarily representative
of all the dreams of all the Americans who lived through the Civil War, he concludes that the reports nonetheless provide a singularly important way to probe what mid-nineteenth century Americans saw, felt, and heard during the war years. Americans of this period, he observes, recognized a connection between their waking concerns and their nightly unconscious visions. This nexus between the brain awake and the brain asleep underpins White’s historical analysis. The connection also is a major focus of modern-day dream research. As described in the most recent edition of the leading tex book of sleep medicine, Meir H. Kryger’s Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine (2016), there is a growing consensus among researchers that dream experiences are related closely to presleep waking states and serve a function of off-line consolidatio of recent memories. Mounting evidence suggests that brain networks involved in prior waking experience are reactivated during later sleep, enabling the brain t file daytime inputs into memory. Still, there is no consensus amon researchers on what distinguishes dreaming from other cognitive processes. For historical purposes, this thin yet elusive line between the mental activities of night and da lends credence to the use of drea material to gain insight into the innermost thoughts and emotions that preoccupied people in the past. However, precisely because of the continuity between the brain’s day and night shifts, the is a strong likelihood that dream reports will serve to complement first-person accounts of thoughts and emotions while awake.
For the same reason, there is a relatively low likelihood
that these reports will provide new and compelling historical evidence that is unavailable from other primary sources. White’s book exemplifies this
inherent limitation on what can be gleaned from dream reports
for historical purposes. His fora across the dreamscape of the
and along the home front largely buttresses rather than breaks
away from previous Civil War scholarship that surveyed the daytime thoughts and emotions of combatants and non-combatants. A prime example is his assessment of soldiers’ dreams. More than anything else, White reports their dreams were about home, and they often revealed longings for spouses or sweethearts, deep-seated concerns for the well-being of families, or fears abandonment and adultery. These same themes were sounded by Reid Mitchell in his monograph on Civil War Soldiers (1988), James M. McPherson in his study For Cause and Comrade: Why Men Fought in the Civil War (1997), and other Civil War historians who have turned their attention to the daytime concerns of ordinary Americans during the war. “Homesickness was a dominant theme in the letters of many soldiers,” according to McPherson. Not surprisingly, troops on both sides longed for letters from loved ones and were sorely disappointed if they did not arrive. Another problem, according to Mitchell, arose when a soldier thought that people at home were unfair to his family or were grasping in financial matters. Understandably, these ties to home were a major preoccupation for soldiers. Other insights that White develops from his source material are similarly familiar because of previous historical scholarship, or are re markably unsurprising in light of what is known about human emotions. Women and children often dreamed of their menfolk coming home. Slaves dreamed of freedom. Fugitives had menacing dreams of recapture. Civil War prisoners dreamed of food. These findings fall short of demonstrat
ing that dream experiences are fertile ground for new historical
discoveries. Still, White has pro duced a valuable compendium of Civil War dream reports, and many of his conclusions complement what has been learned from
other sources. His analysis would have benefited from closer en-
gagement with historical studies of emotions, such as Susan Matt’s
Homesickness: An American History (2011), but he has unearthed dream reports that warrant attention in efforts to understand how the Civil War felt to the people most directly affected by it. Dr. Pollock is a medical epidemio at the Centers for Disease Contro
Prevention in Atlanta. His longst historical interests include Atla in the Civil War, about which he written for Emory University’s on journal, Southern Spaces.
