Review of Civil War Talks in The Journal of Southern History

"There can be no doubt . . . that Newsome, Horn, and Selby have assembled a rich collection of war reminiscences that will appeal to scholars and enthusiasts alike."  

The most recent issue of The Journal of Southern History has a great review of Civil War Talks from Andre M. Fleche, author of The Revolution of 1861.  Fleche's piece goes to the heart of the project and effectively captures our goals in putting the book together.  He begins by discussing George Bernard's effort in the 1890's to publish first-hand accounts from Civil War veterans in Petersburg and elsewhere. Bernard's work resulted in the 1892 book, War Talks of Confederate Veterans, as well as in the compilation of additional material for a second volume that never reached publication. Fleche commends our detective work in digging up that missing second volume one hundred years later, which, in his words, is a "collector's trove of previously unpublished Bernard papers."

In addition to this background, the review relates the broad scope of Civil War Talks, which spans much of the war in the east.  The volume contains detailed accounts of Norfolk at the war's start, recollections of the 1862 Richmond and Antietam campaigns, little known stories of William Mahone's brigade at Gettysburg, eyewitness accounts of J.E.B. Stuart's mortal wounding during the Overland Campaign, and much material about the fighting at Petersburg.  The book also includes Mahone's own correspondence with Bernard about Seven Pines, Malvern Hill, the Weldon Railroad, Burgess Mill, and the Appomattox Campaign.

Fleche's review also touches on the book's implications for issues of historical memory.  He notes that the reminiscences of Bernard and his colleagues, typical of many soldier accounts, focus on battles and camp life, and generally avoid the broader issues underlying the war, such as slavery.  Some of Bernard's contributors hit on themes voiced by many Confederate veterans, including the notion of the "loyal slave" and the "independence and individuality" of the Confederate soldier. Fleche also mentions Bernard's wartime statements about the "subjection" of the southern states and the "invasion" of Virginia's soil.  Later in life, however, Bernard became somewhat of a reformer, taking a different tack from many of his fellow Confederate veterans.  Among other things, he supported the Readjuster Party, a black-white political alliance in Virginia, and advocated merit-based civil service reform, free from considerations of race and party.

Here are some more excerpts from the review:

"The result is a rich collection of primary sources on the military history of the Civil War that, at times, also speaks to issues of historical memory . . . . The editors do an excellent job of clearly but unobtrusively guiding the reader through the documents . . . .  The working historian will certainly appreciate the richness of the collection . . . .  Military historians will find the collection particularly useful."   

Bandy Field and Green's Farm

In 2003, I drew this sketch after a visit to Bandy Field, a small nature park in Richmond, Va. several blocks from my parents' home.  Situated off Three Chopt Road in the West End, the field sits on a low, uneven ridge running south from Glenside Drive along Three Chopt and ending at Cary Street Road near the James River.  Maps from the Civil War era show that Richmond's defenders constructed several detached, irregular earthworks in the vicinity of Bandy Field (see maps below).  These positions formed part of Richmond's outer defenses.  My notes from the sketch read: 

 "2/03, Nearby resident, who owned house adjacent to field, said College Hills development occurred around 1952 and that substantial Confederate earthworks were destroyed to make way for houses at A & B on the map.   Traces of earthworks remain at the triangular shaped parcel on the western edge of Bandy Field as marked by C.  Earthworks are currently unmarked and difficult to distinguish.  Homeowner said earthworks extended north  to A, B, and Z  and were quite substantial before home sites were cleared - apparently it was more than just a trench line.   Resident also mentioned that there is an old African-American cemetery at F.  This cemetery is unmarked and has a Spanish-American veteran buried in it."

Union engineer map of Richmond (Michler, Mitchie), 1862-1865, CW 632.8, LOC

Bandy Field also marks the general location of the fight at "Green's Farm," which occurred on March 1, 1864. During Colonel Ulric Dahlgren's raid on Richmond, a Union cavalry column pushed south along Three Chopt Road and encountered local defense forces in this area.  In the ensuing engagement, Dahlgren's troopers brushed aside members of the Richmond Armory Battalion but eventually were halted at Hick's Farm on the Westham Plank Road (now Cary Street Road). The original house at Green's Farm (also known as "Huntley") remains today and is on the National Register of Historic Places. More about Bandy Field can be found at the Friends of Bandy Field website.

