General Lee's Army: From Victory to Collapse"You would be surprised to see what men we have in the ranks," Virginia cavalryman Thomas Rowland informed his mother in May 1861, just after joining the Army of Northern Virginia. His army -- General Robert E. Lee's army -- was a surprise to almost everyone: With daring early victories and an invasion into the North, they nearly managed to convince the North to give up the fight. Even in 1865, facing certain defeat after the loss of 30,000 men, a Louisiana private fighting in Lee's army still had hope. "I must not despair," he scribbled in his diary. "Lee will bring order out of chaos, and with the help of our Heavenly Father, all will be well." Astonishingly, after 150 years of scholarship, there are still some major surprises about the Army of Northern Virginia. In General Lee's Army, renowned historian Joseph T. Glatthaar draws on an impressive range of sources assembled over two decades -- from letters and diaries, to official war records, to a new, definitive database of statistics -- to rewrite the history of the Civil War's most important army and, indeed, of the war itself. Glatthaar takes readers from the home front to the heart of the most famous battles of the war: Manassas, the Peninsula campaign, Antietam, Gettysburg, all the way to the final surrender at Appomattox. General Lee's Army penetrates headquarters tents and winter shanties, eliciting the officers' plans, wishes, and prayers; it portrays a world of life, death, healing, and hardship; it investigates the South's commitment to the war and its gradual erosion; and it depicts and analyzes Lee's men in triumph and defeat. The history of Lee's army is a powerful lens on the entire war. The fate of Lee's army explains why the South almost won -- and why it lost. The story of his men -- their reasons for fighting, their cohesion, mounting casualties, diseases, supply problems, and discipline problems -- tells it all. Glatthaar's definitive account settles many historical arguments. The Rebels were fighting above all to defend slavery. More than half of Lee's men were killed, wounded, or captured -- a staggering statistic. Their leader, Robert E. Lee, though far from perfect, held an exalted place in his men's eyes despite a number of mistakes and despite a range of problems among some of his key lieutenants. General Lee's Army is a masterpiece of scholarship and vivid storytelling, narrated as much as possible in the words of the enlisted men and their officers. |
From inside the book
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Page 3
... flank , they delivered withering blasts that forced the attackers into retreat . Despite some shaky moments , Longstreet's Brigade , and the 17th Virginia Infantry , acquitted themselves well in their first firefight . All told ...
... flank , they delivered withering blasts that forced the attackers into retreat . Despite some shaky moments , Longstreet's Brigade , and the 17th Virginia Infantry , acquitted themselves well in their first firefight . All told ...
Page 7
... flank attack . They advanced into a cornfield just beyond Buck Hill . Within minutes , Yankee infantry columns appeared , and the men of the 4th Alabama began exchanging fire . As more and more Federals deployed , the regimental ...
... flank attack . They advanced into a cornfield just beyond Buck Hill . Within minutes , Yankee infantry columns appeared , and the men of the 4th Alabama began exchanging fire . As more and more Federals deployed , the regimental ...
Page 8
... flank and launched a devastating counterattack. While these Confeder- ates, flush with the thrill of victory and disordered from their effective assault, attempted to organize a pursuit from the jumbled units, the exhausted Alabam- ians ...
... flank and launched a devastating counterattack. While these Confeder- ates, flush with the thrill of victory and disordered from their effective assault, attempted to organize a pursuit from the jumbled units, the exhausted Alabam- ians ...
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Contents
1 | |
10 | |
19 | |
Why They Enlisted | 29 |
Becoming Soldiers | 51 |
A Great Canvass City | 66 |
Keeping the Army Together | 78 |
Clashes within the High Command | 89 |
religion and morality | 228 |
Chancellorsville | 242 |
arms and ammunition | 258 |
home Front | 289 |
Blacks and the army | 304 |
lee and the high Command | 334 |
preparing for the spring Campaign of 1864 | 355 |
The Trenches | 378 |
Playing Troops Like Fireflies | 104 |
Lee in Command | 123 |
The Seven Days Campaign | 135 |
Taking War to the Enemy | 150 |
A Failure of Discipline | 174 |
Lees Officer Corps and Army Culture | 186 |
The Soldiers of | 201 |
Supplying the Army | 208 |
Camp and Recreation | 220 |
manpower | 397 |
The Grind of War | 421 |
spiral of Defeat | 442 |
The Final Days | 457 |
The Sample | 473 |
Bibliography | 543 |
Acknowledgments | 582 |
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Common terms and phrases
A. P. Hill Alabama Alexander Army of Northern artillery attack battle battlefield Beauregard Bolling Hall Brig Brigade brother Bryan Grimes camp campaign Capt Carolinian casualties cavalry combat command comrades Confederacy Confederate conscripts Corps CWTIC D. H. Hill deserters diary division duty early enemy enlisted Ewell Family Papers Father Federals fight fire fought Fredericksburg FSNBP GDAH Georgia Gettysburg Gorgas Harpers Ferry Henry Hill Jackson James John Johnston Josiah Gorgas July June Lafayette McLaws Lee to Davis Lee's Lee’s army Letters Longstreet Louisiana Magruder Manassas McLaws military Mother NCDAH North Carolina Northern Virginia officers Pendleton percent Potomac Rebel Records regiment Richmond Robert Robert Stafford Sister Smith soldiers South Southern Taylor Thomas troops U.S. Census Union Union army USAMHI wife William wounded wrote Yankees