The Civil War Shelf

We Fought at Gettysburg
Carolyn Ivanoff
Gettysburg Publishing
c/o Casemate Publishers
1940 Lawrence Road, Havertown, PA 19083
www.casematepublishers.com
9780999304945, $38.95, HC, 448pp

https://www.amazon.com/Fought-Gettysburg-Firsthand-Survivors-Connecticut/dp= /0999304941

Synopsis: Deftly edited by Carolyn Ivanoff, "We Fought at Gettysburg: First= hand Accounts by the Survivors of the 17th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry" = follows the 17th Connecticut Regiment through the Gettysburg Campaign and b= eyond in June and July of 1863.

William H. Warren dedicated his life to compiling the accounts of his comra= des in the 17th Connecticut. Many are published here for the first time. Th= ese are the words of those who lived through the trauma of combat and survi= ved to write about it. Many of these men were wounded, taken prisoner, lost=
friends, and suffered themselves on this great battlefield of the war. The=
se men tell what they experienced at Gettysburg in their own words. They de= scribe what they saw, thought, and felt on the battlefield.

Their story is told here through fascinating firsthand accounts, numerous p= hotographs, including a photographic index of the regiment, and maps by Phi=
l Laino.

Critique: A seminal and inherently fascinating contribution to the growing = library of the American Civil War studies and histories, "We Fought at Gett= ysburg: Firsthand Accounts by the Survivors of the 17th Connecticut Volunte=
er Infantry" is informatively enhanced with the inclusion of black/white hi= storical photos, a six page Bibliography, twenty-three pages of Notes, and =
an eight page Index. Simply stated, "We Fought at Gettysburg: Firsthand Acc= ounts by the Survivors of the 17th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry" is an ex= traordinary and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional=
, community, college, and university library American Civil War collections=
and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Carolyn Ivanoff (https://sites.google.com/site/carolynivano= ff) is a retired high school administrator and independent historian. She w= rites and speaks on American history in a variety of formats and venues. "W=
e Fought at Gettysburg" is her first book.

General Grant and the Verdict of History
Frank P. Varney
Savas Beatie
PO Box 4527, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
www.savasbeatie.com
9781611215533, $32.95, HC, 240pp

https://www.amazon.com/General-Grant-Verdict-History-Memoir/dp/1611215536

Synopsis: General Ulysses S. Grant (April 27, 1822 - July 23, 1885) is best=
remembered today as a war-winning general in the American Civil War, and h=
e certainly deserves credit for his efforts on behalf of the Union. But has=
he received too much credit at the expense of other men? Have others who f= ought the war with him suffered unfairly at his hands?

With the publication of "General Grant and the Verdict of History: Memoir, = Memory, and the Civil War", author and historian Frank P. Varney deftly exp= lores these issues.

Professor Varney examines Grant's relationship with three noted Civil War g= enerals: the brash and uncompromising "Fighting Joe" Hooker; George H. Thom= as, the stellar commander who earned the sobriquet "Rock of Chickamauga"; a=
nd Gouverneur Kemble Warren, who served honorably and well in every major a= ction of the Army of the Potomac before being relieved less than two weeks = before Appomattox, and only after he had played a prominent part in the maj=
or Union victory at Five Forks.

In his earlier book "General Grant and the Rewriting of History", Professor=
Varney studied the tempestuous relationship between Grant and Union Genera=
l William S. Rosecrans. During the war, Rosecrans was considered by many of=
his contemporaries to be on par with Grant himself; today, he is largely f= orgotten. Rosecrans's star dimmed, argues Professor Varney, because Grant o= rchestrated the effort.

Unbeknownst to most students of the war, Grant used his official reports, i= nterviews with the press, and his memoirs to influence how future generatio=
ns would remember the war and his part in it. Aided greatly by his two term=
s as president, by the clarity and eloquence of his memoirs, and in particu= lar by the dramatic backdrop against which those memoirs were written, our = historical memory has been influenced to a degree greater than many realize=
..

It is beyond time to return to the original sources (the letters, journals,=
reports, and memoirs of other witnesses and the transcripts of courts-mart= ial) to examine Grant's story from a fresh perspective. The results are enl= ightening and more than a little disturbing.

