63rdOVI
Corporal
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2012
- Location
- Houston, Texas
I recently purchased a book from Amazon.com entitled Grayback Mountaineers, by Harlan H. Hinkle. This book is supposed to present an overview of the Confederate soldiers and units from Western Virginia, now West Virginia, who served in the Civil War. What I found, however, was yet another anti-Lincoln rag.
Here is my review (also at http://www.amazon.com/Grayback-Mountaineers-Confederate-Face-Virginia/dp/0595268404/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356802208&sr=8-1&keywords=grayback mountaineers):
Another Neo-Confederate anti-Lincoln screed... December 28, 2012
By H.G. Moore
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this book for what I hoped would be an enjoyable (and scholarly) read about my home state's trials during the War of the Rebellion, and a reference for the units from what is now West Virginia that fought for the Confederacy. Admittedly, the state's history is difficult to understand, so it is important to look at it from both sides.
Unfortunately, the first forty-four pages of the book are nothing more than a Neo-Confederate apologia and anti-Lincoln screed of the type usually written by League of the South members and modern supporters of the Confederacy's Lost Cause movement. The author, Harlan H. Hinkle, is listed as a native of West Virginia, a graduate of West Virginia University, and a veteran of the US Air Force who wants to "set the record straight" about West Virginia's role in the Civil War. However, he clearly says that his book is "unapologetically partisan"; perhaps this is the only truth contained within this book. His use of the phrases "War for Southern Independence" and "War of Northern Aggression" are redolent of The Lost Cause.
After slogging through more of the same typical slipshod efforts to paint the Union and the North as the devil incarnate ("...wrong and unjustified...unholy crusade was premeditated, destructive, evil and hypocritical") he goes on to purport that the Union's victory was "a victory for consolidated tyranny and unbridled materialism that haunts the national consciousness even to this day." Yawn...
Not only does Mr. Hinkle then go on to try to justify secession (wonder of wonders...), he also goes after John Brown, the abolitionists, atheists, the German "Communists" of 1848, and Lincoln's sexuality and the Log Cabin Republicans ("Lincoln's perverted sexual nature...sodomite lifestyle..."). Indeed, Mr. Hinkle's attempts to denigrate Lincoln--by labeling him a "perverted" homosexual--along with the modern Republican Party's Log Cabin "Club" are nothing more than a common evangelical Christian tirade instead of an attempt at genuine historical analysis.
The gist of the book includes lists of the Civil War military units, separated by county, that contained men from West Virginia who fought for the Confederacy. These units include the Virginia Militia, Virginia State Line, guerilla companies, and actual line companies and regiments of the Confederate States Army. While the list does indeed look comprehensive, I wonder whether the author's "research" in this area is any more unbiased than in the first part of the book. However, it does look like most of his footnotes are based upon H.E. Howard's fine Virginia Regimental History Series so hopefully there'll be no surprises with Hinkle's detailed lists. Also, Mr. Hinkle provides a chapter detailing Confederate personnel from West Virginia along with some more interesting anecdotes occurring in The Mountain State during the war. The end of the book contains a section dedicated to d***ing the carpetbaggers who bought the state's natural resources after the Civil War and again crying that West Virginia was not a product of its own citizens' will but a situation forced upon them by the Vandal North.
Another thing that stood out was the huge amount of spelling errors located in the text. These are mostly incorrect verb tense but also included such wonders as "sharps shooting riflemen" rather than "sharpshooting riflemen." Since the context was describing the Virginia frontiersmen of the colonial era we know that this was not a reference to the Sharps rifle of the Civil War era. It appears that the book was perhaps self-edited; if so, the publisher needs to rectify that egregious problem.
Altogether, this book was a disappointment from a genuine historical viewpoint. While it may satisfy some from the Neo-Confederate movement, those who are looking for a scholarly work will probably end up being unsatisfied. I gave it one star because I couldn't give it zero. Caveat Emptor.
Here is my review (also at http://www.amazon.com/Grayback-Mountaineers-Confederate-Face-Virginia/dp/0595268404/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1356802208&sr=8-1&keywords=grayback mountaineers):
Another Neo-Confederate anti-Lincoln screed... December 28, 2012
By H.G. Moore
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this book for what I hoped would be an enjoyable (and scholarly) read about my home state's trials during the War of the Rebellion, and a reference for the units from what is now West Virginia that fought for the Confederacy. Admittedly, the state's history is difficult to understand, so it is important to look at it from both sides.
Unfortunately, the first forty-four pages of the book are nothing more than a Neo-Confederate apologia and anti-Lincoln screed of the type usually written by League of the South members and modern supporters of the Confederacy's Lost Cause movement. The author, Harlan H. Hinkle, is listed as a native of West Virginia, a graduate of West Virginia University, and a veteran of the US Air Force who wants to "set the record straight" about West Virginia's role in the Civil War. However, he clearly says that his book is "unapologetically partisan"; perhaps this is the only truth contained within this book. His use of the phrases "War for Southern Independence" and "War of Northern Aggression" are redolent of The Lost Cause.
After slogging through more of the same typical slipshod efforts to paint the Union and the North as the devil incarnate ("...wrong and unjustified...unholy crusade was premeditated, destructive, evil and hypocritical") he goes on to purport that the Union's victory was "a victory for consolidated tyranny and unbridled materialism that haunts the national consciousness even to this day." Yawn...
Not only does Mr. Hinkle then go on to try to justify secession (wonder of wonders...), he also goes after John Brown, the abolitionists, atheists, the German "Communists" of 1848, and Lincoln's sexuality and the Log Cabin Republicans ("Lincoln's perverted sexual nature...sodomite lifestyle..."). Indeed, Mr. Hinkle's attempts to denigrate Lincoln--by labeling him a "perverted" homosexual--along with the modern Republican Party's Log Cabin "Club" are nothing more than a common evangelical Christian tirade instead of an attempt at genuine historical analysis.
The gist of the book includes lists of the Civil War military units, separated by county, that contained men from West Virginia who fought for the Confederacy. These units include the Virginia Militia, Virginia State Line, guerilla companies, and actual line companies and regiments of the Confederate States Army. While the list does indeed look comprehensive, I wonder whether the author's "research" in this area is any more unbiased than in the first part of the book. However, it does look like most of his footnotes are based upon H.E. Howard's fine Virginia Regimental History Series so hopefully there'll be no surprises with Hinkle's detailed lists. Also, Mr. Hinkle provides a chapter detailing Confederate personnel from West Virginia along with some more interesting anecdotes occurring in The Mountain State during the war. The end of the book contains a section dedicated to d***ing the carpetbaggers who bought the state's natural resources after the Civil War and again crying that West Virginia was not a product of its own citizens' will but a situation forced upon them by the Vandal North.
Another thing that stood out was the huge amount of spelling errors located in the text. These are mostly incorrect verb tense but also included such wonders as "sharps shooting riflemen" rather than "sharpshooting riflemen." Since the context was describing the Virginia frontiersmen of the colonial era we know that this was not a reference to the Sharps rifle of the Civil War era. It appears that the book was perhaps self-edited; if so, the publisher needs to rectify that egregious problem.
Altogether, this book was a disappointment from a genuine historical viewpoint. While it may satisfy some from the Neo-Confederate movement, those who are looking for a scholarly work will probably end up being unsatisfied. I gave it one star because I couldn't give it zero. Caveat Emptor.
Bringing the