Blue & Gray, Fall 2005
Blue & Gray magazine is one of the top Civil War magazines available. The main articles usually contain endnotes, and the maps are very detailed and numerous. Blue & Gray has an "article and tour guide format". That is, the magazine contains a main article on a battle or campaign, and later in the issue you will see a tour guide of the area. If you are a battlefield tramper, this is the magazine for you. The Fall 2005 issue focuses on the little-known "Battle" of Falling Waters, a skirmish between the forces of Robert Patterson and Stonewall Jackson that occurred on July 2, 1861. It was the baptism of fire for most units there that day, including elements of the famous Stonewall Brigade.
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| The End of Innocence: The Battle of Falling Waters by Gary Gimbel |
Falling Waters was the baptism of fire for many units, including the Stonewall Brigade. It was the start of the little-known 1861 Valley Campaign. Robert Patterson, in charge of the Union forces, was tasked with keeping Joe Johnston's Army of the Shenandoah occupied while Irvin McDowell's Army of Northeastern Virginia attacked Pierre Beauregard's Confederate Army of the Potomac. The "Centennial Doctrine", as Dimitri Rotov is fond of calling it, says that Patterson failed badly and basically did nothing as Johnston reinforced Beauregard and beat McDowell at First Manassas. Recent scholarship, ignoring the Centennial Doctrine and using new sources and new research, is not so sure. What does author Gary Gimbel think? He doesn't really say too much about it, although he does point out that Patterson was the only one of his Generals who advocated an attack on Johnston during a council of war on July 9. This piece is more of a tactical history of the skirmish, rather than an overview of the '61 Valley Campaign. Gimbel is well suited to the task, having lived near the battlefield since 1989.
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| Page 22 |
| Wiley Sword's War Letter Series - Where in the Name of God is Grant? |
In this column, author Wiley Sword selects a letter from his large collection and informs readers of the background of the letter. In this case, the letter is an order from Gen. Grant to Gen. Ord prior to the Battle of Iuka. Through some misunderstanding between Ord, Grant, and Rosecrans, Ord did not attack while Rosecrans fought the Battle of Iuka alone. The order led to the almost legendary dislike between Rosecrans and Grant.
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| On The Back Roads - Lawrence, Kansas, Symbol of Abolition, Target of Border Ruffians by Michael O'Brien |
On The Back Roads is a feature of Blue & Gray dealing with lesser-known and smaller Civil War tourist attractions. In this particular entry, Lawrence, Kansas resident Michael O'Brien summarizes the burning and murder which occurred in Lawrence on August 21, 1863. Quantrill's raiders committed these atrocities in retaliation for the acts of "Jayhawkers" terrorizing pro-slavery families in Missouri. O'Brien writes that not all of Quantrill's men committed murder. Most stood by while a portion took their revenge. There seem to be quite a few sites from the War remaining in Lawrence.
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| Page 28 |
| On The Back Roads - Heros von Borcke's Home and Grave in Poland by Stefan Slivka |
In this second installment of On The Back Roads, German resident Stefan Slivka writes about the former home and current burial site of Heros von Borcke, famous German aide to Gen. "Jeb" Stuart. The site was called Giesenbruegge during von Borcke's lifetime, but in the intervening years the German-Polish border was moved westward, making the site the current-day town of Gizyn, Poland.
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| Page 32 |
| Book Reviews |
Books reviewed in this issue: 1. Charlestonians
in War: The Charleston Battalion
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| Page 51 |
| Driving Tour - The Battle of Falling Waters and the 1861 Valley Campaign |
The Driving Tour for the Battle of Falling Waters was written by Gary Gimbel, the same author who wrote the main article. This is usually the case with B&G. The tour starts in Williamsport, MD and ends in Martinsburg, West Virginia, with 13 stops along the way. Some of the more interesting sites include an aqueduct of the old C&O Canal over Conococheague Creek near Williamsport, the Falling Waters waterfall, and the Railroad Roundhouse complex in Martinsburg. You can support preservation efforts of the Falling Waters Battlefield Association by going to their web site.
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Comments
That's funny that you say it's little known compared to the 1863 battle. With me it's the reverse: I've read about the 1861 battle in several books, but have yet to read about the 1863 one, beyond the page or two in Coddington's Gettysburg campaign book. That's because in my reading I'm very slowly working my way from 1861 to 1865 in all 3 land theaters and trying not to skip anything chronologically.
Posted by: Bill | September 12, 2005 03:09 PM
Bill,
Interesting point. I think the reason I assumed the 1863 version was the more well-known is due to the massive number of books on Gettysburg versus all the other Campaigns in the entire war. I don't know what the correct answer would be. For me personally, I know a lot more about the finale of the Gettysburg Campaign than I do the opening blows of the 1861 Valley Campaign. If anyone else wants to weigh in I'd love to hear it.
Posted by: Brett Schulte | September 12, 2005 03:40 PM
Sorry that I wasn't clear: I actually meant that I've only just arrived at Gettysburg and have read only 2 books so far--Coddington and Nye's Here Come the Rebels!--so you're probably right that Falling Waters 1863 is more well known than FW 1861. I assume I'll run across a lot more on FW 1863 as I read more Gettysburg books. I also assume the Masterton Brown book has a lot to say about it.
It seems strange that the 1863 battle in Maryland was named after a hamlet in Virginia on the other side of the river.
Posted by: Bill | September 12, 2005 04:01 PM
Bill,
No need to apologize. You are definitely correct on the Brown book. I need to pick that up soon. I've heard a lot of good things about it.
Brett
Posted by: Brett Schulte | September 12, 2005 04:05 PM