Red Clay to Richmond [Hardcover]

John J Fox (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 18, 2005

In 1861, thousands of Georgians left their homes and plunged themselves into a fight with an unknown future. Unfortunately, many of their stories of valor and even dishonor are still hidden in attics and dusty archives and are waiting to be found and told. Fox’s discovery of many unpublished letters and diaries written by 35th Georgia veterans ensures that their never-before-told-story will finally have an audience. This unit numbered 1,330 soldiers during the four long years of war, and almost half of these men failed to return home.

They came to Virginia and fought at many bloody places under the command of famous men like Stonewall Jackson, A.P. Hill and Robert E. Lee. When the handful of 35th Georgia survivors surrendered in 1865, they could proudly say that no enemy hand ever touched their banner during combat. This comprehensive 496-page hardback brings their voices to life and follows them from their 1861 enlistment through four long years of illness, exhaustion, starvation and death. Now, present day Americans will be able to use this book as a resource for years to come thanks to the 22 maps, 74 photos and complete soldiers’ roster.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A fascinating and well worthwhile read." -- Will Whitehorn, "The Covington News" Covington, Ga., January 16, 2005

"Fox has found many original documents, both official and personal, to create a very moving story." -- Kenneth H. Thomas, Jr., "Atlanta Journal Constitution" July 25, 2004

"Fox is a masterful storyteller, combining a rich and readable narrative spiced with descriptive first-hand accounts and thoughtful analysis." -- Michael Russert, “The Civil War News” December 2004

"Here are the hopes and fears of men who know they may never leave the battlefields of Virginia alive ...." -- Charles Culbertson, “The News Leader” Staunton, Va., January 15, 2005

"The men of the 35th Georgia must rest easier these days knowing that their story has been so well told." -- Dane Hartgrove, “The Free-Lance Star” Fredericksburg, Va., November 20, 2004

From the Inside Flap

Red Clay to Richmond is a thoroughly researched book dredged from Civil War trenches, family attics and dusty archives. John Fox has skillfully woven together the never-before-told-story of the 35th Georgia Infantry Regiment as these Southern patriots signed up for what most thought would be a short war. Using many previously unpublished primary accounts, Fox follows these men as they moved from their red clay homesteads in the Great State of Georgia to the Confederate capital at Richmond.

Come tramp with these brave men on bone-wearying dusty marches as part of Stonewall Jackson's "foot cavalry." Follow these green infantrymen into the sulphurous mouths of Federal cannon spewing canister at Seven Pines. Then follow the trail of the 35th Georgia over the once quiet but now sacred fields of Mechanicsville, Gaines Mill, Second Manassas, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg and many more bloody places.

This story, unlocked after some 140 years, reveals a veteran stalwart regiment struggling to survive amidst growing obstacles. These men continued to perform their duty despite the odds. Learn how these men who belonged to A.P. Hill's famous Light Division dealt with illness, exhaustion, starvation and death. These pages bring the men and boys of the 35th Georgia alive and show average men doing above average things.

This saga not only reveals the thoughts of their Georgia born and educated commander, Edward Lloyd Thomas, but the truth is heard from the trenches of the lowliest mud-encrusted private. Find out the true meaning of honor and duty in the words of eighteen-year-old Private James Garrett as he struggles to survive at the war front while worrying about the survival of his widowed mother and four younger siblings on their Heard County farm. Hear the excitement of thirty-three-year-old farmer Benjamin Moody handpicked to be the new regimental color-corporal at the beginning of the 1862 Seven Days Battles. His body soon rested in an unmarked grave along Mechanicsville's Beaver Dam Creek - his wife, Martha, and four children would never receive another letter from this noble man.

Based on numerous letters, diaries and records, this book is much more than a mere battlefield account because it details the daily life and voice of the average Confederate soldier. It reveals the true American spirit of courage exhibited through deprivation and hardship, not only at the battlefront for the soldiers but also for the family members at the hearth. More than twenty maps and over seventy photographs grace the pages to further aid the reader in understanding the epochal struggle of these Georgians.

