No comments about Journal of a Georgia Woman, 1870-1872.

2 comments about When the Devil Came Down to Dixie: Ben Butler in New Orleans.

1. So General Benjamin "Beast" Butler summed up his time as military governor of New Orleans. Chester Hearn's book is an examination of Butler's six-month tenure in the Crescent City.
   
   Everyone who knows anything about the Civil War knows something about Butler. A political general from Massachusetts, Butler was cross-eyed, huge, bald, loud, arrogant, stubborn, and crooked as a hound dog's hind leg. He was also remarkably inept as a military leader. His arrogant tenure as commandant of Fortress Monroe came close to pushing Maryland into the Confederacy; he lost one of the initial battles of the war, Big Bethel, largely through extraordinary incompetence; he did absolutely nothing in the capture of New Orleans, but took as much credit for it as he could; he evacuated Baton Rouge when scared by the threat of a(nonexisting) Confederate invading force; and he famously allowed his entire Army of the James to be bottled up at Bermuda Hundred during Grant's overland campaign (where he was probably less bother to Grant than he would've been in the field).
   
   But what Butler's primarily known for are two things: declaring runaway slaves "contrabands of war" and brutally ruling New Orleans. His depredations in that city are remarkable. Along with a crew of trusted scoundrels (including especially his brother Andrew Jackson Butler) equally interested in lining their own pockets, Butler stole everything he could get his hands on. He bought commodities such as sugar and cotton at forced low prices and sold them high in the North; he sold salt to Confederates stationed just across Lake Pontrachain; civilians requesting interviews with the general or travel passes routinely paid out the nose for the privilege; under the two Confiscation Acts, houses with all their possessions were swallowed up; and specie at New Orleans bank tended to disappear. Butler was smart, and although there were numerous complaints and several official inquiries, he was never caught. But it's clear he was on the take. When Butler went to New Orleans in May '62, his personal worth was about $150,000. When he left in December '62, he was worth about $3 million.
   
   In addition to being larcenous, his reign in New Orleans was also brutal. He regularly imprisoned at hard labor civilians who angered him, and he notoriously executed a man who defiantly tore down the Stars and Stripes right after the city was captured (but before it surrendered--a legally important point). Although Butler did go out of his way to feed the city's hungry, his motive seems to have been more hatred for the landed aristocracy than the unlanded poor.
   
   Hearn's book is largely derivative. There's little original research (which is okay; not every book can or should be ground-breaking). But a bit more documentation on how Butler's peers reacted to his larceny, as well as some reflection on the state of affairs during the Civil War that gave men such as Butler almost unlimited power, would've been welcome.



2. I have always been fascinated with General Benjamin Butler both because of the story of his ill fated term as military governor of New Orleans during the Civil War and because of his physical image. The photographs always show someone who seems to be a grotesque characature of a human being rather than a real person, somehow appropriate for a man known as 'the Beast of New Orleans'. This book is significant not only for its detailed account of the conflicts and controversy that surrounded Butler during his time in New Orleans, but also for providing enough complementary material to see him as more than an evil abberation. The author does detail the evidence for Butler's depredations - his thefts, corruptions and overzelous application of lethal force - but also provides ample evidence that he was a complex and sometimes thoughtful person as well. In one case, he condemns a man to be hung because he had pulled down the union flag. The man's wife and children go to Butler to plead for his life. He refuses to stop the hanging but promises to be of whatever assistance he can be in the future. Years later the widow approaches him to say that she has been cheated by her lawyer out of her life savings and that she and her children are in jeapordy. Butler finds her a government job and, at his own expense, sees to the children's education. A very complex 'devil' indeed.

   For those who enjoy new light cast upon old oversimplified history, this book is excellent. Well written and with a lot that is new to say, this book represents a chance to actually learn something new rahter than simply revisiting the old story.

1 comments about Lincoln's Quest for Union.

