The Civil War Shelf

"If We Are Striking for Pennsylvania"
Scott L. Mingues Sr., author
Eric J. Wittenberg, author
Savas Beatie
www.savasbeatie.com
9781611216110, $34.95, HC, 456pp

https://www.amazon.com/If-Are-Striking-Pennsylvania-Gettysburg/dp/161121611=
7

Synopsis: Award-winning co-authors Scott L. Mingus Sr. and Eric J. Wittenbe=
rg are back with the second and final installment of "If We Are Striking fo=
r Pennsylvania". Volume 2 is " The Army of Northern Virginia and the Army o=
f the Potomac March to Gettysburg, June 22-30, 1863". A compelling study th=
at is the first to fully integrate the military, political, social, economi=
c, and civilian perspectives with rank-and-file accounts from the soldiers =
of both armies during the inexorably march north toward their mutual destin= ies at Gettysburg. Gen. Robert E. Lee's bold movement north, which began on=
June 3, shifted the war out of the central counties of the Old Dominion in=
to the Shenandoah Valley, across the Potomac, and beyond.

The first volume "If We Are Striking for Pennsylvania": The Army of Norther=
n Virginia and the Army of the Potomac March to Gettysburg - Volume 1: June=
3-21, 1863" carried the armies through the defining mounted clash at the b= attle of Brandy Station, after which Lee pushed the head of his army into t=
he Shenandoah Valley and achieved the magnificent victory at Second Winches= ter on his way to the Potomac. Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, who was caught flat= -footed by the move, used his cavalry to probe the mountain gaps, triggerin=
g a series of consequential mounted actions.

The second volume "If We Are Striking for Pennsylvania": The Army of Northe=
rn Virginia and the Army of the Potomac March to Gettysburg. Volume 2: June=
22-30, 1863" completes the march to Gettysburg and details the actions and=
whereabouts of each component of the armies up to the eve of the fighting.=
The large-scale maneuvering in late June prompted General Hooker to move h=
is Army of the Potomac north after his opponent and eventually above the Po= tomac, where he is removed from command and replaced by V Corps commander G= eorge G. Meade. Jeb Stuart begins his controversial and consequential ride = that strips away the eyes and ears of the Virginia army. Throughout norther=
n Virginia, central Maryland, and south-central Pennsylvania, civilians, po= liticians, and soldiers alike struggle with the reality of a mobile campaig=
n and the
massive logistical needs of the armies.

Mingus and Wittenberg mined hundreds of primary accounts, newspapers, and o= ther sources to describe the passage of the long martial columns, the thund= erous galloping of hooves, and the looting, fighting, suffering, and dying.=
As careful readers will quickly discern, other studies of the runup to Get= tysburg gloss over most of this material. It is simply impossible to fully = grasp and understand the campaign without a firm appreciation of what the a= rmies and the civilians did during the days leading up to the fateful meeti=
ng at the small crossroads town in Adams County, Pennsylvania.

Critique: A powerful, informative, and effectively presented two-volume sag=
a is a truly seminal and ground-breaking study. With the publication of "If=
We Are Striking for Pennsylvania": The Army of Northern Virginia and the A= rmy of the Potomac March to Gettysburg. Volume 2: June 22-30, 1863", no per= sonal, professional, community, or academic library American Civil War Hist= ory collection can be considered up-to-date without the inclusion of both v= olumes 1 & 2 of "If We Are Striking for Pennsylvania. It should be noted th=
at this outstanding study is also available for students, academia, and Ame= rican Civil War buffs in a digital book format (Kindle, $20.95).

Editorial Note #1: Scott L. Mingus Sr. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottmi= ngus) is the award-winning author of more than a dozen Civil War books, inc= luding Unceasing Fury: Texans at the Battle of Chickamauga, September 18-20=
, 1863 (2022). Scott maintains a blog on the Civil War history of York Coun=
ty (www.yorkblog.com/cannonball).

