analysis of the latest and most s scholarship. Contact email: BookR
Civil War: An Illustrated Journey Confederate Soldiers in the American Civil War. By Mark Hughes. Illustrated, appendices, index, 160 pp., 2019, Savas
The Civil War neophyte and reader just being introduced to the men, material, medicine, and individual trauma of the Civil War will find this small volume both informational and historical ly sound. It is voluminously illustrated, covering the Civil War from the initial enthusiasm of en listment, through the realization of what “seeing the elephant” really meant for the individual sol dier. It includes chapters on the soldier’s camp life, the organiza tion of the Southern army, weapons of war, caring for the dead and wounded, naval warfare,
our readers with timely ficant Civil War research and
prisoners of war, and the hardships faced by soldiers returning home. Particularly helpful to the ne Civil War buff is a glossary of terms emanating from the war as well as a section on how to research your Civil War ancestor. Another useful addition is a state-by-state listing of some more prominent Civil War sites in each state one may wish to visit. In total, this small volum illustrates the Civil War from it inception through the final surrenders and provides a starting point for new historians to furth their research. My only suggestions for improvement would be to increase the size and/or clarity of many of the photographs. This would have allowed the author an opportunity to explain many nuances that remain hidden in the small, dark, and occasional grainy photos. Also, a helpful ad dition to the appendices would be hours open, phone numbers, and resources available. Despite these shortcomings, the book is recommended for those just entering on a study of the Civil Wa as it provides a good overview of the men and machines that fought America’s most divisive war.
Wayne L. Wolf is Professor Emeritus at South Suburban College and the author of twenty books on the Civil War including The Last Confederate Scout and Two Years Before the Paddlewheel. He is past president of the Linco Davis Civil War Roundtable.
CWN An Interesting Book About a Yan Regiment with an Unusual Career
A Yankee Regiment in Confederate Louisiana: The 31st Massachusetts Infantry
in the Gulf South. By Larry Lowenthal. Hardcover. Maps, notes, bibliography, index, 398 pp. Louisiana State University
The 31st Massachuset Infantry was born in controvers on Nov. 20, 1861. The founder o the 31st was Benjamin Franklin Butler, who also organized othe Massachusetts regiments in the hope of their being united as a gade, with Butler as commander, and a general. Unfortunately, Massachusetts Governor John A. Andrew had other uses in mind for the 31st. Andrew wanted control of the regiments Butler raised, using them to make up t Massachusetts quota. Andrew also wanted to defend his prerogative of having the r to promote officers of his own choosing while Butler, naturall
wanted to promote his own. This disagreement thrust the regiment squarely into the middle of polit
cal controversy before their Civi War adventure began and delayed their starting for the fron Eventually, President Lincoln decided he could not risk losing the support of Butler, one of the few democrats who supported the war, so he promoted Butler to brigadier general with the right choose his own officers. Butler was a notorious and a divisive Union general, earning a nickname among southern secessionists as “Beast” Butler, an a reputation among his superiors as a sub-par general. However, he always looked out for his men, securing their affection and loyalty, feelings that never left th In A Yankee Regiment, Larry Lowenthal lays the groundwork for the birth and unusual career of the 31st Massachusetts, known as the “Western Bay State Regiment.” When the 31st eventually left Massachusetts, they endured a rough sea voyage, in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, until they finally landed on Ship Islan off the Mississippi coast. There, they prepared and trained for an attack on New Orleans, which was taken by the Union Navy under Admiral David Glasgow Farragut. On May 1, 1862, the 31st was the first Union regiment to enter the city they spent many months garrisoning. In December 1862, Butler was replaced by General Nathaniel P. Banks. Their first campaign under Banks was the Teche Campaign. This consisted of fruitlessly pur suing Confederate troops under General Richard Taylor through Louisiana. In May and July 1863, the 31st participated in the Sieg
of Port Hudson. On Dec. 9, 1863, the regiment became a cavalry regi-
ment. It was now, officially, the 6th Massachusetts Cavalry but no one paid much attention to the re-designation and it was stil known to everyone as the 31st. Before the end of its service, the regiment was consolidated into five companies making the regiment a battalion. The regiment would be changed from cavalry to mounted infantry and back again. The shifts consisted only of trading in their rifles for car bines when they became cavalry and vice versa when they became mounted infantry. Their duties remained basically the same. In 1864, the 31st took part in Banks’ Red River Campaign. The last major campaign they shared in was the 1865 siege of Mobile, Ala., in 1865. When the war finally ended, the 31st remained on duty until September. Lowenthal has done a masterful job of describing the inner workings of the 31st Massachusetts Infantry from November 1861 to September 1865. Born amid political turmoil, the regiment continued to experience internal discord throughout its service. This is an interesting volume, replete with fascinating facts about the unusual career of a Yankee regiment. They served in a relatively unknown theater of the war.
