No comments about Thomas Francis Meagher And the Irish Brigade in the Civil War.

3 comments about The Bishop of the Old South: The Ministry And Civil War Legacy of Leonidas Polk.

1. Robins' biography of Leonidas Polk, Episcopal bishop and Confederate general, reveals little about the inner life and personality of its subject. The reader is left wondering about his motives and about Polk's interaction with the most important people in his life: his wife, family and close friends. The book is a general overview of the life of this conflicted figure who has been portrayed both as a traitor to his role as a Christian leader and as some kind of latter-day Christian knight. Still, I was left wondering which he really was.



2. Dr. Glenn Robins captures the multiple nature of Leonidas Polk's life. He was a man of God, educator and lieutenant general and Corps commander in the Army of Tennessee. This book develops the theological aspect of Polk better than its predecessors by Joseph Parks and Polk's son, William Mecklenberg Polk. Drawing from a rich bibliography, Dr. Robins explains Polk's theology and his impact on the mid-nineteenth century Episcopal Church, clearly and precisely. Unfortunately, for the Civil War reader, Polk was at best a mediocre general,who performed poorly in command of a very important corps in the Army of Tennessee. I have been conducting research on General Polk for an article I hope to get published during the next year. Robins' book has been invaluable in helping to understand this very complex, remarkable man. The Episcopal Church has even had difficulty with the Episcopal school, The University of the South, celebrating the life of a man who owned so many slaves. For those interested in learning more about Polk, I recommend looking at the Leonidas Polk website at www.leonidaspolk.org. This biography is a great read. I highly recommend it.



3. In Luke chapter 18, we learn of a rich young man who turned away from following Christ. What would have happened had he followed Jesus? This book gives one possible answer. This is one of the two or three finest books I've ever read, not just Civil War Books. It is the story of Leonidas Polk, the son of a very wealthy North Carolina plantation owner, who was converted to Christianity while at West Point, and entered the Episcopal ministry. While continuing to run a successful plantation, he was a priest, then a missionary Bishop, then presiding Bishop of Louisiana. This book gives a wealth of Church history during the years 1830-1860, including much detail of Polk's founding of the University of the South. Accepting the offer of a commission tendered by his old friend Jefferson Davis, Polk became a Lieutenant General in the Army of Tennessee.
   
   While the book gives more space to the "Bishop" than to the "General", there is plenty of information about Polk's military campaigns. His problems as a General are not glossed over, including less than perfect coordination during the Kentucky campaign of 1862, and his difficulties with General Bragg are well reported. [Bragg could be difficult, and the Bishop was not the only General who held a dim view of him] General Polk was killed at Pine Mountain, GA on June 14, 1864; not long before his death, he baptised Generals Hood and Joe Johnston. This would be a fitting end to a book that is a superb combination of Church and Military history. But, of course, the story of a successful Minister never really ends; numerous Churches consecrated by Bishop Polk are still in service, and the world class University he founded continues to train young people for Christian service. The life and career of Leonidas Polk remains a problem for some. How could a Christian man and Priest own around 500 slaves? He was a man of his time and place, and saw no conflict. On the record, his slaves were as well treated as any in the South. Whether we are discussing Bishop Polk, Thomas Jefferson, or even FDR, it is dangerous to project our values onto a man from a different age. Perhaps not a book for the general reader, but get this one, and read it. You won't be sorry.

1 comments about His Soul Goes Marching on: Responses to John Brown and the Harpers Ferry Raid.

1. the essays contained within Finkelman's books are well written and well argued, just watch out because they contain an anti-Brown slant. These works are far from impartial and for a history text, some of them don't follow the traditional road to research of primary source, secondary, and so and so forth. The text is excellent if are looking to read good essays, but they are not impartial.

No comments about The Lees of Virginia.

No comments about The Last Best Hope of Earth: Abraham Lincoln and the Promise of America.

3 comments about Fighting Fascism in Europe: The World War II Letters of an American Veteran of the Spanish Civil War (World War II--The Global, Human, and Ethical Dimension, 1).

1. Many years ago, when doing research for my graduate thesis on those heroic Jews who went to fight Hitlerism in Spain, I came across the name of Larry Cane. While I was able to make contact with many vets in the Lincoln Battalion, sad to say, Mr. Cane had passed on before I had a chance to contact him. His obituary told of his valor, and of his idealism, and while he was, yes, a member of the Communist Party USA while in Spain and serving heroically in the United States Army in World War II, Larry Cane had the intellectual honesty to walk away from the horrendous Stalinist sewer once he was aware of its true evil.
   
   His son is to be profusely thanked for releasing this correspondence of a man - yes, a Leftist, but whose Jewish background, perhaps even more so than his CP affiliation, made this man - a decision to fight evil and oppression and believe in the unity of all mankind. Cane writes movingly of the D-Day Battle, of coming across emanciated Jewish concentration camp survivors in Germany, of his pride in America, of being a Jew, and yes, of being a Communist and pride in the Soviet Union as the ally that it was (of course then being unaware of what a murderous fascist Joe Stalin really was). He writes of the common soldiers that he served alongside with, and there is correspondence from some of them that attest to Cane's own bravery in battle. And he writes of his love of his family and of the baby son who now has been able to bring this unique correspondence to publication.
   
