The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862

Book Description

In eight new essays, contributors to this volume explore the Shenandoah Valley campaign, best known for its role in establishing Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's reputation as a Confederate hero.

In early 1862, Union troops under George B. McClellan had arrived within range of Richmond and threatened to take the Confederate capital. Robert E. Lee ordered Jackson to march north through the Shenandoah Valley, hoping to tie down Federal forces that might otherwise reinforce McClellan's troops. The strategy worked, and for two months the Confederates evaded and harassed their Union pursuers. Jackson's speed and audacity boosted plummeting Southern morale, and he emerged from the Valley as the Confederacy's greatest military idol.

Contributors address questions of military leadership, strategy and tactics, the campaign's political and social impact, and the ways in which participants' memories of events differed from what is revealed in the historical sources. In the process, they offer valuable insights into one of the Confederacy's most famous generals, those who fought with him and against him, the campaign's larger importance in the context of the war, and the complex relationship between history and memory.

Contributors include Jonathan M. Berkey, Keith S. Bohannon, Peter S. Carmichael, Gary W. Gallagher, A. Cash Koeniger, R. E. L. Krick, Robert K. Krick, and William J. Miller.

Customer Reviews:

Selling Out? Hardly!.......2006-03-26

I read with incredulity the review that accused Gary Gallagher of "selling out" because he has steadily broadened his "Military Campaigns of the Civil War" series to incorporate more political, social, and cultural context. Wars do not occur in a vacuum, and the direction of Gallagher's series has shown both scholarly growth and real leadership.

Too much Civil War history falls into two categories. First, the category of operational/tactical studies -- narratives of combat for its own sake, usually with no sense of a larger military context (for instance, whether the ranges of engagement in a given battle better support the argument that the rifled musket had a revolutionary impact, or whether the fighting was essentially just incrementally different from Napoleonic combat). Second, the category of political and social histories that virtually ignore the fact that the Civil War was, indeed, a *war.*

Gallagher is one of the finest examples of a Civil War historian determined to bring these two categories into active conversation with each other. He has trained some of the best young Civil War historians we have, and has influenced them to look seriously at the intersection of military, political, social and cultural developments. One of his proteges, Bill Blair of Penn State University, has revitalized _Civil War History_, the flagship journal of the field, and Gallagher's two series for University of North Carolina Press--"Civil War America" as well as "Military Campaigns of the Civil War" -- regularly showcase up and coming historians as well as established ones. He is, I would argue, the most important single scholar shaping the field today.

I don't mind seeing historians criticized. That's part of the business. I don't even mind people who don't know what they're talking about, like the author of the "sell-out" comment. I do mind it when people can't express their opinions in a civil manner.

What's truly weird is that Gallagher's essay in this volume is a classic bit of strategic command-level analysis, while Bob Krick -- whom the "sell-out" reviewer praises for doing "pure" military history -- here contributes an essay on the development of Stonewall Jackson's public image.

It makes you wonder if the guy even read the book.

Oh, and one last thing: Mr. Sell-Out seems to think it's easy to edit a volume of essays. In my experience, it's as difficult as writing a book of one's own, and sometimes more so.

-- Mark Grimsley, author of _The Hard Hand of War_ and a specialist in military history at The Ohio State University

Essays cover various aspects of well known campaign.......2003-08-27

With this book, Gary Gallagher continues his efforts to add details to well known Civil War campaigns by compiling essays from a variety of authors. In Gallagher's opinion, most Civil War battles have already been covered well enough by one author or another in narrative form. Thus, the challenge becomes, how can greater detail and insight be presented without simply rehashing the same facts and figures of previous works. His campaign series takes the approach that it would be interesting to have noted Civil War historians present detailed essays about various military aspects of a certain campaign. Typically, these books have resulted from summertime battlefield tours that Dr. Gallagher offers through his university history department (first with Penn State, and now with UVa).