Robert L. Durham has been a history buff for some sixty-five year He is retired and is currently bac in school to get his history degre His main interests are the Civil W and old West history, but lately h has been broadening his horizons into WWII and the Korean War. He has written numerous articles for Military Heritage magazine.
Julia Wilbur was a spinster from Rochester, N.Y., whose early life consisted of teaching, caring for family members, and dabbling in the abolitionis
movement. From the age of 29 when she began teaching until
she arrived in Alexandria, Va., 47, she kept an extensive diary her life to which she added unt her death at age 80. Her early ary entries evidenced a woman searching for meaning to her li She supported the Temperance Movement, attended lectures by notables Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison, advo-
cated women’s issues like equal pay and voting rights, but did wholeheartedly embrace any of
these issues as her mission in That all changed in 1862 when she volunteered with the Rochester Ladies Anti-Slavery
the needs of newly freed slaves The Civil War transformed Julia
into an advocate for the thousa of contrabands flooding Union
She saw the misery confronting newly freed people and sought t
tors, begged Northern connections for money and clothing, a
on tes History strongly supported the policies the Lincoln administration. Julia had found her calling i life. She became the first white woman in Alexandria to labor on behalf of freed people. Her commitment was total. She socialize with free blacks, prayed with them, and became their friends and colleague for the rest of he life. Most importantly she made a change in their lives, helping them in the first months of their transition to freedom, vis iting them in hospitals and thei homes, dispensing clothing and food, and advocating their fair treatment. After the Civil War, Julia spent four years working for the Freedman’s Bureau and continuing her quest to end inequality. The next 25 years saw her working as a clerk in the Patent Off while continuing to help her sis and niece financially, attending lectures and social events, trav
elling, and taking up the cause of women’s rights. Yet it was he service to the contraband community and soldiers recuperating in Alexandria’s hospitals that d fined her extraordinary life.
Paula Whitacre does a commendable job of weaving togeth-
er the diary entries of Julia wi historical events, social trends
and political roadblocks to equa ity that defined the Civil War a Reconstruction. What she has achieved is a well-researched an timely novel that serves as one woman’s story of finding herself in helping others less fortunate The historian interested in soci history this book should be adde to their library.
Wayne L. Wolf is Professor Emeritus at South Suburban
College and the author of numerous books and articles on the Civil War, particularly focused the life of the common soldier.
Hardship, Greed, a Sorrow–An Officer’s Photo Album of 1866 New Mexico Territory. Devorah Romanek. Photos, notes, bibliography, i dex, 165 pp., 2019. University
To say that the Civil War and Reconstruction west of the Mississippi River have not got their due is an understatement While several good books have been written dealing with this
This makes Hardship, Greed, and Sorrow all the more import
ant. The book contains 62 plat glass negative images made in 1866. Their original size was 9 x 7 inches. The names of the photographer(s), and the perso or persons who originally annotated the photos or the reas for taking them are unknown. This collection, called Souven of New Mexico was first made
– Abraham Linc by Joe Bordonaro President Lincoln was wro
about the first part, but v correct about the second pa this famous phrase from his nificent “Gettysburg Addres On Nov. 23, 2019, reenactor members of the general publ gathered in Gettysburg, Pen
to remember the actions of soldiers and the President
Remembrance Day 2019. Stafford County Science Teacher Don Mullen, portray
Members of the years ago. The Veterans held t parade, featuri
War reenactors. enacting groups the actions of and units by co es and visiting “Remembrance Il Gettysburg Nati
Although the nu tors are down f when Wikipedia were about 50,0 enactors; a sti ber showed up t
panying photos activities that Joe Bordonaro i
4th Brookly ons of Unio eir 62nd an g numerous
Members of commemorate arious indi ducting mar monuments. umination” nal Cemeter
bers of ree om its 2000 stimated th 0 Civil War l impressiv is year and
co architect bought it from New York rare book dealWhat happened to it betwee and its purchase is still ery. It was then donated to a Fe archive. It is now a p he Palace of the Governors o Archives. Though many he images have appeared in r books, this is the first whole collection has been ented. e images are arranged thecally and start with ousted can President Benito Juārez members of his cabinet. equent images include U.S. officers, the town of Sant and the army posts Fort Uni Fort Summer in New Mexico, El Paso, Texas. Most powerare the images of the Navah e are the oldest known phoaphs of the tribe’s members looks in the Navaho’s faces the story of a proud peopl subjugated. In their eyes o
North of Baltimore, York 1,000 8-Foot March 20-21, 2021
Whoever t an amazing the harsh c in. The str that they s thing rarel westerns. The book number of e er context photos. One the matter tos, and ma for who did For those pect of wes tory, this add to your
Tom Elmore’ history was a summer on Scout Ranch Mexico.
