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Book Reviews These are some reviews from a recent issue of
The Civil War News:
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A Great Civil War: A Military and Political History, 1861-1865
by Russell F. Weigley.
Maps, notes, bibliography, index, 642 pp., 2000. Indiana University Press, 601 North Morton St., Bloomington, IN 47404, $35.95 plus shipping.
One of America’s premier military historians has penned an "old-fashioned" military and political history of the Civil War. Rather than taking the modern approach of delving into the war as seen by the men in blue and gray, Weigley approaches the war through a close study of command and control, as well as supporting politics. Weigley’s life-long study of military history and its lessons permeate this excellently written tome. Several themes run throughout this book. One is that the Civil War began, at least in the North, as a war to pre-serve the Union. Lincoln hoped for a short war to bring the South back into the Union; when that failed, largely because of failures by his generals (McClellan chief among them), Lincoln was backed into using the destruction of slavery by pressure from abolitionists, Congress, and the army in the field. Weigley clearly traces this policy evolution and how such organizations as the Freedman’s Bureau contributed to victory. The only missing detail in this thread is the omission of Burnside’s operations in North Carolina and Ed-ward Stanley’s problems with military government in his home state. Although Weigley rates Robert E. Lee highly as the best Napoleonic general of the war, he rightly criticizes the general for his continued offensive tactics that weakened the Army of Northern Virginia. Yes, Weigley says, a vic-tory over the Army of the Potomac might have resulted in foreign recognition, but the age of decisive battles whereby a field army could be annihilated had past. He also has incisive views on Ulysses S. Grant. Weigley regards Grant’s Vicksburg operations as a masterpiece, but then goes on to show how Grant bungled the war in Virginia. Grant had hoped to coordinate the attacks of the federal armies, but was unable to effectively use Butler and Sigel to help defeat Lee. This was a result of a general shortcoming of Civil War commanders who largely misunderstood operational warfare. Sherman had the chance to use his three armies to defeat Joe Johnston, but Weigley contends that Sherman gener-ally directed his armies as a whole rather than use them more effectively. Had Grant not accompanied the Army of the Potomac, contends Weigley, the results might have been different. Weigley also examines the controversial subject of Southern nationalism and concludes that a major reason for the Confederate defeat was a lack of deep-seated national feeling. The result was a serious impediment of the South’s ability to create a new nation. Many readers will find this thread of the book controversial as recent scholarship by Gary Gallagher and others portrays a different picture of Southern nationalism, but informed readers can draw upon both avenues of approach to make their own conclusions. Weigley also concludes that the Eastern (Virginia) Theater was the most important because it was there that the decisive capture of the enemy capital could occur as well as of each main army. With stalemate in Virginia, the Western Theater built up momentum because of the aggressiveness of the Federal generals. Weigley also chronicles the political history of both Congresses, including the progressive legislation in the North that led to the transcontinental railroad, Homestead Act, National Banking Act, and other such legislation that had been stymied by Southern Democrats before 1861. Whether or not you agree or disagree with Weigley’s conclusions, his book is provocative reading and is a master-piece of writing and research that stands out from most existing one-volume histories of the Civil War.
Richard A. Sauers
Richard A. Sauers is the author of numerous Civil War books, including Advance the Colors!
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