The American Civil War discussion

The July 2015 theme read is on any book or books covering any aspect of the American Civil War that occurred in the last year of the conflict, 1865.

April 1865. Fantastic Book

I'm thinking of reading; Last Stand in the Carolinas: The Battle of Bentonville but not confirmed yet :)


by Mark L. Bradley

I just moved. So if I can find April 1865: The Month That Saved America that is what I will read. If I haven't found it maybe I'll find something else to read.

Fingers crossed Jan you find your copy :)

Aussie Rick, there are only 42 boxes of books in the garage. How hard can it be?

Good luck. Moving is a pain.

You just never know, it may just be sitting on top in the first box you open :)

I'll look for an 1865 book for July. This looks like a good way to do a group read and I'm excited!
Read Richmond Burning: The Last Days of the Confederate Capital earlier this year and it was very good.

Glad you will be able to join us, I hope you find a good book :)

I'll start with The Battle of Waynesboro - an 1865 Shenandoah Valley battle. If I finish that one in record time, I noticed another 1865 book at the library that I'd like to read...but I can't remember the title, just where it's located on the library shelf. ;)

Should be a good read Sarah :)

I'm starting my theme book a day early. I've decided to read; Last Stand in the Carolinas: The Battle of Bentonville.

by Mark L. Bradley

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "I'm starting my theme book a day early. I've decided to read; Last Stand in the Carolinas: The Battle of Bentonville.

by ..."

I'm looking forward to your review. I probably won't get to a Bentonville book this time around and perhaps in the near future.

Have obtained from two different library systems....I'm going to try one or both.....

Two interesting books there Kirk, you should have some fun reading ahead of you!

I am enjoying Last Stand in the Carolinas so far, I think it will be as good an account as was his previous book:

by Mark L. Bradley

In my book the author has just covered the reinstatement of Gen. Johnston to command the Confederate forces to oppose General Sherman in his drive through the Carolinas:

"Johnston was further frustrated by the Richmond bureaucracy. When he sought to obtain pay for his men (many of whom had not been paid in more than a year), Secretary of War Breckinridge informed him that the Confederate Treasury was broke, and suggested that he should 'make the best of the circumstances.' When Johnston asked that a large store of supplies in Charlotte belonging to the navy (which had virtually ceased to exist by this time) be transferred to the army, Secretary of the Navy Stephen R. Mallory refused to part with it. Worse yet, Johnston was unable to procure rifle-muskets for almost 1,300 of his men. They remained unarmed to the end of the war."

by Mark L. Bradley

I think I will probably read Calamity in Carolina: The Battles of Averasboro and Bentonville, March 1865 by Daniel T. Davis.

Another good book for the theme read!

So far my book has got me wanting to read more about Wade Hampton. I have an unread copy of this book on him:

by Rod Andrew Jr.

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "So far my book has got me wanting to read more about Wade Hampton. I have an unread copy of this book on him:

by [author:..."

A famous South Carolinian and one heck of a fighter. My sons went to Wade Hampton High School. His post-war political activities including incitement of violence against freed black voters and white Republicans didn't reflect well upon his later reputation.

He sounds like a very interesting fellow Manray9, I think I will have to try and read more about him. His post war activities don't sound too good although the sub title tends to indicate he was a 'Southern redeemer'?

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "He sounds like a very interesting fellow Manray9, I think I will have to try and read more about him. His post war activities don't sound too good although the sub title tends to indicate he was a ..."

Depends on your point of view. He was a man of his times and many of his actions and beliefs don't stand up too well by current standards. His grandfather was a prominent soldier in the War of 1812.

I suppose I will have to read the book to find out eh :)

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "He sounds like a very interesting fellow Manray9, I think I will have to try and read more about him. His post war activities don't sound too good although the sub title tends to indicate he was a ..."

Maybe he writes from a Southern point of view - he does teach at Clemson and went to University of Georgia. Maybe he just can't help himself.

How are people going with their 1865 theme read? Tell us what your are reading ......

I enjoyed the collection of esseys but didn't
love them. The four Appendixes moved this one from
a 3.25 to maybe 3.75 rating.

Here is a great account from the fighting during the Battle of Monroe's Crossroads on March 10th, 1865, taken from my current book; The Last Stand in the Carolinas:

" ... While Butler was massing his force, a handful of dismounted troops fired on the Federal gun crew, killing or wounding all save Lieutenant Stetson, who in the words of one South Carolinian, 'seemed to bear a charmed life.' The dismounted Confederates rushed the lone Federal lieutenant, but he steadfastly stood by his piece and yanked the lanyard, mowing them down with a round of canister. Stetson loaded another round just as Lieutenant Colonel King's force came thundering toward him. The brave officer patiently watched the Rebel horsemen bear down upon him. At the last moment, he pulled the lanyard and sent a hailstorm of shrapnel into the charging grey line .... Moments after King's wounding, Stetson was struck by a pistol shot while loading his cannon. Though the Confederate charge had succeeded in silencing the Federal gun, the 5th Ohio cavalrymen were pouring a murderous fire into the Southerners with their Spencer repeaters. General Butler late wrote that his command had sustained 62 casualties during the five-minute battle for the two Union cannon."

