Unit Histories:
UNION
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[20th Massachusetts Infantry], (Abbott),
Robert Garth Scott (ed),
FALLEN LEAVES: The Civil War Letters of Major Henry Livermore Abbott.
NEW copy, hardcover with dust jacket.
(Kent State University Press, 1992). Illustrations.
~~~ From Booknews: "Abbott, one of the company of young Union officers from
Harvard that included Oliver Wendell Holmes, Charles Russell Lowell, and Robert Gould Shaw,
fought with the 20th Massachusetts Infantry from October 1861 to May 6, 1864, when he was
killed in action. This collection of Abbott's wartime letters to his family and friends,
the majority published here for the first time, is accompanied by an introduction and
epilogue by Robert Garth Scott and by 36 photographs."
$25.00
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[12th Vermont] (Benedict) Ward, Eric (ed), ARMY LIFE IN VIRGINIA:
The Civil War Letters of George C. Benedict. NEW copy. Hardcover
with dust jacket. (Stackpole Books, 2002).
~~~ George G. Benedict was one of thousands of young men who enlisted for the
Union cause in the late summer of 1862 when the outcome of the Civil War was yet to be decided.
But in addition to his duties as a soldier, Benedict also worked as a correspondent for his
hometown newspaper, the Burlington (Vermont) Free Press. Benedict's thirty-one letters gave
the folks back home a firsthand account of army life in the Civil War. Now, by supplementing
these letters with official documents, newspaper accounts, and comrade's letters, editor Eric
Ward expands on this account, providing a fuller and more accurate picture of army life in
Virginia.
$25.00
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Katcher, Philip, BUILDING THE VICTORY: The Order Book of the Volunteer
Engineer Brigade, Army of the Potomac. NEW copy. Hardcover with
dust jacket. White Mane Books, 1998. Photographs, maps, notes, index, 125 pages.
~~~ If the infantry bore the brunt of Civil War combat, it was the engineers who got
them to where they could fight. Engineers built the roads and bridges that allowed the troops
to move forward and their supplies to reach the front. The Union's Army of the Potomac, that
force gathered around Washington early in the war to take Richmond, capital of the
Confederacy, was at first served by the regular U.S. Army's battalion of engineers.
When this force proved too small to handle all the building of works to support over
100,000 men in the field, two volunteer regiments from New York were organized and
placed into what became the Volunteer Engineer Brigade."
~~~ From Booknews: "Contains orders from three years of war -- 1863 to 1865 --
augmented with an introduction, explanations or what specific orders mean, and indications
of the activities of brigade member units at that time. Includes special orders, orders
that pertain to individuals only, and general orders which pertain to the entire brigade.
$25.00
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(Union 2nd Division, VI Corps)
Mudgett, Timothy B.
MAKE THE FUR FLY: A HISTORY OF A UNION
VOLUNTEER DIVISION IN THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR.
NEW
copy, hardcover with dust jacket.
(Shippensburg, PA.: Burd Street Press, 1997). Photographs, maps, chronology, regimental
rollcall, notes, bibliography, index, 166 pages. History of the Union 2nd
Division, VI Corps, from its formation during the Peninsular Campaign of 1862
through the following campaigns: American Civil War, Savage Station,
Antitetam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, the
Shenandoah Campaign of 1864, and the final assault on Petersburg.
$25.00
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(6th Regiment U.S. Colored Infantry) Paradis, James M.,
STRIKE THE BLOW FOR FREEDOM:
The 6th United States Infantry in the Civil War.
NEW copy. Hardcover with dust jacket. (White Mane Publishing Company, 1998).
Photographs, maps, tables, graphs, muster roll, notes, bibliography, index, 203
pages. History of the "Sable Arm", the 6th Regt of U.S. Colored Infantry, which
fought at Dutch Gap Canal, Petersburg, Richmond, Fort Fisher, and New Marrket
Heights. Three of its members were winners of the Congressional Medal of Honor.
$30.00
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[9th New York Heavy Artillery],
Lisa Saunders,
EVER TRUE: Civil War letters of Seward’s New York 9th Heavy Artillery of Wayne and Cayuga Counties between a soldier,
his wife and his Canadian family.
. NEW copy. Trade PAPERBACK.
Heritage Books, 2002. Photographs,
202 pages.
