Book Purchases: April 21, 2006

While reading the always interesting Airminded blog of Brett Holman (great name Mr. Holman!) this morning, I came across something I found I can use on my blog as well. Brett always updates readers when he picks up new books on his subject, and gives his first impressions or his reasons for purchasing the book in a short paragraph following pertinent information such as title, author, and price. In this way readers can comment on whether or not they liked the book, what to expect, etc. It’s a nice way to let readers know what might be appearing in a future blog entry as a book review as well. While Mr. Holman titles his blog entries “Acquisitions”, I’ll go with the more Americanized “Book Purchases”. If you’ve already read any of these books, feel free to chime in and let me know what you thought. It might be interesting to go back to some of these entries months down the road when I finish books that have appeared here. I hope to make this maybe a once or twice a month type project and we’ll adjust from there. Without further ado, here’s a list of the latest books I’ve picked up:

Eric J. Wittenberg. Battle of Monroe’s Crossroads and the Civil War’s Last Campaign. Savas Beatie, October 2005.
Although I’ve known Eric through his Civil War Discussion Group and as a fellow blogger, I haven’t yet had a chance to read any of his books. I had hoped to read his book covering “Little Phil” Sheridan first, and that might yet be the way it pans out. I ordered this particular volume from the History Book Club, where I’ve been a member since roughly 1992, aka “the Seventh Grade”. It covers the Battle of Monroe’s Crossroads, obviously enough, with a large number of maps and a detailed discussion of the tactics used. I first read an account of this battle in Mark Bradley’s book on Bentonville, but judging by the length, Eric looks to make this account much more detailed. Judson Kilpatrick’s Union Cavalry was surprised by their Confederate counterparts under Generals Wade Hampton and Joseph Wheeler. After the initial confusion, Kilpatrick’s men fought back with a vengeance, and Hampton retired. William Hardee’s Confederate infantry was able to withdraw and join Joe Johnston’s gathering Confederate army, and this in turn led to the Battle of Bentonville.

Jeffery S. Prushankin. A Crisis In Confederate Command: Edmund Kirby Smith, Richard Taylor, And The Army Of The Trans-Mississippi. Louisiana State University Press, December 2005.
I really don’t have too many books covering the Trans-Mississippi Theater, so I’m pretty excited about picking this one up. From reading reviews, I’ve gathered that the difference of opinion between Smith and Taylor boiled down to defense versus offense. Smith was a Joe Johnston disciple, and as anyone who knows Johnston can gather, he favored fighting defensive battles and trading space for time. Richard Taylor, on the other hand, was an aggressive officer who wanted to take the war to the enemy, preventing offensives by launching ones of his own. Taylor disobeyed Smith and attacked the Union Army under Nathaniel Banks during the Red River Campaign, and although his attacks won the campaign, he was eventually relived by Smith. This one is high in my queue of to-be-read books.

Eric Jacobson & Richard A. Rupp. For Cause & For Country: A Study of the Affair at Spring Hill and the Battle of Franklin. O’More Publishing, 2006.
I first learned of this one on the Dispatch Depot Message Board. Authors Jacobson and Rupp concentrate on the Battles of Spring Hill and Franklin, but unlike Wiley Sword’s book on the campaign, Nashville is not covered. Instead, it seems to be a tactical study of these two battles, and the book is pretty lengthy for the subject matter at 519 pages. This is very encouraging. I am hoping for a more detailed study of these battles than what Sword was able to provide. I haven’t read his book The Confederacy’s Last Hurrah for a few years however, so comparisons may have to wait until I can read both back to back.

Again, if anyone has read these already, I’d love to hear what you thought of them.

Check out Beyond the Crater: The Petersburg Campaign Online for the latest on the Siege of Petersburg!


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