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Red Clay to Richmond

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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.

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!

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.

This book gives a fascinating account of the Civil War from a Confederate foot soldier's perspective. The author uses extensive research, maps, pictures, and best of all, personal letters and diaries to help the reader experience what these brave men endured. This was one of those books I found very hard to put down until I finished it!

Red Clay to Richmond is a well written and well researched book about the day to day trials and tribulations endured by a Confederate regiment from enlistment to Appomattox. John Fox goes well beyond the typical stories of battle into the soldier's very difficult daily life. The journal and diary passages from these gallant men are heart-rending. As a descendent of a soldier in this regiment, this book gave me a great appreciation for what those men endured. I encourage anyone who wants a true unvarnished version of what the Civil War was like for the Confederate foot soldier to purchase this book.

Red Clay to Richmond is a must have for your Civil War library. Proud to own it and display it on my coffee table at all times. Recommend it highly.

The 35th Georgia is one of many Confederate regiments that had a stellar combat record throughout the Civil War. Serving in Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, these Georgians spilled blood in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and, of course, Virginia. They were remarkable soldiers, mostly farmers, who had signed up for what they believed were the right reasons. Their story was indeed needed to be told.

John Fox was perhaps fortunate that wartime accounts for the 35th, such as diaries, journals, and letters were not hard to find. Over the course of ten years, Fox accumulated an impressive collection of primary material that allowed the author to present a thorough history of the regiment. His research acknowledges, along with many other Civil War works, that fighting only took up a small percentage of a soldier's time-revealing that camp life was indeed the true hardship of being a soldier. Fox also describes a common occurrence among Civil War soldiers in that their belief in religion increased or became more apparent while away from home. References to God were a way of coping over the long absences from loved ones at home.

Numerous maps and photographs supplement the author's writing giving the reader a much better understanding of the Georgians struggles. Fox does a commendable job of taking the reader on a step by step journey of each battle the 35th participated in. It was very clear from the beginning that this book was well researched.

The only problem evident is Fox's apparent lack of scholarly input. Though the author convened with many Civil War scholars, his own work cannot be considered scholarly. His writing is, at times, in the passive voice, and therefore can be bland. Even if this is a well researched account of the 35th Georgia, it was not well written. Finally, this regimental history would be a welcome addition to any Civil War library if for only its impressive bibliography.