1. This book is a wonder insight into the psyche of Abraham Lincoln. This book focuses on the history of Lincoln, not so much the history of his political terms as president, rather the history behind the morals and personality of the man himself. Charles Strozier does a wonderful job in piecing together the facts and fables in order to tell the tale of Lincoln. There are so many folk tales on Lincoln that it can be hard to figure out what really happened and what didn't. There are myriad sources used in order to give this book the depth needed to paint a lush illustration of such an interesting person.
   
   Abraham Lincoln is easily connected to the American Civil War. However in this book, not much of the war is really mentioned. Nor are detailed aspects of his political policies. The book traces the lifeline of Lincoln as child all the way to his death. Many psychological depictions are utilized in understanding the soul, mind, emotion and motivation behind the spirit of Abe Lincoln. I found it very interesting and satisfying to have such a blend of history and psychology, which is a wonderful way to do a case study on a person.

No comments about Fighting With the Eighteenth Massachusetts: The Civil War Memoir of Thomas H. Mann.

4 comments about For Honor, Flag, And Family: Civil War Major General Samuel W. Crawford, 1827-1892.

1. For Honor, Flag, and Family: Civil War Major General Samuel W. Crawford, 1827-1892 is a biography of General Samuel Wylie Crawford, who served in the United States Army during the Civil War from Fort Sumter through Appomattox, involved in major battles of the Eastern Theater. He was promoted to brigadier general in 1862; his brigade suffered the loss of half its strength in an engagement at Cedar Mountain; and he personally suffered a grievous wound at Antietam. A handful of black-and-white photographs illustrate this extensively researched portrait of a true fighting leader, who remained in the United States Army until his retirement in 1873. Notes, a bibliography, and an index round out this welcome addition to Civil War biography shelves.



2. Richard Wagner has provided a great service to the citizens of Franklin County,PA and Civil War buffs countrywide for his book on General Crawford. The local history on his family's and his residence in Fayetteville is little known and a delight to read. The Civil War history is well researched and will appeal to all readers of this era.



3. Major General Samuel W. Crawford, a native of Franklin County, PA, was one of two Yankee General Officers who served in every major battle in the NorthEast/Mid-Atlantic...Ft Sumter, The Shenendoah Valley Campaign of 1862, Cedar Mountain, The Wilderness, Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, Spotsylvania, Five Forks and Petersburg. The biography, written in a simple, straight forward, folksey manner, surpasses other such biographies in that the author took a military officer and included the general's cultural. sociological, religious and econonic climates to present a complete picture of the man. It was an enlightening, informative, passionate and entertaining easy to read book which deserves literary and historical appreciation from the thoughtful reader.



4. This is a very interesting and well written account of the life and career of General Samuel Crawford. Crawford began his career as a Surgeon in the U.S. army and evolved to an officer in the infantry. He was one of only two Officers who served from day one at Fort Sumpter through the final surrender of Lee at Appomattox.
   
   12 years of research went into compiling this biography.
   
   The account of the events leading up to the firing on Fort Sumpter is especially interesting. He led in action at Gettysburg, Antitem and many of the other major battles of the Civil War. A very worth while read about the Civil War. I recommend it if you enjoy history.

3 comments about William Clarke Quantrill: His Life and Times.

1. This looks to be just another look at the Northern re-write of history after the war. I would not recommend this to anyone wanting anything different than the standard Post-war Nothern view. If that "New York" view of southern history is what you are looking for then this is probably something for you. Otherwise I would recommend a much better and more informative and well researched book by Paul R. Peterson on the topic which includes 500 pages of well done research from several points of view. It is not boaring and offers a refreshing alternative to the politically correct and "parrotted" version that we often see re-published every few years.



