Richmond Must Fall in The N.C. Historical Review

Some of my NCHR back issues

The April 2014 issue of the North Carolina Historical Review (NCHR) has a nice review of Richmond Must Fall.   Over the last several months, I've explored the back issues of this journal, poring over several excellent articles about the Civil War in eastern North Carolina.  So, I was happy to see a review of my book tucked into the pages of a recent edition.  Michael W. Coffey, of the N.C. Office of Archives and History, prepared the piece, which furnishes a concise and comprehensive overview of the book.  The review also emphasizes that Richmond Must Fall extends beyond its focus on military strategy to address the political issues looming over the fighting in October 1864, the impact of the battles on local civilians, and the USCT prisoner controversy that ignited at the time.

Coffey concludes:  "Richmond Must Fall is a worthwhile addition to the field of Civil War military literature, not only in covering a neglected portion of a complex campaign, but also in illustrating its importance to the political side of the war . . . . [It] thus successfully integrates several diverse topics into a readable and useful narrative about a particular crucial phase of the war."  

Panel At Deep Bottom Park

I enjoyed my time at the Campaign Before Richmond Symposium on Friday, June 20 at Deep Bottom Park. The weather cooperated, giving us a pleasant, thunderstorm-free evening. Sam McKelvey, manager of the Dabbs House Museum, did a great job setting up the venue and organizing the event. Jack Mountcastle, former U.S. Army Chief of Military History, moderated the proceedings. Jimmy Price, author of a great book about the Battle of New Market Heights, started things off with a talk about First Deep Bottom in July 1864. He is currently finishing up a book on that campaign. Next, Doug Crenshaw, who has penned a nice work on Fort Harrison and the Battle of Chaffin's Farm (which he kindly gave to me at the event), covered the actions outside Richmond in late September 1864 with an informative presentation guided by excellent maps and photographs. Both Doug and Jimmy's books, published by The History Press, provide well-written, compact narratives of these lesser-known episodes of the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign.

Robert E. L. Krick, historian at the Richmond National Battlefield Park, lent his insight into the careers of five Confederate commanders important to the 1864 campaign:  Richard Anderson, Charles Field, Victor Girardey, Robert Hoke, and John Gregg. Bob is a fantastic speaker and wasn't afraid to offer his unvarnished opinions of these figures. Let's just say Anderson and Hoke did not fare well. Bob is also author of Staff Officers in Gray: A Biographical Register of the Staff Officers in the Army of Northern Virginia, a must-have reference I've leaned on often in my work. Finally, it was great to chat with some of the attendees before and after the event.  They really knew their stuff.