33 Responses to Question of the Week: What battle or campaign deserves a book?
We need a comprehensive book on Mobile, Alabama: its role in the war through its final days in the Confederacy. There are some fine small books on various aspects from the Battle of Mobile Bay, Spanish Fort, the city during the war, etc., but nothing overall as far as I am aware. Paul Brueske’s fine book on The Last Campaign only addresses 1865. His Prologue is the outline for a new book.
Yes, it is. Disney also did a movie back about 1955-56 starring Fess Parker. I picked up a copy on Amazon a couple of years ago. I think it’s available on Amazon Prime.
Loading...
I highly recommend “Stealing the General: The Great Locomotive Chase and the First Medal of Honor”, by Russell S. Bonds (2007). It’s a great read,
Considering the push-back that Ty Seidule received on his book regarding Robert E Lee, The Lost Cause is still believed by many Americans. They must not have read the 50 books! And I fear that the defeated Olde Confederacy will again try to impose its will on Americans by erecting monuments with public money honoring a defeated army of insurrectionists.
We must always guard against revisionists.
Loading...
Gary Gallagher and Alan T. Nolan edited at nice volume called The Myth of the Lost Cause and Civil War History. Gallagher’s and Nolan’s essays are particularly good.
I wish someone would dig a bit deeper into George Sears Greene himself and his role on Cupl’s hill. I feel like he is too often shoved aside for better known generals. He does not get nearly the glory he deserves. Not to mention there is very little information readily available about him.
An updated study on how the trauma affected the soldiers and families. The soldier’s discuss going into battle after battle like it’s another day at the office.
The Battle of Hanging Rock. Fought near Salem, Virginia, on June 21, 1864, Confederate cavalry pursuing David Hunter’s Union forces retreating from Lynchburg captured ten guns and inflicted about thirty casualties. It’s not much in the grand scheme of the war, but it is our local Civil War claim to fame.
This is a little off topic, but I have been hearing about after surgery being preformed that opioids were used to ease the pain of the wounded soldier and as a result in some cases, the patient became addicted to the drug. I would like to see a book or study written to explore this, I think, a little understood unintended consequence of a life saving medical procedure.
The Seven Days Battles, or, more correct, Seven Days Battle.
This week of fighting is the most overlooked, underappreciated battle of the war. The Seven Days changed everything. It saw the emergence of Robert Lee. It was the last chance the Federals had to capture Richmond – they came within a handful of miles, failed, and then could never capture it for the remainder of the war. It was the last best chance for the South to win the war, and on the sixth day Lee came within 50 yards of cutting the Army of the Potomac in two and destroying it, which would have sent shock waves through the North so great it could have turned the populace against the war for good. It changed the war from being a rebellion with the Federal government trying to bring the South back into the Union with slavery intact to being one of utterly destroying the South while claiming it was a war on slavery. It very nearly cost Lincoln dearly in the mid-term elections, which further could have cost him re-election in 1864. It sparked the huge mistrust that grew between the soldiers of the Army of the Potomac and the Federal government for the remainder of the war, and saw the start of the growing divide between Northern Democrats – predominant amongst enlisted men – and Abolitionist Republicans – predominant amongst the officer class. It also saw the last of the close in, vicious, unrelenting fighting with bayonets and knives, fists and rocks, which was driven by intense fighting. To be sure, there was plenty of cruel, vicious fighting to come, especially at Spotsylvania, but historians have noted that after the Seven Days battles were pretty much “fought at 400 yards’ range.” The Seven Days was the end of the opening period of the war, and the most important. Within three months, the South came within a hair’s breadth of destroying Grant’s army at Shiloh and McClellan’s army on the Peninsula, and had the South done so, it is probable she would have won her independence then and there.
There are some great books on the Seven Days – by Clifford Dowdey, Stephen Sears, Brian K. Burton, chapters in Douglas Southall Freeman’s masterpieces – but we need a really good up to date book on the Seven Days. That’s why I’m writing one.
