Sherman's Horsemen: Union Cavalry Operations in the Atlanta Campaign [Paperback]

David Evans (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 22, 1999

"... massively researched... those seeking a richly detailed journal of the cavalry's role in one of the war's crucial campaigns will find this book irreplaceable." —Blue & Gray Magazine

"This volume is meticulously detailed and comes to some convincing conclusions." —The Journal of American History

"A vivid account of the campaign that helped decide the outcome of the Civil War.... A rich narrative that will delight students of the Civil War." —Kirkus Reviews

Attempting a quick, decisive victory in the 1864 struggle for Atlanta, William Tecumseh Sherman's cavalry wreaked havoc in the countryside around the city. This book, based largely upon previously unpublished materials, tells the story of Sherman's raids. Through exhaustive research, David Evans has been able to recreate a vivid, captivating, and meticulously detailed image of the day-by-day life of the Yankee horse soldier.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

As Union General William T. Sherman's army approached Atlanta during his famous march to the sea, Confederate resistance stiffened. Sherman decided to cut off the railroads leading to Atlanta to bring the city to its knees. Evans, a Southern writer with a Ph.D. in military history, presents an "unmilitary history" of the cavalry sent to destroy those railroads. These are stories of individual soldiers, from the foolhardy Yankee who wore a captured Rebel hat into battle and was mistaken for the enemy to generals Rousseau and Garrard, whose tireless troopers destroyed two major railroads to Atlanta. Evans recounts the stories of bravery and cowardice, of ambition and sloth, all from the Union point of view. The image of Yankees as rapists and pillagers, he says, is simply not true. His compelling, highly readable book should appeal to anyone interested in Civil War history. Recommended for public and academic libraries.?Grant Fredericksen, Illinois Prairie Dist. P.L., Metamora
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

A vivid account of the campaign that helped decide the outcome of the Civil War. Evans provides a comprehensive study of the role of the cavalry in Sherman's coordinated assault on Atlanta in 1864, involving three federal armies that swept in from the west through Alabama and Georgia. Those armies left a horrible wake of damage in their path, and they suffered horribly as well. Evans writes of their work with a keen eye for detail, describing the confusion of the battlefield and the bloody aftermath of a cavalry engagement, with ``horses sprawled glassy-eyed and still, the flies already swarming over torn bodies and protruding entrails.'' (He is also capable of humor, recounting the tale, for instance, of a Southern woman who protested that the raiders who had come to her farm couldn't possibly be Yankees because they didn't have horns. ``We are young Yankees, our horns haven't sprouted yet,'' replied a Union soldier.) Along the way Evans provides portraits of individual cavalry officers, like Maj. Gen. George Stoneman, the hard-driving Lt. Col. Fielding James, and the ``capable but unstable'' Brig. Gen. Edward McCook. Evans paints a sympathetic portrait of Sherman, who wrote to his wife during the campaign, ``I begin to regard the death and mangling of a couple thousand men as a small affair,'' and who confessed to a fellow officer, ``Grant don't care a damn for what the enemy does out of his sight, but it scares me like hell!'' Evans notes that Sherman broke with the usual strategic practice of using cavalry to support infantry assaults, instead launching his horsemen on lightning raids against the Southern armies. He also suggests, provocatively, that Sherman might have abandoned the Atlanta campaign after a series of defeats, had the city not surrendered. A rich narrative that will delight students of the Civil War. (39 b&w photos, 15 maps, not seen) (History Book Club main selection) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 685 pages
• Publisher: Indiana University Press; 1 edition (March 22, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0253213193
• ISBN-13: 978-0253213198
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,048,138 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully detailed descriptions of the fabled 'raids'., November 17, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Sherman's Horsemen: Union Cavalry Operations in the Atlanta Campaign (Hardcover)

Thorough research and good writing make this an excellent work of history. My great-grandfather participated in some of these actions and kept a diary. Reading Evans' book cleared up a lot of misconceptions I had formed from reading only my relative's private's-eye view from horseback.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great read, and showed the futility of the actions, May 2, 2000

By 

G. Powell (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sherman's Horsemen: Union Cavalry Operations in the Atlanta Campaign (Hardcover)

The descriptions of the cavalry charges are wonderful and terrify'ing. I would have hated to be on the slashing side of those swords.

On the other hand the ablity of the South to repair the damage done by the raiders is remarkable. It made me realize the futility of distroying low grade rail and bridges. These guys would burn a bridge, and 3 days later it would be completely rebuilt. Not really slowing down the pace of the war at all. Sometimes the repairs were done before the raiders were back in camp!

It was incredible the amount of useless looting that went on. Soldiers stealing tableware & clothes only to toss it as soon as they were attacked.

Another great civil war read. (For those fans of wars in a bygone era.)

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sherman's Horsemen, August 14, 2010

By 

Margaret - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Sherman's Horsemen: Union Cavalry Operations in the Atlanta Campaign (Hardcover)

This is a great book for those who have ancestors who fought in the Civil War - on either side. I found the names of some of my kin and was surprised to see there were Union soldiers as well as Confederate ones. It went into more detail than I cared for about many of the battles but the history buffs will be pleased. Not an easy read but a worthwhile one.