by Sarah Kay Bierle & Chris Mackowski, editors
El Dorado Hills, Ca.: Savas Beatie, 2024. Pp. xxxii, 310.
Illus., maps, index. $32.95. ISBN:161121596X
New Looks at the Civil War in the West
In this new book from Savas Beatie’s “Emerging Civil War” series, Sarah Kay Bierle and Chris Mackowski have collected forty-seven short papers by thirty excellent scholars, some originally published in blogs or presented as talks at ECW symposia, plus some written just for this volume, supported by maps by the outstanding cartographers Hal Jespersen and Edward Alexander.
The editors note that readers will benefit from “original material about the Western Theater; territory between the Appalachians and the Mississippi, south of the Ohio River, organized in roughly chronological order, though it is not comprehensive”.
It's not a history of the Civil War in the West, but throws fresh light on aspects of the war there, a theater which “has long been pushed to the side by events in the Eastern Theater, but it was in the West where the Federal armies won the Civil War”.
The papers range from thirty-seven pages to as few as two or three, yet offer some valuable insights or interesting commentary on the war in the west. They examine all aspects of that theater, from Secession to surrender, battles, politics, cultural trends, socioeconomic matters, strategy, raids, home front, egos, missed opportunities, disputes about East vs. West, the importance of African Americans in war and victory for the Union, the careers of military leaders of both armies, and more.
A random sample of the titles of some of the papers will give the reader a pretty good idea of what can be found in these pages:
· "On the Eve of War: Charleston, South Carolina,” by Sarah Kay Bierle.
· Persistence of the Mardi Gras Spirit in Civil War New Orleans," by Neil P. Chatelain.
· "Johnston vs. Johnston," by Chris Mackowski, Greg Mertz, Angela M. Riotto, and Kristopher D. White.
· "Longstreet Goes West," by David A. Powell.
· "Turning Point: Assault on Battery Wagner by the 54th Massachusetts," by Philip S. Greenwalt.
· "Decisions at Chickamauga," by Chris Mackowski, David A. Powell, and Dan Welch.
· "Chattanooga: More Than Just Another Victory for Grant," by William Lee White.
· "The Army of the Tennessee: Elegy at Franklin," by Robert Lee Hodge.
This will prove an informative, unique, interesting, and often insightful read for anyone curious about the Western Theater in the war, and is likely to be of value to the more serious student, throwing light on matters often overlooked by writers and scholars.
An important contribution to Civil War scholarship, this reviewer recommends this book highly.
Note: War in the Western Theater is also available in e-editions.
Our Reviewer: David Marshall has been a high school American history teacher in the Miami-Dade School district for more than three decades. A life-long Civil War enthusiast, David is president of the Miami Civil War Round Table Book Club. In addition to numerous reviews in Civil War News and other publications, he has given presentations to Civil War Round Tables on Joshua Chamberlain, Ulysses S. Grant, Abraham Lincoln, the Battle of Gettysburg, and the common soldier. His previous reviews here include, From Antietam to Appomattox with Upton’s Regulars, Our Flag Was Still There, Never Such a Campaign, The Boy Generals: George Custer, Wesley Merritt, and the Cavalry of the Army of the Potomac, from the Gettysburg Retreat through the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864, Longstreet: The Confederate General Who Defied the South, Unforgettables, Bayou Battles for Vicksburg, Race to the Potomac, Conflict of Command, The World Will Never See the Like, The War that Made America, A Fine Opportunity Lost, The Iron Dice of Battle: Albert Sidney Johnston and the Civil War in the West, and The Limits of the Lost Cause on Civil War Memory.
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