~~~ The transcribed letters of Charles McDowell and his wife, Nancy, display
remarkable devotion, and offer readers a unique perspective of the Civil War. Read little
known details about: hangings; prostitution; amputations; desertions; theft and murder
among Union troops; personal contacts with Lincoln and Seward (of "Seward's Alaskan Folly");
battles of Cold Harbor, Jerusalem Plank Road, Monocacy, Opequon, Fisher's Hill, Cedar Creek,
the Siege of Petersburg, Moseby's Men, and the Shenandoah Valley Campaign. The 9th Heavy
Artillery was a part of the 9th Corps. This story is cohesive and informative yet charming
and romantic in a very personal way.
$19.50
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(12th West Virginia Regiment) Duncan, Richard R. (ed),.
ALEXANDER NEIL AND THE LAST SHENANDOAH VALLEY CAMPAIGN:
Letters of an Army Surgeon to his Family, 1864.
NEW copy, hardcover with dust jacket. (White Mane Publishing Company, 1996).
Photograph, map, notes, bibliography, index, 140 pages. Neil was Assistant Surgeon
of the 12th West Virginia Regiment, and served during the Battle of New Market,
Winchester and Cedar Creek, and the occupation of Richmond.
$25.00
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[13th New York Artillery],
Guy Breshears,
LOYAL TILL DEATH: A Diary of the 13th New York Artillery.
. NEW copy. TRADE PAPERBACK.
Heritage Books, 2003. Bibliography, index,
486 pages.
~~~ The 13th New York Artillery Battery served from October 1861-July 1865 in the
Union army during the Civil War. This unit participated in some famous battles
(Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Atlanta) as well as numerous smaller engagements.
Masses of papers generated by this unit offer candid comments on those battles as
well as daily camp life and the personalities of many of the officers and men. This
book comprises orders, reports, memos, personal letters, etc., received and issued by
the officers of the unit during this time. It is organized in the form of a “unit diary”
and could be considered what the battery would have written if it could. Some of the most
beautifully crafted letters by any soldier in the Civil War were written by William Wheeler,
who served as captain of the 13th until his death in June of 1864. Until now, these letters
were available only in a privately published collection printed in 1875. Few libraries have
that volume, and many of the best historians of the Civil War have never seen the letters or
even heard of Wheeler. Appendices round out this comprehensive work, providing information
on unit service, officers, battles, a brief historical sketch of the unit, inscriptions on
war monuments, and the eulogy for William Wheeler.
$37.00
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(21st Missouri), Anders, Leslie, THE TWENTY-FIRST MISSOURI FROM HOME GUARD TO UNION REGIMENT.
Greenwood Press, 1975. NEW copy. Hardcover, issued without dust jacket.
"Contributions in Military History, Number 11". Photos, maps, bibliographic essay,
index, 298 pages.
$55.00
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(21st NewYork Cavalry) Bonnell, John C., Jr.,
SABRES IN THE SHENANDOAH: THE 21ST NEW YORK CAVALRY, 1863-1866.
NEW copy. Hardcover with dust jacket. (Burd Street Press, 1996).
Photographs, maps, biographical sketches, regimental & company rosters, notes, bibliography, index, 377 pages. The 21st NY Cavalry fought at the Battle of New Market & in the Shenandoah Valley against both Mosby & Early.
$35.00
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[39th Regt, Illinois Vol. Veteran Inf.] Charles M. Clark, MD (Late Surgeon), (edited by Frederick Charles Decker),
YATES PHALANX: The History of the Thirty-Ninth Regiment Illinois Volunteer Veteran Infantry, in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 .
. NEW copy. TRADE PAPERBACK.
Heritage Books, 1994 (reprint of original edition). Illustrations, maps,
appendices, index, 419 pages.
~~~ This text provides a detailed history of Illinois' Thirty-Ninth-the Union
regiment which named itself 'Yates Phalanx' after the governor of the state. Formed
in April 1861, the Thirty-Ninth Illinois Volunteer Veteran Infantry fought in Civil War
campaigns from the winter of 1861 to its muster-out on December 6, 1865; indeed, the
Thirty-Ninth was the lead regiment that held Lee's forces at Appomattox Court-House.
$56.50
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[61st Illinois Volunteers],
Drew D. Dukett,
GLIMPSES OF GLORY: The Regimental History of the 61st Illinois Volunteers with Regimental Roster.