the Army of Northern Virginia Stuart’s Tarheels: James B. Gordon and His North Carolina Cavalry in the Civil War -Second Edition. By Chris J. Hart ley. Photos, maps, roster, notes bibliography, index, 435 pp.,
This volume is a second edition; the first won the Jefferso Davis Historical Gold Medal from the United Daughters of the Confederacy. In this new edition of Stuart’s Tarheels, Hartley in cludes information from new primary sources. In addition, he ha added an annotated roster of the 1st North Carolina Cavalry. General James B. Gordon was not trained for warfare but he learned well, eventually becoming commander of the North Carolina Brigade in General J.E.B. Stuart’s Cavalry Corps. He had many mentors, among whom were Generals Stuart and Wade Hampton. Through them he discovered cavalry tactics: picketing, scouting, screening from the enemy, etc. He also absorbed
fighting tactics: the charge, di mounted tactics, rear guard
LEATHER WORKS AUTHENTIC QUALITY REP Museum Quality
action, night and street fighting Stuart considered Gordon one of his best officers; in fact, at Ye Tavern, one of his last words on the battlefield were: “Would that Gordon were here.” Gordon was a true son of the South, being a large plantation owner in Wilkes County, North Carolina. He never lost faith in the Confederacy; even after the Battle of Gettysburg, he was instructing his family to invest in slaves, as he thought that slaves and land would not decrease in value. It was not until he began to see the decline of the cavalry mainly due to the lack of good horseflesh, that he started to wo der if the war would end victoriously. Even then, he did his duty wholeheartedly. A lifelong bachelor, he finally met the girl of his dreams in Virginia. Theirs was a typical—if there is such a thing as typical— wartime romance. They became secretly engaged and he wrote movingly to her. I recommend this book to anyone interested in the Army of Northern Virginia, in the actions of Civil War cavalry or, particularly, in North Carolina troops. Hartley does an exceptional job of explaining the details of cavalry tactics and the complex movements of mounted troops in battle.
Robert L. Durham has been a devoted Civil War buff for many years. He has written several articles for publication in vario magazines and Civil War internet blogs. His article on the Battle Raymond, Mississippi appeared in the July 2017 edition of CWN.
Dedicated to the Common Soldiers Who Fought in The War Between The States Made In
No Such Army Since the Days of Julius Caesar: Sherman’s Carolinas Campaign from Fayetteville to Averasboro. By Mark A. Smith and Wade Sokolosky. Maps, photos, notes, appendices, index, 370 pp., 2016,
The advent of 1865 saw the Confederate States of America on the brink of collapse. Hoping to deal a final blow after completing his march across Georgia Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman set out with his army from Savannah through the Carolinas. Similar to his “March to the Sea,” Sherman planned to disrupt the logistical infrastru ture of the Confederates by livi off the land. A critical element Sherman’s movement was celerity. His two wings would not be able to remain stationary for an extended period, lest he risk ex hausting his available food sour from the surrounding countryside. He planned to resupply at Goldsboro, North Carolina. Setting out in early February
it was not long before Sherman’s expedition caught the attention of Confederate General-in-Chief Robert E. Lee. Lee requested tha Gen. Joseph Johnston, who had been relieved from command during the Atlanta Campaign the
previous summer, be reinstated t command. Reluctantly, President Jefferson Davis acceded to Lee’s wishes and Johnston was given the assignment to slow Sher-
Johnston assembled a hodgepodge force that consisted of hi old Army of Tennessee, troops from the defenses of Charleston, and the Department of North
Publi Please send your bo CWN Book Review Edit
Carolina. In the second week of March, Sherman’s force entered Fayetteville, North Carolina. After a fe days’ rest, he began the final st of the journey to Goldsboro. On March 16, Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee’s Confederate force engaged elements from Maj. Gen. Henry Slocum’s Army of Georgia outside the hamlet of Averasboro. Employing a defense-indepth, Hardee was able to slow the Federals for a full day. Hard ee’s action bought valuable time for Johnston to unite his scatter forces and devise a plan to strik a wing of Sherman’s force. Three days later, Johnston attacked Slo cum outside the village of Bentonville in an attempt to delay t Union advance. Mark A. Smith and Wade Sokolosky, two of the leading scholar on the Carolinas Campaign, have written an engaging and highly readable narrative. They blend a number of primary sources into engaging prose. Especially valuable is their detailed, micro-tac tical analysis of the Battle of Averasboro, arguably one of the war’s forgotten engagements. The chapters on the battle, along with the entire book are supplemented by excellent maps by cartographer Hal Jespersen. Colonel Darrell L. Combs, USMC (Retired), also contributed a number of wonderful sketches. Smith and Sokolosky complement the text with several appendices of particular interest. Included is an excellent and easy to follow driving tour of the major sites i and around Fayetteville as well as the Averasboro battlefield; an order of battle for Averasboro; Sherman’s logistical plan for the campaign; the field hospitals at
Averasboro; a letter from Janie Smith, a civilian whose family
owned a plantation on the Averasboro battlefield; and the story of a gunner’s quadrant owned by the Confederate commander of the Fayetteville Arsenal. This book is a must read and is highly recommended for any
student of the Civil War and especially those interested in th Carolinas Campaign.
