Customer Reviews

The Army Under Pope

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But the print is so hard to read!

John C. Ropes has written a classic history of the Union Army of under the brief leadership of John Pope which ended with Pope's defeat at the hands of Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson at Second Manassas in August 1862. This slim book was part of a "Campaigns of the Civil War" series originally published in the 1880s, and the current edition is a verbatim of the original.

While much has been said about Pope's bombastic "Headquarters in the Saddle" speech that offended many of the rank and file, and of his "scorched earth" policies that prompted Robert E. Lee to label Pope a "miscreant", recent histories suggest that it was the selfishness of George McClellan and the uncooperative attitudes of McClellan's lieutenants who served under Pope, specifically Fitz-John Porter, that were primarily to blame for Pope's resounding defeat.

This contemporary account of the actions of Pope's army pretty much affirms the recent accounts, commenting on how Pope was able to consolidate the scattered and badly beaten (by Jackson) elements of the Union forces in the Shenandoah into one cohesive force. Pope also established a pretty credible Union cavalry force that unfortunately was not supported by the Union infantry. This actually led to Pope's undoing when John Buford and a small cavalry force found itself alone up against Longstreet's entire corps in the Thoroughfare Gap. Forced to concede the Gap, the Union cavalry alerted Pope to the fact that Longstreet was coming in to relieve Jackson, who was pretty badly battered. Pope refused to heed this warning until it was too late, and was soundly thrashed.

The reluctance of Fitz-John Porter to commit his corps to the fray, and of his mentor McClellan refusal to send troops already promised to Pope only contributed to an inevitable, though not necessary defeat.

If only Ropes' book, with its small print wasn't so difficult to read!

Even the wonderfully graphic maps are barely legible. I would recommend "Second Manassas" from the Time-Life Voices of the Civil War series, and "Return to Bull Run" by John Hennessey for further exploration of the Pope period in the Union Army.

This book is part of a 12 volume set.

The complete set:

(1) The Outbreak of Rebellion - John G. Nicolay
(2) From Fort Henry to Corinth - M.F. Force
(3) The Peninsula - Francis Winthrope Palfrey
(4) The Army under Pope - John Goodman Ropes
(5) The Antietam & Fredericksburg
(6) Chancellorsville & Gettysburg - Abner Doubleday
(7) The Army of the Cumberland - Henry M. Cist
(8) The Mississippi - Francis Vinton Greene
(9) Atlanta - Jacob D. Cox
(10) March to the Sea & Franklin/Nashville - Jacob D. Cox
(11) The Shenandoah Valley in 1864 - George E. Pond
(12) Virginia Campaign of '64 & '65 - Andrew A Humphreys
There is also a volume of statistical records (V. 13), and three on the naval war:

The Blockade and the Cruisers - James Russell Soley
The Atlantic Coast - Daniel Ammen
The Gulf and Inland Waters - A.T. Mahan (yes, the Mahan)

I suggest reading the land volumes as follows:

I. The Outbreak of Rebellion.

From here you can follow either East or West Theatre first:

IIA - Eastern Theatre

(3) The Peninsula - after the failure of Bull Run, and attempt is made to capture Richmond by a naval landing.

(4) The Army under Pope; while Union troops are evacuating from the failed peninsula effort, Lee turns on Pope and inflicts another defeat at 2nd Bull Run. Lee then attempts to cross the Potomac and invade the north.

(5) The Antietam & Fredericksburg; McClellen having returned from the peninsula stops Lee's invasion at Antietam but fails to destroy his army. Burnside takes over and pursues Lee to Fredericksburg, where the Union army self-destructs in an assault on its fortified heights.

(6) Chancellorsville & Gettysburg - Hooker replaces Burnside and tries to take the Union army around Fredericksburg, but is bluffed from the dense forests around Chancellorsville. Lee again breaks free and this time invades Pennsylvania but is stopped at Gettysburg.

(11) The Shenandoah Valley in 1864; this valley is a thorn in the Union's flank, and is ultimately razed so Union forces can operate more freely in the east.

(12) Virginia Campaign of '64 & '65; Lincoln is desperate to end the war. Grant promises to do so at a price. It will be bloody, but he wants all losses immediately replaced to his army remains at full strength during the long bloody grind to Richmond.


IIB- Western Theatre

(2) From Fort Henry to Corinth; The Confederacy hoped to fortify the upper Mississippi in Missouri and Kentucky as a jumping off point to invade the north. Grant wrests the initiative, and with the fall of Forts Henry and Donelson. After Grant's decisive victory at Shiloh, the Union never loses the initiative in the west.

(8) The Mississippi; the struggle for Vicksburg, which puts the entire Mississippi in Union hands.

(7) The Army of the Cumberland; the struggle for Chattanooga; Union defeat at Chickamauga, besieged at Chattanooga, final breakout of the siege.

(9) Atlanta; Union drive down the critical rail line through hard country from Chattanooga to Atlanta.

(10) March to the Sea & Franklin/Nashville; after Atlanta, Sherman's famed march to the sea, after which he very nearly links up with Grant driving down on Petersburg.

CAUTION: This series is public domain. Many publishers offer cheap digital scans with illegible maps and text that is difficult to read -- apparently this reviews stepped on one such land mine.

The best editions by far are those from DSI digital scans, with flawless text and clear maps. Most of the have the "Look Inside" feature so you can see for yourself. Here is the DSI edition:

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For some unfortunate reason, DSI's editions usually don't appear when you search these titles. Try searching a title with DSI after the name, but even that doesn't always work.

The Da Capo edition is also good. It's editions are a little smaller in size but of high quality and with excellent contemporary introductions.

Final comment - I'm no expert or professional Civil War buff, so don't treat anything I've written as such. This is merely a reader who has derived great personal pleasure from this series. I've tried to convey a sense of what was so enjoyable to me.

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The maps in most of these books are inadequate to follow the detailed text. I suggest those intending to read this series purchase the following atlas.

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