Customer Reviews

The Longest Raid of the Civil War: Little-Known & Untold Stories of Morgan's Raid Into Kentucky, Indiana & Ohio

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I found this book to be enjoyable from the Civil War buff and Ohio resident viewpoint, but I think the writing suffers in many places. Both the author and the editor seemed to never have taken English in high school. Paragraphs start out with one idea and end up with another in a very distressing manner. In the Preface, the author explains that he will tell the tale in chronological manner and indeed does so, but in so doing, hops around all over the place with the story.

Lots of information is repeated - how many times need we be told that 'Lightning' Ellsworth, Morgan's telegraph expert, spread disinformation by tapping into the Union telegraph lines? Each time Ellsworth is about to perform his duty, he is reintroduced to the reader. I found this irksome.

Twice within ten pages, the Confederate saying 'They could load on Sunday and fire all week' is used; once referring to the Spencer rifle and once referring to the Henry rifle. While it may be true that the confederates referred to both rifles with that saying, couldn't the author have used the saying once while referring to both rifles? Or at least when mentioned the second time, he could have referred to his previous use of the saying: "As with the Spencer, when speaking of the Henry the Confederates said..."

Although the subject matter is near and dear to me, being a civil war nut and having done my own basic Morgan's Raid research, the writing in this book drove me up the wall. I felt like the book was not proofread. It got to be where I was reading for construction and not content.

John Hunt Morgan was a general of the Confederacy who conducted the longest, most wide ranging calvary raid in the history of the Civil War. Author Lester Horwitz first became aware of the extent to which Morgan's raid ranged when he discovered that his own ant-bellum home in Cincinnati, Ohio was raided by Morgan's forces. General Morgan's forces covered more than one thousand miles during July 1863 and spanned Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio. Horwitz draws upon hundreds of unpublished stories (a great many of them here published for the first time) as well as historic photos arising from Morgan's Raid in The Longest Raid Of The Civil War. A superbly written and presented history, this seminal work will be of particular interest to Civil War buffs as Horwitz's presentation of the Morgan Raid derives from both sides of the conflict -- those who were raided, and those that did the raiding.

Les Horwitz has taken a part of the Civil War seldom covered in history books, and made this incident come alive. I have waited over 25 years for someone to write a definitive narrative on Morgan and his Raiders, and Les has done a superior job! Each incident of the raid is richly described and makes the reader feel as though they are right in the middle of the action. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that not only a lover of history like myself will enjoy this book, but any person wishing to read an exciting true story will very much enjoy the book.

Horwitz brings the civil war to life in this book. The Author captivates the reader by putting this "insignificant raid",(when compared to major battles at Gettysburg and Vicksburg) on the front porch and in the kitchens of those hoosiers and buckeyes who had thought the war was very far away. Excellently covers the civilians through letters and diarys, as well as the military actions of the two sides. A must read for any student of csa cavalry, or anyone with a taste for an exciting account of a part of our history.

I love this book because it is so easy to read and one of those books you can't put down until completed because it captivates your interest. I was doing my family history concerning the TAYLOR family and was so intriqued by the book that I bought it and invited the author to our family reunion to share Morgan and his adventures. This is a must have book that inspires the basic Civil War buff and the knowledgeable historian also. The style of the writer makes it enjoyable for the reader. It is like reading a great novel, but accurately depicting the events.

Mr. Horwitz has crafted a superb account of the South's only significant incursion of the western war into the North. Not only does his book fill a void in the literature of Civil War Military history, his book is a fascinating depiction of the times. It conveys how people felt, acted, and thought during our nation's greatest conflict. This book is compelling and insightful reading about General Morgan, his officers,principal antagonists,soldiers, and civilians. Mr. Horwitz is to be commended.