Confederate map found on the body of General John Chambliss in Aug. 1864,  CW 642.5, LOC

New Review of Richmond Must Fall

A detailed, very positive review of Richmond Must Fall appeared recently at TOCWOC-A Civil War Blog. The author of the review, Brett Schulte, runs The Siege of Petersburg Online, a huge repository of sources related to the Petersburg Campaign, including many period newspaper clippings. I'm thrilled that someone with such deep knowledge of the campaign has given such high praise to Richmond Must Fall:

"This is an excellent book.  Newsome writes in an engaging style, always keeping the story moving along . . . Siege of Petersburg students, of the war in the east, and of the armies and their constituent parts will want to own this book . . . This book is highly, highly recommended."

Sherman and Sokolosky

Over the holidays, I had the pleasure to chat with Wade Sokolosky over some coffee in comfortable Beaufort, North Carolina. Sokolosky, along with coauthor Mark Smith, wrote No Such Army Since the Days of Julius Caesar, a well-regarded (and out of print) study of a portion of Sherman’s sweep through the Old North State late in the war. It was great to meet Wade and to learn about his research and writing. His current project covers the battle of Wyse Fork, which occurred east of Kinston during the 1865 Carolinas campaign.

During our discussion, we touched on Union strategy in eastern North Carolina throughout the war.  Among other things, we talked about the importance of the Wilmington & Weldon Railroad, a critical supply line for Confederate forces in Virginia. For much of the conflict, Union troops did not seriously threaten this rail line despite establishing a firm toehold in coastal N.C. in 1862. Instead, the garrisons at New Bern, Washington (N.C.), and Plymouth rarely ventured beyond the coast in strength and mostly limited their operations to the occasional raid. They also girded for Confederate offensives, which occurred in the spring of both 1863 and 1864. Throughout, the Union occupation relied on the navy's gunboats, which plied the sounds and rivers, and served as formidable floating batteries to protect the ground troops.

The challenges facing Union planners in North Carolina resembled those Grant confronted at Petersburg. For most of the campaign in central Virginia, Grant firmly tethered his offensive operations to his City Point supply base. However, in the spring of 1865, he unleashed a large infantry raid around the Confederate right flank and gained a decisive victory at Five Forks. Similarly, Sherman broke open matters that year in North Carolina when he arrived from Georgia with a 60,000-man force, which had operated for weeks without any line of communication to speak of. Once in North Carolina, he drew supplies and additional troops from the coast, including the ports at Morehead City and New Bern. With men and resources sufficient to push through to the rail junction at Goldsboro and then on to Raleigh, Sherman overwhelmed the weak Confederate forces in his way. In their book, Sokolosky and Smith provide some excellent analysis of Sherman's logistical operations during the Carolinas Campaign.

Cyrus Comstock Diary

The other night, I dropped by the Arlington Public Library to pick up The Diary of Cyrus B. Comstock from interlibrary loan.  Comstock, a talented engineer, served in various roles during the war including stints as a key advisor to Grant.  Comstock's diary, edited by Merlin Sumner and published by Morningside in 1987, furnishes a sea of everyday details liberally sprinkled with shiny gold nuggets like this one from May 8, 1865 in D.C.: "On military commission for trial of conspirators . . . .  Wish I could get off.  They ought to be tried by . . . civil courts."   

Currently, I'm trying to dig up some material about Grant's proposed scheme to invade North Carolina in early 1864, a plan apparently drafted and developed by Comstock and William "Baldy" Smith at Grant's request in January of that year.  Though Comstock's diary proved helpful in my research for Richmond Must Fall, particularly for chronicling Benjamin Butler's behavior on October 27, 1864, it has not yielded the bounty I'd hoped for on my current search.  Nevertheless, it's nice to leaf through a copy again.