Editorial Note #2: Eric J. Wittenberg (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_J= .._Wittenberg) is an Ohio attorney, an accomplished Civil War cavalry histor= ian, and an award-winning author. He has penned more than a dozen books, in= cluding Gettysburg's Forgotten Cavalry Actions, which won the 1998 Bachelde= r-Coddington Literary Award, and The Devil's to Pay: John Buford at Gettysb= urg, which won the Gettysburg Civil War Roundtable's 2015 Book Award.

John Brown's Raid
Jon-Erik M. Gilor, author
Kevin R. Pawlak, author
Savas Beatie
www.savasbeatie.com
9781611215977, $16.95, PB, 192pp

https://www.amazon.com/John-Browns-Raid-Harpers-Emerging/dp/1611215978

Synopsis: It is not commonly known that the first shot of the American Civi=
l War was not fired on April 12, 1861, in Charleston, South Carolina, but i= nstead came on October 16, 1859, at Harpers Ferry, Virginia -- or so it was=
claimed former slave turned abolitionist Frederick Douglass. That shot wen=
t across the country like a meteor in the dark.

John Brown, the infamous fighter on the Kansas plains and detester of slave= ry, led a band of nineteen men on a desperate nighttime raid that targeted = the Federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. There, they planned to begin a war to=
end slavery in the United States. But after 36 tumultuous hours, John Brow= n's Raid failed, and Brown himself became a prisoner of the state of Virgin= ia.

Brown's subsequent trial further divided north and south on the issue of sl= avery as Brown justified his violent actions to a national audience forced =
to choose sides. Ultimately, Southerners cheered Brown's death at the gallo=
ws while Northerners observed it with reverence. The nation's dividing line=
had been drawn.

Herman Melville and Walt Whitman extolled Brown as a "meteor" of the war. R= oughly one year after Brown and his men attacked slavery in Virginia, the n= ation split apart, fueled by Brown's fiery actions.

"John Brown's Raid: Harpers Ferry and the Coming of the Civil War, October = 16-18, 1859" by co-authors and Civil War historians Jon-Erik Gilor and Kevi=
n Pawlak tells the story of the first shots that led to disunion. Profusely=
enhanced with with maps and images, "John Brown's Raid" includes a driving=
and walking tour of sites related to Brown's Raid so visitors today can fo= llow the path of America's meteor.

Critique: A part of the Savas Beatie 'Emerging Civil War Series', and excep= tionally well written, organized and presented, "John Brown's Raid: Harpers=
Ferry and the Coming of the Civil War, October 16-18, 1859" will prove a w= elcome and enduringly appreciated addition to the ever expanding library of=
American Civil War histories. While available for reading lists in a digit=
al book format (Kindle, $7.99), "John Brown's Raid" is a fundamentally reco= mmended addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library=
American Civil War collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note #1: Jon-Erik M. Gilot (https://www.battlefields.org/contribu= tors/jon-erik-gilot) has worked more than fifteen years in the field of pub= lic history. In addition to his work as a business archivist and records ma= nager, he also serves as curator at the Captain Thomas Espy Grand Army of t=
he Republic Post in Carnegie, Pennsylvania, and is active in numerous histo= rical organizations.

Editorial Note #2: Kevin Pawlak (https://emergingcivilwar.com/contributor/k= evin-pawlak) is the Director of Education for the Mosby Heritage Area Assoc= iation and works as a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Antietam National Battl= efield. He also sits on the Board of Directors of the Shepherdstown Battlef= ield Preservation Association and the Save Historic Antietam Foundation. Ke= vin also serves on the advisory board at Shenandoah University's McCormick = Civil War Institute and Shepherd University's George Tyler Moore Center for=
the Study of the Civil War. The History Press published his first book, Sh= epherdstown in the Civil War: One Vast Confederate Hospital, in 2015.