The Shendandoan Valley Campaign of 1862 is somewhat different than previous installments of this series for two main reasons. First, even Gallagher admits that a great overall narrative of this campaign has not been written. Most people know of the campaign, but they do not really know the details of what happened. I fall into this category. I know the basic plot of Stonewall Jackson helping save Richmond through his military exploits and victories against a handful of bumbling Union generals in the Shenandoan Valley. These essays have definitely helped broaden my understanding of what actually occurred.

Secondly, as a previous reviewer mentioned, this book does not have much of a military focus. Instead, it covers a wide gamut of topics. I like the variety and enjoyed most of the essays, but I must admit that a few of them seem somewhat misplaced in a military campaign series. The first few essays discuss Jackson's success, and the impact it had on Union plans, and I would have like to see more of these type essays included. That is my main criticism of the book. Although I found all eight essays well written, at least two of them were not very interesting.

Despite its flaws, I still recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about this campaign. If you are looking for a book that details the various battles fought during the campaign, this is not the right book for you. But, if you are looking for a broad perspective of the campaign, and how it impacted those involved (soldiers, generals, civilians, and government leaders), then you will be pleased by the contents of this book.

Another essay collection from Gary Gallagher.......2003-07-23

Back in the mid-90s, Gary W. Gallagher made a name for himself collecting a series of essays on the battle of Gettysburg. They were more than just histories of parts of the battle. For one thing, the authors looked into various parts of the battle that bad been neglected or misinterpreted, and reexamined things that were taken for granted. For another, the authors examined subjects that hadn't been written about before. One essay even looked into the historiography of Pickett's Charge, and why it was viewed the way it was by the participants.

Since then Gallagher's been doing these at approximately the rate of one a year. All of the campaigns covered so far have been in the Eastern Theater, and all have been relatively well-covered in more comprehensive books. This volume, dealing primarily with Stonewall Jackson's campaign in the Shenandoah in 1862, is something of a departure for the series. The author admits that there's no comprehensive study of the campaign from both sides, and then apologizes half-heartedly for this entry to the series, which devotes most of its attention to the Confederates. Frankly, I don't think that's neccessary. I'm no Southerner, but to be honest, the Yankees in this campaign aren't that interesting. Stonewall, on the other hand, is fascinating, warts and all.

The essays cover a wide range of subjects, and cover them well, for the most part. One deals with Lincoln the war president responding to the crisis in the Valley, another is devoted to Jackson's image and what it meant to the South. One looks at Ashby's image also (this is a common theme in the series, what things meant to the participants, and how they changed history in order to suit their preconceptions), while two other essays examine how the common people looked at the campaign, one following a particular Confederate regiment, the other the civilians in the path of the campaign. Another essay is a brief biography of Charles S. Winder, the commander of the Stonewall Brigade for part of the campaign, while the last image deals with the court martial of Richard B. Garnett. Of all the essays, only the Garnett one is inadequate, with the author plowing little new ground, and basically rehashing what we already know: Jackson couldn't stand to be contradicted, even when he was demonstrably wrong.

Book Description

The Richmond campaign of April-July 1862 ranks as one of the most important military operations of the first years of the American Civil War. Key political, diplomatic, social, and military issues were at stake as Robert E. Lee and George B. McClellan faced off on the peninsula between the York and James Rivers. The climactic clash came on June 26-July 1 in what became known as the Seven Days battles, when Lee, newly appointed as commander of the Confederate forces, aggressively attacked the Union army. Casualties for the entire campaign exceeded 50,000, more than 35,000 of whom fell during the Seven Days.

This book offers nine essays in which well-known Civil War historians explore questions regarding high command, strategy and tactics, the effects of the fighting upon politics and society both North and South, and the ways in which emancipation figured in the campaign. The authors have consulted previously untapped manuscript sources and reinterpreted more familiar evidence, sometimes focusing closely on the fighting around Richmond and sometimes looking more broadly at the background and consequences of the campaign.

