Union Terror: Debunking the False Justifications for Union Terror Against Southern Civilians in the American Civil War

by Dr. Jeffrey F Addicott

UNION TERROR IS A CUTTING-EDGE BOOK FOR OUR DAY. Drawing from his vast real-world background as the senior legal advisor for the U.S. Army Special Forces, Professor Addicott not only pulls back the curtain on the Union’s command approved use of terror tactics against Southern civilians during the American Civil War, he also persuasively rebuts all the fallacious justifications proffered to excuse the widespread war-crimes committed by the chief purveyor, William T. Sherman.

In this he has done us all – educators, the military, and the wider public – a great service in detailing the necessity to apply these key historical lessons so that such despicable violations of the rule of law are never repeated.

Jeffrey F. Addicott is a Professor of Law and the Director of the Warrior Defense Project at St. Mary’s University School of Law, San Antonio, Texas, where he teaches a variety of courses to include National Security Law and Terrorism Law. An active duty Army officer in the Judge Advocate General's Corps for twenty years (he retired in 2000 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel), Professor Addicott spent a quarter of his career as the senior legal advisor to the United States Army’s Special Forces. An internationally recognized authority in terrorism law and the law of war, Professor Addicott not only lectures and participates in professional and academic organizations both in the United States and overseas; he is also a frequent contributor to national and international media outlets.

Genres: Civil War

162 pages, Paperback

Published February 28, 2023

Reviews

[Shannon Pritchard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unvarnished historical truth, that was long overdue.

I find most legal works dry, but Colonel Addicott is so gifted, and so well versed (An internationally recognized expert) in terrorism law, past and present, that I found this book hard to put down. I read it in three sittings. Though Sherman, Hunter, Sheridan and their fellow demons have been paying for their crimes in Hell for over a hundred years (with eternity to go) I am very glad that an author of Colonel Addicott's ability has exposed them to the here and now.

[Bobby Daugherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but accurate introduction into the tyranny imposed on Southerners by the federalist under Lincoln's tyranny.

[Mark Harden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author is a recognized authority on legal military justice system and terrorism. He makes a solid case that Sherman was a war criminal even under Lincoln’s own Lieber Code. Every justification offered in defense of Sherman is discussed and demolished.

[BookBurner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A litigious look at the civil war and the crimes committed, this book puts the war in an damning light. I found the descriptions exciting and interesting and now have much to discuss at the dinner-table. I walk away from this title with a deeper understanding of the strategies, war crimes and happenings over the course of the war. I admittedly had been brainwashed into accepting an untrue history. Only through current times, did I get the clue that perhaps every event in the past is grey'er than recital.
Robert E Lee is deserving of respect and was the perfect opponent for the Union. He was a level of decent that was easy to take advantage of. The war could have went another way with a different and potentially better outcome. The multiple overlays of culture war conflates everything with slavery and domination but there's so much more to the story than I ever knew. I look forward to reading about the other generals of this era and their memoirs.
The idea of "what is America" has gotten so messy so confusing that we argue over grains of rice and are wholly ignorant of what the great debate for America was truly all about. I am grateful for the author to make such a concise and well structured piece of work. I certainly found it eye opening.