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The Bloody Crucible of Courage: Fighting Methods and Combat Experience of the Civil War
Some historians argue that the Civil War, with its use of rifled muskets and artillery, was the first great "modern" war; others argue that it was a sideshow of amateur generals and citizen soldiers whose tactics yielded few innovations or lasting lessons. Acclaimed military historian Brent Nosworthy takes on this great controversy and, for the first time in any book, covers the methods of Civil War warfare in their entirety. This work presents the most thorough study of Civil War military practices ever written. With diagrams, photos, and maps throughout, Nosworthy weaves together the story of newly emerging weapons, the resulting changes in military doctrine, and the combatants' experiences as these innovations were applied to the battlefield. Detailing the four-year evolution of warfare from General Irvin McDowell's first tentative efforts to Lee's and Grant's final exertions at Petersburg, the author examines tactical variation due to regional differences and the distinctive circumstances of each campaign: the methods used in the eastern theater versus those in the west; the confused fighting in the wilderness; the "trench" warfare at Vicksburg; and the techniques used in other famous battles, like Gettysburg and Antietam.
754 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2003
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About the author
Brent Nosworthy
6 books4 followersBrent Nosworthy is a game designer, author, and military historian from Providence, Rhode Island.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
April 4, 2020
This is a tale of two books. Nosworthy is at his best describing the evolution of military tactics and technology before and after the Civil War and placing the conflict within its proper context. The war in Nosworthy's opinion is less revolutionary than originally thought, most of its innovations already being in practice in France, Britain, Prussia, and the rest. Indeed, the Civil War's tactical innovations were soon supplanted by Prussia's tactical revolution in 1866-1871. Where the Civil War did represent a major leap forward was entrenchments. All of this is well and good. Nosworthy's analysis and discussion of the actual war is disorganized, long-winded, and fraught with minor errors. Considering his previous work, it is downright shocking. Still, I give the book four stars because the first and last one-hundred pages is worth a read.
November 30, 2024
The American Civil War was waged at a critical juncture in military history. With the Industrial Revolution well underway, a series of new technologies were being introduced that were changing the shape of warfare. These technologies, which ranged from repeating firearms to the ironclad warship and which had already made appearances in wars elsewhere in the world, were now introduced onto the American battlefield, albeit not without controversy. With them came changes to the tactics of the era, as officers sought to find ways to maximize the advantages provided by these technologies, or to cope with their impact. In many ways, the results foreshadowed the conflicts of the first half of the twentieth century, in which the close-order formations that had characterized warfare for centuries were replaced by small unit tactics dictated by the increasing power of modern weaponry.
Brent Nosworthy stresses throughout this book that this transformation was less revolutionary than it was evolutionary. As he details, many of the technologies and tactics had been introduced in various wars in Europe, Asia, and North Africa, with their efficacy having been debated in the media of the era. What the Civil War offered was an unprecedented scale of warfare for these new technologies, where they were used in a variety of different conditions and circumstances. His book is an attempt to recount the span of these efforts, and to show how these technologies changed the way battles were fought. This he does in a wide-ranging study that not only describes the weapons and the battles in which they were used, but the tactical doctrines that shaped their deployment and how these were adjusted in the light of experience.
This approach requires Nosworthy to begin not with the outbreak of the Civil War, but with an examination of tactical doctrine in the decades that preceded it. Most of the development of this doctrine took place not in the United States but in Europe, where military professionalism was more advanced. With American tactical doctrine a copy of European practice, there was an ingrained focus on the procedures of the French, British, and Prussian armies. Though Napoleonic era practices predominated, these were being adjusted in light of the experiences of colonial warfare, where new technologies such as steam-powered warships and breechloading firearms were introduced on a limited scale. The debates over their efficacy took place not just in the military journals of the era, but in popular science magazines and even the columns of the popular press, giving Nosworthy considerable evidence with which to examine the arguments made on all sides.
Many of these participants saw the outbreak of the war in 1861 as an opportunity to prove the correctness of their viewpoint. Eager inventors and their advocates pressed upon officials their creations, believing that they would make a significant impact on the fighting. Yet Nosworthy notes as well the considerable challenges faced with adopting their technologies, many of which were untested by the rigors of battle. For the Union in particular, the need to supply the vast forces being prepared placed a premium on standardization, which led them to decline many of the innovative weapons offered in favor of what was trusted. This was the Springfield Model 1861, which itself was still controversial in some quarters for its use of a rifled barrel. While this increased both the weapon’s range and accuracy, many officers felt that most soldiers lacked the ability to exploit properly these advantages, and preferred the older smoothbore weapons.
