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Book Reviews These are some reviews from a recent issue of
The Civil War News:
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“Old Waddy’s Coming” — The Military Career of Brigadier General James S. Wadsworth
by John F. Krumwiede.
Illustrated, maps, endnotes, bibliography, index, 194 pp., 2002. Butternut and Blue, 3411 Northwind Rd., Baltimore, MD 21234, $30 plus shipping.
American historian Allan Nevins wrote: “A good biography must vividly recreate a character, it must present a full, careful, and unbiased record of his acts and experiences; and it must indicate the place of the hero in history.” John F. Krumwiede’s biography of Brig. Gen. James S. Wadsworth fails to meet most of Nevins’s criteria for a good biography. Though the author conveys the essential facts of Wadsworth’s life adequately, the portrait of the general in these pages is far from vivid. The vast majority of the narrative is consumed by detailed tactical action in which Wadsworth is as often a passive observer as an active participant. The Gettysburg Campaign takes up nearly 50 pages of the book, almost a third of the entire narrative text, and yet readers do not see this important action though the general’s eyes. While the account of the tactical action on July 1 at Gettysburg is brisk and thorough, the author loses his focus on Wadsworth frequently. The question of the author’s bias in favor of his subject stems from the lack of criticism or analysis of Wadsworth’s shortcomings and mistakes as an officer. While Wadsworth’s personal courage, abolitionist fervor, and dedication to the Union cause are evident in the text, the author allots little time or space for Wadsworth’s detractors or their arguments. Of course, every author has the right to choose such a course, but the result is usually an incomplete biography. The author makes clear Wadsworth’s place in the hearts of his soldiers. A quotation from a soldier in Wadsworth’s division is but one of many quotations used to show how beloved the general was by the rank and file. “The division had other commanders whom it rightly honored,” according to Orville Thomas of the 7th Indiana, “but none as it did ‘Pap Wadsworth.’” What is unclear, however, is whether or not Brig. Gen. James S. Wadsworth deserves the place in American history that the author tries to claim for him throughout the text. At the end of the book, readers may well be inclined to agree with Albert M. Mills of the 8th New York Cavalry, who offered heartfelt but judicious praise at the dedication of Wadsworth Gettysburg statue in October 1914, “From the beginning of the Civil War until mortally wounded in the Wilderness, James S. Wadsworth was continually engaged in rendering valuable, varied and courageous service to the Union cause.”
John E. Deppen
John E. Deppen is a member of the Susquehanna Civil War Round Table. He has an MA in military studies with honors in Civil War studies from American Military University.
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