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Book Reviews These are some reviews from a recent issue of
The Civil War News:
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Lloyd Tilghman and Francis Asbury Shoup: Two Forgotten Confederate Generals
by James W. Raab.
Illustrated, maps, softcover, endnotes, bibliography, 241 pp., 2001. Southern Heritage Press, 4035 Emerald Dr., Murfreesboro, TN 37130, $16.95 plus shipping.
Gen. Lloyd Tilghman graduated from West Point in the class of 1836 and enjoyed a distin-guished career in the dragoons for three months before resigning his commission to become a civil engineer with a number of railroad companies. With the outbreak of the Mexican War, Tilghman enlisted with the army as an aide-de-camp to General Twiggs and participated in the battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de La Palma. Tilghman re-entered civilian life after the war and became the principal assistant engineer in a rail-road company building a rail line across the isthmus of Panama. He remained in railroads until the outbreak of the Civil War at which time he joined the Kentucky State Guards and later the Confed-erate service. Tilghman quickly found himself at forts Henry and Donelson, preparing their defenses and en-twined in their surrender. After serving as a prisoner of war, Tilghman was paroled and fought in a few minor actions before heading west to the defense of Vicksburg. He was killed in action at the battle of Champion Hill on May 16, 1863. Francis Asbury Shoup graduated from West Point in the class of 1855. Stationed in Florida after graduation, Shoup resigned his commission upon the death of his parents so that he could look af-ter his siblings. Upon his return to his home in Indianapolis, Shoup became an attorney and re-mained in practice until the Civil War. With the outbreak of hostilities Shoup returned to Florida and joined the Confederate forces taking control of the regional coastal forts. Shoup next traveled to Alabama and soon became a troubleshooter, recruiter and artillerist at numerous forts and posts. Like General Tilghman, Shoup found himself in the Western Theater where he participated in the battle of Shiloh, followed by duty as an inspector general, and author of a manual on infantry tac-tics. The siege of Vicksburg found General Shoup on the front lines in defense of the city. Fol-lowing his parole, Shoup was promoted to Chief of Artillery of the Army of Tennessee where he was entrusted with the early defensive line around Atlanta before becoming the Chief of Staff for Gen. John Bell Hood. Seeing the Confederate lines continually stretching and weakening, Shoup advocated the use of colored troops in the Confederate service. However the suggestion was too late to fend off defeat. Following the war Shoup entered the ministry and later became a professor of math and engineer-ing before dying on Sept. 4, 1896. Tilghman and Shoup contributed a great deal to the Confederate service. While interesting indi-viduals, there is apparently not sufficient material on either one to justify an entire book, thus Raab has them share the spotlight. Each biography comprises one half of the book. The writing is brief, choppy, and continually, but unsuccessfully, strives to find an interesting flow. The chapters are short and to the point. Raab includes numerous maps and pictures which, while interesting, are of poor quality and appear to be nothing more than photocopies and clippings. In the end, Raab demonstrates that there are those who need and deserve to be uncovered from the dust of history. Lloyd Tilghman and Francis Asbury Shoup are two such individuals. However, given the quality of the presentation, and depth of information conveyed, your time and money may be better spent elsewhere.
John S. Benson
John S. Benson is a student at the Civil War Institute, and appears in the Civil War play "A House Divided." He is an Assistant District Attorney in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
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