This debate, which continued throughout the Civil War, was just one of many that were waged over these new technologies. While Nosworthy recounts these debates in detail, he also evaluates the practical impact of these innovations on the battlefield. Often this involves diagnosing the factors that shaped the outcomes of these battles in order to determine not just the contributions made by these weapons but their roles in determining the outcome. Victories and defeats attributed to the weapons are assessed, showing that the impact they had was often shaped as much by the circumstances of the battle as much as anything else. Nevertheless, the cumulative effects of these technologies brought about changes in the way battles were fought, as the increased ranges, improved accuracy, and greater rates of fire all forced officers to adapt to how technology was changing warfare.
These adaptations were far from uniform, and were often determined by the environment and other conditions in the regions where the battles were fought. Yet while Nosworthy often describes these and the other factors that determined the success or failure of various technologies in these battles, rarely does he draw broader conclusions from his mass of detail. While this reflects to some degree the sheer volume of material with which he is working, this isn’t helped by his reliance on contemporary records and technological analyses, which leaves out much of the broader literature about the Civil War. This narrow focus on combat excludes any consideration of the political and social dimensions of his subject, which would have made for a richer and far more valuable work. What he provides instead in this book is a narrower, yet useful study of the interaction between technology and tactics, one that would have benefited from better editing but still provides a useful examination of how men fought in the world’s first great industrial war.
Brent Nosworthy stresses throughout this book that this transformation was less revolutionary than it was evolutionary. As he details, many of the technologies and tactics had been introduced in various wars in Europe, Asia, and North Africa, with their efficacy having been debated in the media of the era. What the Civil War offered was an unprecedented scale of warfare for these new technologies, where they were used in a variety of different conditions and circumstances. His book is an attempt to recount the span of these efforts, and to show how these technologies changed the way battles were fought. This he does in a wide-ranging study that not only describes the weapons and the battles in which they were used, but the tactical doctrines that shaped their deployment and how these were adjusted in the light of experience.
This approach requires Nosworthy to begin not with the outbreak of the Civil War, but with an examination of tactical doctrine in the decades that preceded it. Most of the development of this doctrine took place not in the United States but in Europe, where military professionalism was more advanced. With American tactical doctrine a copy of European practice, there was an ingrained focus on the procedures of the French, British, and Prussian armies. Though Napoleonic era practices predominated, these were being adjusted in light of the experiences of colonial warfare, where new technologies such as steam-powered warships and breechloading firearms were introduced on a limited scale. The debates over their efficacy took place not just in the military journals of the era, but in popular science magazines and even the columns of the popular press, giving Nosworthy considerable evidence with which to examine the arguments made on all sides.
Many of these participants saw the outbreak of the war in 1861 as an opportunity to prove the correctness of their viewpoint. Eager inventors and their advocates pressed upon officials their creations, believing that they would make a significant impact on the fighting. Yet Nosworthy notes as well the considerable challenges faced with adopting their technologies, many of which were untested by the rigors of battle. For the Union in particular, the need to supply the vast forces being prepared placed a premium on standardization, which led them to decline many of the innovative weapons offered in favor of what was trusted. This was the Springfield Model 1861, which itself was still controversial in some quarters for its use of a rifled barrel. While this increased both the weapon’s range and accuracy, many officers felt that most soldiers lacked the ability to exploit properly these advantages, and preferred the older smoothbore weapons.
This debate, which continued throughout the Civil War, was just one of many that were waged over these new technologies. While Nosworthy recounts these debates in detail, he also evaluates the practical impact of these innovations on the battlefield. Often this involves diagnosing the factors that shaped the outcomes of these battles in order to determine not just the contributions made by these weapons but their roles in determining the outcome. Victories and defeats attributed to the weapons are assessed, showing that the impact they had was often shaped as much by the circumstances of the battle as much as anything else. Nevertheless, the cumulative effects of these technologies brought about changes in the way battles were fought, as the increased ranges, improved accuracy, and greater rates of fire all forced officers to adapt to how technology was changing warfare.
These adaptations were far from uniform, and were often determined by the environment and other conditions in the regions where the battles were fought. Yet while Nosworthy often describes these and the other factors that determined the success or failure of various technologies in these battles, rarely does he draw broader conclusions from his mass of detail. While this reflects to some degree the sheer volume of material with which he is working, this isn’t helped by his reliance on contemporary records and technological analyses, which leaves out much of the broader literature about the Civil War. This narrow focus on combat excludes any consideration of the political and social dimensions of his subject, which would have made for a richer and far more valuable work. What he provides instead in this book is a narrower, yet useful study of the interaction between technology and tactics, one that would have benefited from better editing but still provides a useful examination of how men fought in the world’s first great industrial war.