six books in the Emerging Civil W Series published by Savas Beatie,
the Emerging Civil War blog and resides in Fredericksburg, Va.
A Real Georgia Bulld The Legion’s Fighting Bulldog: The Civil War Corre-
spondence of William Gaston Delony, Lieutenant Colonel of Cobb’s Georgia Legion Caval-
Edited by Vincent Joseph Dooley and Samuel Norman Thomas Jr. Bibliography, index, illustration timeline, biographical roster, 43 pages, 2017. Mercer Universi-
Sometimes we are overwhelmed by the constant avalanche of new Civil War titles, e pecially when so many cover the same ground over and over again. What seems to be missing are published histories about individ ual units, Union and Confederate. Consequently, those seeking detailed information about a partic ular unit are obliged to piece to gether information from various available sources, whatever is to be found in the OR, biographies of unit commanders, diaries, newspaper accounts, and period letters. I have been interested in find
information about Cobb’s Legion of Cavalry, the unit of service
for two of my ancestors. So, it was exciting to discover the new publication by Mercer Press entitled The Legion’s Fighting Bull dog, a compilation of Civil War correspondence between Colonel William Gaston Delony, and
wife, Rosa. The native of Athens, Georgia, served as commander of Cobb’s Legion of Cavalry, a reg-
iment of Georgians that fought in over 130 battles and engagements
Wade Hampton and J.E.B. Stuart in the Army of Northern Virginia. With so many published compilations of Civil War letters, I was also interested in seeing if Vince Dooley, UGA’s championship coach, and Sam Thomas, curator of the T.R.R. Cobb house in
Cobb’s Legion. . . and they did i superb fashion.
I should mention that Coach Dooley is not a novice to histori-
cal research. After earning an undergraduate degree from Auburn University in 1953, he returned to graduate with a master’s in history in 1963. In later years, h strong interest in American history served as inspiration to visi CW battlefields and to author History and Reminiscences of the University of Georgia, illustrated by artist Steve Penley (who also painted the cover for his newest book). The Delony letters were found in the special collections library at the University of Georgia. Dooley and coeditor Thomas met at the Hillside Grill in Athens for a period of over five year to work on the project. While the correspondence between Delony and his wife consists of love letters, they are also very revealing “These are not the writings of the typical soldier of either side,” writes Emory Thomas. “Instead, they are the correspondence of well-educated and independent individuals who also happened to be well placed in society.” In reading the beginning chapters, we learn how the coming storm of warfare is affecting Athens and North Georgia. There is much discussion about home life and the children, the arduous rigors of service and the burdens caused by war. There are times when readers may feel like they are invading the privacy of the couple. In the beginning, the tender-hearted Colonel Delony seems to have Ashley Wilkes-like characteristics, especially when he states that “I never was so homesick, restless, and down hearted in my life.” But, don’t be fooled, he is a bulldog on the battlefield. With the skillful inclusion of
bold narratives by the editors, th story picks up steam chapter after
chapter. Reports from Trooper Wiley C. Howard, Thomas R.R. Cobb, General Wade Hampton and other important military leaders keep things flowing. And the letters of Colonel Delony build in excitement with his vivid
The 1862 Maryland 2-8 hour tours or customized to Tours of Antietam
behind-the-scenes drama and first-person portrayals of the tense fighting. The intriguing title of The gion’s Fighting Bulldog comes from a statement made by General Wade Hampton when he said, “Colonel Delony has the courage of a bulldog!” And Major Delony was not only a courageous bulldog but, in the end, also a lio “fighting like a mad boar with whole pack of curs about him.” Postscript. While there is n formal history of Cobb’s Legion of Cavalry, The Legion’s Fighti Bulldog adds valuable information to the unit’s ongoing stud For those seeking a full roster enlisted men, please consult Ha riet Bey Mesic Cobb’s Legion Cavalry (2011). Also, what may have been forgotten are General Hampton’s comments after the war when he said, “Cobb’s Legion Cavalry was the best regiment of either army, North or South. Some regiments had one squadron that was better than the others, but the Cobb Legion never failed me no matter which squadron was in front.”
