No Prouder Fate: The Story of the 11th South Carolina Volunteer Infantry
Another volume from Broadfoot’s Regimental Roster Set, No Prouder Fate follows the 11th South Carolina from its creation in 1861 through the end of the war in 1865. The 11th served most of the conflict on the South Carolina coast before it was transferred in 1864 to the Petersburg front, where it saw action at Drewry’s Bluff. The book contains a lot of detailed information about the coastal engagements, an arena of the conflict which has been generally ignored. A friend once told me that a book containing a great deal of solid information is worthless if it is difficult to read. Unfortunately, this book falls into that category. One cannot doubt the author’s devotion to his topic; however, the poor writing and the equally poor editing negate any of its positive attributes. On the first page, the author says South Carolina seceded on Dec. 20, 1861. Federal soldiers “sat foot on Mackay’s [MacKay’s] Point.” On the same page Gen. John Brannon’s name is spelled correctly in the second paragraph and then misspelled as “Brannen” in the following two paragraphs (p.59). “Sergeant Major fuller [Fuller]” shows up in the last paragraph on page 64. The colloquialism “towards” appears continually throughout the book. “Cause” appears as “cuase” (p.395). The writing, mostly in the passive voice, makes the book difficult to read. The book reads more like a term paper than a carefully crafted narrative. A prime example: “The shots were falling all around the dock as the men began to disembark. Casualties began to mount yet nothing could be done to defend them. Most of the landface guns of the fort had already been dismounted. There was no Confederate Navy to speak of. Only a few men were able to reach the dry land as the Captain panicked and backed away from the dock fearing for his personal safety. It was a mixed bag of soldiers from various companies that did land.” (p. 153) No Prouder Fate lacks good editing and is not the quality work that Broadfoot normally produces. I wish I could give this book a more positive review, but I cannot. I had a very difficult time trying to read it. Reviewer: John Michael Priest John Michael Priest is a 30-year Civil War and U.S. history teacher in Washington County, Maryland, high schools. A member of Historical Miniature Wargaming Society, he is an avid 54mm wargamer—French and Indian War through the U. S. Civil War. He has written four Civil War books and has a manuscript under consideration at the University of Kentucky Press.
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Photographs, endnotes, bibliography, roster, and index, 393 pp., 2009, Broadfoot Publishing Company ,