![A Savage War: A Military History of the Civil War by [Murray, Williamson, Hsieh, Wayne Wei-siang]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41Ckbo0fu5L._SY346_.jpg)
Major General H.R. McMaster's academic and professional qualifications non-withstanding, I found myself skeptical after reading an extract from his pre-publication review stating Williamson Murray and Wayne Wei-Siang Hsieh have brought to light an important new perspective on an admittedly done to death subject.
I was wrong to be skeptical. A quick glance disclosed that this book delivers far more than McMaster promised. In fact, Murray and Hsieh make a strong case throughout the book that our Civil War represented the first truly modern military-industrial-nation conflict and thus had a global impact.
I have not read the whole book yet but its consistently heading on a positive trajectory as I progress through the narrative. The post battle assessments are IMHO without parallel as the authors point out the rights and wrongs of opposing commanders but they do so using methods in line with contemporary military processes, such as discussing not only the gaining of intelligence information, but also its perceived and actual value, when commanders received it, how they acted or didn't act on it, whether they embraced it or remained hesitant, and what impact their actions ultimately had on the ensuing battle, which is a method of analysis that I am far more familiar with. That revelation appeared on the first page I opened in the book - which discussed the Second Bull Run - and has not proved to be an exception to the rule.
Another example appears on page 268 when the authors discuss the results of Chancellorsville, writing "Who Won Chancellorsville? The obvious answer is Lee and the Confederates. Certainly, in considering the slashing attacks he, Jackson, and Stuart had launched against a superior enemy, who had in the first hours caught them completely by surprise, their performance stands out as one of the great pieces of generalship in the Civil War. Yet the casualty figures on the two sides were nearly equal: a bill the Union with its superior population could afford to pay. but which the Confederacy in the long term could not. Moreover, throughout the battle, Lee had taken chances that had placed his army on the brink of defeat. Perhaps the battle's most significant result was that Lee gained the impression his troops could achieve anything against impossible odds, an estimation that had a disastrous impact on his conduct of the battle the next July at Gettysburg."
I feel that since the authors have had to explain past battles to an audience of field grade officers (who sometimes have a hard time visualizing the link between past battles and today's brand of warfare) in an academic setting, they have gained insights into presenting that material in not only an interesting fashion, but have included details that resonate with modern soldiers seeking (or not) to link today with the past. I enjoyed seeing that style displayed to the fullest because I have sat in one of those classrooms and as such, the language is familiar and I believe their analysis a bit more informed as a result.
The book is organized with thirteen chapters, each running anywhere from 25 - 35 pages in length. They are presented as follows: 1.) The Origins, 2.) The War's Strategic Framework, 3.) "And the War Came," 4.) First Battles and the Making of Armies, 5.) Stillborn between Earth and Water: The Unfilled Promise of Joint Operations, 6.) The Confederacy Recovers, 1862, 7.) The Confederate Counter-Offensives, 8.) The War in the East, 1863, 9.) The War in the West, 1863, 10,) The Killing Time: The War in the East, 1864, 11.) Victory in the West, 1864, 12.) The Collapse of the Confederacy, and 13.) The Civil War in History.
There are no less than 51 maps! The maps adequately depict important subjects/events at both tactical, operational, and strategic levels. However, the large number of maps may have come at the cost of photographs, of which there are none. That said, this reviewer does not believe a lack of photographs detract from the overall story.
I must admit to being glad that A SAVAGE WAR did not come out before now, as the tremendous work by both authors would have seriously dampened my enthusiasm for previously published works on this same topic. If there is ONE volume to read on this conflict, I would strongly recommend A SAVAGE WAR as my choice.
My only caution is that this book should not be considered a populist history per se. If you are more interested in the experiences of individual soldiers and their leaders, then perhaps other fare would meet your needs.
- File Size: 9537 KB
- Print Length: 617 pages
- Publisher: Princeton University Press; Reprint edition (May 22, 2018)
- Publication Date: May 22, 2018
- Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC
- Language: English
- ASIN: B077JG4RYV
- Text-to-Speech:
Enabled
- Word Wise: Enabled
- Lending: Not Enabled
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Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#735,409 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
- #428 in Reconstruction History of the U.S.
- #494 in 19th Century World History
- #1371 in Civil War History of the U.S.
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