Confederate Guerrilla: The Civil War Memoir of Joseph Bailey American Civil War Guerrilla Tactics
These two books discuss guerrilla warfare from different perspectives. The first is a memoir and the second is a primer on tactics. T. Lindsay Baker, editor of the Joseph Bailey memoir, states in his preface that few Confederate guerrillas left written accounts of their activities during the Civil War. This one was written decades after the conflict and gives us a glimpse of what life was like for the ordinary soldier. Joseph Bailey was just that — an ordinary man. We follow his life in the 16th Arkansas Infantry from enlistment through his capture at Port Hudson, La. We next learn of his ultimate escape and return to Arkansas. Readers follow his activity as a guerrilla until the collapse of the Confederacy and his return to civilian life. All these events occur in 71 pages. This is a literate and informative tale, written some 30 years after the experience. It is sparse. In fact the notes pages take as much space as the text. It is well written and edited. Unfortunately it has no maps to follow the action and no illustrations to enhance the participants. There are only two photographs of Bailey and both are of him as an old man. Memoirs are always a welcome addition to the study of Civil War history, but this one is too lean a tale. At almost $30 I much prefer a bit more meat with my potatoes. Sean McLachlan produced this latest Osprey effort on Guerrilla Tactics. These monographs have a different audience in mind, the hobbyist and model maker. They are basic in nature and resemble Cliff notes for novice students. This edition is filled with illustrations, maps and photographs. The text gives a basic understanding of tactics and describes a few of the more famous actions of the war. It is well written and filled with color photos and illustrations. I used many of the Osprey Civil War books in my days of diorama building and painting toy soldiers. They are an excellent source of reference for uniforms and equipment. Once again, my only criticism is the moderately high price for a very small book. Reviewer: Joseph A. Truglio Joseph A. Truglio is president and business agent for a motion picture film technicians local union and a lifelong student of the Civil War. His memberships include the Lincoln Group of New York and New Jersey Civil War Heritage Assn. He is president of the Phil Kearny Civil War Round Table in Wayne, N.J. |
Confederate Guerrilla: The Civil War Memoir of Joseph Bailey. Edited by T. Lindsay Baker. Notes, bibliography, index, photographs. University of Arkansas Press, 
American Civil War Guerrilla Tactics. By Sean McLachlan. Illustrated, maps, photos, bibliography, index. Osprey Publishing,