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From Blue to Gray: The Life of Confederate General Cadmus M. Wilcox

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This short book is an interesting and very well-written biography of a lesser known but still important general in Gen. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia.

After graduating from West Point in 1846 with Stonewall Jackson, George McClellan and George Pickett, Cadmus Wilcox served with distinction in the Mexican War. In 1852 he was named to serve as an assistant instructor of infantry tactics at West Point, contemporaneous with Robert E. Lee's appointment as superintendent of the academy. While there, Wilcox taught such future leaders of the Confederate forces as John Bell Hood, J.E.B. Stuart and Edward Alexander Porter.

Having been born in North Carolina and raised in Tennessee, it is perhaps no surprise that Wilcox followed those states out of the Union in 1861. In doing so, however, he left behind a very promising career in the U.S. Army, prompting the author to note that Wilcox's resignation from the army was undoubtedly tinged with some regret.

Upon reaching Richmond, Wilcox was given the temporary rank of colonel and assigned command of the 9th Alabama Infantry Regiment. In the fall of 1861, he was promoted to brigadier general and given command of what had been Edmund Kirby Smith's brigade of Alabama, Mississippi and Virginia troops. During the Peninsular Campaign, Wilcox found himself in command of three brigades, which he led during the Battle of the Seven Days, when Robert E. Lee first made his mark on the rebel army.

In command of such a large unit, Wilcox thought he should have been promoted to major general but that promotion did not come until long after he thought it was due. As the author shows quite clearly and convincingly, Wilcox's concern about promotion and his perceived slights at the advancement of other officers he considered less qualified was a recurring theme throughout his service in Lee's army.

Perhaps Wilcox's greatest moment of glory came at Chancellorsville, when he positioned his troops in the path of Union troops under Gen. Sedgwick who had broken through the thin Confederate line at Fredericksburg and were bearing down on the rear elements of Gen. Lee's divided and numerically inferior force that was heavily engaged with Gen. Hooker. According to the author, "Wilcox had saved the day with his initiative and decisiveness by preventing Sedgwick from reaching Chancellorsville."

After the frightful losses among Confederate officers at Gettysburg, Wilcox was finally promoted to major general and given command of what had been A.P. Hill's famous Light Division. Wilcox commanded this unit for the rest of the war, including in the Wilderness, at the North Anna River and during the long and ultimately unsuccessful defense of Petersburg. I found it particularly interesting to read of the contact Wilcox maintained with worried residents of Petersburg during and at the end of the siege, when he gave them some valuable information. Wilcox and his men surrendered, along with the rest of the Army of Northern Virginia, at Appomattox, where he renewed acquaintances among the Union Army, thus beginning on a personal level the process of re-unification that would be so vital to the country's future well-being.

To me, one of the most interesting parts of the book is the story of what happened to Wilcox after the war until his death in 1890. Immediately after the war, he and other Confederate officers traveled to Mexico and tried to sign on as mercenaries in the French Army supporting the Emperor Maximilian. The photograph on page 100 of these once-proud officers, cooling their heels in Mexico attired in fine civilian clothes, is one of the highlights of the book. Sadly, Wilcox never got his career back on track after the Civil War, either in the military or in the business world, but he was fortunate to have strong family ties that undoubtedly gave him the will to endure and make the best of the circumstances in which he found himself. The author's fine portrayal of Wilcox in these years is sensitive and poignant without being maudlin. Of particular interest is the running feud Wilcox had with James Longstreet, who seemed to enjoy drawing attention throughout the post-war years to what he regarded as Wilcox's deficiencies and mistakes as an officer in Lee's army. As the author explains, the relationship between the two generals deteriorated during the war and never recovered.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author writes very well, with thoughtful analysis and interesting insights, and makes excellent use of quotations from letters, diaries, newspapers and other original sources. I hope he tries his hand at larger topics in the future for he clearly has the skills as a researcher and writer to produce material that is well worth reading.

Cadmus Wilcox is a great story about a solid but unspectacular man. How he raised himself to such a lofty position in the southern army is a very interesting. Following his early life to his West Point time is founded on good information. His Civil War exploits were solid and are written in a very interesting fashion. His sruggles after the war to his untimely and awkward death keeps this story very interesting.