Customer Reviews

Civil War Source Book

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Anyone seriously interested in the American Civil War ends up with a sizable shelf of reference volumes, and this one should be on that shelf. After an introductory year-by-year summary of campaigns and major battles (easily found in many other sources), he discusses the organization, weapons, formal tactics, and actual practices for each branch of the service. This includes such uncommon units as the Mississippi Marine Brigade and the Indian Home Guards. Where else are you going to find the details of each state militia's formation and organization, both North and South, not to mention the standard uniform? Everything here is exemplified in hundreds of period photos with excellent captions (especially useful for militia uniforms), and there are numerous excerpts from personal reports, diaries, memoirs, and regimental histories. Katcher also includes short biographies of major military figures, each accompanied by a portrait (not the same ones you'll find in _Generals in Blue_ and _Generals in Gray_). And there are footnotes and short bibliographies throughout. An excellent ready-reference tool.

This volume, put together by Philip Katcher, is very much like an encyclopedia of the Civil War, with many entries that provide background on this bloody conflict. Katcher says (Page 9): "This book is an attempt to gather many of the basic facts of that war under one cover: a brief chronological history of the war; how each branch of service fought the war, its tactics and weapons; the organizations, Union and Confederate, that were designed for specific tasks in the war, ranging from combat arms to many support and logistical units created specifically for this war."

The structure: Part I focuses on the campaigns of the Civil War, from the Eastern and Western Theatres in 1861 to 1865, with a list of battles, an explanation of why the war turned out as it did, and the naval war. Part II looks at the weapons and tactics of war, including infantry artillery, and cavalry tactics. Part III speaks of military life during the war. Parts IV and V look at the structure of the military in both north and south. Part VI? The militia of the various states. Part VII provides brief biographies of key leaders, including some who might not be as well known (such as Edmund Kirby Smith). The book concludes with some miscellaneous material as well as sources.

Not a great book, but it is good at what it does.