Civil War Generalship: The Art Of Command [Paperback]

W.j. Wood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 20, 2000

In this unique examination of Civil War leadership, W. J. Wood looks at the tactical and strategic problems that threatened to overwhelm untried Civil War generals and the pragmatic strategies, born of necessity, that they developed to solve them. Focusing on three decisive battles involving six generals, Wood provides the background necessary to understand the problems confronting commanders on both sides of the war, then looks at the campaign of Cedar Mountain, directed by Stonewall Jackson and Nathaniel Banks; the battle of Chickamauga, where Confederate Army leader Braxton Bragg and Union General William Rosecrans faced each other; the battle of Nashville, where Jon Bell Hood led his Southern troops against George H. Thomas and his Union army. Deftly describing the art of war these men developed, an art that provides paradigms for military leaders to this day, Wood demonstrate why Civil War remains a topic of never-diminishing interest.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Colonel William J. Wood has brought a fresh approach to writing on the Civil War. He has avoided giving us a long, superficial survey and instead has....made the battles real by analyzing the personalities of the principal commanders....as well as strategical and tactical problems that defeat even the best-laid plans. As a result, the reader develops a new understanding of how battles were really fought in that dramatic conflict. Bill Wood could easily be called the 'thinking man's military historian.'"-John SD Eisenhower, noted military historian --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

W. J. Wood (19171501997), was a retired Army lieutenant colonel whose background included not only professional authorship but also combat experience in World War II and the Korean war, a decade spent in professional war gaming for weapons systems analysis at the Army Material Command, and a lifetime studying military history. His books include Battles of the Revolutionary War and Leaders and Battles.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (June 20, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306809737
• ISBN-13: 978-0306809736
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,125,236 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Learning how to be a general. . . ., March 29, 2008

By 

Steven A. Peterson (Hershey, PA (Born in Kewanee, IL)) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Civil War Generalship: The Art Of Command (Paperback)

This is an interesting work on, as per the subtitle, "The Art of Command." The Civil War had armies and corps of a magnitude that had not previously existed in the United States. General officers had to learn how to handle such large masses--with no prior experience in this art. As the author notes (page 6): ". . .the generals that we have observed, like their officers and soldiers, had to learn their trade in the hard school of war."

Three case studies follow, in which the commanding generals on each side competed with one another. Based on the outcomes, lessons can be learned, according to Wood. The pairings: Stonewall Jackson and Nathaniel Banks at Cedar Mountain (prelude to Second Manassas), William Rosecrans and the irascible Braxton Bragg at Chickamauga, and John Bell Hood against George Thomas at Nashville. In each instance, we can see failures and successes by each general and how well they exercised their art of command.

Cedar Mountain: This was part of the run up to Second Manassas. Jackson was ordered by Robert E. Lee to "suppress" John Pope's Union forces. At an early stage in the pr4ocess, Jackson faced off against Banks, an amateur political general, with lots of bravery and doubtful skills in military command.

Chickamauga: The unpleasant Bragg, who never quite mastered the art of war despite his undisputed bravery and training (e.g., not his performance at Stone's River), against the clever and masterful, but excitable, William Rosecrans.

Nashville: The rash Hood against the stolid, capable Thomas, who slowly learned the art of command to become one of the best general officers on either side by the end of the Civil War. One-sided to begin with at the level of the two commanders; this was followed up by one of the most complete victories by one side over the other during the course of the war.

At the conclusion of the book, Wood draws a number of lessons from his three case studies of command in the Civil War. Inevitable questions come up: How could a Hood or Banks (later on in the war) have been entrusted with full armies under their command? What sets a Thomas apart from others, in that he continued to learn and grow as an officer throughout the war?

This is not a great book, by any means, but it is a nice study in leadership during the Civil War.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For specialists only, but wonderful, September 10, 2004

By 

David W. Nicholas (Van Nuys, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Civil War Generalship: The Art Of Command (Paperback)

This is not your usual Civil War History book. W.J. Wood is uninterested, here, in discussing the course of the Civil War itself, or its battles and capaigns. Instead, Wood wants to examine how Generals controlled their armies, or didn't, and the decision-making process that led to the battles came out.

The result is a book where the author studies three battles from the Civil War: Cedar Mountain in 1862, Chickamauga in 1863, and Nashville in 1864. The author spends much of his time laying out the military situation that confronted the opposing generals, and then briefly recounts the course of the battle, the decisions made, and the outcomes. The three battles involved some interesting personalities in command of the armies, and so the results are rather interesting, also.

Cedar Mountain involved Stonewall Jackson and Nathaniel Banks. The interesting thing here is that Banks doesn't come out as badly as you might imagine, nor Jackson as favorably. Chickamauga saw Braxton Bragg and William Rosecrans face off: both were unsuited for high command at some level, and are duly criticized. Nashville of course was the last hurrah of John Bell Hood, opposite the rocklike George Thomas. This one's not unexpected: Thomas comes out brilliant, while Hood turns out to be an idiot.

All three of these battles are interesting, and Wood advocates an analytical approach that favors what I call ruthless pragmatism. This works well, and I enjoyed the book, finding it worthwhile and the observations inside to be very interesting.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good review of essential leadership qualities, August 14, 2005

By 

Scott A. Freeman (Boise, ID) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Civil War Generalship: The Art Of Command (Paperback)

Expecting to find another book on strategy and tactics, I was surprised that the major theme of this well-written book involved the personal characteristics that make a successful general.

At some point in the book, Wood emphasizes to the reader that the general is not a "manager." However, the graduates of business school programs will be quick to point out that the qualities surveyed in the book are also essentials in successful business leaders.

The generals are rated on such points as subordinate selection, ability to delegate but yet remain in control, clearly - defined missions but flexibility in attaining them, ability to view the situation within a "big-picture" context, efficient use of resources, clarity of orders and other communications, ability to work within the existing political environment, a firm but positive leadership style, and creative decisions within the constraints imposed by reality. All of the 6 generals come off with mixed reviews with respect to these criteria, although George Thomas receives a well-deserved favorable evaluation and some of Stonewall's flaws are pointed out. One thing that ran through my mind as I was reading this book was that all of the favorable traits exhibited by a great leader seem to be a composite of a man little-mentioned by the author - General Grant.

This book provides much insight into the human aspect of military leadership and is useful to the reader in better understanding any generals and their level of success.