"The Longest Raid" by Lester V. Horwitz is, yes, ANOTHER Civil War book - but is so charmingly different from anything else you will read, either historical or fiction, that I'm sure nearly everyone would find it a fun and worthy read.
Anyone from Kentucky or Ohio or Indiana will have an especial enjoyment of the story of Rebel John Morgan's raid on "The North" simply because the raid took place in those states. Horwitz includes many simple local maps so the reader can follow the raid and story and a fine "overall" map is provided inside the front and back covers for reference.
The real achievment of the book, though, is that it is told via actual documents, letters, newspaper accounts, family records and keepsakes, old photos and oft-told tales (the last being identified as such). In so doing, Horwitz gives the reader a captivating window into the times and the personalities of both the people AND the events. In that it is a history not only of a Civil War event, but also of a region at a point in such a different time - yet a time not so long ago - it does, in fact, fit the old cliche of "making you feel as if you are there".
Yet it isn't so much about glorious charges, cannon blasts, and huge casualty numbers. It's about terrified little towns peopled with folks that you will probably recognize from your town today. It's about Northern women and their character, and about young Southern boys/men and their character. It's about untrained militiamen facing more than they were prepared for. It's about dog-tired and famished Rebel soldiers far behind "enemy" lines yet actually trying not to harm anyone. It's about a leader who refuses personal safety until he can accomplish the safety of his men. It's about a little boy who outwits a famous General and a farmwife who makes 2000 soldiers back down. It is about a time and people living Valor and Desperation and Spirit and presented with poignant candor, and sometimes Humor. It's about perhaps the last appearance of Chivalry in any war and ignores the Avarice of Government in favor of exhibiting the Virtue of individuals.... individuals in real life.
After reading thousands and thousands of pages about the Civil War, I can say "The Longest Raid" is among the very most "readable" and uniquely charming Civil War tales to be found.

Now that I have finished the book, I want to congratulate Horwitz on producing the official 'handbook' on Morgan's Raid. I know, first hand, how difficult it is to sort fact from fiction on this topic. Horwitz did a great job!

The book is a classic example of narrative, or romantic, historical writing, with the sense of immersion in the period, of immediacy, that is so refreshing in an age of hype, political correctness, cant, and bad writing. Horwitz is certainly in good company; two landmark historians, Gibbon and Parkman, share his style.

The author has done an impressive amount of work in compiling recollections and contemporaneous accounts of the July, 1863 raid by Confederate cavalry, led by John Morgan, into Indiana and Ohio. The coverage is thorough, encompassing virtually the entire route of the raid. Although some official correspondence and newspaper reportage is included, the book is primarily a `social construction' giving the reactions, impressions, and remembrances of participants. Some of the stories sound as if they have grown much in the retelling, or are rumors or gossip that was current at the time. These are provided without further evaluation; many are quite amusing, and it is left to the reader to decide which could be factual history and which are merely stories that were good enough to bear retelling down to the present.

The strengths of the book are the coverage of the entire raid and its recreation of the sense of excitement, danger, and spectacle created by the presence of Confederate cavalry in the small towns in southern Indiana and Ohio. It has several limitations, however. From a readability point of view, since the raiders used the same mode of operation all along the route, i.e., stealing (horses, money, food), burning (bridges, mills), and impressment of "guides", the text is quite repetitious.

For a military history of this raid, this book is not the place to look. Coverage of the tactical details of the combat engagements that occurred is well below the level of detail currently common in Civil War studies. Also, little attention is paid to the response and movements of the Federal forces that were chasing and trying to stop Morgan. The Federal forces in Ohio had the railroads and river transport available; were they used? Maps showing the relative positions of Morgan's force relative to the Federal units involved in running him to ground over the course of the raid would be of interest.

There is also a question of perspective. The author seems to have unquestioningly accepted the "folk history" idea that Morgan was an `Errol Flynn as Robin Hood' type of leader, because he looked and acted the part of the dashing gentleman cavalier. The Morgan revealed by the stories that make up the book may have been polite to the ladies, but the extent of theft and wanton destruction belies a noble reputation. In addition, as a military commander, Morgan appears to have been incompetent. He was insubordinate, disobeying Bragg's orders for the raid, did not attack or destroy anything of military significance, and his force was evidently easily routed by Federal cavalry in two engagements.