The Seventh Rhode Island Infantry in the Civil War
By Robert Grandchamp

Illustrated, index, bibliography, endnotes, appendices, maps, 193 pp., 2007. McFarland, P.O. Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640; 49.95 plus shipping.

Reviewer: Kenneth D. Williams
Kenneth D. Williams is writ­ing a book on the 11th Pennsylvania Volunteers and is doing doctoral level work in American history. He has worked as a park ranger at Gettysburg National Military Park and Eisenhower National Historic Site.

Review:
McFarland Publishing has recently added a new title to its ongoing series of regimental histories. The Seventh Rhode Island in the Civil War tells the story of a regiment that was raised after the call for 300,000 volunteers in the summer of 1862 and subsequently served to the end of the conflict.

Author Robert Grandchamp, a Rhode Island graduate student, relates the story of a varied lot of individuals, from previous war and early Civil War veterans to raw farmers and townsmen who served with distinction in many of the conflict’s campaigns.

The Seventh joined the Ninth Army Corps in the aftermath of Antietam and soon saw its first and ultimately bloodiest battle at Fredericksburg in December 1862. Attacking in the third wave against Marye’s Heights, the Rhodes Islanders experienced severe casualties and then suffered through the dismal winter of 1862-63 and the infamous “Mud March.”

Following their beloved corps commander Ambrose Burnside to the Department of the Ohio, the Seventh was detached and sent to reinforce Grant at Vicksburg. Though remaining largely in a support role, the Rhode Island boys lost heavily in manpower to the ravages of disease in the Mississippi swamplands.

Returning east in 1864, the Seventh Rhode Island served through the Overland Campaign and into the siege of Petersburg, often serving as the defending force of Fort Sedgwick, better known as “Fort Hell.”

Late in the year, re-enlistees of the Fourth Rhode Island, insufficient in number to continue their own regimental existence, were added to the diminished ranks of the Seventh.

Spring of the new year brought the Petersburg breakout, the road to Appomattox Court House and victory. The Rhode Island boys participated in the Grand Review and mustered out back home in June.

Grandchamp concludes his book with a look at the veterans in the postwar era. Some went on to fortune and fame, some never recovered from the effects of disease or wounds, but most lived their lives in dignity and simplicity. The last survivor passed to the eternal muster in 1939.

Grandchamp does a fine job of relating the story of these men, utilizing numerous diaries, memoirs, newspaper articles and regimental accounts.

Adequate maps illustrate the various campaigns participated in by the Seventh and there are copious photos of members of the regiment. A few editorial mistakes, such as Daniel instead of David Twiggs, do not detract from the overall presentation.

McFarland, as usual, does a great job in the design and presentation of the book. The maps, photos and overall print are well=reproduced and the cover is sturdy and eye-catching.

The down side of course is good production values coupled with a small printing house equals a high retail price — in this case $49.95 for a 193-page work. This, unfortunately, probably puts this slim volume out of the range of all but the most devoted students of these brave boys from New England.