“the U.S Civil War did not dramatically change the
Bull Run To Boer War: How the American Civil War Changed the British Army. By Michael Somerville. Photos, footnotes, bibliography, index. 384 pp. Maps. 2019, softcover.
I requested this book because, having never studied the war from a European perspective, the title intrigued me. The major purpose of this hefty, thoroughly documented, and researched book is to examine how much the American Civil War influenced the British Army up through the Boer War and to decide whether the British Army has been justifiably criticized for not adaptin its tactics to meet those of 20th Century warfare. The author meticulously assessed four major topics that British officers repo ed upon while acting as observers in both armies: Artillery and Engineers; Cavalry, Infantry, and Aeronauts. Overall the British Army selectively adopted and adapted tactics from the Crimean War, the U.S. Civil War, the Austrian Wars, and the FrancoPrussian War to suit their needs in the various types of fighting that occurred within their empire while not necessarily using them in regard to the professional arm involved in a “civilized” war on the European Continent. By examining the American Civil War through the writings of contemporary British military ob-
servers, Mr. Somerville clarifies the influence the American Civil War upon the British military.
The observers did write about and discuss their observations and suggested changes to the British system but did not partic ularly change operation of the es tablished British Regular Army.
The high command viewed the American Army much like a colonial or yeoman militia force comprised of non-professional soldiers who fought well but did not use cavalry very effectively. The Americans fought more like mounted infantry whenever possible but were not true cavalrymen. They used too much antiquated smoothbore artillery and were reluctant to switch to breec loading rifles. They often fought bloody battles without decisive victories. To their credit, American engi neers developed rifle pits, good skirmish tactics, and a balloon corps, which they did not properly utilize. The British actuall through observing the FrancoPrussian War and other European conflicts, had started to adopt more modern weapons, including machine guns well ahead of the United States. The book, I believe, illustrat in part, the difference between an isolationist United States and a nation involved in imperialism long before the United States existed. The United States did not become a global player until the Spanish American War. During the Civil War, Britain and, probably the rest of Europe, viewed the United States as a provincial country that the military establishment could supply with its military surplus while i modernized. Bull Run To Boer War: How the American Civil War Changed the British Army thoroughly explains how the U.S. Civil War did not dramatically change the British Army as has been previously believed. This objective study plac es the impact of the Civil War upon the British Empire in a new perspective.
Mike Priest is author of Antietam The Soldiers’ Battle (1989) and Before Antietam: The Battle of South Mountain (1992).