December 25, 2021
Coming from someone outside the Civil War intelligentsia, I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. I can candidly say I was surprised at the author's erudition and the book overall was very good. My one pet peeve, and this goes for all the books I've read, is that this volume seemed to have many, many typos. I'm not sure if the proofreader was sleeping while reading it, or what. Other than that, it was a very good read.
November 11, 2011
An interesting perspective of the developments in tactics and weaponry during the American Civil War. Occasionally he digressed for too long on reviewing events that actually occurred (such as Hampton Roads) which I could read elsewhere. The material is much better when he is talking technology, or reviewing why certain things occurred. Generally his examples were spot on and his conclusions interesting. The muzzle loader vs repeater debate seems astounding to a modern reader, it is a challenge to place oneself at the time of the decision makers rather than view them with the full benefit of hindsight. This book is worth a look for any Civil War or military history buff.
September 28, 2012
This book examines the weapons, tactics ,and experiences of infantry, cavalry, and artillery during the war. It is a thick book on broad topic and probably isn't well-suited for those without a good existing knowledge of the Civil War. But despite its size, it makes for a surprisingly fast and enjoyable read and I would recommend it to any Civil War buff.
In terms of sheer reading enjoyment and information, I want to give this the full five stars, but I feel I must mark it down on technical grounds. I noticed too many typos, I thought it could have been organized a little better, a few parts felt a little repetitive, and the author has some quirks like always referring to the battle of Stones River by its less common name (Murfreesboro) and a very inconsistent pattern of whether he uses first names or initials when referring to a military commanders (including one sentence where he uses the full name of one general, but the first initial + last name of the other general).
In terms of sheer reading enjoyment and information, I want to give this the full five stars, but I feel I must mark it down on technical grounds. I noticed too many typos, I thought it could have been organized a little better, a few parts felt a little repetitive, and the author has some quirks like always referring to the battle of Stones River by its less common name (Murfreesboro) and a very inconsistent pattern of whether he uses first names or initials when referring to a military commanders (including one sentence where he uses the full name of one general, but the first initial + last name of the other general).
August 7, 2018
Nosworthy's book may not be the 'best' book on the American Civil War, by whatever yardstick one may wish to choose, but I have certainly found it the most interesting, taking in as it does better than most others of the type, a look at the American Civil War's tactical, operational and strategic aspects in the wider context of the military experience of the mid-19th century globally. As good, even, as Paddy Griffith's celebrated book on ACW combat.
June 2, 2019
On the re-read pile with Nosworthy's other 2 books. He does a good job of putting military developments of the Civil War in the context of the then current state of the art military science. This is followed with an examination of the significant changes that occurred during the ACW, followed with how did these changes fit with the immediate post-war European experience. Americans are mostly unaware of the large number of European conflicts that were occurring in the same time frame.
August 17, 2021
Deep dive into Civil War technologies and tactics. Could have been written more succinctly, but still worth the time if this is an interest for you.
November 12, 2009
This is a book that is ambitious--to provide in one volume a comprehensive picture of Civil War combat, including (page x) ". . .the full spectrum of both the fighting methods and the combat experience during the entire Civil War." The volume also explores tactics across the various arms of the military (e.g., artillery, cavalry, and infantry) as well as developing military technology (torpedoes, ironclad war ships, rifled small arms and artillery, early "machine guns," breechloaders, repeating rifles, and so on). In the end, Nosworthy says of the book (page xiii): ". . .not only must it examine how troops prepared and trained for combat, but it also has to take a detailed, structured look at the techniques, practices, and tactics that were actually used during the bloody crucible of battle."
The early part of the book examines developments before the outbreak of the Civil War, such as rifled small arms (and the debate over what the consequences would be for battle tactics), the move to rifled artillery (and the possible implications for combat), origins of ironclad vessels (and, again, the implications for naval tactics). Much of this unfolded on the European continent; Nosworthy does a nice job of relating how military figures debated what the implications of these developments might be for actual combat situations.
Part II outlines the early Civil War, including discussion of the daunting challenge of training a host of raw recruits (on both sides of the conflict), the crazy quilt assemblage of artillery and muskets available to units, and the evidence of poor preparedness of troops and officers exemplified by First Manassas/Bull Run.