Contributors:
William A. Blair
Keith S. Bohannon
Peter S. Carmichael
Gary W. Gallagher
John T. Hubbell
R. E. L. Krick
Robert K. Krick
James Marten
William J. Miller

Customer Reviews:

Insightful essays about Richmond Campaign.......2001-09-19

I agree with an earlier reviewer who writes that this book is a great companion (or follow-up) book to Stephen Sears "To the Gates of Richmond". Mr. Sears books gives a vivid account of the overall campaign, while this book offers some insightful essays about certain aspects of the campaign. The authors are all experts in the field, and offer well written essays for the reader to contemplate.

I really enjoyed this book because the authors cover a wide range of topics to include General McClellan's flawed performance, "Stonewall" Jackson's less than stellar leadership during the campaign, the artillery battle at Malvern Hill, "Prince" John Magruder's struggles, and the affect of the campaign on both Northern and Southern society. These detailed essays offer readers the latest and greatest scholarship about the Richmond campaign. They really helped me gain a much deeper understanding about what the campaign was like, why it was so important to the overall war effort (for both sides), and most importantly, how did if affect those involved.

I highly recommend this book for those "students" of the Civil War (like me) who are looking to gain a richer grasp of the events that happened during the Richmond campaign. If you have not read anything about the Richmond campaign (usually referred to as the Pennisula and Seven Days campaign) then I suggest that you read "To the Gates of Richmond" by Stephen Sear first, then this book.

Fascinating Detail on Key Battles , Leaders and Politics.......2001-06-01

Great book to read after Stephen Sear's Penninsula Campaign (even noted by the editor). This great collection of CW historians take the leading characters and events of the 7 days campaign and provide insights to this fascinating series of battles that set the Union back three years. Fascinating writing of John Bankhead Magruder, the hero of the lower Peninsula, whose prewar reputation for drink and ladies combined with lack of sleep, stress, illness and improper medical treatment created a magnifyer for his failures particularly at Malvern Hill. Lee's desire to rid himself of Magruder who was a hero just weeks before is in stark contrast to his retaining of Stonewall who as R. K. Krick writes was virtually ineffective for a multitude of reasons, primarily due to sleep deprivation. Also, great essays on McClellan whose grandiose ego was not able to stand upright on the battlefield and his engineers who could build anything he needed but were used as scapegoats just like anyone else to excuse his own conduct. Additional essays are on the great importance of the seven days battles to lift southern morale and the enhancement of the radicals position contributed to by McClellan's failures during the campaign. Superb article on the artillery duel on Malvern Hill and confederate attack that collapsed under murderous and accurate union artillery fire. The Union's artillery was no match for its southern counterparts. R.E.L. Krick highlights Whiting's Division (with Hood) breaking the Union line decisively at Gaines Mill. No one knows the battlefield better than Krick. Longstreet may have wished he never picked up a pen after Krick writes of Longstreet's post war confusion of facts over his command of Whiting, "It appears an unusually early example of the gasconade for which Longstreet is now famous". That commentary would have made "Old Jube" proud.

Nine essays exploring questions regarding high command.......2001-03-11

The April-July 1862 Richmond campaign was a critical point in the American civil war that resulted in more than 50,000 casualties, 35,000 of whom fell in seven days (June 26 - July 1). The Richmond Campaign Of 1862: The Peninsula & The Seven Days offers nine essays exploring questions regarding high command, strategy and tactics, the effects of the fighting upon the politics and society of both the Union and the Confederacy, and the ways in which emancipation figured in the campaign. Included is an invaluable analysis of the Richmond campaign's place in the broader sweep of the war in 1862, assessments of George B. McClellan's generalship and Stonewall Jackson's flawed performance, an examination of the campaign's impact on white and black civilians in the region, the role of the engineers in the Union effort, the role of artillery in the battle of Malvern Hill, and more. Highly recommended for personal and academic Civil War studies reading lists and reference collections, The Richmond Campaign Of 1862 is an impressive work of painstaking, informative, insightful scholarship.

Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee; And the Army of Northern Virginia, 1862

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Col. Allan's Classic Work

Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee; And the Army of Northern Virginia, 1862
William Allan
Manufacturer: Westview Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0306806568

Book Description

This volume unites two classic Civil War campaign studies by the foremost southern historian of the immediate postwar era: History of the Campaign of Gen. T. J. (Stonewall) Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and The Army of Northern Virginia in 1862. Together they comprise a brilliant, breathtaking chronicle of the high tide of the Confederacy in 1862: Jackson's dazzling generalship in the Valley Campaign; Lee's bold offensive during the Seven Days Battle; the stunning Confederate victory at Second Manassas; Lee's decision to carry the war to enemy territory; the capture of Harper's Ferry; the bitterly fought Battle of Sharpsburg; and the bloody, humiliating Federal defeat at Fredericksburg.

Customer Reviews:

Col. Allan's Classic Work.......2003-07-04

An essential for any serious student of Jackson or the Army of Northern Virginia. Five stars plus, but not for the novice. Col. Allan was Jackson's ordnance officer, and after the war he devoted the better part of his remaining years to these two comprehensive works included under one cover. Allan intended to write a comprehensive history of the Army of Northern Virginia for the entirety of the war, but his premature death left this greater work unfinished. His work on Jackson, which primarily covers the Valley Campaign, I consider the better of the two works because of its greater completeness. Both, however, are superb, early intensely scholastic efforts on the war, fully deserving of the stature as primary source works on the Civil War. The footnotes are old-style, page by page. Read them that way; slow, but it adds flavor. Buy this one while it is available.

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Stonewall Jackson's Right Hand Man
Another forgotten hero

Stonewall's Man: Sandie Pendleton
W. G. Bean
Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
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Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0807848751
Release Date: 2000-05-24

Book Description

First published by UNC Press in 1959, this biography tells the story of Alexander (Sandie) Swift Pendleton, a high-spirited and intelligent Confederate staff officer from Virginia who, at the age of twenty-two, won the confidence, admiration, and affection of Stonewall Jackson. Pendleton began as ordnance officer of the Stonewall Brigade of the Army of the Shenandoah in the spring of 1861. By January of 1863, he had become chief of staff of the famed Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia and was recognized as a brilliant staff officer—even as "Stonewall's Man." Wounded in the battle of Fisher's Hill, Pendleton died five days before his twenty-fourth birthday.

Based on diaries, letters, and manuscripts, the poignant and revealing story of Pendleton's life and Civil War experiences is set against a background of the campaigns in which he participated.

Customer Reviews:

Stonewall Jackson's Right Hand Man.......2004-12-28

Stonewall's Man, by W.G. Bean, is the biography of Alexander Swift "Sandie" Pendleton, 1841-64, who is best known as Chief of Staff to General T. J. "Stonewall" Jackson during the American Civil War. Bean, Professor of History at Washington and Lee University, focuses on Sandie's life and family, bringing the major events of the Civil War into the story only to the extent that Sandie played a role in them or they played a role in Sandie's life. This style gives the book two parallel themes: (1) The role of the military staff during the Civil War and (2) The life and everyday events of ordinary individuals in caught up in the midst of the Civil War.

At the time of the Civil War, the military staff had not grown the prominence it achieved only a few years later in the Prussian army, let alone the bloated status it "enjoys" today. Jackson's Second Corps, at its height, was composed of perhaps 30,000 men, and the staff typically numbered about four or five officers, including the Corps surgeon, Dr. Hunter McGuire. Its role was to facilitate Jackson's communication of with his subordinate commanders and with higher Headquarters, i.e., General Lee. In this era, "communications" meant hand written communications when time allowed and oral communications otherwise. During battles, "transmitting" orders typically meant getting on a horse and riding until Sandie found the intended recipient. Along the way, he was expected to render all appropriate support as dictated by the situation: Rallying retreating troops, bringing damaged artillery back into action, and, on his own initiative, improvising and acting for the commander. There was, and still is, a very delicate balancing act between acting on one's initiative and overstepping one's limited authority. Apparently, Sandie, at the ages of 21 to 23, had an extraordinary sense of this balance as he was held in the highest regard by both Jackson and his subordinate commanders. In addition, Sandie enjoyed an unusually close personal relationship with his notoriously tight lipped commander. After Jackson's death at Chancellorsville in May 1863, Sandie enjoyed similar professional relations with Jackson's successors, Generals Ewell and Early, although his personal relations with them were less close than with Jackson. Sandie was killed in late 1864 in the Battle of Fisher's Hill between Early and Union General Sheridan who had embarked on the burning of the Shenandoah Valley to starve the Confederacy into submission.

