Army of Amateurs [Hardcover]

Edward G. Longacre (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1997

General Benjamin F. Butler and the Army of the James, 1863-1865. 388 pp., 30 photos, hardcover, dj.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

The Civil War Army of the James spent most of its career under the ultimate command of Ben Butler, the quintessential amateur soldier, who was an excellent administrator but a poor field commander. It also suffered from a plethora of other commanders who could not get along with Butler or one another and from a lack of coordination with the Army of the Potomac. So the Army of the James seldom wrote any notable pages of battlefield history. Yet it managed to threaten Richmond several times, it provided the landing force that captured Fort Fisher in North Carolina, and it contained the largest percentage of African American soldiers of any army in the Union forces, including at one time an entire corps that, at the end of the war, marched into Richmond. Longacre's straightforward narrative history does justice to this army that hardly covered itself with glory but deserves to be rescued from obscurity. Roland Green

Product Details

• Hardcover: 325 pages
• Publisher: Stackpole Books (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811701360
• ISBN-13: 978-0811701365
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,667,782 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice overview of a long-neglected Civil War subject., November 2, 1998

By 

D. Williams (Springfield, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Army of Amateurs (Hardcover)

This book does a fine job of introducing popular audiences to the long-neglected and much maligned Army of the James. Like most of the Civil War works of Edward Longacre, it is fairly well written, entertaining at times, and heavily focused on prominent personalities (as opposed to the common soldier). Throughout most of the book, readers are treated to a fascinating running narrative on the life of Benjamin Butler, the controversial political general who was the guiding spirit of the Army of the James for much of its existence. Indeed, there is almost as much attention devoted to Butler and his political ambitions as to the tens of thousands of soldiers who fought with the Army of the James.

Overall, this book does a fine job of exploring the origins of the Army of the James, following its often discouraging path through the bold campaign leading up to the battle of Drewry's Bluff, the establishment of a foothold on Bermuda Hundred, and the long seige of Richmond and Petersburg that followed. In this respect, a number of battles and skirmishes that have usually been passed over by other historians are given much-deserved attention. Throughout, the author admirably maintains his sole focus on the Army of the James, even after it was largely absorbed into Grant's forces after mid-June 1864. He also follows the fortunes of those units that were on detached service, such as Kautz's cavalry division and two divisions of the X Corps that were sent to capture Fort Fisher in early 1865.

Longacre devotes a modest amount of attention to the somewhat unique make up of this army. It always had a strong component of African-American soldiers in its ranks, and also is notable for being led by a majority of civilian volunteer officers. This led to tensions and dissentions at the highest levels, particularly with career officers like William "Baldy" Smith vying for leadership.

Missing from the book are the finely detailed accounts of the battles fought by the Army of the James. At most, Longacre provides the reader with an overview of these battles, tracing the movement of divisions and brigades, but only providing quick summaries of combat and casualties. In this author's opinion, the book suffers at many points from a lack of decent maps to better illustrate unit movements and battles. Those seeking a more detailed understanding of battles will have to turn elsewhere. For example, Robertson's excellent study of Drewry's Bluff titled BACKDOOR TO RICHMOND.

While it is true that the Army of the James was created in the Spring of 1864, this reader would have appreciated more information about the experiences of the various units and generals that joined the Army of the James prior to this year.

In the end, the reader may have mixed feelings about Longacre's sympathetic treatment of Butler. History has not been kind to this personality, and maybe for good reason. There is little doubt, however, that one will come to better appreciate the vital contributions and many sacrifices offered by the men who served in the Army of the James in the last year and a half of the Civil War.