Member Review Engineering Victory: How Technology Won the Civil War

Joshism

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Engineering Victory: How Technology Won the Civil War by Thomas F. Army Jr. (John Hopkins University Press - hardcover 2016, softcover 2018)

This book takes an interesting approach to the American Civil War by arguing that Northern engineering is what allowed the Union to triumph over the Confederacy. Specifically the ability to rapidly and effectively build, repair, and maintain transportation infrastructure allowing for the movement of men and supplies.

About 50 pages are spent contrasting the antebellum North and South with an emphasis on three key ideas: the North had a better public school system and placed greater emphasis on education than their Southern counterparts; the North was a better meritocracy than the south, allowing the creative and talented to advance both themselves and their society's technology, and also had an economy that placed greater emphasis on trade skills; the North's well-known advantage in railroads meant they also had far more people with engineering, mechanical, and trade skills than their Southern counterparts. The less obvious advantages of railroads on society really intrigued me as these were new ideas to me. The economic/meritocracy advantages were fairly unsurprising. The difference in educational systems felt a little dense and is probably something that could be an entire topic in its own right.

The rest of the book is essentially an engineering history of the war through case studies. Many of the obvious topics are covered like the creativity in dealing with Island Number Ten, the extensive engineering during the Vicksburg campaign, the dams that saved Porter's flotilla on the Red River, the Army of the Potomac bridging the James River, the mine at Petersburg that led to the Battle of the Crater, and Sherman's bridge-building during his 1864-1865 campaigns. There is an entire chapter on the formation and training of volunteer engineer regiments in the Union Army, and another about the development of the US Military Railroad under Herman Haupt.

This book emphasizes Union accomplishments. The coverage of Confederates emphasizes instances of bungling. The poor placement of Fort Henry and the mismanagement of Southern railroads are prime examples. Even Confederate successes are shown as demonstrating Confederate weaknesses. For example, consider the improvised pontoon bridge at Williamsport at the tail end of the Gettysburg Campaign? The whole thing was mismanaged and slow; their Union counterparts could have done the same thing faster and better.

Disappointingly, this is very much a series of case studies and not a complete history. Because of the thesis, the important of West Point engineers at times feels a bit peripheral. Other than Vicksburg and Forts Henry and Donelson, fortifications and siegecraft are largely skipped over. Fieldworks during the Overland Campaign and the creation of the Confederate earthworks around Vicksburg, Petersburg, and Atlanta are pretty much skipped except a short mention of how the Atlanta fortifications were placed too close to the city. Even the impressive defensive works erected by the Union at Knoxville in late 1863 go unmentioned. The Confederates poorly placed defensive works atop Missionary Ridge (on the true crest instead of the military crest), one of the most infamous Confederate engineering blunders of the war (perhaps second only to the placement of Fort Henry), go unmentioned. To some degree this may be an effort to avoid covering ground that may have already been well-turned (pun intended) in some of the books by Earl Hess. Mostly though it seems the result of dedication to thesis. I find that Thomas Army's writing about engineering is pretty good so the selective coverage feels unfortunate. Considering this book started as a doctoral dissertation and is both from a university press that does not usually publish Civil War works, I can't say the decision make a tightly focused book is surprising.

This is a pretty interesting book that I strongly recommend to anyone interested in the Civil War. It provides an interesting perspective on the war. The more I learn about military history the more I understand logistics are critical. Just be aware of what the book is and isn't. For other readers, I think it is worthwhile for those interested in engineering and technology, even if you're only an amateur. My growing interest in the subject of engineering is one of the reasons I read this book. I wouldn't recommend it to a general audience.
 
There's also no consideration of some of the creative engineering by the Confederates like land and sea mines, the Hunley, or turning the USS Merrimack into the ironclad CSS Virginia. But since they weren't very impactful in the outcome of the war they're not covered.

This book is a great example of why I feel a bit disdainful toward the academic emphasis on thesis. This is a good book with some interesting ideas. Had the same author using the same writing style and research methods produced a 400-500 page book that was a more complete engineering history of the war I think it would have been a great book.
 
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