Sandie had been offered promotion from his staff position as a Lieutenant Colonel to command of a bigade as a Brigadier General. He declined the promotion as he thought the staff position carried greater responsibility. It did. Sandie greatly ehnanced the effectiveness of the Jackson's command. He was the war's most effective staff officer, highly adept at implementing the orders of its most brilliant general.

The personal life of Sandie Pendleton centers about his parents, his sisters, and his wife, Kate Corbin, to whom he was married less than a year prior to his death. All were prolific letter writers which provided Professor Bean with his primary source material. Sandie's relationship with his father, William Nelson Pendleton, is particularly interesting. W. N. Pendleton was, successively, a West Point graduate, Episcopal minister, headmaster of the Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA, rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington, VA, master of a boy's prep school in Lexington, and Brigadier General and commander of Jackson's artillery. He evidently had a profound influence on his son who taught in his father's prep school and hoped to follow his steps into the ministry. Serving on Jackson's staff while his father was an important subordinate commander must have further complicated Sandie's balancing act as chief of Jackson' staff. The personal events and letters of the family paint a clear and sad picture of lives caught up in the tragedy of the Civil War in Virginia. For example, in approximately one year, Kate Corbin lost three small nieces and nephews, her brother, her new husband, and their son who was born shortly after his father's death.

Professor Bean's narrative also indirectly highlights the prominent role of religion in every aspect of these people's lives. Many of us today tend to forget, if we ever knew, that the Civil War and American Revolution both had aspects of religious crusades, the Civil War on both sides, the Revolution primarily on the American side. For more on this theme, see Kevin Phillips, The Cousins Wars.

Another forgotten hero.......2002-08-13

It's not often that staff officers receive the kind of attention combat commanders do, but even in the War Between the States, when staff officers frequently had as much front-lines time as private soldiers, Sandie Pendleton was something exceptional. W.G. Bean does an excellent job showing us why.

I first encountered Alexander Swift 'Sandie' Pendleton in Douglas Southall Freeman's essential 'Lee's Lieutenants,' in which he cites the need for a comprehensive biography of this important officer. A few years later (Freeman wrote in the 1940s, and 'Stonewall's Man' was first published in 1959), W.G. Bean -- appropriately, the Douglas Southall Freeman Professor of History at Pendleton's alma mater, Washington and Lee University -- took up the challenge. This is a sympathetic, but still thorough, look at the man 'Stonewall' Jackson 'loved like a son,' and Dick Ewell called 'the most promising young man' in the Army of Northern Virginia.

Pendleton was something of an intellectual, having graduated from Washington College (later W&L University) and entered the M.A. program at the University of Virginia when the War began. His quick and organized mind was ideally suited to the needs of a military staff, and he quickly made himself invaluable to Generals Jackson and Ewell. By the time of his death in 1864, shortly before his 24th birthday, he had risen to the rank of lieutenant colonel, and was assistant adjutant general (essentially, chief of staff) of the Second Corps.

Bean does a fine job of relating all this. He also doesn't skip on the equally important details of Sandie's personal life, particularly his romance with, and marriage to, Kate Corbin. This book is filled with excerpts from Sandie and Kate's personal letters, as well as those of their families and friends. By the time the book is complete, I felt I knew Sandie well, and, with his wife and family, genuinely mourned his untimely death.

Freeman said that part of his motivation in writing 'Lee's Lieutenants' was to rescue from obscurity some of the lesser-known commanders and officers of the Confederate armies. Today, when any acknowledgement (let alone defense) of the CSA is considered in some quarters a 'hate crime,' Freeman's mission is more important than ever. I'm very pleased, therefore, that 'Stonewall's Man' has been re-released, and urge its study by anyone interested in the Army of Northern Virginia. The staff corps, too, has its heroes, and Sandy Pendleton's is a life worthy of remembering and respecting.

