The Warrior Generals: Combat Leadership in the Civil War (Paperback)

by Thomas Buell (Author) "The two Harvard sophomores huddled in their unheated room in the Yard..." (more)
Key Phrases: extended convalescence leave, unified commander, second corps, Army of the Potomac, Army of Northern Virginia, Army of Tennessee (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
YA. An extraordinary look at military leadership during the Civil War. Buell focuses on the successes and failures of three Union generals?Ulysses S. Grant, George H. Thomas, and Francis C. Barlow?and three Confederate generals?Robert E. Lee, John Bell Hood, and John B. Gordon. Their battles and campaigns are examined by modern military standards and Buell's conclusions are insightful and at times revisionistic. By the end of the book, readers are left with an impression that Lee was often indecisive, had no strategic vision, and may have been single-handedly responsible for costing tens of thousands of lives by prolonging a war that could not be won. Grant comes off no better. Although eventually victorious, he is shown as impulsive, vindictive, and self-deceiving. What set Thomas apart was his attention to details. His staff was professional and capable, which allowed him to master the technology that gave him the ability to command and control his subordinates over large distances and to sustain his massive army deep in enemy territory. Readers are also left with a very positive impression of Barlow. In contrast, Hood is shown to be unable to adapt to the burden of leadership and changing technology. Although Gordon's leadership is examined, it is not with the sane detail as the other five generals; thus, there is too little information to compare him with his counterpart, Barlow. Buell crowns the book with an annotated bibliography. This superb book is easy to read, well organized, and liberally illustrated with period photographs and drawings.?Robert Burnham, R. E. Lee High School, Springfield, VA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
master historian gives readers a fresh new picture of the Civil War as it really was. Buell examines three pairs of commanders from the North and South, who met each other in battle. Following each pair through the entire war, the author reveals the human dimensions of the drama and brings the battles to life. 38 b&w photos.


From the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press (March 31, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0609801732
• ISBN-13: 978-0609801734
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #550,650 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fresh, June 1, 2004

By	Theo Logos (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

First, a caveat: If you say, "War of Northern Aggression", hold dear the Lost Cause, and celebrate Massa Robert Lee's birthday as a high holy day, you should avoid this book altogether rather than read it and go on to write an emotional review raving against it and giving only one star. This book dares depart from the usual hagiographic treatment of Lee, suggesting that some of his actions were less than genius, and that some were brutal mistakes. Trust me, if you consider this sacrilege, please avoid this book.
As for everyone else, this is an outstanding book - the freshest take on the Civil War that I have read in years. Buell ignores the received wisdom on such giants as Grant, Lee, Sherman, Hood, and Jackson, and goes back to original sources to reconstruct the actual men behind the legends. His take on these generals is sometimes controversial, usually enlightening, and always interesting.
Buell focuses on three pairs of generals - Grant and Lee, Thomas and Hood, and Barlow and Gordon. This devise works well to allow him to examine each major phase of the war in both the eastern and western theaters. By including the lesser known Barlow and Gordon, Buell is also able to contrast the West Point trained professionals to volunteer generals who made up such a large segment of those who served in the Civil War.
Grant and Lee, in particular, come in for reassessment in Buell's work, and both suffer somewhat from it. This, however, is not character assassination, but a valid reexamination of undeniably great men, assessing them by their actions rather than the legends that have grown around them. You might not totally agree with all of Buell's conclusions, but they may make you reassess what you think you already know.
One of the high points of the book is the treatment of General George Thomas. One of the greatest generals of the war, Thomas has been often overlooked for many reasons (including the fact that he was a Southerner mistrusted by the North, he did not get along well with Grant, and he died shortly after the war leaving no memoirs.)What you read here will leave you hungry for more information on the great forgotten man of the Civil War.
Buell writes well, his prose moves swiftly, and though he covers the general's actions in many battles, he never gets bogged down in the details that are more appropriately left to books that cover a particular campaign.
Read this book and you will discover something almost as rare as a Burnside victory - fresh ideas about the Civil War.


Theo Logos

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars General Geoge H. Thomas receives over-due recognition., January 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Warrior Generals: Combat Leadership in the Civil War (Hardcover)

Mr. Buell has written an engrossing,controversial work that analyzes the combat generalship of Grant, Lee, Thomas, Hood, Gordon and Francis C. Barlow. Buell's basic argument is that the supremacy of southern generalship is more myth than fact. Buell's treatments of Grant, Gordon,Hood, and Barlow are all well done but hardly controversial. Buell makes a very strong case for Thomas who saved the Army of the Cumberland at Chickamauga and thus became known as the "Rock of Chickamauga". Buell paints a picture of Thomas as a hard-nosed,unassuming general whose command of logistics, communications, and cartography were unmatched by most of his contemporaries. Buell seems to be saying that Thomas's Virgina roots, his uneasy relationship with Grant, and his quiet manner have conspired to deny him his just recognition as a truly great Civil War general. Buell's treatment of Lee is unabashedly negative. Buell skewers Lee for vague orders to his commanders,disregard for the importance of logistics,and frontal assaults that drained the Confederacy of its meager manpower resources. Polemics or just looking at the facts? Judge for yourself. Robert E. Lee may not be the nearly faultless general immortalized by Freeman, but I strongly doubt that he is the fool described by Buell. Two final comments. Buell asserts that the physical condition of the southern troops going into the Battle of Sharpsburg made them almost unfit to fight. He further lambastes Lee for allowing his army to degenerate into unchecked marauders in their retreat to Virginia. I have not seen those points in other works on the Sharpsburg campaign. Finally, Buell writes movingly of the personal lives of Gordon and Barlow. Read this book if for no other reason than to stimulate reconsideration of your own assessments of these men.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well-written revisionism, December 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Warrior Generals: Combat Leadership in the Civil War (Hardcover)

I'm usually loathe to read Civil War tactics books, which often bog down into regimental numbers and the verb "flank." But Buell kept me going through this one. I was attracted at first to his attention to George Thomas, who was one of my heroes growing up, but I stayed for the duration.

Truth be told, it's a well-written book that makes its (controversial) points very effectively and tells a couple of good stories in the process. Thomas -- easily the most underrated general in this or any American War -- is given his due, and other Union commanders are treated fairly.

And as these other reviews will show, not everyone will agree with Buell's thoughts on Lee, but having read the book and corresponded with the author briefly in 1997, they are sincere and well-thought out -- a good counterpoint to the traditional view of the CSA.

As with all books focusing on George Thomas, The Warrior Generals has an atmosphere of tragedy and injustice, perhaps reflecting its subject's sad life too well.