Critique: A masterpiece of original and seminal scholarship, "General Grant=
and the Verdict of History: Memoir, Memory, and the Civil War" is informat= ively enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of Maps, Illustrations, tw=
o Appendices (Rosecranz Revisited & Shiloah and Belmont Revisited), a four = page Bibliography, a one page listing of Acknowledgments, and a three page = Index. While also available for personal reading lists in a digital book fo= rmat (Kindle, $14.99), "General Grant and the Verdict of History: Memoir, M= emory, and the Civil War" is unreservedly recommended for community, colleg=
e, and university library American Civil War Biography, Memoir, and History=
collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Frank Varney earned his Ph.D. at Cornell University. He reg= ularly leads student groups to Civil War battlefields and makes frequent sp= eaking appearances before Civil War Roundtables and historical societies. P= rofessor Varney is currently developing a course to be taught on-site at Ge= ttysburg, and will do the same for a course on Chickamauga. He teaches U.S.=
and classical history at Dickinson State University of North Dakota, where=
he is also the director of the Theodore Roosevelt Honors Leadership Progra=
m.

Journalism in the Civil War Era, second edition
David W. Bulla, author
Gregory A. Borchard, author
Peter Lang Publishing Inc.
www.peterlang.com
9781433197932, $134.95, HC, 460pp

https://www.amazon.com/Journalism-Second-Mediating-American-History/dp/1433= 197936

Synopsis: Now in a newly updated and expanded second edition, "Journalism i=
n the Civil War Era" presents focuses on the historical context of Civil Wa=
r journalism by placing the newspapers of the era within the entire ninetee= nth century.

This seminal study gives a broad account of journalism in the Civil War, re= flecting on the political, military, legal, and journalistic issues involve=
d in this era. It is written with chapters that examine these various facet=
s of the journalism of the period, but they are connected by the theme of t=
he development of the wartime press, with an emphasis on the professional, = political, social, economic, legal, and military factors that affected it.

"Journalism in the Civil War Era" by co-authors David W. Bulla and Gregory =
A. Borchard provides An in-depth look at the political press in the 1850s a=
nd 1860s, and how it played a major role in the nation's understanding of t=
he conflict; Technology's role in carrying information in a timely fashion;=
The development of journalism as a profession; The international context o=
f Civil War journalism; The leadership journalists displayed, including Hor= ace Greeley and his New York Tribune bully pulpit; The nature of journalism=
during the war; The way freedom of the press was advanced by polarizing po= litical extremes.

This Civil War study is historical, written in an engaging style, and meant=
to encourage readers to explore and analyze the value of freedom of the pr= ess during that very time when it most comes under fire -- wartime.

Critique: A unique, informative, and fascinating contribution to the every = growing library of American Civil War histories and studies, "Journalism in=
the Civil War Era" is a seminal work of meticulous scholarship must be con= sidered a core and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professio= nal, community, and academic library American Civil War collections and sup= plemental curriculum studies lists. Informatively enhanced for the reader w= ith the inclusion of numerous Illustrations, an Appendix (Journalism and Ab= raham Lincoln), an eight page Selected Bibliography, and an eighteen page I= ndex, it should be noted for students, academia, dedicated Civil War buffs,=
and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "J= ournalism in the Civil War Era" is also available in a paperback edition (9= 781433187216, $62.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $59.80).

Editorial Note #1: David W. Bulla (https://davidbulla.com/bio.php) is Profe= ssor of Communication at Augusta University. His books include Lincoln's Ce= nsor, Why Slavery Endures, and Gandhi, Advocacy Journalism, and the Media. =
He is assistant editor of The Southeastern Review of Journalism History. Dr=
.. Bulla earned a Ph.D. in mass communication from the University of Florida=
and his master's degree in journalism from Indiana University.

Editorial Note #2: Gregory A. Borchard (https://www.unlv.edu/news/expert/gr= egory-borchard) is Professor of Mass communication and Journalism at the Un= iversity of Nevada, Las Vegas. His books include A Narrative History of the=
American Press and Abraham Lincoln and Horace Greeley. He edited the Encyc= lopedia of Journalism and the journal Journalism History for the History Di= vision of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communicatio=
n. Dr. Borchard earned a Ph.D. in mass communication from the University of=
Florida.

Searching for Irvin McDowell: The Civil War's Forgotten General
Frank P. Simione Jr, author
Gene Schmiel, author
Savas Beatie
PO Box 4527, El Dorado Hills, CA 95762
www.savasbeatie.com
9781611216202, $22.95, PB, 240pp

https://www.amazon.com/Searching-Irvin-McDowell-Forgotten-General/dp/161121= 6206

Synopsis: Irvin McDowell (October 15, 1818 - May 4, 1885) was a prominent f= igure during the early months of the Civil War. With so much at stake, he w=
as called upon to lead the Union's largest Eastern Theater army.