Part III focuses on infantry and cavalry, including tactical doctrines developed by European and American military leaders (e.g., the work of Jomini who tried to derive lessons from Napoleon's military exploits). Chapter 12 is interesting, as it depicts the reality of battle from the perspective of the troops involved. The following chapter relates in detail the learning curve of soldiers as they campaigned. Chapter 15 is especially fascinating, as it outlines various perspectives (originating in European military views) on infantry tactics.
And so on.
The concluding Part (Part VII) assesses lessons learned, from the impact of the rifled musket to the bayonet (myth and usefulness) to the effect of repeating rifles and military doctrine in Europe up until the Franco-Prussian War.
The book is not written in a felicitous fashion and there are some questions one might raise. As another reviewer notes, the author continually misuses the term "nonplussed." The author spends time speaking of the mounted arm of the military, including the development of mounted infantry. However, he does not mention Wilder's brigade until the very end, even though his command was one of the best exemplars of this. Despite difficulties, this work provides one of the best discussions of (as the subtitle of the book reads) "fighting methods and combat experience of the Civil War."
The early part of the book examines developments before the outbreak of the Civil War, such as rifled small arms (and the debate over what the consequences would be for battle tactics), the move to rifled artillery (and the possible implications for combat), origins of ironclad vessels (and, again, the implications for naval tactics). Much of this unfolded on the European continent; Nosworthy does a nice job of relating how military figures debated what the implications of these developments might be for actual combat situations.
Part II outlines the early Civil War, including discussion of the daunting challenge of training a host of raw recruits (on both sides of the conflict), the crazy quilt assemblage of artillery and muskets available to units, and the evidence of poor preparedness of troops and officers exemplified by First Manassas/Bull Run.
Part III focuses on infantry and cavalry, including tactical doctrines developed by European and American military leaders (e.g., the work of Jomini who tried to derive lessons from Napoleon's military exploits). Chapter 12 is interesting, as it depicts the reality of battle from the perspective of the troops involved. The following chapter relates in detail the learning curve of soldiers as they campaigned. Chapter 15 is especially fascinating, as it outlines various perspectives (originating in European military views) on infantry tactics.
And so on.
The concluding Part (Part VII) assesses lessons learned, from the impact of the rifled musket to the bayonet (myth and usefulness) to the effect of repeating rifles and military doctrine in Europe up until the Franco-Prussian War.
The book is not written in a felicitous fashion and there are some questions one might raise. As another reviewer notes, the author continually misuses the term "nonplussed." The author spends time speaking of the mounted arm of the military, including the development of mounted infantry. However, he does not mention Wilder's brigade until the very end, even though his command was one of the best exemplars of this. Despite difficulties, this work provides one of the best discussions of (as the subtitle of the book reads) "fighting methods and combat experience of the Civil War."
July 21, 2010
A well written and very thorough overview of just about every piece of the war machine of the United State Civil War.
It's big book for a big subject. Nosworthy traces the origins and places into context much of the military technology and tactics from the ir origins through their wartime evolution. Ironclads? Guerrilla Warfare? Infantry Rifles? Mass charges against entrenchments? Nosworthy covers the how, and most importantly, the why. And he knows his stuff, having written two equally thorough volumes on earlier military periods.
I would recommend this book for anyone wondering why the leadership of both sides persisted for 5 years in doing stuff that can seem stupid, criminal, or worse, to our 21st Century view.
It's big book for a big subject. Nosworthy traces the origins and places into context much of the military technology and tactics from the ir origins through their wartime evolution. Ironclads? Guerrilla Warfare? Infantry Rifles? Mass charges against entrenchments? Nosworthy covers the how, and most importantly, the why. And he knows his stuff, having written two equally thorough volumes on earlier military periods.
I would recommend this book for anyone wondering why the leadership of both sides persisted for 5 years in doing stuff that can seem stupid, criminal, or worse, to our 21st Century view.
June 21, 2010
An in depth look at the tactics of warfare during the American Civil War. Like the author's other books on battle tactics, you have to have a serious interest in the subject matter to appreciate this book, but if you do then it's a must read.
Unlike his earlier works, this one covers more than just infantry and cavalry tactics, going into a more detailed examination of many of the technologies used during the war, including naval technologies.
Unlike his earlier works, this one covers more than just infantry and cavalry tactics, going into a more detailed examination of many of the technologies used during the war, including naval technologies.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews