Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Musician Turned Warrior,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Grierson's Raid (Hardcover)
The Civil War resulted in some remarkable career changes, in this case from band leader to combat officer. This is the story of Benjamin Grierson's remarkable Civil War raid from one end of the State of Mississippi to the other. It was a most singular achievement starting at Grand Junction, Tennessee straight down the central corridor of Mississippi, and ending at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, just north of New Orleans. Over a seventeen day period, Grierson led 1,700 Union troopers over 600 miles while eluding three separate converging columns commanded by two separate Confederate generals. Enroute they fought 4 separate engagements, destroyed 3,000 stands of arms, captured 500 enemy, destroyed 50-60 miles of railroad and tons of Confederate war material.It was the most successful cavalry raid of the war, costing 3 killed, 7 wounded, 5 left sick and 9 missing. i.e. , out of the 1,700 men who started, 1,683 successfully completed the journey. More amazing, Grierson's orders were verbal and amounted to, "Just do it." Undertaken by Grant as a diversion for the Union Army's crossing of the Mississippi River, the raid's objective of focusing Confederate attention on Grierson as opposed to Grant is so successful, Grant's army crosses the river totally unopposed and subsequently takes Vicksburg from the land side 63 days later. How important was the raid's ultimate objective, Vicksburg? In describing the city to David Dixon Porter, Lincoln is reported to have said," It means hogs and hominy without limit, fresh troops from all the States of the far South, and a cotton country where they can raise the staple without interference. (Cotton financed the Southern war effort). Let us get Vicksburg and all that country is ours. The war can never be brought to a close until that key is in our pocket." This raid then, so brilliantly executed by Grierson, was the initial move in Grant's successful Vicksburg campaign, one that resulted in the capture of not just the city but an entire 30,000 man Confederate Army in the field. This is an excellently written work, chronologically detailing each day's activities and supported by quite detailed maps. It is a heck of a yarn, complex, fast paced and riveting.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of the most engaging CW history books I've ever read,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Grierson's Raid (Hardcover)
Beginning in the 1980's and througout the 90's, an avalanche of new Civil War books were published. Generally speaking, that's a good thing: there were many, many excellent books written and contributed during that period. One thing that I think it did, though, was cause many people to overlook older CW histories in favor of newer ones. Often there was good reason for this, new primary source material discovered, older antiquated writing styles far less enjoyable to read, etc. But as any avid Civil War buff knows, there are exceptions to this. Though written in the 1950's, Brown's Grierson's Raid is likely to remain the definitive work on this exciting and fascinating episode of real life daring. It is difficult to imagine anyone, ever, wringing more detail out of the known primary sources than Mr. Brown so beautifully did. This book is as fresh and exciting today as any Civil War book ever written. The reader becomes caught up in the excitement of the raid, the chase, and the drama. Mr. Brown brings the historical characters to life, and pulls the reader in until you feel as if you're riding alongside Grierson's men. The anticipation of finding out what happens next to the raiders makes this one of the most exciting history books that I've ever read. The level of detail is amazing, and the writing is a model of the craft. This book should be on every CW history enthusiast's shelf. It's a "must have" that you will enjoy reading, probably several times. Don't skip this one.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product).
|
|
|
