Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.)

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.

This book made the events that occurred come to life. I couldn't put it down.

It is not often that we get a completely packaged history in a single volume. This is one of the few books that covers the subject and provides the reader with the background, off the field issues, personalities and operations. Sherman's cavalry operations are not a bright shining example of Union brilliance. They do show what will happen when average or below average commanders with vague orders embark on overly ambitious campaigns. For the Confederacy and Joe Wheeler, this was a very bright spot after many reversals. That the cavalry was not deciding the Atlanta Campaign saved Sherman and defeated Hood.

Most readers will not know the personalities involved and the author takes time to give us both the background and relationships. This enables us to understand the why of many decisions. Sherman is not well served by his cavalry commanders, something for which he is partially to blame. In addition, Sherman seems not to have wished to invest the time to correct problems and/or settle issues that divided this arm.

Each operation is covered in detail with maps in the proper place. I had few problems following and finding the places on the provided maps. Battles have maps are at the right point, allowing the reader to understand the situation. You will need these maps, as the battles are not familiar. However, the author manages to keep the reader in the battle with the right combination of participant's accounts and good writing.

This book belongs in every Civil War library and is necessary read to understand the Atlanta Campaign.

If I didn't have a PhD in American History and hadn't spent the last 20 years studying the American Civil War to the exclusion of almost all else I might have given Sherman's Horsemen 5 stars. Unfortunately, I can't because there are two major problems with what is otherwise the only work related to "Union Cavalry Operations in the Atlanta Campaign," the volume's sub-title. The more serious of these two problems is the footnotes. Every historian knows that all quotations in text must identify the source of the quotation. So few quotations in this text identify the source that I have to question whether the author has any professional training as a historian. The second problem is discrepancies is "facts". I will cite but one. On page 239 the author writes that in 1860 future Confederate General Joseph Wheeler "got his first taste of combat when he reported to Hannibal, Missouri, as part of the escort for a wagon train bound to New Mexico Territory." Four days out-bound Wheeler fought Indians on the "trackless prairie." The problem is that wagon trains heading to New Mexico didn't start at Hannibal, on the Mississippi River north of St. Louis, they began at either St. Joseph, Missouri, or Atchison, Kansas Territory, and the hinterland of Hannibal is forested, not prairie. The author has apparently copied this story from Wheeler's "scrapbook," which is cited, but a real historian would have questioned what Wheeler wrote. There are so many instances of simply copying what appears elsewhere in print that I am not certain I can recommend the title as what it purports to be, namely a definitive account of Sherman's Horsemen. Lastly, there is little analysis. For example, the author never explains what reason Gen. Stoneman offerred for disobeying his orders to join in the attack on Lovjoy's Station with McCook. So, although there are lots of facts in this work I am not certain these are true and I am not convinced that the story told is accurate.

Purchased a copy of "Sherman's Horsemen" by David Evans - a hardback copy which
is no longer in print. It was as advertised - New condition, never used.
It is a first edition. The book was purchased to be signed by the author
and given to the Newnan Carnegie Library for their reference collection.
The author was amazed we found a first edition hard back copy in excellent
condition and the library was delighted to receive the signed book for their
collection...Needless to say, I was absolutely delighted with my purchase and the service....

I have no intrinsic interest in Sherman, except as a case study of war-time barbarity. But I have long been curious about details of the wonderful success of General Joe Wheeler,CSA cavalry, in Georgia. As Sherman outmaneuvered Joe Johnston from position to position from Northwest Georgia to Atlanta, Yankee cavalry raiding parties were sent out to cut the railroads supplying Atlanta. Joe Wheeler had the job of thwarting these raiders, and with great energy and enthusiasm chased them, caught up, and attacked with considerable skill. David Evans, the author, has done a first class job of learning the details, Union and Confederate, and has given us a real feel of skirmishes, battles, courage, and exhaustion of the American fighting men involved.

This is a good book about Union Cavalry operations with Sherman. Good book if you like civil war history. Worth your money.