THE ATLANTIC COAST (The Navy in the Civil War- II) Review

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(More customer reviews)This book is part of the Scribner's series of 16 volumes on the Civil War on land and at sea, published in 1882-3. It took congress twenty years to finally allocate funds to all the documents and communications sorted through. Americans could at last have an inside look at who actually said or did what, and when.
While that massive project was still underway, the publisher of this series persuaded highly qualified people - most of them participants -- to produce a quick readable history in light of the new information. Rear Admiral Daniel Ammen served in North Atlantic Squadron .
Some authors of the series explain its purpose in their introductions:

M.F. Force ("From Fort Henry to Corinth"), says, "The main source of information is the official reports of battles and operations. These reports, both National and Confederate, will appear in the series of volumes Military Reports now in preparation [by] the War Records office in the War Department."
Alexander Webb ("The Peninsula") adds "To be of any practical use, all history, and particularly military history, must be gradually sifted and reduced to small compass."
Jacob D. Cox ("The March to the Sea - Franklin & Nashville") sums up purpose and limitations: "The class of readers which has been most in mind [includes] includes the surviving officers and men who served in the war. [My] aim has been to supplement their personal knowledge by the facts ... of recent research. To give unity and symmetry to the ... campaigns here told, by examining each in the light of the plans and purposes of the leaders on both sides. The limits assigned... made it necessary to choose between the narration of incidents which would enliven the story, and that fullness to strictly military detail which seemed necessary to make the several campaigns clearly intelligible, and to enable the reader to judge, with some degree of satisfaction, the character of the operations. ...the effort to do so will give to each a broader understanding of what the great game of war really is."
This is what these short works accomplish in spades. With good maps at hand, the text is easily followed, often with amazement at the sorts of things that can and do routinely occur on campaign and in battle. We see armies so pestered by the random and unforeseen that one wonders how anything is accomplished.
But the above assumes good maps - and here the books fall short.
Cox: "The maps ... are reduced copies of the official surveys made by the engineers of the army. ... In reducing them it has not been possible to preserve all the details of the original... The reader is presumed to make reference to an ordinary hand-atlas... To have illustrated the text by larger and more elaborate maps would have thwarted the purpose of the publishers to put the series within the reach of all."
You do need more detailed maps that supplied in most popular military atlases. There are several solutions. If the maps in a particular volume are printed clearly, they can be enlarged on a Xerox machine. Alternately, simply google under Images for, say, "Wilderness, 1864" and you'll likely find an amazing variety of choices to print out.
Back in the 1880s, the full sized official government maps were available in a large folder. These were photo reduced to a still legible size, and presented in color, in an 1891 oversized book titled "The Official Military Atlas of the Civil War."
B&N reprinted this book in 2004, photo-reduced 10% (to 13 ½ x 16 ½"). You can get a used copy on Amazon for $20.00. The only odd thing is that all maps are placed completely randomly, apparently whatever will fit where. You have to consult the appropriate index, which will list all plates (facing pages) containing a relevant map.
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To give a sense of the value of these books, (1) I've posted some of my personal maps from these books. When a caption isn't attributed, it's mine, warts and all.
(2) You find remarkable eyewitness observations such as this in Palfrey's "The Antietem and Fredericksburg." The Union having been defeated at 2nd Manassas must move to block Lee's attempt to cross into Maryland or Pennsylvania. The fastest way for these haggard troops to do so is to march back through Washington and then west.
