The Burnside Expedition in North Carolina: A Succession of Honorable Victories [Hardcover]

Richard A. Sauers (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 542 pages
• Publisher: Morningside Bookshop; First Edition edition (April 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0890293260
• ISBN-13: 978-0890293263
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,292,174 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Solid Coverage of a Neglected Campaign, February 20, 2004

By 

Brett R. Schulte "Civil War Buff" (Southwestern IL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Burnside Expedition in North Carolina: A Succession of Honorable Victories (Hardcover)

Here is a good example of a book which is the only one to cover a Civil War Campaign. I tend to recommend these every time, regardless of quality. With that said, Sauers' book is of very high quality. The maps are good, and Sauers fully covers the Burnside expedition to North Carolina in 1862. The author has an extensive bibliography, citing and using many sources to give the reader excellent coverage of the Campaign. 542 pp., 10 maps

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars INCREDIBLY GOOD BOOK ON A LITTLE KNOWN CAMPAIGN, August 8, 2010

By 

CTS 2631 "Timboabwe" (Honolulu, HI USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Burnside Expedition in North Carolina: A Succession of Honorable Victories (Hardcover)

This book presents in detail the combined army/navy operations of the Union "Coast Division" commanded by Major General Ambrose E. Burnside in North Carolina from January - June, 1862. The division was originally conceived by Major General George B. McClellan for use in the Chesapeake Bay area as an aid to any land advance by the Army of the Potomac. Due to reports of widespread Unionist sympathies in North Carolina (that proved to be false) and McCleallan deciding the division could best aid his Peninsula Campaign for Richmond by threatening the vital rail supply lines that ran through North Carolina to Richmond, Virginia, it was decided to send the "Burnside Expedition" to the coast of North Carolina instead.

This book covers the conception, recruiting, and employment of the Burnside Expedition in North Carolina during the first half of 1862. This includes the procurement and refitting of civilian vessels in the Northeast, formation of the division at Annapolis, Maryland, inadequate southern preperations to defend coastal North Carolina hampered by the demands of the Confederate government in Richmond late 1861 - early 1862, the storm tossed sea voyage of Burnside's expedition to Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina and the difficult passage into Pamlico Sound, the battle of Roanoke Island (February 7 - 8), Union naval victory and destruction of the Confederate naval forces at Elizabeth City (February 10), battle of Newbern (March 14), the siege and capitulation of Confederate Fort Macon (March 23 - April 26), the skirmish at South Mills (April 19), all Union raids coastal/inland conducted during the first half of 1862, picket clashes, Confederate response to the Burnside expedition, the failed attempt by the Lincoln Administration to exploit the perceived Unionist sentiment in the state and the attempt to bring it back into the Union including a history of Military Governor Edward Stanly (talk about an impossible job!), the African American experience in the area affected by the Burnside Expedition, relations between Union troops and civilians in the area of operations including atrocities, and the eventual recall of most of the expedition to aid McClellan's stalled campaign for Richmond in late June.

The writing is great and easy to follow, so it is simple to form a mental picture of the battle descriptions and keep track of events as they unfold. The research is thorough and in depth as evidenced by the extensive Bibliography and Footnotes. Richard A. Sauers is a very capable author and he has given us the only in depth study of this overlooked campaign. Not a short book (489 pages text/542 pages total) but well worth the effort. This includes four Appendixes covering the controversy involving the 9th New York regiment at the battle of Roanoke Island, organization of the Burnside Expedition, United States naval vessels participating in the North Carolina campaign, and the organization of Confederate forces engaged at Roanoke Island and Newbern. Twenty eight illustrations and ten very good maps round out this exceptional Civil War campaign study.

My only complaint is that this book could have used a few more maps. A detailed theater of operations map showing coastal North Carolina in relation to Washington, D.C./McClellan's Peninsula Campaign/Richmond, Virginia and the vital rail lines would have aided comprehension. A detailed area of operations map showing the piedmont/coastal region of North Carolina and the vital rail lines would also aid readers desiring a better understanding. The battle of Newbern could have used a few more maps showing the stages of the battle and last, the chapter covering the siege of Fort Macon would have been complimented by a map showing the Union siege works and battery sites in relation to the fort itself. These complaints are minor though and the lowest rating I could have given this book was 4 and 3/4 stars. Not possible so five stars it is!

This book is hard to find and expensive but well worth the price. If you can find a copy available for less than a hundred dollars get it if at all possible! Due to the price this is a book for the serious Civil War reader. Highly recommended! Check this one out!!! (For further reading I recommend "Battles and Leaders of the Civil War" volume I, and "Ironclads And Columbiads" by William R. Trotter)