J. H. (Hank) Segars is associat editor for Smith Communications and columnist for The Lake Oconee News in Madiso Georgia. He is author and edito such Civil War books as The Bel Irvin Wiley Reader, In Search o Your Confederate Ancestors, and Black Southerners in Confederat Armies.
The Cavalries at Stones River: An Analytical History. By Dennis W. Belcher. Jefferson, NC: McFarland 2017., 283 pp.,
The campaign and Battle of Stones River (also known as Murfreesboro) over the last week of December 1862 and the first days of January 1863 are underappreciated but vital operations of the Civil War. The hard-fough engagement between William S. Rosecrans’ Union Army of the Cumberland and Braxton Bragg’s Confederate Army of Tennessee occurred at a critical time, and the battle’s result had a profou impact on both the Union and the Confederacy. Most studies of Stones River, including the one written by this reviewer in 2011 focus mostly on the infantry and artillery, leaving cavalry opera tions somewhat in the shadows. Dennis Belcher puts the spot light on the cavalry commands of both armies in this volume. His scope is vast, describing an analyzing the operations of both Union and Confederate cavalry forces during the campaign and the weeks before, beginning with the retreat from Kentucky during October 1862. Belcher provides significant analysis and frequen ly breaks narrative flow to prov unit histories, leader biographi and to chart reorganizations. Belcher has done extensive re search, and it shows in the amou of information he provides on the cavalry commands of both sides. For example, biographical details about Col. John Kennett, Rosecrans’ tactical cavalr commander at Stones River, are extremely hard to find; Belcher unearthed an obscure history of the 4th Ohio Cavalry from 1912 that filled them in. As a refere
alone about the cavalry leaders and their units, details like th make the book invaluable. That said, the book does have some limitations. First, using t term “cavalries” in the titles a elsewhere is awkward. Annoying typographical errors sometimes appear, and Belcher’s anal ysis is sometimes repetitive. Bu these limitations ultimately do not cancel out the book’s overal usefulness. Belcher’s The Cavalries at Stones River is not recommended as an introduction to the cam paign or battle. Nonetheless, it is an important contribution to scholarship on the Civil War in Middle Tennessee, and is a musthave for students of Stones Rive and the operations leading up to the battle.
Christopher Kolakowski works as a historian in Norfolk, Virgi
He is the author of four books o World War II and the American Civil War, including The Stones
River and Tullahoma Campaign: This Army Does Not Retreat (History Press, 2011). He is als contributor to the Emerging Civi War blog.
