With Grant and Meade from the Wilderness to Appomattox

by Theodore Lyman, Brooks D. Simpson (Introduction), George R. Agassiz (Editor)

The letters of Theodore Lyman, an aide-de-camp to General George Meade, offer a witty and penetrating inside view of the Civil War. Scholar and Boston Brahmin, Lyman volunteered for service following the battle at Gettysburg. From September 1863 to the end of the war, he wrote letters almost daily to his wife. Colonel Lyman’s early letters describe life in winter quarters. Those written after General Grant assumes command chronicle the Army of the Potomac’s long-awaited move against the Army of Northern Virginia. Lyman covered the field, delivering messages. As a general’s aide, he was privy to headquarters planning, gossip, and politics. No one escaped his discerning eye—neither "the flaxen Custer" nor Abraham Lincoln, who struck him as "a highly intellectual and benevolent Satyr." After capably serving General Meade ("Old Peppery"), Lyman accompanied him to Appomattox Court House and there observed the dignified, defeated General Lee.

Genres: Civil War

371 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1994

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

"We left Lee, and kept on through the sad remnants of an army that has its place in history. It would have looked a mighty host, if the ghosts of all its soldiers that now sleep between Gettysburg and Lynchburg could have stood there in the lines, beside the living."

Theodore Lyman was a Union soldier that wrote a series of letters that were compiled into this wonderful book. Lyman served on George Meade's staff. Even though the book is called With Grant and Meade from the Wilderness to Appomattox, his writing about war began in September 1863, nine months before The Battle of the Wilderness.

Then, Lyman covers The Overland Campaign, The Petersburg Campaign, and the Appomattox Campaign. One thing Lyman is passionate about is defending George Meade. He thought extremely highly of him and resented that people called Meade "timid." Lyman stated, "Meade's great virtue is, that he knows when to fight, and when not to fight." His descriptions of some of the battle were well done and added more to my knowledge. My favorite part is when he describes Meade meeting Robert E. Lee after the surrender. This book is definitely worth a read because there are a lot of anecdotes, and it is interesting getting a staff members perspective.

[Wawawai Yakawawa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading the letters of someone who was on Meade's staff for the last 20 months of the Civil War was at times interesting and other time laborious. Lyman's descriptions of Meade, Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, Lincoln, and Lee were informative and fascinating. I particularly found great interest in his accounts of the Battle of the Crater as well as the last two weeks of the war. I didn't find his hand drawn maps particularly useful. Many times I felt that the book would have been enhanced wth more context, better maps, or that I flat out needed another book beside me to supplement this compilation of letters.

[Edith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lyman, a Harvard-trained natural scientist, and a Boston Brahmin, had the intellectual capacity, acute powers of observation, and social confidence to examine Meade's army at Gettysburg with penetration and assurance. A natural writer and possessed of a keen wit, his observations of Army life, of one of the Civil War's most important battles, and of Meade himself (whom Lyman had known before the war) are not to be missed.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a reason why Lyman is so frequently quoted by historians - an excellent and insightful read.