CWN Intense Research on Jefferson Da Jefferson Davis, Napoleonic France, and the Nature of Confederate Ideology, 1815–1870. By Jeffrey Zvengrowski. Notes, index, 355 pp., Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, L
Once the United States became engulfed in the Civil War in April 1861 over the fundamental issue of slavery expansion into the western territorie the burden of leadership fell on Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, and Jefferson Davis, President of the newly formed Confederate States. Davis brought with him years of experience as a public servant in congressional, senatoria and governmental administrative positions. Over time he also developed a political philosophy resembling the ideology of the French emperor, Napoleon III. As Jeffrey Zvengrowski describes in this illuminating stu Davis looked to France, not only as a model for the political age da he desired to implement, but for diplomatic and substantive support in the effort to sustain vulnerable nascent Confederacy against Northern resistance to s cession. Davis’s viewpoints abou the French governing philosophy date from his earliest days of i volvement in the military and po litical arena. The author describes the motivating force behind Davis’s early participation in the U.S. political process as a desire to prevent “treasonous Anglophile
Republican abolitionists from perverting the federal government to impose inequality among
whites and racial equality acros the Union.” Davis and his fellow Democrats viewed themselves as “conservatives” who were preserving “the true nature of the American nation.” As a result, in searching for an ally to help
sustain the breakaway states, Davis looked to the French rather than the British, because the lat ter espoused “white inequality as well as racial equality,”—both in imical to Davis’s outlook on life Zvengrowski lays the groundwork with a look at a “pro-Bonaparte Democratic tradition” in the U.S. espoused by Southern luminary John C. Calhoun who reformed West Point’s curriculum along Napoleonic lines in the early 19th century. Calhoun, a slave holder and hard taskmaster, mentored Davis in opposition to the British attempt to “promot racially egalitarian abolitionism in the Americas.” Davis, labeled a “disciple” of Calhoun, claimed the political mantle of “that dis guished statesman” in the 1850’s by urging the South toward industrial and agricultural develop ment, and called for slaves to be employed in factories and mines. Davis also espoused U.S. expansion through acquisition of Cuba and the Yucatan Peninsula. Years prior to the Civil War, Davis warned against Northern abolitionism that he predicted would lead to shedding blood. As Secretary of War in the Pierce Administration, he advocated moving Indians to western lands and developing transcontinental railroads to help stabilize contr of California threatened by the British who were seeking to dominate commerce in the Pacific. However, he opposed reopening the international slave trade tha would cause the country to be “overrun with the African race.” Davis and his supporters did not help the Northern Democratic candidate for president in 1860, Stephen A. Douglas, which led to Republican victory and “destruction” of the Union. The author addresses Davis’s preference for the politics of Napoleon III’s France, particularly favoring “white equality and supremacy.” Yet, Davis denounced the “outrages” of the French Jacobins, who were on the far left politically, and French intrusion in the Americas while, at the same time, they were promising to respect the Monroe Doctrine. However, those of French descent living in Louisiana, supported the growing
power of France. Zvengrowski goes into considerable detail about French in-
fluence in the U.S. leading up to the Civil War and its impact on Davis’s political leanings, and a dresses the issues involving whit supremacy and equality among whites in the Confederacy that became more problematical after
Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Yet, as the war turned in favor of the North, Davis had to deal with the sensitive issues of organizing “corps of negroes” initially as laborers for military purposes, with later consideration given to employing them in combat and awarding freedom, but not equality, fo their service to the Confederacy. Along the way, Davis solicited Napoleon III’s help in his struggle to prevent the Confederacy’s destruction. The French foresaw potential for monopolizing global cotton exports through an alli ance with the South, along with commercial advantages in its competition with Great Britain and other European countries. Davis also cheered when the French captured the border town of Matamoros, Mexico, opening a trading port for the South that was otherwise hampered by the Northern blockade of its Atlantic and Gulf ports. The author writes about the intricacies and intrigues on the international scene as France competes with Great Britain, and Russia plays a role as well by aiding the U.S. blockade of the South. Davis’s attempt to gain recognition from France and/or England is another topic of discussion, while diplomatic complications arise when the Confederacy contracts for construction of warships and sale of munitions and other products from European countries. As the Confederacy’s hope for success against the Northern forces faded in late 1864 and ear ly 1865, Davis had to face reality. His desire for French intervention on the Confederacy’s behalf never materialized, and France lost its hold on Mexico in 1866. Although from the North’s perspective, Napoleon III had been “fully in sympathy with the Rebellion,” this sympathy never translated into substantial support. As a result, Davis, became a man without a country after the American Civil War ended, decided against being a resident of France which, in his eyes, was in decline and its citizens reminded him of “our neglected braves and their unprovided orphans” in the South.