. NEW copy. TRADE PAPERBACK.
Heritage Books, 2000. Illustrations, maps, full name & subject index,
160 pages.
~~~ "A wonderful story about ordinary men and their families
enmeshed in extraordinary events. Glimpses of Glory provides a
moving experience of the human dimension of war.”- Dr. Charles E. White.
Dr. Charles E. White is the author of The Enlightened Soldier
and the former Chief of Military History at the United States Army
Infantry School.
$22.50
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(79th New York Cameron Highlanders), McKnight, W. Mark,.
BLUE BONNETS O'ER THE BORDER: THE 79TH NEW YORK CAMERON
HIGHLANDERS.White Mane Publishing Company,
1998. NEW copy. Hardcover with dust jacket. Photographs, engravings, drawings, maps,
an appendix on the "Uniform, Equipment & Pipers of the Highlanders", notes, bibliography,
index, 185 pages.
$25.00
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(100th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteer Infantry), Gavin, William Gilfillan
(editor), INFANTRYMAN PETTIT: THE CIVIL WAR
LETTERS OF CPL FREDERICK PETTIT.
Avon Books, 1991., NEW. PAPERBACK. Very slight crease on spine. Maps,
photographs, appendices, company roster [Co. C, 100th Pennsylvania
Veteran Volunteer Infantry], bibliography, index, 196 pp.
$15.00
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[116th Ohio Volunteer Inf.],
Gerald Earley,
I BELONG TO THE 116th: A Narrative of the 116th Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War.
. NEW copy. TRADE PAPERBACK.
Heritage Books, 2004. Index,
318 pages.
~~~ Composed of yeomen from the "butternut" portion of Ohio, the 116th Ohio
Volunteer Infantry fought with distinction in some of the fiercest battles of the Civil War.
Colonel James Washburn acknowledged the unit's distinguished combat record during an
address following the Battle of Cedar Creek in October 1864: "You have made for your
regiment a name and a fame that will outlive you all, and to which your children and your
children's children will point with pride in the years of the future." The 116th was present
at Appomattox when General Lee surrendered to ensure that they could, in their own
words, "hand down to generations to come, this glorious Union of ours."
$25.00
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(120th Ohio Infantry) Frey, Jerry,.
GRANDPA'S GONE: THE ADVENTURES OF DANIEL BUCHWALTER IN THE
WESTERN ARY, 1862-1865. Shippensburg, PA.:
Burd Street Press., 1998. F/VG. A small chip at spine bottom of jacket,
otherwise book & jacket in "as new" condition. Photographs, maps, notes,
bibliography, index., 227 pages. Buchwalter served with the 120th Ohio
Infantry in the Vicksburg, Red River and Mobile campaigns.
$30.00
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(Iron Brigade),
Matrau, Henry, LETTERS HOME:
Henry Matrau of the Iron Brigade.
NEW copy, hardcover with dust jacket.
(University of Nebraska Press, 1993). First Edition.
Preface, Letters, Epilogue, section of thirty seperate biographies of persons
mentioned in the letters, Notes, Index. 166 pp.
~~~ "This volume comprises
sixty-three previously unpublished letters from a young Civil War soldier to
his family...written while he served in the Sixth Wisconsin Regiment, one of
the units of the acclaimed 'Iron Brigade.' Only sixteen when he joined the
Union army in 1861, Henry Matrau rose to the rank of captain during his four
years of wartime service. He took part in many of the major engagements of
the war: Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, and the
siege of Petersburg. In his letters, Matrau describes camp life: the food,
uniforms & equipment, reading materials, & medical care available to him and
his comrades. Other incidents recounted include the capture and transfer of
'contraband' slaves, the execution of a Union army deserter, friendly
exchanges between Union and Confederate soldiers on picket, & tours of
Richmond's Libby & Castle Thunder prisons after the war. These letters
reflect Matrau's maturing as a soldier, from his youthful enthusiasm early in
1862 when he boasts of becoming proficient with a bayonet, to the
combat-weary, veteran fighter who admits in Spring 1863 that he has
'seen the elephant' and is ready to come home."
$45.00
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Unit Histories:
CONFEDERATE
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(4th Virginia Cavalry),
Stiles, Kenneth L., 4TH VIRGINIA CAVALRY.