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While repetitive, does give a feel for Jackson, Confederacy

Startlingly unhelpful source

a good book

Make Me a Map of the Valley: The Civil War Journal of Stonewall Jackson's Topographer
Jedediah Hotchkiss , and Archie P. McDonald
Manufacturer: Southern Methodist University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Mapping for Stonewall: The Civil War Service of Jed Hotchkiss

ASIN: 0870742701

Customer Reviews:

While repetitive, does give a feel for Jackson, Confederacy.......2007-07-27

All diary type memoirs are repetitive and during those times writers were loathe to criticize fellow officers but in this book you can definitely tell that the writer thought Early was beyond his depth, that Ewell was lazy and that Jackson was hopeless without accurate maps. His comments on price inflation, desertions and politics are interesting. There are some other tidbits like the fact that Lee told him that the Union would have fewer troops in 1864! You really feel the loss of Jackson and other good officers and how morale had sunk to an almost nonexistent level by 1865.

Startlingly unhelpful source.......2001-11-16

I expected this to be an excellent primary source, full of information on General Jackson, his campaigns and his "foot cavalry", as well as the exploits of the Second Corps after Jackson's death. In addition, I hoped to find some interesting description of map-making during the war. I was quite disappointed. Hotchkiss' memoir is made up of diary entries with an occasional note added later. And they mostly concern the weather, troop movements, and where he slept that night. They are almost devoid of description, emotion, and overall detail. Though Hotchkiss does mention making maps, of course, it's in brief statements like "Reduced Charlottesville today". His account of Jackson's death reads rather like "Jackson died. Fine clear day." It's hard to say whether this dullness represents something about Hotchkiss' personality (unemotional engineer, perhaps?) or is simply a function of the way he wrote his diary. In any case, though scholars of the period will want to glance at this, I found it not very useful and utterly unentertaining.

a good book.......2000-05-23

i really liked this book cause it was cool and i like historical books cause theyre intersting.the end.

General Lee's Warrior General Bee's Stonewall Volume II: A Biography of Lt. General Thomas J. Jackson, His Life and Combat

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General Lee's Warrior General Bee's Stonewall Volume II: A Biography of Lt. General Thomas J. Jackson, His Life and Combat
William W. Means
Manufacturer: Trafford Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 141202756X
Release Date: 2006-07-06

Product Description

The life and combat of Lt. Gen. Jackson: an exciting story of courage and determination to become educated (West Point grad), and defend his beloved state against the Yankee invaders!

Chancellorsville: The Battle and Its Aftermath (Military Campaigns of the Civil War)

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Krick's Contribution Alone Makes This Book Invaluable

Chancellorsville: The Battle and Its Aftermath (Military Campaigns of the Civil War)
Gary W. (ed.) Gallagher
Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0807822752
Release Date: 1996-05-08

Book Description

A variety of important but lesser-known dimensions of the Chancellorsville campaign of spring 1863 are explored in this collection of eight original essays. Departing from the traditional focus on generalship and tactics, the contributors address the campaign's broad context and implications and revisit specific battlefield episodes that have in the past been poorly understood.

Chancellorsville was a remarkable victory for Robert E. Lee's troops, a fact that had enormous psychological importance for both sides, which had met recently at Fredericksburg and would meet again at Gettysburg in just two months. But the achievement, while stunning, came at an enormous cost: more than 13,000 Confederates became casualties, including Stonewall Jackson, who was wounded by friendly fire and died several days later.

The topics covered in this volume include the influence of politics on the Union army, the importance of courage among officers, the impact of the war on children, and the state of battlefield medical care. Other essays illuminate the important but overlooked role of Confederate commander Jubal Early, reassess the professionalism of the Union cavalry, investigate the incident of friendly fire that took Stonewall Jackson's life, and analyze the military and political background of Confederate colonel Emory Best's court-martial on charges of abandoning his men.