Jeffrey Zvengrowski closes with a summation of the complex events leading to and during
the American Civil War with European countries, especially France and Britain, playing key roles. Davis, as a disciple o Calhoun, believed that the Union would achieve its “Manifest Destiny” by forging an alliance
France denied diplomatic recognition that may have facilitate the Confederacy’s independence from the North. Jefferson Davis, Napoleonic France, and the Nature of Confederate Ideology, 1815– 1870 is an intensely-researched tour de force that enhances our understanding of both the motiv tion for Southern secession fro the Union, and Jefferson Davis’ political philosophy that was o posed by many citizens, not onl
Living by Inches: The Smells, Sounds, Tastes, and Feeling of Captivity in Civil War Prisons. By Evan A. Kutzler. Photos, not index, 208 pp., 2019. Universit
view, we are in the midst of a pandemic where we are all be-
ing urged to wash our hands as often as possible. But imagine
not being able to wash not just your hands but everything, body clothes. Imagine a stench you c smell miles away and that permeates your existence. Imagine hunger that haunts your dreams,
if you can sleep. Evan Kutzler, assistant professor of history at Georgia Southwestern State University, brings this all to light in uns tling but fascinating detail in
in the North, but in the South a well. Be forewarned, this is a m ticulous study with multifaceted themes, but the resilient reader
Thomas J. Ryan is author of the multiple award-winning books ‘Lee is Trapped and Must Be Taken’: Eleven Fateful Days afte Gettysburg, July 4-14, 1863 (wit co-author Richard R. Schaus), and Spies, Scouts, and Secrets in the Gettysburg Campaign: How the Critical Role of Intelligenc Impacted the Outcome of Lee’s Invasion of the North, June-July 1863.
work on the sensory experience of Civil War soldiers both North and South. Working from a basis in sensory history, the auth weaves a narrative drawn largely from diaries kept and letters often never mailed. This gives i more of the immediacy we desire than relying on memoirs written sometimes decades after the war which either gloss over the difficulties or magnify them out of proportion. Kutzler also gives us a sense of what it meant to be a man, or sometimes a woman, in 19th century America. Unlike many pre-
conceptions, cleanliness was often seen as next to godliness; t lack of it in others, and worse, timately the lack of it for ones was an experience that scarred immediately, and for many, permanently as well. I find that pe haps those boys of ’61 were not all that different in their atti
As our nation struggles to ma age a crippling outbreak, I take
heart in that I am not “Living b Inches.” Highly, highly recom-
of Gettysburg College and West Virginia University. He was a pa ranger at Gettysburg National
Historic Site and is a long-time student of the American Civil War. He is currently a Museum Educator at Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, an UNESCO World Heritage property.
Much More Than History German Americans the Middle Border: From Antislavery to Reconciliation 1830–1877. By Zachary Stuart Garrison. Illustrations, notes, b liography, index. 213 pp., 2020. Southern Illinois University
It is a joy to discover in the few pages of a book that the au-
thor is taking you on a journey t an area that has not been part of your previous studies. This read-
er had preconceived thoughts about the German population that settled in central or wester Pennsylvania or eastern Ohio. This background led me to picture a population of non-violent, politically inactive families mak
ing their living off the land and not playing any active part in th
in the introduction and had me sitting up straighter as I turned
the pages. Highlighter in hand and also marking pages with pa-
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study of political ideology sh ing an area unsure of its own identity. The German Americans came in large numbers to work the lands opening up to settlement the Midwest. Their reasons for leaving t old country did not blend well with the culture of a slave ho ing society. Garrison does a good job pointing out how this difference led to many actions and reactions. Formation of th Republican Party was helped by the liberal convictions of new German American citizens. Guerilla warfare in many cases
was directed at these new resi dents leading many to enlist t fight for freedoms they were d nied in Europe. Garrison’s deep research be hind the points he makes leads the reader to an understanding not what happened but why. Thi is not just a history book but that could be used in politica ence or sociological studies. book follows the trends of the
population changes pre and post war. Radical Republicanism late turning to a more moderate approach during the Reconstructio is well explained in these pages about a region that is somewhat ignored in many Civil War publications. Civil War Roundtables in the Missouri, Kentucky, Southern Illinois, and Indiana areas wou find Garrison’s work a fascinat ing topic to discuss. Non-Civil War students would find this book interesting in dealing wit how cultural migration affected
areas in the American political thought. I recommend this book for Civil War enthusiasts. It is re freshing to read about the deed of the German American soldiers beyond the Eleventh Corps.
Mike Shovlin is a graduate of Westminster College where he majored in history. He is curre ly the lead at the Rupp House History Center for the Gettysbu Foundation.