1. The South never had a chance to win the war as the North had never fully mobilized.
2. The North did not offer the South a chance to return to the Union while maintaining slavery; the war was fought to preserve the Union and then end the institution of slavery. You are mixing up McClellan who wanted to preserve slavery, with Lincoln.
3. All Presidents lose support in mid-term elections.
4. Union soldiers overwhelmingly voted for Lincoln in 1864.
5. If you knew anything about Shiloh, you would know that the South was spent after the 1st day, and that Grant was re-inforced.
Battle of Crump’s Landing, 4 April 1862. Emblazoned on the battle flags of several Union regiments, this action is usually called “the Picket Skirmish of Friday 4 April 1862.” There is no agreement on where it occurred, when it began, or how it ended. But it involved infantry, cavalry and artillery, and it had serious ramifications for another battle fought two days later: Shiloh.
The Battle of Monett’s Ferry, Louisiana: N. P. Banks army surrounded by understrength CSA Army of Western Louisiana. Bank’s troops found a ford and assaulted in a bloody charge the badly outnumbered CSA Cavalry and artillery units who retreated to Beasley’s Station, then union forces make their way to Alexandria LA and are again under siege with the US Navy almost grounded by the falling waters of the Red Rive-only saved by Bailey’s swing dam (Medal of Honor winner for this action)
We need a comprehensive book on Mobile, Alabama: its role in the war through its final days in the Confederacy. There are some fine small books on various aspects from the Battle of Mobile Bay, Spanish Fort, the city during the war, etc., but nothing overall as far as I am aware. Paul Brueske’s fine book on The Last Campaign only addresses 1865. His Prologue is the outline for a new book.
If you can find a copy, check out Arthur Bergeron’s ‘Confederate Mobile’; he published it in 1991.
Thanks. I got one when published. Needs to be updated.
Andrews’ Raid, aka The Great Locomotive Chase
Is this the incident that Buster Keaton’s silent film ‘The General” was based on?
Yes, it is. Disney also did a movie back about 1955-56 starring Fess Parker. I picked up a copy on Amazon a couple of years ago. I think it’s available on Amazon Prime.
I highly recommend “Stealing the General: The Great Locomotive Chase and the First Medal of Honor”, by Russell S. Bonds (2007). It’s a great read,
Available on Amazon.
We need a book that lays to rest the falsehood of The Lost Cause.
First of all that is not a battle or a campaign. Secondly, its been done about 50 times now.
Considering the push-back that Ty Seidule received on his book regarding Robert E Lee, The Lost Cause is still believed by many Americans. They must not have read the 50 books! And I fear that the defeated Olde Confederacy will again try to impose its will on Americans by erecting monuments with public money honoring a defeated army of insurrectionists.
We must always guard against revisionists.
Gary Gallagher and Alan T. Nolan edited at nice volume called The Myth of the Lost Cause and Civil War History. Gallagher’s and Nolan’s essays are particularly good.
The Battle of Pocotaligo, SC
1st and 2nd battles of Donaldsonville in Louisiana
Gettysburg Day One. Needs a better look.
I wish someone would dig a bit deeper into George Sears Greene himself and his role on Cupl’s hill. I feel like he is too often shoved aside for better known generals. He does not get nearly the glory he deserves. Not to mention there is very little information readily available about him.
I’ll have to think about it, but Rosecrans may offer advice – if it’s not written in blood it may not sell well.
Speaking of Rosie, he deserves an updated biography.
An updated study on how the trauma affected the soldiers and families. The soldier’s discuss going into battle after battle like it’s another day at the office.
The Battle of Hanging Rock. Fought near Salem, Virginia, on June 21, 1864, Confederate cavalry pursuing David Hunter’s Union forces retreating from Lynchburg captured ten guns and inflicted about thirty casualties. It’s not much in the grand scheme of the war, but it is our local Civil War claim to fame.
Farragut, Butler and Halleck: the Operation to open the Mississippi River in 1862, and why it failed.