Contributors
Keith S. Bohannon, Pennsylvania State University and Greenville, South Carolina
Gary W. Gallagher, Pennsylvania State University
A. Wilson Greene, Petersburg, Virginia
John J. Hennessy, Fredericksburg, Virginia
Robert K. Krick, Fredericksburg, Virginia
James Marten, Marquette University
Carol Reardon, Pennsylvania State University
James I. Robertson, Jr., Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Customer Reviews:

Krick's Contribution Alone Makes This Book Invaluable.......2005-09-30

Although I haven't read all of this book, the contribution of Robert Krick, entitled "The Smoothbore Volley that Doomed the Confederacy" is such that it alone, at least to me, makes this an invalualbe book for students of both Jackson and Chancellorsville. For anyone who has been fascinated with the precise reconstruction of a historical event taking place at a defined place, Krick's writing will prove fascinating. No biography of Jackson that I have encountered, even Robertson's, provides as much detail on the circumstances surrounding this tragic occurence. As he points out and is generally known, the monument at Chancellorsville which purports to mark the spot where Jackson was shot on that May, 1863 moonless night is incorreclty placed. Read and take this book with you when visiting the area as the map included will prove of great help.

Stonewall Jackson and the American Civil W (The American Civil War)

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Stonewall Jackson and the American Civil W (The American Civil War)
G F R Henderson
Manufacturer: William S Konecky Associates
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Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0914427776

One of Lee's Best Men: The Civil War Letters of General William Dorsey Pender

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Letters revealing an intimate husband and wife relationship

One of Lee's Best Men: The Civil War Letters of General William Dorsey Pender
William W. (ed.) Hassler
Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0807848239
Release Date: 1999-03-31

Book Description

On the day that Lincoln was inaugurated in 1861, twenty-seven-year-old William Dorsey Pender, en route to the provisional Confederate capital in Montgomery, Alabama, hurriedly scribbled a note to his wife, Fanny. So began a prolific correspondence between a rising Confederate officer and his cherished wife that would last until Pender was mortally wounded at Gettysburg.

First published by UNC Press in 1965, Pender's letters are filled with personal details, colorful descriptions, and candid opinions of such important figures as Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, J. E. B. Stuart, and A. P. Hill. His comments on his military activities and aspirations and the challenges of command, combined with his husbandly advice and affection, sketch an intimate and unvarnished portrait of the man who was perhaps the most distinguished North Carolina commander.

Customer Reviews:

Letters revealing an intimate husband and wife relationship.......2000-02-11

I have a great interest in the U.S. Civil War and I have read many books on it. You always here about the most notable generals like Lee, Jackson, Stuart, Grant, Sherman, etc.., but you hardly here of the lesser known ones like Pender. Being a North Carolinian, it is very gratifying to know that some great men and officers fought from your state. Pender was one of those men. In this book, his letters to his wife reveal his true character. He was a loving husband and father, a dedicated soldier, and a man of faith who believed himself to be very unworthy before God. As the war progresses, his letters become more mature and earnest in nature. He desires for an end to the war; to live to a good old age with his wife; and to see his children grow up. He is a strict disciplanarian as an officer and he soon earns the respect of his troops and his superiors including Lee and A.P. Hill. Just before Gettysburg, he is promated to the rank of major general at the age of 29 and fights gallantly on the first day. Unfortunately, he is wounded on the second day and dies a few weeks later. His death is mourned by his troops and especially by Lee and Hill. Pender was a promising officer who died to early in the war and at a very young age. His letters are heartfelt and very touching; a must read for anyone interested in Pender and great officers of the Civil War.

General Lee's Warrior, General Bee's Stonewall Volume I: A Biography of Lt. General Thomas J. Jackson, His Life and Combat

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General Lee's Warrior, General Bee's Stonewall Volume I: A Biography of Lt. General Thomas J. Jackson, His Life and Combat
William W. Means
Manufacturer: Trafford Publishing
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Binding: Paperback

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The life and combat of Lt. Gen. Jackson: an exciting story of courage and determination to become educated (West Point grad), and defend his beloved state against the Yankee invaders!

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