Civil War Round Tables are Orga By Wally Rueckel For several years many Civil War Round Tables have been los-
ing members or, even worse, are no longer in existence. This is because we are losing our abili to keep the story of our Civil history alive and passed down t future generations. This is als surprising because Brunswick CWRT has been very successful in our 7 short years of existen Given our success, Mike Powell our President and I decided we should share best practices wit other Round Tables. We decided to hold a Forum and invite lead ers of all 13 North Carolina Ci War Round Tables. We held the first NCCWRT Forum in Raleigh in August 2016 with approximately 25 leaders present. The first meeting was principally to get to know the other North Carolina RT leaders and discuss problems they were facing. I was shocked that
no Round Table leader knew how many North Carolina Round Tables existed or where they were located. They were islands of CW members with little contact
with other Round Tables and lit tle change in their actions to with declining membership and revenues. All of them wanted to know about why BCWRT was
growing. For the first time the were talking to each other and over-whelmingly wanted to have
another meeting in 2017. The 2017 Forum was again held in Raleigh on Aug. 5 with approximately 20 leaders attend ing. This year we focused on sh ing best practices and discussi ways to increase membership and revenue. We had 6 Round Table leaders speaking about 1) creat ing and sharing a list of quali speakers they have had to help others attract good, reasonably priced speakers locally or regi ally, 2) low-cost media actions used to attract new members, 3) organizing joint field trips to duce costs and, 4) creative fun raising ideas. The meeting was a great success. Everyone was energized, asking good questions and sharing interesting ideas. Some
Round Tables are already planning joint field trips with ot RT’s, and working on circuit speaker trips to multiple RT’s reduce travel costs. Interestingly, Round Tables Augusta, Lawrenceville, and Sa vannah, Ga., Huntsville, Ala., and Bluffton, S.C., learned ab our Forum and asked to attend our 2018 meeting in Raleigh. They have all been invited and we have sent them copies of th year’s meeting presentations, rosters and organization metri We all are looking forward t next year’s meeting and hope t see improvements in membership and revenues. Sharing bes practices and working together should generate positive resul
Wally Rueckel is a co-founde of the Brunswick CWRT in North Carolina.
Bruce Catton begins his American Heritage Short History of th Civil War with a look at America in 1860. Most people lived on farms or in little towns back then. The country was young and growing; the people were optimistic. “They lived better than their fathers had lived,” Catton writes, “and they knew that thei children would do still better.” Such sunny optimism feels a long way off today, which is the reason I picked up Catton’s shor history of the war, published in 1960. I wanted to read about the American Civil War before George Wallace raised the Confederate flag over the capito in Montgomery, before Barbara Fields likened Robert E. Lee to Nazi, and before Mayor Landrieu took down the Confederate monuments in New Orleans. In other words, I wanted to re about the Civil War without all
ritic ’ s C orner the taints and trappings which we moderns have hung upon history. And, boy, was it fun, and rewarding to boot. It’s almost as if—and I don’t want to be too cyn ical here—you have to go back a half-century to read history writ ten clearly or sensibly, especial about the causes of the war. “The differences between the two societies,” Catton explains, regard ing the North and the South at th time, “were most infernally complicated by the existence in the South of the institution of chatt slavery.” “Without slavery,” he lucidly points out, “the problems between the sections could prob-
