Customer Reviews

Wilson's Creek: The Second Battle of the Civil War and the Men Who Fought It (Civil War America)

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I have been waiting for the release of **Wilson's Creek** since I first heard about it a couple of years ago when visiting the battlefield. I finally obtained a copy this week and I was not disappointed. It is without a doubt the most thoroughly researched of any of the published accounts of this battle (e.g. Bearss or Brooksher). I was especially impressed with the extensive use of period newspapers. Besides being a narrative of the battle and campaign, it conatins a wealth of information on the individual units that fought on that day, with an emphasis on their community ties. It is well illustrated with good maps also. An extended bibliographic essay would have been helpful, but the preafce and the estensive list of sources would serve as an excellent starting point for anyone wanting to learn more about this important battle.

I love a book that can pull you into it. This ones certainly does. It's been several years since I toured the battlefield at Wilson's Creek, but Piston and Hatcher do an excellent job in bringing out map details and troop movements that it felt like I was on the battlefield again but this time feeling the intense battle struggle between the two sides. The details on each regiment that fought at Wilson's Creek, North and South, was excellent.

Piston and Hatcher have produced an excellently detailed overview of the events and participants in the battle and over the surrounding region during the summer of 1861. By beginning with unit histories of the various units engaged, the reader gains a sense of identity with the men who fought and died there. The method itself is excellent, but would be difficult to apply to later engagements in the war. The central argument, that Civil War soldiers were motivated by strong allegiances to their home communities, is well substantiated, but may also be useful only for engagements at the outset of the war. Other authors have successfully shown that this motivation waned, and that national ideology and identity with the adopted community, the unit, sustained men later in the war. The book's major fault is an unbalanced interpretation of events, especially when the leaders of both forces are concerned. Lyon is labeled a madman and Sigel is portrayed as grossly incompetent, while southern commanders are lionized and noticeably escape criticism. The author's assertion that the Missouri State Guard somehow represents a lawful military force evaporates when that same force, guaranteed under the Constitution, raises arms against federal authorities charged with protection of that same Constitution. Overall, the work is excellently researched, especially from local sources, and improved my comprehension of the tragic confrontation.

I can honestly say that i was suprised at the quality of this book. It is the most well written & accurate account of the events leading up to and including the battle of Wilsons Creek that i have ever read.

The preface notes "....Wilson's Creek, occurring twenty days after the fighting at Manassas, was the second battle of the Civil War." Nevertheless, as the text observes "Wilson's Creek remains perhaps the least studied major battle of the war."

At the beginning of the Civil War, Missouri was a divided state with a largely pro-Union population; however, there was a significant minority favoring secession also the Governor was pro-secession. The first third of the text covers how both Northern and Southern factions in Missouri and neighboring states recruited and built military units. While Northerners and Southerners had differing motivations for going to war, they were remarkably similar in their commitments as "community pride ran high" and the army volunteer's reputations would become the home folks reputations as well. The volunteers made an unwritten social contract with their communities. These military units had strong community identification so that in their home-towns companies were known by their local designations, for example as Pelican Rifles, in preference to regimental designations such as 3rd Louisiana Company C.

A well researched text covers the efforts of the Northerners and Southerners in Missouri and adjacent states to recruit, equip and train volunteer armies after Fort Sumter was fired on. When Union Captain Nathaniel Lyon was transferred to St. Louis, he began a crusade to rid the state of secessionists thereby further polarizing the state. When Lyon was promoted to brigadier general in sole control of Federal fortunes in Missouri, he began organizing a Federal, but unauthorized, volunteer army. Lyon's attitude and prior experiences directly shaped his conduct in St. Louis, setting in motion a train of events that led to Wilson's Creek. Encouraged by the Governor, the secessionists redoubled their efforts to raise resisting units. The book gives considerable information on the composition of these military units, both Northern and Southern, with brief biographical notes on several of their officers and men.

When Southern General Ben McCulloch learned that Union General Lyon had essentially declared war on Missouri, he immediately began shifting as many troops as possible to southwest Missouri. General Lyon moved to secure northern and central Missouri for the Union and then moved to confront the secessionist armies moving into southwest Missouri. "By mid-July the forces that would fight the second battle of the Civil War were largely in place." The Southern army under McCulloch planned to attack Springfield on August 10, 1861 but rain delayed their departure from the Wilson Creek area. Early on August 10, before McCulloch attacked Springfield, Union General Lyon launched an attack, the final phase of Lyon's "punitive crusade," against Confederate General McCulloch. Lyon thought of himself as anointed to punish the secessionists. Rather than attacking down the road leading to the Southern army, he accepted Union General Sigel proposal that the army be divided with Sigel attacking the Southerners from the rear while Lyon attacked their left flank.

