More Generals in Gray [Hardcover]

Bruce S. Allardice (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1995

This masterful study brings to light a class of officers never before covered in any book: the Confederacy's "other" generals. For each of the 137 generals profiled--including Raphael Semmes, Francis Bartow, Henry Kyd Douglas, and Tom Munford--Allardice presents a substantial biographical sketch and a short bibliography. 108 halftone photos.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Ezra J. Warner's Generals in Gray (1959), a landmark of Civil War scholarship, identified 425 men whose service as Confederate generals could be firmly documented. Applying Warner's rigorous criteria for qualification to the data generated by his own exhaustive research, Allardice, the secretary of the prestigious Chicago Civil War Roundtable, has concluded that another 137 soldiers should be recognized as Confederate generals. His work provides a detailed, well-documented biographical sketch for each officer, including a photograph, if available. An accompanying appendix lists another 132 candidates whose claims to general rank may yet be substantiated. This instant classic is a worthy companion to Warner's seminal work. It should be acquired by all libraries with an interest in Civil War history or Southern genealogy.?Lawrence E. Ellis, Newberry Coll., S.C.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

It is a popular misconception that Confederate military forces were models of efficiency and dash, contrasting with Union forces hindered by bureaucratic bungling and political meddling. As Allardice illustrates, the same maladies plagued Confederate armies; the promotion procedure for generals was particularly cumbersome and subject to the whims of politicians within and without the military structure. In this series of biographical sketches, Allardice examines the careers of 137 of the more obscure Confederate generals, most of whom were appointed outside the usual process, which required approval of the Confederate Congress. While many of Allardice's subjects seem to have earned their obscurity, some are notable and rather intriguing personalities. His sketches are likely to interest both general readers and Civil War scholars. Jay Freeman

Product Details

• Hardcover: 424 pages
• Publisher: Louisiana State University Press; illustrated edition edition (August 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807119679
• ISBN-13: 978-0807119679
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,591,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Particulars About Nondescript Generals, May 2, 2000

By 

E. T. Veal (Chicago, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: More Generals in Gray (Hardcover)

A tome devoted to biographical sketches of 137 men united only by their arguable status as Confederate generals sounds like one of the ultimate Civil War "buff books". It is a pleasant surprise to open its pages and discover no dreary catalogue of minutiae. Instead, the author has condensed years of research into a series of sparkling capsule lives that reflect the wide range of characters and events in America's bitterest conflict.

Each of the subjects has some claim to having held the rank of general in the Confederate military but not enough of one to have earned listing in Ezra J. Warner's authoritative "Generals in Gray". However solid or dubious their entitlement to the highest rank, however, they form a cross-section of important and interesting Southern officers and citizens. They came from a variety of backgrounds. Ten were born in the North, nine in Border States, nine abroad (including one veteran of Napoleon's Grande Armee, whose unit's performance in the defense of New Orleans fell short of Napoleonic standards). Not all had embraced independence eagerly. Michael Jefferson Bulger, for instance, voted "no" in the Alabama secession convention but nonetheless enlisted in the 47th Alabama Regiment. At Cedar Mountain, he suffered wounds to his arm and leg, binding the latter with corncobs and suspenders. At Gettysburg, he was captured after being left for dead. Following such mishaps, he ended up living to age 94, enjoying a placid post-war career as a farmer and occasional politician.

In contrast to the indestructible Bulger, Edward Gantt was a fire-eating secessionist who resigned his seat in the first Confederate Congress to raise a regiment in Arkansas. After being captured with the garrison of Island No. 10, he returned home on parole but then experienced an astonishing change of heart. In late 1863, the formerly rabid states-righter slipped across the Yankee lines and spent the rest of the war urging his former countrymen to lay down their arms.

Many more such tales are told here. The author has a keen eye for incisive facts and quotations, and his writing wastes few words. For the serious student of the Civil War, this work is a valuable reference. For everyone else, it offers hours of fascinating browsing.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More Generals in Gray -- Completes A Picture, July 27, 2005

By 

DANIEL E. WYATT (HAYWARD, CALIFORNIA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: More Generals in Gray (Hardcover)

I have owned and used Mr. Warner's classics Generals in Blue and Generals in Gray for over 40 years. Mr Allardice shows us the men appointed General by the various Southern States. This book proves the point the Government of the Confederacy was still having growing pains; the point being the generals from the Trans-Mississippi not being confirmed by the CSA Senate, in Richmond, Va. This is a great book for the Civil War Buff. It is a must need in your War Between the States Library.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars There's more to the story..........., July 5, 2007

By 

Robert C. Hufford (Hopewell, VA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: More Generals in Gray (Hardcover)

Ezra Warner's classic 1959 volume tells us the stories of the 425 Confederate General Officers about whom we can't argue as to whether they were, in fact, a General; this volume tells the stories of several about whom we CAN argue. Warner gives the criteria, and this book does, too; a man had to be nominated to General Officer rank by President Davis, AND confirmed by Congress.

The reasons to be here, not in Warner's book, are several; most commonly, a man could be a General of state militia, nominated by the Governor, confirmed by the legislature, not a General of the Confederacy. [President Jefferson Davis makes this book that way]. These militia officers can be seen as the equivalent of modern National Guard Officers. In some cases, there was a disconnect between the President and Congress, in others, there is doubt as to who appointed the man, and when. Thus we have the first Hispanic General, Santos Benavides--some records have him as a Colonel, others as a late appointment to Brigadier General. [The first American Indian General is in Warner's book--no doubts about Stand Watie].

A special case is that of nine officers appointed to Brigadier General by General Edmund Kirby Smith using his expanded powers as Commander of The Transmississippi Department. Communication between Richmond and the West was most difficult after the fall of Vicksburg in July, 1863; Smith was, thus, in a situation unique in American history. These nine men are but a small part of a most complicated story; Warner lists them in an appendix; here they get full honors.

In these reviews, I try to differentiate between books for the general reader, and those for "people like me". This book falls, I think, somewhere in between. It is superbly done, well written, well illustrated; a most respectful account of men deserving full respect, even if they aren't a "big name". For those poor folks who are like me, this book is, indeed, essential. You know who you are....