2. 
   William Clarke Quantrill entered the ranks of the infamous for sure on August 21, 1863, when he led a band of 450 men into Lawrence, Kansas, and committed what is probably the worst atrocity of the Civil War: the killing of 150 inhabitants and the burning of the town. Other massacres perpetrated by Quantrill occurred, but none was as devastating as what happened in Lawrence. To the Union he was an outlaw, and a price was put on his head. He was feared and hated during his day, and his reputation long outlived him (Castell believes he's one of the most widely known men connected with the Civil War).
   
   He was born in Ohio in 1837, taught school for a while, and then went out west where he was a professional gambler around Salt Lake City. When the war broke out he was living in Kansas, and already had the notoriety of a desperado. His sympathies were with the South, and in 1861 formed a guerrilla band that attacked and destroyed Union property and murdered Union sympathizers in the border states. He helped the Confederates capture Independence, MO, and after the Lawrence atrocity, defeated Union forces at Baxter Springs, KS. His band by this time had become so unruly that not even Quantrill could reign them in, and it split into smaller factions. He was wounded in an ambush in Kentucky in May 1865 (rumor had it, though impossible to prove, that Quantrill at the time was heading for Washington to assassinate Lincoln) and died in a Union prison hospital on June 6, 1865. Whether anyone collected the reward money history doesn't say.
   
   Castel's biography is popular in nature, though backed up with solid scholarship. Invented dialogue is sprinkled throughout the text, but it is not obtrusive and doesn't lower the book's high standards. Castel also recounts some of the legends that cropped up soon after Quantrill's death, some of them having to do with Quantrill's grave sight (desecrated) and his skull.
   
   To some in the South he was a the bravest of the brave, while to most in the North he was a degenerate monster. Castel thinks he was courageous and a strong leader, but also cruel and without scruples. Every year until 1929 there was a Quantrill's Raiders reunion held near Blue Springs, KS. One legacy that evolved from Quantrill's band was that of Jesse and Frank James and the Dalton gang, all who got their start with Quantrill's Raiders. Castel tells the story of this nefarious man with skill and keeps our interest throughout.



3. My interest in the Civil War is a bit unusual - the impact of the war on the non-combatants in the western border states, specifically Arkansas and Missouri and to a lesser extent, Kansas and the Indian Territory that would eventually become Oklahoma. This book will definitely be a valued part of my research library.

   "William Quantrill - His Life and Times" is a balanced look at a young man, unsatisfied with what he had accomplished in life and caught up in the complexities of the pre-war strife in Kansas and Missouri. A gifted teacher originally from Ohio "raised as an abolitionist," Quantrill becomes a thief and scoundrel, Border Ruffian (pro-slavery) and jayhawker (anti-slavery), exploiting the conflict on the border to benefit himself. After the war begins, he goes on to fame..., and his destiny, a heroic legend to many and a barbaric devil to others.

3 comments about Robert E. Lee: A Life Portrait.

1. This book certainly had a lot of potential. Unfortunatly there are too many errors. Some very obvious --- Samuel Cooper was not REL's brother in law. He was REL's brother's brother in law by marriage. And the photographs are not always correctly captioned. The dust jacket sleeve mentions over 70 some photos. But Lee was only photographed around 40 times. Some photos he counts twice when in reality they are of a same pose. And some photos could have been larger so the reader could actually see the beauty of the photograph. And some photos that have been discovered many years ago were simply not even in the book. This book could have great but the author did not do enough homework. He needs to go back and try again using better researchers.



2. Robert E. Lee was America's General. He was a great man who'd legacy is to be told forever. He did not support the radical slavery movements of the south but did love his native state. He was a calm and bold gentleman who's gentle face and lovig nature made him a legend in his own right. Lee deserves the honor that is preserved in this book. This book captures the true beauty of AMERICA'S GENERAL.



3. This text should be in every Civil War collectors library.

No comments about Soldiering for Glory: The Civil War Letters of Colonel Frank Schaller, Twenty-Second Mississippi Infantry.

No comments about The Cormany Diaries: A Northern Family in the Civil War.

No comments about Soldiers Blue & Gray.