For a more detailed account of this action check this link out:

http://www.historynet.com/kill-cavalr...

by Mark L. Bradley

I'm starting my first 1865 book this week. Looking forward to it!

Sounds like a great read, keep us posted Sarah.

I recently started Calamity in Carolina: The Battles of Averasboro and Bentonville, March 1865.

That should be an interesting read as well Jan C!

Started The Last Citadel: Petersburg, Virginia, June 1864-April 1865. Have to go 260 pages in to get to 1865 but I like how Trudeau writes. Should be interesting.

I hope you enjoy the book Mike, I have read a number of his accounts but really enjoyed his books covering the final campaigns of the war.

These types of accounts always make me sit back and think about the horrors of war:

"A passing Confederate counted a dozen horses lying dead or wounded in the area of Halsey's guns. The quiet suffering of these wounded creatures made a lasting impression on him: 'To this day I recall the piteous expressions of two or three of these wounded horses, as they raised their heads in their suffering and looked at us as we passed them'."

by Mark L. Bradley

The author of The Last Stand in the Carolinas mentions the incident that led to the award of the Medal of Honor and a Captain's commission to Private Peter Anderson of 31st Wisconsin Regiment during the Battle of Bentonville:

http://31stwisconsin.com/2015/03/01/m...

Another two Federal soldiers awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions during the Battle of Bentonville, more than thirty years after the end of the war:

http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM...

http://www.homeofheroes.com/gravesite...

An interesting account in regards to the role of one Federal battery at Bentonville:

" ... Hendrick emphasized that Stephen's battery repulsed the first Confederate assault by firing only spherical case, 'showing that to be a powerful weapon when properly used.' By day's end the enemy dead would lay six-deep in places across Stephen's front, bearing silent witness to the truth of Hendrick's statement. After the battle a Union burial marked the Confederate mass grave on that part of the field with a crudely lettered headboard. It read: 'These men were killed by Battery C, 1st O.V.A.' "

Here is another great account from the book; The Last Stand in the Carolinas:

" ... Like Logan, General Howards spent most of the afternoon at the front, having galloped up to Charles Woods line the moment he had received word of Mower's breakthrough. 'I have been riding with Gen. Howard for five hours, backwards and forwards along our skirmish line, exposed to a deadly fire,' Lt. Col. William E. Strong wrote in his journal. 'I thought both of us would be killed. I never hesitated yet to go where my duty called me ... but I do object most seriously to being made a target for the enemy to practice on.' Strong was reminded of an observation Capt. Charles Henry Howard once made about his brother the general: '[R]riding in battle with a man who is always prepared to die, is not as pleasant as one might think.'
'I agree with Captain Howard,' Strong wrote."

I think he is right too :)

The author also makes mentioned of alleged Confederate atrocities (hangings, mutilations and butchery) committed against Union prisoners during the Battle of Bentonville:

http://www.ncmarkers.com/Markers.aspx...

This makes for some interesting reading:

http://listverse.com/2013/03/17/10-wa...

How is everyone going with their 1865 theme reads? Any thing interesting pop up from any of your books so far?

Working my way through the end of 1864 and the Petersburg siege in The Last Citadel: Petersburg, Virginia, June 1864-April 1865. Almost to 1865. I did enjoy the lyrical name for the device that caused the City Point explosion...a "horological torpedo". So much classier than a time bomb!

Great you mentioned that Mike, here are some further details on the "horological torpedo":


http://www.militaryhistoryonline.com/...

https://prezi.com/rt0nxwdsbrnq/explos...

I enjoyed this book more than the 1st 1865 book I read.

At least you enjoyed one good book during the theme read :)

Finished The Last Citadel: Petersburg, Virginia, June 1864-April 1865. The definitive account of the siege, I enjoyed it although the 1865 parts of the battle did not yield many pithy insightful anecdotes to extract. Much of the book is told from the soldiers' viewpoint and must be read in context. Wish I had read this one before I visited the battlefield. I did want a more complete account of the Battle of Five Forks as that was a turning point in the entire siege. That battle was just alluded to briefly.

Great review Mike, I'm glad you enjoyed the book and I know how you feel about missing a book before visiting a site, done that many times :)

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Great review Mike, I'm glad you enjoyed the book and I know how you feel about missing a book before visiting a site, done that many times :)"

Thanks AR, guess I'll just have to go there again!

Good excuse to do so I reckon, plus you have the means to do so, it would be a crime not to :)

I thoroughly enjoyed The Battle of Waynesboro. It was a great book about the final organized defensive battle of the Shenandoah Valley.

You can find my full review here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/... (Hopefully the link works well!)

I'll be starting Marching Home: Union Veterans and Their Unending Civil Warnext. Can't promise I'll have it finished by the end of July, but I'll try!