H.E. Howard, Inc.,
Lynchburg, Virginia, 1985., NF/VG. Slight ink mark to bottom front
corner of DJ. DJ in mylar protector. SIGNED BY AUTHOR & NUMBERED:
#8 of 1000. Maps, photographs. List of officers by unit, plus muster
roll of some 1900 men with service record of each man. Extensive
bibliograp hy, 154 pp. The 4th Virginia Cavalry was one of the
largest regiments in JEB Stuart's cavalry corps.
$65.00
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(4th Virginia Cavalry), Original Document,,
QUARTERMASTER'S INVOICE, CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA..
VG. Two invoices printed on one 12"x 7.5"
sheet. Originally folded in quarters, then folded again in half. Now flattened.
1/4" tears at two centerfolds. Each invoice is printed identically as follows:
in ornate typface: "Confederate States of America", and below it, in plain
typeface: QUARTERMASTER'S DEPARTMENT". Below that, in ornate
typeface, is printed: "Invoice of Quartermaster's Stores this day turned over
to..." At bottom of each invoice is printed: "YORK TOWN, VA." and, below it, "
1 8 6 2 ". Both invoices are filled out and signed by Captain J.B. White and
dated April 25th, and itemize sizeable stores of corn, hay & bran, to be turned
over to Capt J.H. Heath of the the 4th Virginia Cavalry. Captain Jessie
Hartwell Heath, Company F, thirty years of age, had been appointed
Quartermaster Captain of the 4th V.C. the previous November. He would be
parolled out in late April, 1865, and would die the following year. (I have not
been able to trace the identity of Capt White) . On the date this invoice was
written, the 4th V.C. was reorganizing in Yorktown, electing a new
commanding officer for itself, LtCol Williams C. Wickham. In a few days the
regiment would cover the Confederate withdrawal to Williamsburg in the
face of Federal incursions. The 4th Virginia Cavalry was one of the largest
regiments in JEB Stuart's cavalry corps. Four companies of the 4th, assigned
to the 1st Virginia Cavalry, would participate in Stuart's "Ride Round
McClellan" a few weeks later . Fifty-five members of the 4th were present
with Lee at his surrender at Appomattox.
$155.00
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(8th Georgia Infantry Regiment), Warren Wilkinson & Steven E. Woodworth,
A SCYTHE OF FIRE: A Civil War Story of the Eighth Georgia Infantry Regiment.
NEW copy, hardcover with dust jacket. (NY: William Morrow/Harper Collins, 2002).
Photographs, appendices, notes, index, 340 pages.
~~~ The men of the Eighth Georgia Infantry Regiment answered the Confederate call to arms in the spring of 1861.
They fought hard in most major battles of the war, including Bull Run and Gettysburg, enduring heartbreaking losses and
finally, at Appomattox, witnessing their ultimate defeat.
~~~ A Scythe of Fire tells the remarkable story of
this regiment, which held together through long years of victory, defeat, and despair. The magnificent product of
meticulous research, Warren Wilkinson and Steven E. Woodworth's stirring chronicle brings the conflict alive through
the eyes of the courageous men who fought and died on the nation's battlefields. Based on personal accounts, diaries,
letters, and other primary sources, A Scythe of Fire is the history of the Eighth Georgia as experienced by those
who carried its standard into battle: doctors and farmers, landowners and simple folk -- each dedicated to victory, yet
proud and unbroken in the face of defeat.
~~~ Hardcover OUT OF PRINT.
$27.95
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[14th Georgia Inf. Regt. CSA],
Ray Dewberry,
HISTORY OF THE 14th GEORGIA INFANTRY REGIMENT.
. NEW copy. TRADE PAPERBACK.
Heritage Books, 2001 Index, 130 pages.
~~~ This book covers the period of the U.S. Civil War and provides a detailed
combat history of the 14th Georgia Infantry regiment of Lee's army. The story is
constructed around quotations from letters written home from soldiers of Company A
of this regiment to summarize the actions of the 14th Georgia in the complete period of
fighting from the days immediately following 1st Manassas right up through the end at
Appomattox Courthouse. The story was initiated to provide a history of this regiment to
the descendents of one of its veterans-Private Aaron Jackson Dewberry of Monroe,
Georgia. It evolved into a personal story including all of the veterans from Company A
in this regiment. The narrative includes an individual accounting of each of the 119
veterans of the company and will be of especial interest to all of their descendents.
The narrative and action is placed in the Virginia campaigns of Robert E. Lee's army.
From the narrative and letters quoted, the reader will be placed at thirteen battlefield sites
including detailed action accounts of Chancellorsville, The Wilderness, Spotsylvania,
Petersburg, and Appomattox. Confederate descendents of the veterans of Company A
of the 14th Georgia Regiment will find this a stirring accounting of their ancestor's
experiences
$15.50
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[15th Georgia Regt. CSA],
J. David Dameron,
BENNING'S BRIGADE, Volume 1: A History and Roster of the Fifteenth Georgia.
. NEW copy. TRADE PAPERBACK.
Heritage Books, (1997) 2003. Photographs, maps, charts, index, 212 pages.
~~~ This work provides a history and roster of the individual regiments which
comprised the unit. First and primarily, the book is intended to accurately reflect the
composition, strength, and disposition of the brigade, chronologically, throughout the
Civil War, from its inception to its ultimate demobilization. Secondly, the narrative is
filled with excerpts from diaries, journals, correspondence, and reports from the officers
and men that wrote them. These personal reflections are intended to provide the reader
with an intimate and uniquely southern perspective of the American Civil War. A detailed
analysis of the brigade at the regimental and company level provides an accurate graphic
and historical representation, and the roster of the regiment highlights each soldier
individually. More than half the regiment did not survive the war; however, their legacy
survived and they are forever an integral part of our American heritage.
$23.00
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[17th Alabama Inf. CSA],
Illene D. and Wilbur E. Thompson,
THE SEVENTEENTH ALABAMA INFANTRY: Compiled Military Service Records of the 63rd Alabama Infantry CSA with Rosters of Some Companies of the 89th, 94th and 95th Alabama Militia CSA.
. NEW copy. TRADE PAPERBACK.
Heritage Books, 2001 Appendices, bibliography, fullname & subject index, 487 pages.
~~~ This work provides a remarkable account of the involvement of the 17th
Alabama Infantry Regiment in the Civil War. The 17th Regiment was organized
September 5, 1861, at Montgomery, Alabama. The 17th was mustered into the
Confederate Army with a full regiment of ten companies and approximately 900 men.
This book explores personal aspects of the soldiers as well as their reactions to events
surrounding them. Much of their story is told using their own words, where available, from
diaries, letters and military reports. Descriptions of the following military assignments are
included: the coastal defense duties in Pensacola, the bloodbath at Shiloh, coastal defense
at Mobile, the Battle of Atlanta, the Battle of Franklin and the Battle of Nashville. The
appendices list a roster for the entire regiment with over 2,800 names, from each of the
ten companies, listed in alphabetical order. Individual entries in the roster include: date and
location of enlistment, disease, injury, capture and imprisonment, and discharge or parole.
Date and location of birth, death and burial are listed, if known. A medical glossary and
casualty lists can also be found in the appendices.
$39.00
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[26th Alabama Inf Regt. CSA],
James H. Walker and Robert Curren,
THOSE GALLANT MEN OF THE TWENTY-EIGHTH ALABAMA
CONFEDERATE INFANTRY REGIMENT.
. NEW copy. Trade PAPERBACK.
Heritage Books, (1997) 2005. Index, 398 pages.
~~~ The authors provide a thorough listing of 1,648 men who belonged to the
28th Alabama Confederate Infantry Regiment during the Civil War, and vividly describe
the gallant men's lives before, during and after the conflict. The regiment was composed
of ten companies of men, recruited from eight central Alabama counties: Blount, Dallas,
Jefferson, Marshall, Perry, Shelby, Talladega and Walker. Some of the men were from
plantations in the wealthy "black belt" region of Alabama, while others were from poor
"one mule farms" from the hill country of the state. This work includes the diary of
Captain Isaac McAdory, who recorded the day-by-day activities of the regiment and its
participation in seven major battles and numerous skirmishes from the time of its
organization in 1862 until its surrender in 1865. One of the strangest occurrences in
modern military history was to fall upon the regiment when General Braxton Bragg
had two of its members assassinated by firing squad for going AWOL. By the time
the Civil War ended, 529 men from this regiment had been hospitalized, 395 had become
prisoners of war, and 403 had lost their lives in battle. The first third of the book gives the
background and organizational history of the regiment and a photograph of its battle flag
of silk, designed by the renowned artist Nicola Marshall, who also designed the original
Confederate battle flag. The bulk of the book is an appendix which summarizes the men's
service records, and hospital and death records, and presents a glossary of medical terms,
biographical sketches, and census records of many of their families. An everyname index
completes the work. As a historian and genealogist, James Walker has presented a work
from which researchers, historians and Civil War buffs will greatly benefit, while getting to
know the remarkable men, those gallant men, of the 28th Alabama Confederate Infantry
Regiment.