Burnside’s North Carolina Expedition and the Battle of New Bern
Battle of Hoovers Gap, where Spencer repeating rifle firepower and mounted infantry mobility were joined in a military tactical revolution.
Kelly’s Ford, March 17, 1863, deserves a book length study
There are a few books on Monocacy (“The Battle That Saved Washington”) and they’re pretty good, but a new deep-dive would be welcomed.
Good point. Fully agree.
This is a little off topic, but I have been hearing about after surgery being preformed that opioids were used to ease the pain of the wounded soldier and as a result in some cases, the patient became addicted to the drug. I would like to see a book or study written to explore this, I think, a little understood unintended consequence of a life saving medical procedure.
The siege operations around Charleston and Cassville.
Seconded!
Prairie Grove. Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park is a wonderful visit. The battle has many interesting and key moments.
The Seven Days Battles, or, more correct, Seven Days Battle.
This week of fighting is the most overlooked, underappreciated battle of the war. The Seven Days changed everything. It saw the emergence of Robert Lee. It was the last chance the Federals had to capture Richmond – they came within a handful of miles, failed, and then could never capture it for the remainder of the war. It was the last best chance for the South to win the war, and on the sixth day Lee came within 50 yards of cutting the Army of the Potomac in two and destroying it, which would have sent shock waves through the North so great it could have turned the populace against the war for good. It changed the war from being a rebellion with the Federal government trying to bring the South back into the Union with slavery intact to being one of utterly destroying the South while claiming it was a war on slavery. It very nearly cost Lincoln dearly in the mid-term elections, which further could have cost him re-election in 1864. It sparked the huge mistrust that grew between the soldiers of the Army of the Potomac and the Federal government for the remainder of the war, and saw the start of the growing divide between Northern Democrats – predominant amongst enlisted men – and Abolitionist Republicans – predominant amongst the officer class. It also saw the last of the close in, vicious, unrelenting fighting with bayonets and knives, fists and rocks, which was driven by intense fighting. To be sure, there was plenty of cruel, vicious fighting to come, especially at Spotsylvania, but historians have noted that after the Seven Days battles were pretty much “fought at 400 yards’ range.” The Seven Days was the end of the opening period of the war, and the most important. Within three months, the South came within a hair’s breadth of destroying Grant’s army at Shiloh and McClellan’s army on the Peninsula, and had the South done so, it is probable she would have won her independence then and there.
There are some great books on the Seven Days – by Clifford Dowdey, Stephen Sears, Brian K. Burton, chapters in Douglas Southall Freeman’s masterpieces – but we need a really good up to date book on the Seven Days. That’s why I’m writing one.
Pure speculation.
1. The South never had a chance to win the war as the North had never fully mobilized.
2. The North did not offer the South a chance to return to the Union while maintaining slavery; the war was fought to preserve the Union and then end the institution of slavery. You are mixing up McClellan who wanted to preserve slavery, with Lincoln.
3. All Presidents lose support in mid-term elections.
4. Union soldiers overwhelmingly voted for Lincoln in 1864.
5. If you knew anything about Shiloh, you would know that the South was spent after the 1st day, and that Grant was re-inforced.
Battle of Crump’s Landing, 4 April 1862. Emblazoned on the battle flags of several Union regiments, this action is usually called “the Picket Skirmish of Friday 4 April 1862.” There is no agreement on where it occurred, when it began, or how it ended. But it involved infantry, cavalry and artillery, and it had serious ramifications for another battle fought two days later: Shiloh.
The Battle of Monett’s Ferry, Louisiana: N. P. Banks army surrounded by understrength CSA Army of Western Louisiana. Bank’s troops found a ford and assaulted in a bloody charge the badly outnumbered CSA Cavalry and artillery units who retreated to Beasley’s Station, then union forces make their way to Alexandria LA and are again under siege with the US Navy almost grounded by the falling waters of the Red Rive-only saved by Bailey’s swing dam (Medal of Honor winner for this action)