No comments about Henry Clay the Lawyer.

No comments about A Badger Boy in Blue: The Civil War Letters of Chauncey H. Cooke (Great Lakes Books Series).

No comments about Robert E. Lee's Lighter Side: The Marble Man's Sense of Humor.

2 comments about Timothy Pickering and the American Republic.

1. By Gerard Clarfield's account, he first took an interest in Timothy Pickering because he thought that his subject may have been unfairly maligned by history. A close examination of Pickering's life convinced him that his predecessors were right to scorn Pickering.

   Clarfield has written a thorough and well-researched biography of Pickering as an archetypal "man on the make" in colonial and Revolutionary America. His book is very well researched and well written. It is an invaluable resource for those of us interested in Pickering.

   However, Clarfield may have gone too far in his repudiation of Pickering. As Garry Wills wrote in "Negro President" it is doubtful that one would find Pickering personally likeable. Still, there is more to an individual than his personality. Clarfield's indictment of Pickering rests largely on his personal traits: a tendency toward paranoia, unflinching self-righteousness, and a great capacity for anger. However, in light of this portrayal, it's hard to see how Pickering ever got anywhere or accomplished anything.

   Garry Wills has found that Pickering was a dedicated family man. From Pickering's own record, it is clear that he was a respected member of the Federalist Party, with genuine and lasting friendships. His career in public service was quite long. He was hardly the failure that Clarfield seems to think he was. Clarfield seems loathe to give Pickering any credit at all.

   Other aspects of Pickering's career - those that make him more interesting to us - receive short shrift. Clarfield does detail Pickering's efforts to protect the rights of Native Americans, but does not explore his anti-slavery sentiment or his support of the freed slaves of St. Domingue (Haiti). These topics are delved into more thorougly by Wills.

   I would recommend reading this book and Clarfield's other book on Pickering. Also, I would recommend reading "Negro President" by Wills, which gives Pickering a more sympathetic treatment.




2. It was fascinating (actually refreshing) to read a book by an author who is not an "advocate" but an expert on his subject. Pickering held many important positions in his life; ADC to Washington (in fact, his account of the attack on the Chew House during the battle of Germantown is what attracted me to this book in the first place); Quartermaster General to the Continental Army; Postmaster General; Secretary of War (under Washington); Secretary of State (under Washington and Adams); followed by a term in the Senate and terms in the House of Representatives. He was instrumental in settling the Pennamite War between Connecticut and Pennsylvania (which incredibly enough, outlived the American Revolution), pioneered acculturalization of the native Americans in Pa. and Ohio, was probably the biggest advocate of the Jay Treaty, and had possibly the most violent reaction of anyone to the XYZ Affaire. He disliked Washington and Jefferson alike (and was thus an equal opportunity abuser among Federalists and Republicans, though he seems to have favored abusing people from Virginia unless their name was Adams). Like some bundle-of-sticks Ichabod Crane, Pickering awkwardly struts through the halls of government "Picking" battle after battle. But for all of this little of the man actually shows through. I would have liked to have read something of his reaction to the death of Washington, for instance. Clarfield's Pickering seems to have lacked any humanizing characteristics (but for one brief moment of concern for his dimwitted son). Maybe that's how he was, a life consisting of facts, opportunities and reactions. His death thus lacked pathos, like a semi-comical stick figure that simply fell apart in the end. This book is well written and scholarly.

3 comments about Memoirs of Chaplain Life: 3 Years in the Irish Brigage with the Army of the Potomac (Irish in the Civil War).

1. Father William Corby (1833-1897) of the Congregation of the Holy Cross was a Chaplain in the famous Irish Brigade of the Army of the Potomac. His great moment was giving general absolution to the kneeling soldiers of the Brigade on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg. The famous Paul Henry Wood painting at Notre Dame University captures the scene, so important in America's religious history. So do the statues of Corby at the University and on Hancock Avenue at Gettysburg.
   
   This is Father Corby's memoir of the war, first published in 1893. When the armies clashed, chaplains usually stayed behind the lines and worked in the hospitals, so Father Corby's memoir only lightly focuses on tactics, strategy, or details from the battlefields. Rather, his is mainly a memoir of camps, marches, the hardships of soldier life, and profiles and vignettes of the Brigade's leaders. He shares many stories that give a feel for the Army of the Potomac and the humor of the times. Civil War historians and re-enactors will find his account valuable and fascinating.
   
