A Brotherhood Of Valor: The Common Soldiers Of The Stonewall Brigade C S A And The Iron Brigade U S A (Paperback)

Gettysburg, Day Three by Jeffry D. Wert  (17)

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Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson was arguably the greatest commander of the Civil War. Yet "Stonewall" Jackson owed much of his success to the troops who served under him. He eagerly gave them their due: "You cannot praise these men of my brigade too much; they have fought, marched, and endured more than I even thought they would." The Stonewall Brigade, composed mainly of Virginians from the Shenandoah Valley, proved its mettle at First Manassas and never let up--even after its esteemed leader was shot down at Chancellorsville. Their equally elite counterparts in the Army of the Potomac were known as the Iron Brigade, hardy westerners drawn from Wisconsin, Indiana, and Michigan. By focusing on these two groups, historian Jeffry Wert retells the story of the Civil War's eastern theater as it was experienced by these ordinary men from North and South.

His battle descriptions are riveting, especially when he covers Antietam:

Three times the Georgians charged towards the guns, and three times they were repelled. Union infantry west of the battery ripped apart the attacker's flank, and the artillerists unleashed more canister.... Finally, the Georgians could withstand the punishment no longer, and as more Union infantry piled into the Cornfield, Hood's wrecked division retreated towards West Woods and Dunker Church. When asked later where his command was, Hood replied, "Dead on the field."

But the book is perhaps most notable for the way in which it describes the everyday hardships befalling each side. They often lacked food, shoes, blankets, and other military necessities. When the war began, the men believed deeply in their conflicting causes. Before it was over, writes Wert, "the war itself became their common enemy." Wert is slowly but surely gaining a reputation as one of the finest popular historians writing about the Civil War; A Brotherhood of Valor will undoubtedly advance his claim. --John J. Miller --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly
It's Wert's good fortune?and ours?that the two most interesting Confederate and Union units left such wonderful paper trails. Wert (Custer, etc.) takes full advantage of this and delivers a first-rate book about the two most renowned infantry commands of the Civil War, which confronted each other at Manassas (Bull Run), Fredericksburg, Antietam, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. Through skillful use of period letters, diaries and action reports, Wert paints a vivid portrait of the Confederate and Union soldiers who bled together across the killing grounds of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Particularly appealing is the way this volume allows readers soldier's-eye views from both sides of key battles. A good example of this is when we learn that the Union line that appeared so formidable to frightened young Confederates in the cornfield at Antietam was in fact a confused mix of equally terrified, equally young men in blue, unsure of their strategy and?at that moment?unsure of their commanders as well. In addition to being brave, the men of the Stonewall and Iron brigades were eloquent and prolific writers. Armed with a wealth of first-person accounts, Wert often (and wisely) steps back, allowing the soldiers to tell their own stories as no one else can. Agent, Robert Gottlieb at the William Morris Agency.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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