"Washington and its environs presented singular sights in the early days of September, 1862. The luxury and refinements of peace contrasted sharply with the privations and squalor of war. There are few prettier suburban drives than those in the neighborhood of Washington, and no weather is more delightful than that of late evening there, when a cooler air comes with shortening days. As the shadows lengthened in the golden afternoon, well-appointed carriages rolled along those charming drives, and by their side the ragged, dusty, sunburnt regiments from Pennsylvania trudged along. Rest, cleanliness, ice, food, drink, every indulgence of civilized life were within reach, but our hands could not be stretched to grasp them. ... The carriages returned to their stables, the fair ladies returned to the enjoyment of every pleasure that Washington could confer, but the Army of the Potomac moved steadily northward to bivouac under the stars or the clouds, and to march again in its tatters through the dust and the sunshine, through the rain and the mud." (3) The actual communications among commanders is fascinating.
(4) Basically working through these books with maps is a quick read, but also has the fascination of working through a book of logic problems. The essential information available to commanders is in your hands also. What to do is not always clear, but I came to admire the ability of most generals to "let a situation develop," then "read" it, and take actions. The complete set:
(1) The Outbreak of Rebellion - John G. Nicolay
(2) From Fort Henry to Corinth - M.F. Force
(3) The Peninsula - Francis Winthrope Palfrey
(4) The Army under Pope - John Goodman Ropes
(5) The Antietam & Fredericksburg
(6) Chancellorsville & Gettysburg - Abner Doubleday
(7) The Army of the Cumberland - Henry M. Cist
(8) The Mississippi - Francis Vinton Greene
(9) Atlanta - Jacob D. Cox
(10) March to the Sea & Franklin/Nashville - Jacob D. Cox
(11) The Shenandoah Valley in 1864 - George E. Pond
(12) Virginia Campaign of '64 & '65 - Andrew A Humphreys
There is also a volume of statistical records (V. 13), and three on the naval war:
The Blockade and the Cruisers - James Russell Soley
The Atlantic Coast - Daniel Ammen
The Gulf and Inland Waters - A.T. Mahan (yes, the Mahan)
I suggest reading the land volumes as follows:
I. The Outbreak of Rebellion.
From here you can follow either East or West Theatre first:
IIA - Eastern Theatre
(3) The Peninsula - after the failure of Bull Run, and attempt is made to capture Richmond by a naval landing.
(4) The Army under Pope; while Union troops are evacuating from the failed peninsula effort, Lee turns on Pope and inflicts another defeat at 2nd Bull Run. Lee then attempts to cross the Potomac and invade the north.
(5) The Antietam & Fredericksburg; McClellen having returned from the peninsula stops Lee's invasion at Antietam but fails to destroy his army. Burnside takes over and pursues Lee to Fredericksburg, where the Union army self-destructs in an assault on its fortified heights.
(6) Chancellorsville & Gettysburg - Hooker replaces Burnside and tries to take the Union army around Fredericksburg, but is bluffed from the dense forests around Chancellorsville. Lee again breaks free and this time invades Pennsylvania but is stopped at Gettysburg.
(11) The Shenandoah Valley in 1864; this valley is a thorn in the Union's flank, and is ultimately razed so Union forces can operate more freely in the east.
(12) Virginia Campaign of '64 & '65; Lincoln is desperate to end the war. Grant promises to do so at a price. It will be bloody, but he wants all losses immediately replaced to his army remains at full strength during the long bloody grind to Richmond. IIB- Western Theatre
(2) From Fort Henry to Corinth; The Confederacy hoped to fortify the upper Mississippi in Missouri and Kentucky as a jumping off point to invade the north. Grant wrests the initiative, and with the fall of Forts Henry and Donelson. After Grant's decisive victory at Shiloh, the Union never loses the initiative in the west.
(8) The Mississippi; the struggle for Vicksburg, which puts the entire Mississippi in Union hands.
(7) The Army of the Cumberland; the struggle for Chattanooga; Union defeat at Chickamauga, besieged at Chattanooga, final breakout of the siege.
(9) Atlanta; Union drive down the critical rail line through hard country from Chattanooga to Atlanta.
(10) March to the Sea & Franklin/Nashville; after Atlanta, Sherman's famed march to the sea, after which he very nearly links up with Grant driving down on Petersburg.
CAUTION:
This series is public domain. Many publishers offer cheap digital scans with illegible maps and text that is difficult to read -- apparently this reviews stepped on one such land mine.
The best editions by far are those from DSI digital scans, with flawless text and clear maps. Most of the have the "Look Inside" feature so you can see for yourself.
For some unfortunate reason, DSI's editions usually don't appear when you search these titles. Try searching a title with DSI...Read more›

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