ably have been worked out by the ordinary give-and-take of politics; with slavery, they became insoluble.” “It was not the only cause of the Civil War,” Catton says, “but it was unquestionably the one cause without which the war would not have taken place.” That just about says it all, doesn’t it? And so the war came. Those of us long-of-tooth grew up with the American Heritage Picture History of the Civil War (1960). It was richly illustrated and as a seventh-grader at the time I pored over all of its pictures (and David Greenspan’s cool battle maps). Not till later did I read Catton’s accompanying text, which was published as the freestanding paperback I’m writing about now. Re-reading it brought me back to some memorable Cattonesque chestnuts. “An independent nation could not countenance the existence of a foreign fort in th middle of one of its most important harbors,” is his comment
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concerning Sumter, and the Confederates’ casus belli. When the two armies clashed at Bull Run, the Rebels pressed hard enough to cause Union Gen. McDowell to order retreat. The Federals’ withdrawal was orderly until “the father and mother of all traffic jams” at Cub Run bridge turned it into a rout. In the hands of a masterful writer, commonplaces about the war are not stale but surprisingly refreshing. Turning to Tennessee, Catton recounts Grant’s victories at Donelson and Shiloh, after which he observes, “the Confederate path in the West
went downhill all the way.” Back east, Jackson’s Shenandoah Valley exploits immobilized 50,000 Yankee troops and left the Lincoln administration “utterly bamboozled.” All the while, Catton’s narrative is swift, if general. Th Seven Days’ Battles are barely named, but little more is needed to support his observation that Lee and Jackson possessed “the driving, restless spirit of war.” In a chapter on the navies, he contends that Union naval power—“on the ocean, in the coastal sounds, and up and down the inland rivers”—became the North’s “overwhelming advantage” that began to doom the Confederacy. Building on the small, antiquated U.S. fleet, the Federals constructed blockade runners, river gunboats, and ironclads while the South struggled to improvise a navy. Combined operations against Hatteras and other ports worked with a tightening blockade to deprive the Confederacy of materiel. Farragut’s capture of New Orleans “illustrated the immense value of unchallenged sea power.” Yet the inventive Rebels built “a fighting ship the likes of which no one had ever seen:” the ironclad gunboat Virginia. “It should be pointed out,”
4.7-inch, with limber. Hard-to-f nance Co. Ready for easy restora medium field gun in 1917, with 6 was increased when the U.S. ente Ordnance Co. produced 98 more of during 1918. Limber has stamp on
Catton writes with his beguiling breeziness, “that since warships had never worn armor, no one had ever bothered to create an armor-piercing shell.” So when the Virginia dueled the North’s Monitor at Hampton Roads, the two ironclads slugged it out to a draw. This historic battle ended the era of wooden sailing warships, as the author notes: “by 1865 naval warfare would resemble the twentieth century much more than it resembled anything Lord Nelson or John Paul Jones had known.” You can tell what an enjoyable read Catton’s Short History is, e
to this day. I’m stopping here, j before his chapter on “Confederate High-Water Mark” (Antietam and the fall of ’62). Resumption
We believ hwestern Ord- converted S. Army’s standard original vice. Production nixville, Northwestern yards. Ba Madison, WI converted reads Rock Island loader at offer. (S l Jeff for more information (916) (I will split the shipping
of this little delight awaits fine day at the beach.
Steve Davis of Atlanta is a regular contributor to Civil W News and is the Book Review Editor. His book, A Long and Bloody Task: The Atlanta Campaign from Dalton through Kennesaw Mountain to the Chattahoochee River May 5-July 18, 1864, was published as part of Savas Beatie’s Emerging Civil War paperback series. The companion volume, All The Fighting They Want: The At
lanta Campaign From Peachtree Creek To The City’s Surrender, July 18-September 2, 1864, was published this Spring.