   Larry Cane earned the Silver Star and a Battlefield Commission to the rank of Captain in the United States Army for his heroism on the battlefields of France after D-Day, and for his role in helping to smash the Hitlerian evil. A worthy read for all Americans interested in our "Greatest Generation" - and in the unique experiences of those who bravely chose to fight Hitlerism in Spain before the world recognized what was at stake for all mankind.



2. this book is sensitively written and full of fascinating details, which bring the history alive.



3. This book kept my interest cover to cover. Lawrence Cane is obviously the epitome of a soldier and family man, the essense of the American service man in W.W. 2. From basic training thru the occupation of Germany,he was a man who had not only to fight for his place in the war ,but then to fight the war from the first wave to hit the beach on Normandy,to the liberation of the concentration camps, to time spent in the rebuilding of Germany in Eisleben.

No comments about Ulysses S. Grant: Confident Leader and Hero (Cobblestone the Civil War).

1 comments about The Civil War Reader (The American Civil War).

1. The Civil War Reader by Richard B. Harwell is a combination of both the Confederate and Union Readers making this an indispensible companion to anyone interested in the Civil War. By combining both readers in one volume you can cross reference accounts across both sides of the conflict giving you a better picture as to what really happened.

   Here the participants describe in their own words the bitterness of the conflict making reading this book realistic as the animosity, battlefield scenes of heroism and horror reach up and grab for your attention.

   Like all history, time dimmes the recollection till there is no one left to tell what happens, only the written word is left to tell the succeding generations what had transpired. But so much we forget. The war was more than Lincoln and his generals and his Cabinet, more than battles and heros. The South and the Confederates in this reader is a rough chronological selection from the writings of the times, the writings that were, theoretically at least, available to the Confederate reading public. And here, more than about any other period, the South has felt it necessary to explain itself. Hardly was the ink dry on General Lee's farewell at Appomattox before the South began its attempts to vindicate in print its course during the war. the War of Separation, the War of Yankee Aggression.

   This record left by these printed evidences of Confederate life is the truest record of the war. Prejudiced and incomplete as it is, it is nevertheless an accurate picture of the Confederacy, left for posterity. I found this to be one of the best books on both sides of the war as the people who were there, wrote what they felt to be true, giving the reader a glimpse into the psyche of the war.

   America in 1861 was still a new country. Just as the war was a test of democratic principle it was a test of democratic education. Never before had there been so literate an army. Such a soldiery was ready, and proud, to relate its experiences. That is why we as the posterity can read eyewittness accounts that recall events in detail just as if we were there ourselves.

   This is an excellent, cogent, and fast read, but filled with copoius detail, making this an excellent choice for your library.

1 comments about The Complete Civil War Journal and Selected Letters of Thomas Wentworth Higginson.

1. Bravo to Christopher Looby for recognizing the importance of these diaries and bringing them to our attention. Higginson's thoughts and feelings about war and the men under his command unfold to portray a quiet hero. Against the dual backdrops of military horror and social conflict, Higginson's discussions of his men and his relationships with them are sensitive and surprising. Letters to his family offer an interesting glimpse of family roles while underscoring Higginson's essential humantity.

   Looby's notes provide thoughtful comment. Stunning job. This is an excellent book.

2 comments about Riding with Custer: Recollections of a Cavalryman in the Civil War.

1. This is a memoir with chapters written in and after the 1880's.

   An interesting positivist take on the war--also interesting how politically conscious Kidd appears to have been. My general observation is that the Northern accounts seem to be more politicized, more likely to talk about politicians and political beliefs, than Southern.

   Kidd started the war as captain of Troop E, 6th Michigan Cavalry, and ended up in command of the regiment. He spends a lot of time discussing recruiting and training, details fighting at Gettysburg and Williamsport, Trevilian Station, Third Winchester, et cetera. Kidd's admiration for Custer, his brigadier, is clear.

   A useful account, but not an especially anecdotal or vivid one.




2. This reprint of the classic "Recollections of a Cavalryman" is a valuable addition to the military history of the nation. It also offers a view of Custer by someone who actually served with him in combat -- extensive combat. The view of Custer that emerges is not that penned by a fawning subordinate; Colonel Kidd simply recounts the battles and activities of the Michigan Cavalry Brigade in a straightforward manner. His later controversy notwithstanding, Custer was an exemplary cavalry commander and arguably the most successful and brilliant cavalry officer on either side in the conflict. This book opens a window on the past and is an excellently written account of the brutal battles fought by our ancestors. The book also offers an unintentional balance to Custer's historical legacy. It's unintentional because at the time it was written, Custer was still considered a national hero. This book explains why he was. Read it.