Customer Reviews

A Civil War Treasury: Being A Miscellany Of Arms And Artillery, Facts And Figures, Legends And Lore, Muses And Minstrels And Personalities And People

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This is a book that could be described as "pastiche." A little of this and a little of that. As the author notes, this book (Page 11) ". . .does not pretend to be a sweeping historical account of the greatest crisis in the life of the Republic." His aim? Looking at the war (Page 11) ". . .in terms of bits and pieces of reality." Those well read on the Civil War are not apt to find a lot that is new here. However, for those who wish to get an introduction to the daily realities of this war, this work would serve as a useful resource.

For each year of the war, he provides a brief summary of key events, brief biographies of key leaders, biographies of non-combatants (women included), army life, and so on. The book's organization is chronological--"The Eve of War," 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865, and "Aftermath."

Let's take a look at some examples to illustrate the approach. . . .

1861: This chapter begins with a brief sketch of what takes place in 1861 (perhaps too brief). Then "Incidents of war." One example of this is the brief description of the meeting in California, over dinner, of officers moving in different directions. Albert Sidney Johnston and Lewis Armistead were going with the South. Winfield Scott Hancock would fight for the Union. His wife facilitated a last dinner among these and others. "The Men." Here, we get brief biographical sketches of people such as Jefferson Davis, Pierre G. T. Beauregard, George McClellan, and Ben Butler. "The Units." Some key units on each side are briefly described--such as "The Louisiana Tigers," "the 39th New York," and the "Washington Artillery." Other sections for 1861--"War and Society," "The Ways of War," "Army Life," "War and the Muses" (in this case, the focus is on songs, such as "The Bonnie Blue Flag," Maryland, My Maryland," and so on).

Then, on to 1862 and so on.

For those without a great deal of immersion in the Civil War oeuvre, this book is a nice starting point.