A quick look at this title will bring to mind either Early's 1864 invasion of Maryland or Sheridan's burning of The Valley, later that year, producing a surprise when I realized the book covers the time between these two events. We start with the pursuit of Early as he retreats from Washington to the safety of the Shenandoah and end with Sheridan arriving to finally solve The Valley problem. This is not a campaign that occupies more than a chapter and is often only a paragraph or two in histories of the war in 1864. Scott Patchan details the action in July and August 1864, with an engaging and intelligent style. Jubal Early, John C. Breckinridge and the remnants of Jackson's II Corps are the stars of the story. These veterans enjoy a qualitative superiority over the more numerous Union forces. Coupled with generally better leadership they succeed in disrupting and almost destroying their opponents.
The Union's major problems are division of responsibility and the refusal to treat The Shenandoah Valley as a major theater. During the retreat from Washington, questions of responsibility, misunderstandings and poor Union leadership allow Early's small army to reach safety. Early exploits the lack of communication, district boundaries and lost opportunities in making his escape, even as he is bested in battle. When the chance to counter attack comes, misunderstandings and mistakes cause a major Union defeat. Cool Springs, Rutherford's Farm, Second Kernstown and Moorefield are not recognizable battles for most of us. The burning of Chambersburg is the event that most readers will recognize but many will be surprise at when this occurred.
The story is well organized. While simultaneous events are read separately, we have no problem understanding their relationship. Additionally, the author never lets us forget the larger war. Grant at Petersburg, Sherman in Georgia, the November Presidential Election and Washington worrying about everything; create problems for the local Union commanders. The author guides us through the how and why of each, giving us an understanding of some decisions and sympathy for the man who made them. While Lee supports Early, David Hunter and George Crook are constantly under pressure to meet some outside objective. This pressure results in actions that create opportunities for Early and he is able to take full advantage of each opportunity and Union mistake. This is Early at his best, intelligently aggressive, reasonably cautious and taking every opportunity to strike back.
The burning of Chambersburg is not an isolated event. The author details the reasons and actions that create the climate causing Early to give this order. The results of the burning and the pursuit of the Confederate forces is about 40 pages of very interesting reading. Each battle is well covered, with both a full narration of the action and the impact on the campaign. The Second Battle of Kernstown is the most important battle with about 100 pages devoted to the action, the aftermath and a full analysis of who was responsible. This Union defeat, allows the raid that burns Chambersburg and leads to the destruction of The Confederate Army of the Valley District. Grant, under pressure from Washington and the press, had to solve this problem. Typically, Grant did not hesitate and assigned the resources and leaders to do the job.
This is an attractive well-written book, with illustrations. The author has a good narrative style that communicates both the excitement of battle and the fatigue of pursuit. His analysis and word portraits of the principles are intelligent, interesting and fit with the story. The book lacks four to six maps! The Second Battle of Kernstown needs two or three more maps. With them, this would be one of the best small battle histories I have read. The retreat from Washing in July needs one or two maps to make things fully understandable. This problem is not unique to this book. Publishers need to understand that histories need maps and obscure events require even more maps.
Having complained, I still recommend this book as a valuable addition to you Civil War library.