$33.00
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[35th Alabama Infantry. CSA],
Leroy F. Banning,
REGIMENTAL HISTORY OF THE 35th ALABAMA INFANTRY.
. NEW copy. TRADE PAPERBACK.
Heritage Books, 1999. Maps, charts, 152 pages.
~~~ This book, written in diary format, follows this Confederate Civil War unit
from its creation around a nucleus of the cadets from the LaGrange Military Academy
in LaGrange, Alabama, on March 1, 1862, to its surrender at Greensboro, North Carolina,
on May 2, 1865. The unit was heavily involved with the campaign to hold Mississippi, but
also fought in Alabama, at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and the many battles to defend
Atlanta, Georgia. The battle at "bloody" Franklin, Tennessee, saw the virtual destruction
of the unit. An alphabetical list of the 726 men known to have served in the regiment is
included, providing biographical material, rank and details from medical, prisoner of war
and death records.
$18.00
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[63rd Alabama Inf. CSA],
Arthur E. Green,
TOO LITTLE TOO LATE: Compiled Military Service Records of the 63rd Alabama
Infantry CSA with Rosters of Some Companies of the 89th, 94th and 95th Alabama
Militia CSA.
. NEW copy. Trade PAPERBACK.
Heritage Books, 2001 Illustrations, 234 pages.
~~~ An interesting and useful genealogical research aide, this unit history contains
the records of 1,133 young Alabama men who joined the war late, fought in battle and
were captured at Blakeley, Alabama. Upon capture, they were sent as prisoners to Ship
Island near Biloxi, Mississippi. Of these young men, many being 17 or younger, almost all
survived the war, which makes their records interesting and important to researchers.
This work contains muster rolls and rosters, and service records for the 2nd Alabama
Regiment Reserves, which was organized in August 1864. Its designation changed
between March and May 1865 to the 63rd Alabama Infantry Volunteers. Many of the
service record entries include the soldier’s name, company, rank, date mustered, a
physical description, where he was stationed, when and why he was released from the
service, and place of residence. Also included are some records for the 89th, 94th and
95th Alabama Militias. This book contains illustrations of the U.S. Hospital Steamer,
D.A. January and the flag of the 2nd Alabama Reserves/63rd Infantry CSA.
$35.00
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[Pettigrew-Kirkland-MacRae Brigade]
Earl J. Hess, LEE'S TAR HEELS:
The Pettigrew-Kirkland-MacRae Brigade.
NEW copy, hardcover with dust jacket. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2002).
Photographs, maps, notes, bibliography,
index. 437 pages.
~~~ The Pettigrew-Kirkland-MacRae Brigade was one of North Carolina's
best-known and most successful units during the Civil War. Formed in the summer of
1862, the brigade spent many months protecting supply lines in its home state before
it was thrust into its first major combat at Gettysburg. There, James Johnston
Pettigrew's men pushed back the Union's famed Iron Brigade in vicious fighting on
July 1 and played a key role in Pickett's Charge on July 3, in the process earning a
reputation as one of the hardest-fighting units in Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern
Virginia. Lee's Tar Heels tells the story of the men who made up the
Pettigrew-Kirkland-MacRae Brigade, which included the 11th, 26th, 44th, and 52nd North
Carolina Regiments. Earl Hess chronicles the unit's formation and growth under
Pettigrew and its subsequent exploits under William W. Kirkland and William MacRae.
Beyond recounting the brigade's military engagements, Hess draws on letters, diaries,
memoirs, and service records to explore the camp life, medical care, social backgrounds,
and political attitudes of these gallant Tar Heels. He also addresses the continuing
debate between North Carolinians and Virginians over responsibility for the failure of
Pickett's Charge.