Sand, Science, and the Civil War
Scott Hippensteel
University of Georgia Press
www.ugapress.org
9780820363523, $114.95, HC, 360pp

https://www.amazon.com/Sand-Science-Civil-War-Sedimentary/dp/0820363529

Synopsis: The influence of sedimentary geology on the strategy, combat, and=
tactics of the American Civil War is a subject that has been completely ne= glected by military historians. Sedimentary geology influenced everything f= rom the nature of the landscape (flat vs. rolling terrain) to the effective= ness of the weapons (a single grain of sand can render a rifle musket as us= eless as a club).

With the publication of "Sand, Science, and the Civil War: Sedimentary Geol= ogy and Combat", Professor Scott Hippensteel investigates and presents the = role of sedimentary geology on the campaigns and battles of the Civil War o=
n multiple scales, with a special emphasis on the fighting along the coastl= ines.

At the start of the Civil War the massive brick citadels guarding key coast=
al harbors and shipyards were thought to be invincible to artillery attack.=
The Union bombardment of Savannah's key defensive fortification, Fort Pula= ski, demonstrated the vulnerability of this type of fortress to the new rif= led artillery available to the Union as Fort Pulaski surrendered within a d= ay.

When the Union later tried to capture the temporary sand fortifications of = Battery Wagner (protecting Charleston) and Fort Fisher (protecting Wilmingt= on) they employed similar tactics but with disastrous results. The value of=
sand in defensive positions vastly minimized the Federal advantage in arti= llery, making these coastal military strong points especially costly to cap= ture.

Through this geologically centered historic lens, Professor Hippensteel exp= lores the way sediments and sedimentary rocks influenced the fighting in al=
l theaters of war and how geologic resources were exploited by both sides d= uring the five years of conflict.

Critique: A seminal, unique, impressively organized, and ground-breaking (n=
o pun intended!) study that is informatively enhanced for the reader with t=
he inclusion of 'A Note about Units of Measurement', forty pages of Notes, = and an eight page Index, "Sand, Science, and the Civil War: Sedimentary Geo= logy and Combat" is a singular and unreservedly recommended addition to per= sonal, professional, community, college, and university library American Ci= vil War histories and supplemental curriculum studies lists. It should be n= oted for students, academic, Civil War buffs, and non-specialist general re= aders with an interest in the subject that "Sand, Science, and the Civil Wa=
r: Sedimentary Geology and Combat" is also available in a paperback edition=
(9780820363530, $44.95) and in a digital book format (Kindle, $33.99).

Editorial Note: Scott Hippensteel (https://pages.charlotte.edu/scott-hippen= steel) is an associate professor of earth sciences at the University of Nor=
th Carolina at Charlotte. He is also the author of Rocks and Rifles: The In= fluence of Geology on Combat and Tactics during the American Civil War.

Editorial Note: Todd E. Harburn (https://www.oupress.com/author/todd-e-harb= urn) is an independent scholar, an orthopedic surgeon, and a doctor of spor=
ts medicine. He is also the co-author of "A Most Troublesome Situation: The=
British Military and the Pontiac Indian Uprising of 1763-1764".

EDITOR'S NOTE:

The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promo= ting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no fund=
s from authors or publishers. Full permission is given to post any of these=
reviews on thematically appropriate websites, newsgroups, listserves, inte= rnet discussion groups, organizational newsletters, or to interested indivi= duals. Please give the Midwest Book Review a credit line when doing so.

The Midwest Book Review publishes the monthly book review magazines "Califo= rnia Bookwatch", "Internet Bookwatch", "Children's Bookwatch", "MBR Bookwat= ch", "Reviewer's Bookwatch", and "Small Press Bookwatch". All are available=
for free on the Midwest Book Review website at www (dot) midwestbookreview=
(dot) com

Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them to:

James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129

To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugal= muse (at) aol (dot) com (Be sure to include the book title, author, publish= er, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit ISBN number=
, and list price).

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

--- MBSE BBS v1.0.8 (Linux-x86_64)
* Origin: ---:- FTN<->UseNet Gate -:--- (3:633/280.2@fidonet)