Books Purchased: June 6-July 1:
Steven E. Woodworth. Civil War Generals in Defeat (Modern War Studies). University Press of Kansas, April 1999.
I do not know too much about this one other than that it is a collection of essays dealing with defeated generals on both sides and their place in history. Some generals included in this volume are Albert Sidney Johnston, Joe Hooker, and George McClellan, among others.
Phillip Thomas Tucker. Burnside’s Bridge : The Climatic Struggle of the 2nd & 20th Georgia at Antietam Creek. Stackpole Books; 1st ed edition (February 2000).
This is one of those specialized looks at a part of a battle that are nice to have, but honestly they are luxuries that I rarely go after. In this case, the price was right, and I was able to pick this up on the cheap. As is usually the case in micro-studies of parts of a major battle, the maps are very detailed and go down to the regimental level. This one looks like a good buy for wargamers interested in Antietam. I did note some fairly negative reviews as far as research goes on this one, however.
Curt Johnson & Richard C. Anderson. Artillery Hell The Employment of Artillery at Antietam. Texas A&M University Press, May 1995.
I believe I had this one listed earlier as a purchased book, but a mailing SNAFU prevented me from getting my hands on it at that time. Here is another excellent buy for wargamers. It looks like the authors have attempted to catalog exactly what numbers and types of gun tubes each artillery unit at Antietam possessed. Artillery played a large role at Antietam, especially for the Confederates, so this is an interesting one that I’m looking forward to reading..
Richard M. McMurry. Two Great Rebel Armies : An Essay in Confederate Military History. University of North Carolina Press, January 1989.
I have had my eye on this one for a long time. The Army of Northern Virginia so overshadows all other Confederate armies, including what you might call the number two army in the Army of Tennessee, that there must be some reasons why this is happening, right? In the North, the Army of the Potomac is famous, sure, but the Army of the Tennessee and the Army of the Cumberland also get their fair share of coverage. Richard McMurry sets out to explain the reasons for the success of one of the South’s two major armies and the failure of the other in what is essentially a rather extended essay.
Angus Konstam. Seven Days Battles 1862 (Campaign 133). Osprey Publishing, August 20, 2004.
I admit that I have a soft spot for the Osprey titles although they are really meant more as a primer on a given campaign than as an in-depth study. I am more than familiar with the basics of the Seven Days, considering it is one of my favorite campaigns to study. With that said, this is more of the completist in me making sure that I own all of the Osprey titles covering Civil War campaigns than anything else.
John W. Schildt. Roads to Antietam. White Mane Publishing Company, May 1997.
I wasn’t necessarily looking for this one when I saw it one day last month on eBay. Despite the questionable White Mane origins, this one at least looks like it takes an interesting slant on the Maryland Campaign, taking the reader down the roads the armies covered in the fall of 1862.
Richard P. Weinert, Jr. The Confederate Regular Army. White Mane Pub, March 1991.
This is another White Mane book, but in this case we have a reference work covering, as the title implies, units which served in the Confederate Regular Army. The book, like the Confederate Regular Army, is not all that large. I do not know how good this one is, and there seems to be little information online in the way of reviews. If anyone can send links to these my way I would appreciate it.
Paul Branch. Jr. Siege of Fort Macon. Self-Published; 1st edition (1997).
Here’s an interesting little pamphlet on a little known action. I managed to pick up a signed edition on eBay.
David Swinfen. Ruggles’ Regiment. University Press of New England, July 1982.
Here’s an oversized regimental covering the story of the 122nd New York Infantry. I don’t know much more about it than that, though the fact that the 122nd New York was in the Petersburg Campaign was a plus.
Marion Vince Armstrong. Disaster In The West Woods: General Edwin V. Sumner and the II Corps at Antietam. Western Maryland Interpretive Association, Sharpsburg, MD, 2002.
As the title indicates, this book covers Sumner’s rather disastrous attack with Sedgwick’s Division in the West Woods at Antietam. In case you couldn’t already tell, I am also very interested in the Battle of Antietam.
David Shultz and David Wieck. The Battle Between the Farmlanes: Hancock Saves the Union Center; Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. Ironclad Publishing, 2006.
I preordered this one from Ironclad. It’s the latest volume in “The Discovering Civil War America Series” that includes titles on the Carolinas in 1865, Ball’s Bluff, and Cavalry actions at Gettysburg. The focus is on providing a closer look at lesser known combat along with a detailed tour at the back of the book.
David M. Jordan. “Happiness Is Not My Companion”: The Life of General G. K. Warren. Indiana University Press, May 1, 2001.
I finished up this biography of Warren recently, so look for a review coming soon on the blog. I felt that this was a solid if not great look at the life of one of the Corps commanders of the Army of the Potomac during the 1864 Campaigns in the east. There may still be a clearance sale going on at the Indiana Press University web site for those of you interested.
Jack K. Overmyer. A Stupendous Effort: The 87th Indiana in the War of the Rebellion. Indiana University Press, October 1997.
This one was on sale at the Indiana University Press web site for very little, so I scooped it up as an interesting looking regimental.
Thomas A. Lewis. The Guns of Cedar Creek. Heritage Associates; 2nd edition (August 15, 1997).
Here’s a book hat takes a look at the last major battle of the 1864 Shenandoah Campaign. Early’s Valley Army surprised the unprepared Union Army of the shenandoah along the banks of Cedar Creek, but Sheridan made his famous ride back to his army to save the day and drive the Confederates from the field.
Edward G. Longacre. The Cavalry at Appomattox: A Tactical Study of Mounted Operations During the Civil War’s Climactic Campaign, March 27-April 9, 1865. Stackpole Books; 1st edition (July 2003).
Despite the subtitle, I have heard that this is anything but a tactical study of the cavalry of both sides during the campaign. The main complaint on this one is that it seems to barely touch the surface, simply regurgitating what we already know of the campaign. I was able to pick this one up on eBay for a small amount, so I decided to give it a shot anyway.
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