~~~ Currently in print at $39.95.
$35.00
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(Stonewall Brigade),
Robertson, James I. Jr., THE STONEWALL BRIGADE.
VG+. Trade PAPERBACK. (Louisiana State
University Press, 1989). Photographs, page
notes, bibliography, appendix: "Companies in the Stonewall
Brigade", index. 271 pp.
$15.00
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[Stuart Horse Artillery Battalion]
Trout, Robert J., GALLOPING THUNDER:
The Stuart Horse Artillery Battalion.
Stackpole Books, 2002. Photographs, maps, appendices, bibliography,
index. 786 pages.
~~~ From The Civil War News: "Robert J. Trout will be
known to aficionados of Confederate cavalry for They Followed the Plume (1993)
and With Pen and Saber (1995), accounts of the lives and writings of Jeb Stuart’s
staff officers. Galloping Thunder, a comprehensive history of the various
companies of the Stuart Horse Artillery, will add further luster to Trout’s standing as a
preeminent historian of Robert E. Lee’s mounted arm.
~~~
Galloping Thunder is not a standard unit history, focusing on battles, leaders and
their decisions in combat. Rather, it is a history of the Stuart Horse Artillery Battalion told
through the letters, diary entries and postwar reminiscences of the men in the ranks of its
various batteries.
~~~
The Alabamian and West Point graduate John Pelham formed the first of these batteries,
a unit of “Mounted Fly-ing Artillery,” in late 1861. By the end of the war the Stuart Horse
Artillery Battalion had grown to 10 batteries, and participated in every battle and
campaign of the Army of Northern Virginia. Some batteries also fought in the 1862 and
1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaigns and in Joseph E. Johnston’s Carolinas campaign,
completing an impressive record of combat service.
~~~
The tenures of the Stuart Horse Artillery’s three battalion commanders form natural
dividing points for this book; Trout has organized his narrative around those three
commanders, whose actions and personalities did much to shape the performance of
their men. Pelham, the battalion’s first commander, is instantly known to most readers
of Civil War history as “The Gallant Pelham,” the very personification of the dashing
Rebel officer. Pelham became Stuart’s artillery battalion commander in early 1862, and
led the battalion in the Peninsula, Second Manassas and Maryland campaigns.
~~~
Pelham gained his reputation, however, for his exploits at Fredericksburg, where on
Dec. 13, 1862, he and a two-gun section occupied a position forward of the Confederate
defensive line, in full view of his commanders, and did significant damage to attacking
Union forces before withdrawing. Trout tells this familiar story, as he does all others,
through the eyes of the artillerists who manned the guns. Pelham paid for his aggressive
leadership with his life, however, as he was killed in a cavalry action at Kelly’s Ford,
Virginia, in March 1863.
~~~
Two succeeding commanders, West Pointer Robert F. Beckham and VMI graduate
Roger Preston Chew, led the battalion capably for the remainder of the war. For Chew
in particular, the position of battalion commander was a natural fit, because many of the
men he commanded in an earlier artillery battery became members of the Stuart Horse
Artillery.
~~~
Galloping Thunder is exhaustively researched, making use of numerous manuscript
collections and published reminiscences. This gold mine of primary source material will
appeal to students of Confederate cavalry, and of the Army of Northern Virginia, but not
to the general reader. The author assumes a certain familiarity with the Eastern Theater’s
broad operational outlines, and focuses intensively on the experience of combat and
military life from the perspective of enlisted soldiers and junior officers. At $44.95, sticker
shock may also prevent all but the most ardent readers of Confederate history from
purchasing the book..
~~~
The long passages from letters and diaries tend to interrupt the flow of the narrative,
perhaps an unavoidable con-dition given the author’s intent, but this does not detract
from the real value of this book. As Mr. Trout notes in his opening chapter, “It should
be remembered that these men were simply human beings caught up in a titanic struggle,
the scope of which few of them comprehended. Once drawn into the conflict, most of
them endeavored to do what duty required and made every effort to stay alive while doing
so.”
~~~
The essential humanity of the Civil War soldier shines forth from the collected words of
Galloping Thunder. Robert J. Trout has created a fascinating twist on the
traditional unit history.
$45.00
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