one of the original six Ordna .C 1861, 813 lbs. TTSL, comple anufacturer: Phoenix Iron Co. a, Model 1861. Maximum Range 1 ngth 69 inches. Original Bore: hes. This gun was altered to a
ober 2017 ll Talk Stephen Davis How many U.S. generals served as general-in-chief of the Union armies during the
Civil War? James I. (“Bud”) Robertson is a well-known Civil War historian and author. Can you name his first book? Who was the Confederate cavalry leader who led 500 horsemen out of Fort Donelson, refusing to surrender them in February 1862? One of McClellan’s seven infantry corps commanders at Antietam was shot and mortally wounded in the battle. Name? Arguably the first “microhistory” of a Civil War battle was George Stewart’s book, published in 1959, on what famous charge? Who was Lincoln’s vice president during his first term (1861-65)? Name the only woman to whom the U.S. Medal of Honor was conferred for her Civil War service. Southern sympathizers in the Midwest during the war were called “Copperheads,” but their alleged organization was named “Knights of the ____ _____.” Where was the first Civil War battlefield monument erected? What do Jefferson Davis
ton (1945- ) have in common? (Hint: “If I Saw You in Heaven”) page 45 for answers. k Review Editor. He can be con-
Vol. 42, No. 3 Battlefield Of Franklin Land Prese By GreGory L. Wade FRANKLIN, Tenn. — What is considered the bloodiest acreage i the Nov. 30, 1864, Battle of Frank is now being reclaimed as part of evolving Carter Hill Battlefield P Local preservation leaders recentl
from owners Reid and Brenda Lovell after a months-long process of coordinating various funding sources for the critical 1.6 acres adjoin the Carter House, a major battle landmark. Details were recently provided a press conference led by Franklin Charge board member Julian Bibb, who praised the “remarkable transition” of the Franklin battlefiel Franklin’s Charge is a coalition o civic and preservation groups who joined together more than ten year ago to purchase local battleground Over 150 years ago the Army of Tennessee stepped off in a series of charges to be virtually destroy by Federals under John Schofield i hopes of taking Franklin and later Nashville. At that time, most of the terra was open farmland on the outskirts of what was once a small Middle Tennessee farming community. Over time development covered much of the battlefield with houses, light dustry, and small businesses. All that remained of the critic area where the Confederates temporarily broke the Federal line wa the small farmhouse and a few acre known as the Carter House farm. The 1.6 acres purchased, which adjoin the southern boundary of th Carter House property, is comprise of two lots. Today, they are occup
Purchase that were turned over to the City of Franklin Parks Department by Franklin’s Charge and the Battle o Franklin’s Trust (BOFT), managers of the Carter House the nearby Car ton Plantation. The structures wil removed in coming months, possibly relocated for other use. The purchase is only the latest in a long and arduous effort to re build the Franklin battlefield. “It had to be a miracle,” quipp Civil War Trust (CWT) President James Lighthizer, referring to the most recent acquisition. Local res ident Michael Grainger, long time Trust board member and former chairman, said, “Local leadership has been incredible and will conti ue to be a partner [with the CWT]. In 2005, after years of frustra attempting to preserve Franklin ba tleground, local preservationists cided it would have to be done the hard way, by buying properties, of ten with buildings on them. The largest parcel of land was originally a local golf course sla to be sold to a developer to build houses on what was the right flank of the Confederate attack north to ward the Federal lines just south the town. It was then that Franklin’s Cha came into existence. Funds have
chase from private donors, the CWT the City of Franklin and others. T 110-acre segment, now fully interpreted and known as the Eastern Flank Battlefield, is what got the preservation ball rolling in Frank Since that time nine other parc in proximity to the Carter House have been purchased and have been, or will be, turned over to the Fra
at the Lovell purchase regory L. Wade photos)
lin Parks Department, according t Bibb. But it was the land just south Carter House, long considered the most bloodied ground in Franklin, and some say in America, that was the most coveted. BOFT Chief Executive Officer Eric Jacobson noted, “to not have this ground reclaimed and preserv would be like having Omaha Beach cut out of Normandy.” The most recent acquisition evolved when Franklin’s Charge an the BOFT began discussions with t Lovells, who have a strong sense the history of the land, having g up in Franklin. “I was born and raised in Fran lin on ground many believe should have been a national park,” said Lovell. He recalled when visitors came to town and had to envision what happened, not walk on ground where it transpired. “My great-grandfather, who fou here, and my parents would be pro of what we are doing here today,” said at the press conference. The Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted unanimously in February to fund part of the remaining debt on the Lovell property purchase. The previously
paid by the city on a non-interes basis over seven years. These funds will cover the bal now bridged by a local bank and w
be derived from the city’s hoteltel tax. Local banker Chuck Isaac was instrumental in working out t loans. All the city funds are all
by his employer, First Farmers an Merchants Bank.
