Touring Virginia's and West Virginia's Civil War Sites (Touring the Backroads Series) [Paperback]

Clint Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Touring the Backroads Series | Publication Date: September 1999

To most history travelers, Virginia IS the Civil War. It is the state where the Battles of Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg, Petersburg, the Wilderness, and Manassas took place. The city of Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy. Appomattox saw the surrender of Lee to Grant. The campaigns that were fought here were led by some of the war's most visible leaders_Lee, Jackson, Grant, Meade, Sheridan, Stuart, Mosby.

This guide also includes West Virginia, which was created from a section of Virginia early in the war.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Clint Johnson is the author of Touring the Carolinas' Civil War Sites and Civil War Blunders in addition to three other books. His articles have appeared in more than sixty magazines and newspapers. A lifelong Civil War buff, he has been a Civil War reenactor for the past eighteen years. He lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Product Details

• Paperback: 407 pages
• Publisher: John F. Blair Publisher (September 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 089587184X
• ISBN-13: 978-0895871848
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,195,842 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in Florida before it was ruined by Disney; back when you could find cypress bayheads, cows, cow catchers, and orange groves. A native of The South with a 350 year family history in the region, Clint Johnson (the one in North Carolina)specializes in American history, particularly Southern history.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written overview for budding historians, May 25, 2000

By 

Scott Anderson "Sharpsburg" (Shepherdstown, WV) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Touring Virginia's and West Virginia's Civil War Sites (Touring the Backroads Series) (Paperback)

You are about to embark on a journey to many places untouched by modern man, giving you a glimpse of the past mirrored with stories and brief histories of battles long since silenced by time. As you open this book you will be begin your Civil War trek at Manassas, stopping at the National Battlefield and it's museum. From there you will work counterclockwise around Virginia and West Virginia, through one historic site to the next, stopping sometimes at battlefields, other times at simple out-of-the-way museums or perhaps nothing more than a few relics ravaged by nature.

Each stop is clearly marked on easy-to-read maps accompanied by side notes or script detailing the historical significance of the stop. My particular favorite is the Harpers Ferry tour where the author gives an interesting overview of the town along with a brief account of how West Virginia became a state. Although one could spend days going over the surrounding historical sites the author does not drag you into detail after detail, but gives you a brief synopsis of what occurred. Coming from someone who has visited this site many times I've become very familiar with the back-roads and sights to see, and Mr. Johnson does a fine job in taking you around to many of those same areas. However, this book won't give you the detail you need to understand every site, but that can be obtained from the Harper's Ferry National Park visitor center, or by taking a ranger guided tour of the town.

By using this book the average reader will enjoy his journey into the past with stops along the way at several key historic areas. This is not a book for the well-read historian or a tactical study on terrain and warfare, but simply a good book for those mildly intrigued by the Civil War. It may serve to whet their appetite and further their desire for more research.

If you purchase this book and choose to go forth, your trek will take you to numerous battlefields, both small and large. It is my hope that you will leave with a better understanding of what took place during that bloody struggle we now call the Civil War. So, in finishing your journey you will find yourself as did Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia, in a quiet little place known as Appomattox Court House. "This is a quiet reverent place, the spot where one country died and another was reborn."

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource for the Civil War Student!, April 4, 2004

By 

Michael Taylor "Michael Taylor" (Indian Trail NC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Touring Virginia's and West Virginia's Civil War Sites (Touring the Backroads Series) (Paperback)

Just like Johnson's book on Civil War Sites in the Carolinas, I thoroughly enjoyed this read.

Johnson's writing style is engaging without being simplistic and he takes the pains to write excellent directions to the many Civil War sites in both Virginias. Thankfully, he groups the many sites by geography instead of time frame.

While the better-known sites are covered (Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, Wilderness, Chancellorsville, Richmond, Petersburg, both Bull Run battles, Appamattox, etc.), Johnson also covers lesser-known events (Saltville, Mine Run, Chantilly, etc.). Doing this gives the reader a better appreciation of the quantity of Civil War engagements in the area and also makes the reader aware of sites the typical person may miss.

All in all, an excellent and highly recommended read!