In Their Own Words: Civil War Commanders

They led the armies of the Civil War and forged the most critical and violent chapter in American history...The military leaders, men of impassioned commitment and unrivaled courage, who recorded in vivid detail the war as it was, both on the battlefield and in their hearts and minds. These fascinating narratives are presented chronologically, woven together with insightful editorial notes, and accompanied by over 40 maps; together they comprise the Civil War experience, from daily army life to the sights and sounds of battle, to the moral and strategic decisions that rested upon the commanders' shoulders. Their words bring to life every significant passage in the course of the war...The Battles of Antietam and Bull Run, Shiloh, Vicksburg, Missionary Ridge and Gettysburg, the Invasion of Kentucky and the Battle of Perryville...the Union and Confederate strategies and campaigns...the Civil War's naval battles and the guerrilla war...Sherman's siege of Atlanta...and more.

YA?An invaluable representative sampling of key Civil War battles as seen through the eyes of leading participants. The book is arranged into eight major chronological/thematic sections; each one opens and ends with insightful commentary. These narratives help readers better understand the historical context in which the military men of both the North and the South wrote. In the introduction, noted Civil War historian Gary Gallagher touches upon the subjectivity of primary sources and the inherent bias of people writing history in which they have played such a significant role. There is certainly a message here that rings true for Americans in the late 20th century. An excellent introduction to the use of primary sources and historical editing, as well as a sound overview of one of the defining periods in American history.?Michael Sullivan, R.E. Lee High School, Springfield, VA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The first in a series that aims to use primary sources to explicate American history, this work attempts to bring together first-person accounts of key and strategic battles in the Civil War. Told through personal accounts of prominent Northern and Southern commanders, it treats the reader to a detailed perspective that is often lost in larger, more comprehensive texts. While this makes for interesting reading, it also provides a stilted look at the war because the narratives are so subjective: e.g., Longstreet's actions at Gettysburg were justified, McClellan was acting appropriately when assuming that he was outnumbered, and Johnston's quickness to retreat was excusable. The author provides the necessary transitions between the accounts, tying the war together and giving the reader a sense of chronology. While some key battles are excluded, attention given to the guerrilla wars in the West set the stage for subsequent events outlined here. Overall, this is a well-organized and concise overview of the Civil War that is allowed to unfold through the words and actions of the participants. Recommended for both general and informed readers.?Barbara Zaborowski, Cambria Cty. Lib., Johnstown, Pa.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Excerpted from the memoirs of a dozen generals and admirals of the Blue and Gray, these passages describe, or defend, the officers' conduct in the war's most famous battles. Here's McClellan justifying his letting Lee escape from bloody Antietam, Longstreet explaining his defeat at Little Round Top, and Grant accepting the Confederate surrender at Appomattox. Whatever the specific incident, buffs deeply dyed with background knowledge are best equipped to make sense of them, for a general, even in retrospect, sees only a portion of the whole battle. Readers not quite as dedicated will nevertheless partake of the tenor the writings impart of those tempestuous times, of doleful descriptions of the detritus of battle such as Grant's remarks about the dead at Shiloh being so thick one could cross a field upon them without touching the ground. Forty maps, simply reprinted from the original memoirs, it appears, adorn this inexpensive collection; suitable for strapped libraries that don't plan to buy unabridged reminiscences by Sherman, Johnston, Sheridan, etc. Gilbert Taylor