By Joseph Bordonaro August 9, 1862, Confedereneral Jubal Early encouncavalry and artillery forcUnion General Nathaniel located on the plain above Run and near Cedar Moun(also known as Slaughter’s ain). So, it was fitting that iving history event comating the Battle of Cedar ain featured an artillery
Vol. 42, No. 3 Battlefield Of Franklin Land Preser By GreGory L. Wade FRANKLIN, Tenn. — What is considered the bloodiest acreage in the Nov. 30, 1864, Battle of Frankl is now being reclaimed as part of t evolving Carter Hill Battlefield Pa Local preservation leaders recently
from owners Reid and Brenda Lovell after a months-long process of coordinating various funding sources for the critical 1.6 acres adjoin the Carter House, a major battle landmark. Details were recently provided a a press conference led by Franklin’ Charge board member Julian Bibb, who praised the “remarkable transition” of the Franklin battlefield Franklin’s Charge is a coalition of civic and preservation groups who joined together more than ten years ago to purchase local battleground. Over 150 years ago the Army of Tennessee stepped off in a series of charges to be virtually destroye by Federals under John Schofield in hopes of taking Franklin and later Nashville. At that time, most of the terrai was open farmland on the outskirts of what was once a small Middle Tennessee farming community. Over time development covered much of the battlefield with houses, light dustry, and small businesses. All that remained of the critica area where the Confederates temporarily broke the Federal line was the small farmhouse and a few acres known as the Carter House farm. The 1.6 acres purchased, which adjoin the southern boundary of the Carter House property, is comprised of two lots. Today, they are occupi
Purchase that were turned over to the City of Franklin Parks Department by Franklin’s Charge and the Battle of Franklin’s Trust (BOFT), managers of the Carter House the nearby Carn ton Plantation. The structures will removed in coming months, possibly relocated for other use. The purchase is only the latest in a long and arduous effort to rebuild the Franklin battlefield. “It had to be a miracle,” quippe Civil War Trust (CWT) President James Lighthizer, referring to the most recent acquisition. Local resident Michael Grainger, long time Trust board member and former chairman, said, “Local leadership has been incredible and will contin ue to be a partner [with the CWT].” In 2005, after years of frustrat attempting to preserve Franklin bat tleground, local preservationists d cided it would have to be done the hard way, by buying properties, often with buildings on them. The largest parcel of land was originally a local golf course slat to be sold to a developer to build houses on what was the right flank of the Confederate attack north toward the Federal lines just south o the town. It was then that Franklin’s Char came into existence. Funds have
chase from private donors, the CWT, the City of Franklin and others. Th 110-acre segment, now fully interpreted and known as the Eastern Flank Battlefield, is what got the preservation ball rolling in Frankl Since that time nine other parce in proximity to the Carter House have been purchased and have been, or will be, turned over to the Fran
at the Lovell purchase regory L. Wade photos)
lin Parks Department, according to Bibb. But it was the land just south Carter House, long considered the most bloodied ground in Franklin, and some say in America, that was the most coveted. BOFT Chief Executive Officer Eric Jacobson noted, “to not have this ground reclaimed and preserve would be like having Omaha Beach cut out of Normandy.” The most recent acquisition evolved when Franklin’s Charge and the BOFT began discussions with th Lovells, who have a strong sense o the history of the land, having gr up in Franklin. “I was born and raised in Frank lin on ground many believe should have been a national park,” said R Lovell. He recalled when visitors came to town and had to envision what happened, not walk on ground where it transpired. “My great-grandfather, who foug here, and my parents would be prou of what we are doing here today,” said at the press conference. The Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted unanimously in February to fund part of the remaining debt on the Lovell property purchase. The previously
paid by the city on a non-interest basis over seven years. These funds will cover the bala now bridged by a local bank and wi
be derived from the city’s hotel-m tel tax. Local banker Chuck Isaacs was instrumental in working out th loans. All the city funds are allo
by his employer, First Farmers and Merchants Bank.