General Lyon attacked shortly after 05:00 A.M. on August 10 in an area later known as Bloody Hill while at 05:30 A.M. Sigel launched what "for its modest size, one of the most effective long range bombardments of the Civil War." The text provides a concise and interesting narrative of the fierce fighting on Bloody Hill and of Sigel's action south of the Southerners. After Sigel was routed, he returned to Springfield. General Lyon was killed during the fighting on Bloody Hill and became one of the war's first martyrs. Command of the Union Army then devolved upon the senior Regular army officer Captain Samuel D. Sturgis. With Union General Sigel routed, ammunition running low, heavy causalities, and the Southerners massing for yet another bloody assault the only logical recourse was to retreat. Therefore, Sturgis and his troops after seven hours of combat, retreated and returned to Springfield arriving around 05:00 P.M.

The book gives an interesting narrative about the level of medical care available to the combatants with graphic descriptions of the conditions in Springfield when the defeated army returned. The authors note "Compared to later Civil War battles, the number of men engaged at Wilson's Creek and the casualties suffered there were modest." However, "....both in total numbers and as a percentage of the force engaged, Lyon's losses were greater than those of any battle in the Mexican War."

As to be expected, early reports of the battle's results were misleading indicating a Northern victory; however, as later information was received a Southern victory was shown. For the combatants on both sides, it was clear that the men had fulfilled their social contract with their communities. Hometown newspapers were quick to proclaim that their community's honor had been upheld and the men were given a heroes welcome upon their return. The authors wrote "All of the men who fought at Wilson's Creek received accolades from their home communities...." In addition, "almost two dozen veterans of Wilson's Creek achieved the rank of general in either the Southern or Northern army."

The book ends noting "The surviving participants of the war shared a heritage of honor regardless of whether they had served in the Federal or Confederate armies." However, for those who had deserted "Having broken the social contract between the community and its soldiers, having disgraced their town, their sins could never be forgotten."

In part, the text does not flow smoothly and in places it is jumbled and run together. However, this book will be of interest to both the serious and occasional reader of Civil War history.

Not only does this book give the best description of the battle to date, but as the title implies it informs the reader about the background of the men who fought the battle and the military units they served in. Also it describes the relationship between the various combat units and the communities they were from. When I first started the book I thought all this background might detract from the description of the campaign and battle but I found that it only enhanced the telling of this history and improved my overall knowledge of the Battle of Wilson's Creek.

The commanding officers and civilian leaders of both sides are introduced to the reader as well as background on the coming of the war and the situation in Missouri in 1861. The authors then describe the chain of events that lead the various units from their homes to the armies that eventually end up fighting by a small creek (Wilson's Creek) in the Southwest corner of Missouri.

Piston and Hatcher do a fine job writing this book, it is easy to comprehend and follow the action. The maps were sufficient for me, and I felt there were enough of them to tell the story. There are eight maps total and my only gripe with them is that the battle maps do not show the contours of the terrain. So even though from the text the reader knows the troops are battling on "Bloody Hill" you have no idea how big that or any other hill in the battlefield area is. And you cant see the depression that the southern forces formed in under the nose of Union General Sigel's forces before they routed them. Besides that complaint I can only praise the maps. The Theater of Operations map, Campaign map, and six Battle maps show the reader everything else they need to follow the action.

The book is richly illustrated by my estimate. It has 41 photos and drawings of leaders, soldiers, combat units, locations of interest, a participants hand drawn map, and battle drawings. An Order of Battle with losses per unit and Notes section that included some good extra information complete this outstanding volume on the Battle of Wilson's Creek.

If you only read one book on this campaign and battle, it should be this one! (But for further reading I suggest, even though it is an older title, "The Battle of Wilson's Creek" by Edwin C. Bearss. It is good but a little dated.)

i found this book to be a struggle to read.It is painfully obvious that the authors have attempted to build a minor engagement into something just short of Bull Run and/orGettysburg. They try hard but in my opinion they do noy carry it off.