More and more I feel intrigued by the western theater but found it hard to get a understanding of this vast and complex matter.
Especially the role of J.E.Johnston is constantly puzzling me.
Hence I'd like to ask two questions:
1. Is there a good book one can read to get an overview over the western theater ?
(I have "Two Great Rebel Armies" - but this is outdated and talks only a little about the strategic concepts and failures of both sides, I read "Defending the Arterias of Rebellion" - but this is mainly treating the riverine war).
2. The book I am searching for should especially help me to evaluate my current understanding especially of J.E.Johnston - for the little I know about him - just like:
- sending away Pemberton's cavalry,
- sending opaque messages to Pemberton and failure of communication with that officer - that sealed the fate of Vicksburg,
- a show of mere token defense of Jackson with his "Army of Relief",
- a constant inability to get to terms with Jefferson Davis,
- several mistakes during the Atlanta Campaign, leaving fords without supervision, calling off promising attacks, retreating without the need to….
…all of this leads me to suspect he even might have been some kind of federal counteragent -
as I deem his influence quite decisive for confederate defeat in the West - especially in 1863/64….
Uncle Joe Johnston gave his own version of events in his 1874 "Narrative of Military Operations."
This book describes campaigns of the Civil War from a Confederate view.
www.google.com
General Badeau of Grant's Staff, wrote a two volume "Military History" of Grant's campaigns. The first volume regarding the western theater particularly, to Grant's movement to Virginia.
But the second Volume by Badeau covers the Atlanta campaign, in conjunction with all operations under Grant's universal command.
Grant, being the man that tied much of the western situation up, and commanded all of the Union forces, west to east, in the last year of the war, left in his memoirs a reasonably straightforward description of the situation he faced.
Relative to the Atlanta campaign, as conducted on the Confederate side by Gen. Johnston, Grant observed in Vol. II of his memoirs:
Grant's memoirs are online, or reprints available. Served the first three years of the war in the west... and general command of all of the armies, nationwide, in the last year.
Relative to Gen. Johnston's opposition to the Union armies, Grant is quoted in conversation (in "Around the World with General Grant" vol. II) as observing that it was Johnston's generalship that gave him certain difficulties not provided by others. And, at Vicksburg, Grant felt certain that if Johnston attempted to reinforce Pemberton at Vicksburg, or attack his rear, he would have beaten him too...
Post war, General Longstreet, who served under Johnston in the first year of the War, and as Lee's second in command, for much of the balance, opined of Johnston in comparison to Lee. Of Lee:
but General Longstreet considered Joe Johnston possessing skills in both "science" and "art of war"...
And from an 1879 interview explaining more fully his points above, General Longstreet was asked,
"Who do you think was the best general on the Southern side of the war?"
"I am inclined to think that General Joe Johnston was the ablest and most accomplished man that the Confederate armies ever produced. He never had the opportunity accorded to many others, but he showed wonderful power as a tactician and a commander. I do not think that we had his equal for handling an army and conducting a campaign.
General Lee was a great leader—wise, deep and sagacious. His moral influence was something wonderful. But he lost his poise in certain occasions. No one who is acquainted with the facts [thinks] that he would have fought the Battle of Gettysburg had he not been under great excitement, or that he would have ordered the sacrifice of Pickett and his Virginians on the day after the battle [of July 2, 1863]. He said to me afterwards, "Why didn't you stop all that thing that day?"
At the Wilderness, when our lines had been driven in and I was just getting to the field, General Lee put himself at the head of one of my brigades, and leading it into action my men pressed him back, and I said to him that if he would leave my command in my own hands I would reform the lines.
His great soul rose masterful within him when a crisis or disaster threatened. This tended to disturb his admirable equipoise. I loved General Lee as a brother while he lived, and I revere his memory. He was a great man, a born leader, a wise general, but I think Johnston was the most accomplished and capable leader that we had."
Jefferson Davis observed of his relief of Johnston from command of the Army of Tennessee before Atlanta in late July, 1864, that he was already under a significant political pressure to relieve him, to which he submitted when it was not evident Johnston would launch offensives in an effort that "might" save the city... From "Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government" vol. II:
Besides Grant's memoirs, rendered eminently readable by editorial assistance by Mark Twain, there is Sherman's memoirs. General Sherman served through most of the war in the western theater, and in its last year commanded all US forces in the "Military Division of the Mississippi" from that river east to the Carolinas. His memoir might provide some general explanation.
Vol. I.
Vol. II covers the Atlanta campaign to the close of the war.
But my understanding of this theatre is much too limited -
I dearly need one (or several) book(s) - to give me an overview and enough information to reassess the matter…
And as Christmas is near I would be prepared to lay myself such books under the christmas tree…..
Could anyone please give me a hint what book/books to buy?
This would be grreat….
There are reprints of all of the previously cited works available.
Some notice of Earl Hess's work on "The War in the West" from Appalachia to the Mississippi (2012) which has been previously mentioned, and many reviews describe as a reasonably concise overview. One reader-reviewer noting...
"A reader will find "The Civil War in the West" to be extremely useful and enlightening read. Among its' many good points is that it tells the tale in clear, cohesive style rather than drown the reader in a hurricane of regimental numbers, leader names from the Division leader clear down to the 2nd Adjutant Assistant Corporal-3rd Class Biscuit Baker and any of the other chaff that some writers try to pass off as scholarship."
The Western theater of the Civil War, rich in agricultural resources and manpower and home to a large number of slaves, stretched 600 miles north to south and 450 miles east to west from the Appalachians to the Mississippi. If the South lost the West, there would be little hope of preserving the...
www.google.com
From the publisher:
"The Western theater of the Civil War, rich in agricultural resources and manpower and home to a large number of slaves, stretched 600 miles north to south and 450 miles east to west from the Appalachians to the Mississippi. If the South lost the West, there would be little hope of preserving the Confederacy. Earl J. Hess's comprehensive study of how Federal forces conquered and held the West examines the geographical difficulties of conducting campaigns in a vast land, as well as the toll irregular warfare took on soldiers and civilians alike. Hess balances a thorough knowledge of the battle lines with a deep understanding of what was happening within the occupied territories.
In addition to a mastery of logistics, Union victory hinged on making use of black manpower and developing policies for controlling constant unrest while winning campaigns. Effective use of technology, superior resource management, and an aggressive confidence went hand in hand with Federal success on the battlefield. In the end, Confederates did not have the manpower, supplies, transportation potential, or leadership to counter Union initiatives in this critical arena."
Forum Host
Bringing the