   Father Corby brought a priest's faith and commitment to the Brigade, and it is these themes that most infuse the book. He records masses in camp and the field; conversations with Catholics, Protestants, and the unchurched; and work with the wounded and dying. Writing letters for illiterate soldiers gave him other insights on life and faith. He ministered to men sentenced to death by military courts and accompanied them on their final walk. In the midst of appalling carnage, he was sustained by knowing he helped many face death in the state of grace.
   
   Father Corby included shorter recollections by other Catholic chaplains in the Union Army in his own book. Editor Lawrence Frederick Korb provided an excellent introduction with a full survey of Corby's life, and he added appendices on the Wood painting and the statues of Corby by Samuel Aloysius Murray.
   
   At the time of the Civil War, Catholics were an often-despised minority in a majority-Protestant nation, and in Chapter IX, Father Corby ringingly condemned "bigots" and affirmed Catholics as true Americans. The scene of Father Corby and the Irish Brigade at Gettysburg was seen by thousands. It softened the hearts of many, and it may now be reckoned a milestone toward an American future of interfaith understanding and respect.
   
   -30-



2. I truly enjoyed the book Memoirs of Chaplain Life by William Corby. Father William Corby, a Catholic, served as a chaplain to the Irish Brigade in the Army of the Potomac. Corby relates the many trials and dangers that he suffers over his three years of service. He tells the stories of narrow escapes from the enemy fire. He ministers to the men, "hears their confession," and often dose duties not required by his being chaplain. The book gives an interesting look into the religious life, as well as everyday camp life in a Civil War Army. I will say that the book is hard to get through, but it is worth the time to read. Father Corby is an interesting character.



3. Father Corby's Irish Brigade memoir provides a very valuable and interesting record of the Civil War. His testimony gives the reader a first-hand account of life in the Church and in the Army.

   In some sections, the memoir is not terribly exciting; it is for the history buff who wants to know more than which general won a given battle. The book tells of the great and small trials of army life. Its value comes from the author's testimony about the lives of the soldiers and their experiences.

   The book will best suit those who possess a knowledge of the war, as Father Corby's passing mention of campaigns and generals' names will be lost on the uninitiated.

   I strongly recommend this book to those interested in Civil War and Irish history.

1 comments about The Hanging Rock Rebel: Lt. John Blue's War in West Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley.

1. This book is an engaging first person account of the exploits of a rather daring Confederate foot soldier. The book is lifted from a series of newspaper articles John Blue wrote over 30 years after the War for Southern Independence ended. Blue does not get into the political and social issues of the day, but recounts in a straigtforward and interesting style the struggles of a soldier, including his experience as a prisoner of war and escapee. This book is particularly interesting to those familiar with the geography of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and the corridor through Brocks Gap into West Virginia where Blue grew up in site of what is still known as Hanging Rock.

1 comments about Memoirs of a Confederate Staff Officer: From Bethel to Bentonville (Civil War Heritage Series, V. 13).

1. As a fan of Confederate General Daniel Harvey Hill I was very happy to discover this slim little volume by his aide, Major James Ratchford. In addition to staff duty with D.H.Hill, Ratchford served as adjutant to John Bell Hood and Stephen Lee and witnessed over thirty engagements from Bethel to Bentonville including the disastrous Franklin-Nashville battles. This little book lets the reader see the war (and a number of its senior participants) through the eyes of a young man who may have preferred cordial young ladies and fine fishing to the battlefield. See also Hal Bridges' bio of D.H.Hill - LEE'S MAVERICK GENERAL.

No comments about The Life, Crime & Capture of John Wilkes Booth.

1 comments about The New Man: Twenty-Nine Years a Slave, Twenty-Nine Years a Free Man. Recollections of H. C. Bruce (Blacks in the American West).

1. This book was very interesting. Offered new insight into the life of a slave and in a region not known for large slave population, Missouri. Quick read, too.

No comments about The Lincoln Assassination: The Evidence.