Pressed by the media and President Abraham Lincoln to move into Virginia an=
d defeat the Confederates gathering there, McDowell led his neophyte army o=
ut to the plains of Manassas and was soundly defeated. McDowell went on to = hold an independent command in northern Virginia during the Peninsula Campa= ign and serve in the Army of Virginia under Maj. Gen. John Pope during the = disastrous Second Bull Run Campaign.

Despite his significant contributions, a lack of personal papers left him i=
n obscurity. With the publication of "Searching for Irvin McDowell: The Civ=
il War's Forgotten General", co-authors Frank Simione Jr. and Gene Schmiel = used available sources to create a reliable and readable synthesis of the m=
an and his career to fill a sizable gap in the historiography.

Unless or until his private papers surface, "Searching for Irvin McDowell" = will stand as the best treatment available.

Critique: No personal, professional, community, or academic library America=
n Civil War collection can be considered comprehensive or complete without = the inclusion of "Searching for Irvin McDowell: The Civil War's Forgotten G= eneral" by co-authors and Civil War historians Frank P. Simiones Jr. and Ge=
ne Schmiel, and published by the principle American Civil War History publi= sher Savas Beatie. Informatively enhanced with the inclusion of two Appendi= ces ("General McDowell at Liberia" & "McDowell's Strange Hat"), a seven pag=
e Bibliography, and a twelve-page Index, "Searching for Irvin McDowell" is = also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $10.99) for studen= ts, academia, historians, Civil War buffs, and non-specialist general reade=
rs with an interest in the subject.

Editorial Note #1: Frank Simione Jr. retired from ATCC, a bioscience indust=
ry non-profit biological resource center in Manassas, Virginia. During his = 42-year career he published technical papers, review articles, manuals, and=
book chapters. Frank's interest in the Civil War spans more than half a ce= ntury.

Editorial Note #2: Gene Schmiel (https://civilwarhistory-geneschmiel.com) i=
s a retired U.S. Department of State Foreign Service Officer and former ass= istant professor of History at St. Francis University (PA) with a Ph.D. deg= ree in History from The Ohio State University. Gene is the author of many b= ooks about the Civil War, including Citizen-General: Jacob Dolson Cox and t=
he Civil War Era.

Private No More
Sharon A. Roger Hepburn, editor
University of Georgia Press
320 South Jackson Street, Athens, Georgia 30602
www.ugapress.org
9780820363448, $114.95, HC, 162pp

https://www.amazon.com/Private-No-More-Infantry-Perspectives/dp/0820363448

Synopsis: Edited by Professor Sharon Hepburn (Radford University, Virginia)= ,"Private No More: The Civil War Letters of John Lovejoy Murray, 102nd Unit=
ed States Colored Infantry" is a collection of letters contains insights in=
to the experiences of an African American soldier and his regiment during t=
he Civil War. John Lovejoy Murray, a private in Company E, 102nd USCT, died=
of disease in a Charleston hospital on April 12, 1865. Through John Murray=
's letters, readers can experience the war through the eyes of a literate n= orthern Black soldier.

His is the story of the soldiers who did not receive accolades for their he= roic actions in battle, the ones who spent more time on picket and fatigue = duty than on the front lines, the ones who died from disease more than they=
did of battle-related wounds.

Murray's letters are significant because they are ordinary in some respects=
yet extraordinary in others. Some of the activities and sentiments portray=
ed in the letters are hardly distinguishable from those described in letter=
s written by White soldiers. In other ways, the letters represent a perspec= tive distinctly from a Black soldier in the Union army.

Although many of his experiences may have been typical, John Lovejoy Murray=
himself, a literate, freeborn, northern Black man, was atypical among Unio=
n Black soldiers.

Critique: A valued contribution to the growing body of American Civil War h= istory, biography and memoirs, "Private No More: The Civil War Letters of J= ohn Lovejoy Murray, 102nd United States Colored Infantry" is an extraordina=
ry and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, communi= ty, college, and university library American Civil War collections and supp= lemental curriculum 19th Century African/American studies lists. It should =
be noted for the benefit of students, academia, historians, and Civil War b= uffs, that "Private No More" is also readily available in a paperback editi=
on (9780820363455, $24.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $14.72).

Editorial Note: Sharon A. Roger Hepburn is professor of history at Radford = University. She is also the author of "Crossing the Border: A Free Black Co= mmunity in Canada:, which received the 2008 Albert B. Corey Award. She has =
a page on the Radford University website at: https://www.radford.edu/conten= t/chbs/home/history/faculty/sharon-hepburn.html

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Midwest Book Review
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James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review

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