Red Clay To Richmond is a story that needed to be told - a very personal story of the horrors of war. Come follow the battle flag of the 35th Georgia as these men perform some of the hardest fighting in Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Traverse with these Georgians the hills and canyons of exhilaration and despair - of life and death.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 472 pages
• Publisher: Angle Valley Press (October 18, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971195021
• ISBN-13: 978-0971195028
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #336,089 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #91 in Books > History > Military > Regiments

More About the Author

John J. Fox, III is the author or editor of several books and articles about the Civil War. His newest book, "The Confederate Alamo: Bloodbath at Petersburg's Fort Gregg on April 2, 1865," was recently released to commemorate the 145th anniversary of the Battle of Fort Gregg. Fox's first book, "Red Clay to Richmond: Trail of the 35th Georgia Infantry Regiment," won two book awards. He is a graduate of Washington & Lee University with a degree in U.S. History and he served for seven years in the U.S. Army. He lives in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great gift for anyone who enjoys history, November 15, 2004

By 

W. Jones - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Red Clay to Richmond (Hardcover)

John Fox has utilized first hand accounts from an amazing collection of letters from soldiers during the Civil War to bring history alive. I consider myself somewhat knowledgable about Civil War history but this book has enhanced that knowledge significantly. This book is full of details highlighting much about daily life and the personal struggle that the common soldier faced in this important time. He does this in a creative but accurate way that also traces the course of the war through at least seven major battles that this regiment fought in. This is a factual account that you will have trouble putting down once you start.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Red Clay to Richmond is Right On, October 27, 2005

By 

Bert A. Liverance (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Red Clay to Richmond (Hardcover)

I am not a historical scholar, but I do know a good book when I read one. I have read thousands of books about battles and wars and this is one of the best. Most books about war glamorize the battles and heroics. However, very few deal with the cold hard reality of battle and the personal events and emotions that soldiers must face. It is this unique perspective that makes Red Clay to Richmond so rich and compelling. John Fox has done a masterful job of researching the events through countless personal letters and historical battle records and then putting them in the context of the specific events and activities of the time. This is such a rich read - I couldn't put it down!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars John Fox Hits the Mark, November 15, 2004

By 

C. L. Bragg (Thomasville, Georgia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Red Clay to Richmond (Hardcover)

A chance encounter at a Columbus, Georgia frame shop in 1987 led to the author's 15-year odyssey that began as a small project to transcribe the letters of a Confederate private, and culminated in a history of a hard-fighting but largely unnoticed Georgia regiment. In Red Clay to Richmond, John J. Fox, III chronicles the 35th Georgia Infantry from muster to surrender, using the soldier's own words as his vehicle.

The battle record of the 35th Georgia parallels that of the Army of Northern Virginia as it fought in a brigade of A. P. Hill's division under Stonewall Jackson, and then as a component of Hill's division after Jackson's untimely death. Along the way, 1,330 men, mostly north Georgia farmers, passed through the ranks of the 35th. Five hundred twenty-three died of battle wounds or disease-a greater than 39 percent mortality rate. At Appomattox, only 15 officers and 121 men remained. Even so, the brave soldiers of the 35th Georgia could rightly boast that no enemy hand had touched their beloved banner during combat.

Fox records in detail the regiment's history: its movements, its tactical engagements with the enemy, and its evolving command structure, all related within the context of the overall Confederate strategic situation. In so doing, he also manages to weave into the fabric of the narrative vivid accounts of the soldier's lives: their fondest hopes and bitter disappointments together with their glorious exploits and awful tragedies. For example, in a letter of June 11, 1862, Private Benjamin Franklin Moody, begged his wife to send an ambrotype, for when his comrades received likenesses of their wives, he was overcome with emotion. Moody never again saw his wife or her image. He fell in battle on June 26, 1862, at Mechanicsville while protecting his regimental colors. Another private, Frank Edwards, survived the war to return home, albeit in a nearly unrecognizable and feeble condition. Captured near Petersburg on April 2, 1865, Edwards was nearly killed within ten minutes of his arrival at Point Lookout, Maryland, when he ventured too close to the prison's wooden wall.

Red Clay to Richmond is profusely illustrated with maps, portraits, and landscape scenes photographed by the author during his extensive travels to battlefield locations. A unit roster compiled from multiple sources is found among a number of appendices, the first three of which might have been incorporated into a concluding chapter or epilogue. Also included in the appendix is the transcript of the court martial of one of the regiment's first lieutenants for conduct unbecoming an officer and gentleman-an interesting short story in and of itself.

The casual reader may find the quantity of information contained in Red Clay to Richmond somewhat daunting, but a reader possessed with a working knowledge of the war's people, places, and battles, will find this book to be an excellent synopsis of the war role of the 35th Georgia. The book's greatest strength, however, is the recounting of the experiences of the 35th's soldiers as they trekked through Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania before coming home.