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Valley Campaign detailed in real-life accounts Valley Campaign detailed in real-life accountsBy MIKE WALKER "Shenandoah 1862 : Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign" The 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign is by and large a neglected but crucial topic within the scope of Civil War historiography. General Stonewall Jackson's Confederate forces opposed General George B. McClellan's Federal offensive on Richmond in a stunning and harrowing effort to control territory which could factor highly into whether the Confederates or Union would win the war.
Unlike other major battles such as First Bull Run, Gettysburg, and Vicksburg, the Valley Campaign was not a single battle but a prolonged encounter of various skirmishes in the Shenandoah Valley. Stonewall Jackson's force of only around 17,000 men amazingly bested the 60,000-strong force of McClellan's Army of the Potomac. This was a surprising and adroit tactical triumph which displayed Jackson's adept control of his forces and cunning in applying smaller divisions to win big where it counted. One would think, given the above, that Civil War scholars would flock to a topic having so much importance to the war plus a dashing general, a theatre near both Richmond and Washington, and the allure and drama of exciting battles, but actually rather little has been written about the Valley Campaign. Peter Cozzens, author of the present book, "Shenandoah 1862 : Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign", notes in his introduction that only a scant handfull of quality studies on the campaign exist and of these, all seem more or less biased toward the Rebel viewpoint. Cozzens, a retired Department of State overseas officer and experienced Civil War historian, sets forth to offer a more balanced view of the campaign in his treatment and to bring in new, original, research from primary sources. In doing so, he has unearthed a wealth of rare letters and other sources that point to the day-by-day situation of both Jackson's and McClellan's men. From these first-hand accounts, Cozzens brings forth such images as a Black mammy running about her yard screaming that the end of the world is coming, tired troops and starving horses, sneak attacks and men lost in the woods, the fear of young volunteers and inexperienced (but well-meaning) officers who had left their jobs to serve the Confederate cause. It is that type of historiography which reads nearly like contemporary reporting and brings the sparkle of actual life into what could otherwise be a dusty account of military affairs. Like so many authors dealing with serious scholarship of the Civil War who are not tenured faculty (many, it seems perhaps not too surprisingly are retired military officers themselves), Cozzens allows himself to take personal interest in both the smaller and larger parts of the complex picture of the campaign. His true craftsmanship, however, is that he never seems lost in explaining the greater picture at hand and keeping the reader informed on the progress of Jackson's forces and the Army of the Potomac. At some five hundred pages sans the notes and sources, this book takes its time playing out a complicated campaign but contains enough page-by-page detail to never seem dull or obtuse. Most importantly, when you finish the book you walk away with a keen and personal understanding of the battles fought and how difficult an experience being in either army during such a campaign must have been for the men who served the causes they dearly held close to their hearts. The production values, inclusion of ample illustrations and maps, plus spot illustrations which add to the feel of the time-period addressed, all bring this volume into the realm of truly beautiful books to own and the University of North Carolina Press should be lauded for not only its fine attention to detail in this regard but its willingness to take a chance on a book which may not have a huge readership. When I first looked through this book, I felt it was the type of specific, nuanced, study that one would see from a press such as Savas-Beatie that deals in military history over a major university publishing house. Perhaps the greater agency of a large academic press will allow this book to get placed in larger markets and gain more attention than it would
MIKE WALKER is a writer in Gainesville, Florida. He contributes editorials, book reviews, and features to this paper mainly concerning rural life, ecology, and history. He may be reached via email at: cloudrace@medscape.com |
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