The Last Full Measure

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Author Jeff Shaara rounds out the Civil War trilogy started by his late father Michael Shaara, whose book The Killer Angels describes the Battle of Gettysburg. Just as Jeff Shaara's Gods and Generals covers action prior to Gettysburg, The Last Full Measure picks up with Confederate General Robert E. Lee's retreat from Pennsylvania and continues through the end of the war. Shaara focuses on the characters of Lee and Union commander Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, both of whom play prominent roles in the earlier books. He also introduces a new one: Ulysses S. Grant, the Union general who would finally defeat the South--something no soldier before him could manage. The Last Full Measure is often exciting and poignant, and fans of The Killer Angels and Gods and Generals won't be disappointed. --John Miller

Book Description

In the Pulitzer prize-winning classic The Killer Angels, Michael Shaara created the finest Civil War novel of our time, an enduring bestseller that has sold more than two million copies. In the bestselling Gods and Generals, Shaara's son, Jeff, brilliantly sustained his father's vision, telling the epic story of the events culminating in the Battle of Gettysburg. Now, Jeff Shaara brings this legendary father-son trilogy to its stunning conclusion in a novel that brings to life the final two years of the Civil War.

As The Last Full Measure opens, Gettysburg is past and the war advances to its third brutal year. On the Union side, the gulf between the politicians in Washington and the generals in the field yawns ever wider. Never has the cumbersome Union Army so desperately needed a decisive, hard-nosed leader. It is at this critical moment that Lincoln places Ulysses S. Grant in command--and turns the tide of war.

For Robert E. Lee, Gettysburg was an unspeakable disaster--compounded by the shattering loss of the fiery Stonewall Jackson two months before. Lee knows better than anyone that the South cannot survive a war of attrition. But with the total devotion of his generals--Longstreet, Hill, Stuart--and his unswerving faith in God, Lee is determined to fight to the bitter end.

Here too is Joshua Chamberlain, the college professor who emerged as the Union hero of Gettysburg--and who will rise to become one of the greatest figures of the Civil War.

Battle by staggering battle, Shaara dramatizes the escalating confrontation between Lee and Grant--complicated, heroic, deeply troubled men. From the costly Battle of the Wilderness to the agonizing siege of Petersburg to Lee's epoch-making surrender at Appomattox, Shaara portrays the riveting conclusion of the Civil War through the minds and hearts of the individuals who gave their last full measure.

Full of human passion and the spellbinding truth of history, The Last Full Measure is the fitting capstone to a magnificent literary trilogy.

From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

The last 18 months.......2007-10-12

"The Last Full Measure" picks up where "The Killer Angels" left off. General Lee is still licking his wounds after the Confederate disaster at Gettysburg. He and Longstreet are still on shaky ground personally, and most of Lee's best officers are gone now. Meanwhile President Abraham Lincoln has just appointed General Grant to the new position of Lieutenant General, commander of the Union Army. He pursues Lee for another 18 months whittling away at the southern army until Lee is finally forced to surrender.

It seems like the writing process of this trilogy was just as much an epic as the novels themselves. It starts with Jeffery Shaara's father, Michael, who wrote "The Killer Angels". Then son Jeff takes on the mantel and continues on, going backward before Gettysburg and forward afterward until the end of the war. This book, as you know, is the end of the Civil War trilogy and it ends with a bang, so to speak. This book is so thoroughly heartbreaking at the end, with General Lee's Army of Northern Virginia on the run from General Grants Union forces. What did it for me was when Lee was inspecting the troops and they are so pathetic looking and tell Lee they're hungry. And the truce at Appomattox was possibly the best writing I have ever read, with both enemy generals being civil to each other that was obviously a strained effort from both parties.

Saintly Colonel Joshua Chamberlain is still the main Union protagonist through out the novel, though in "Measure" he shares the spotlight with General Grant, who is a moody and somber man, more or less Lee's moral equivalent. Longstreet and Lee are still the main focus of the Confederate point of view, though after the battle at Gettysburg their relationship is strained at best. We see and hear a little of Sherman's March to the Sea, but the main focus is on the battle field in Virginia and in the north.

As before the realities of the fight are examined minutely, with the Bristoe Station, then Overland Campaign to the Siege of Petersburg. The introduction of African American soldiers is new to the Shaara series, but it also shows that the one's who had the most to lose were also willing to fight just as hard and ferociously as their white counterparts.

A worthy conclusion to a great series of books.

Great finish in an outstanding trilogy.......2007-04-04

I think this book, and the two preceding it should be required reading in school. I had no idea how horrific this war was, particularly more so as the brutalities committed on both sides were against our own. There were so many moments when I wanted to stop and cry for the loss of life, and especially at the end when the one man who was capable of healing the country and bringing us all back together as one nation, Abraham Lincoln, was assassinated.

The research was impeccable and telling the story from the viewpoints of the various generals absolutely fascinating. The honorable Robert E. Lee, Chamberlain (loved his gracious salute to the surrendering army), and the ever fascinating U.S. Grant.

One quote from so many in the book that just brought tears to my eyes: "Yes, it was horrible, horrible indeed. But he had to tell himself that, remind himself to see it that way. There was no sickening revulsion, no outrage, no indignation at the barbarism. It was just one more scene from this war, one more horror, one more mass of death, blending together with all the rest."

Highly highly recommended, and will definitely open your eyes to the horror of war.

Very Affecting Novel on the last years of the Civil War in the East.......2007-03-20

This is the novel that it seemed that Shaara came into his own. This part of the Civil War was incredibly brutal and Shaara depicts this well. The campaign that Grant and Lee waged was epic and Shaara brings out the humanity of these two men. This book seems just a notch below the "Killer Angels" and is superior in many respects to "Gods and Generals". It is populated by a very human Grant (this book made me want to read more about him) and a very ungodlike Robert E. Lee who propel the story. Chamberlain and his struggles are also depicted and are very relevant because his actions in the last year of the war were as heroic as his actions at Gettysburg. Appomattox is also depicted very movingly. Hopefully this novel will eventually be made into the definitive Civil War film.

Moving finale of the Civil War trilogy.......2007-01-24

I echo the positive sentiments previously expressed. Let me add that the chapters covering Lee's surrender and Chamberlain's salute are among the most moving I have ever read.

A fine study of the last year ..........2007-01-14

... of the American Civil War. I would say this is an excellent history for those who do not particularly have the patience or care to read a history book.

Set as a novel viewing the events of the war through the eyes of it's major players, the story begins with Lee's army at the swollen banks of the Potomac after his retreat from the disaster at Gettysburg. Although the novel does not include the recruitment process of Grant for command of all Union forces as Lt. General (a rank last held by George Washington), nor the strategy session between Grant and his favorite, Gen. W.T. Sherman; it does give a glimpse of why Lincoln chose this man to led the Army.

With the selection of Grant the focus of the war is changed from the dubious capture of Richmond as a means to defeat the South to the defeat of Lee himself. Grant sums it up in a sentence to Gen. Meade (who he leaves in charge of the Army of the Potomac) saying, "Where Lee goes, you will go too." Grant knows that the fighting heart of the South is not in Richmond, but in its most popular leader, Gen. R.E. Lee. When Lee is beaten, the war will end ... and of course, history bears this out.

The tale takes us through the Union defeat in the burning thickets and forest of the Wilderness; Lee's (and Stuart's) brilliant disengagement and race to Spotsylvania and the mule shoe salient -- where the most vicious fighting of the war takes place -- the two armies positioned literally yards from each other, clubbing and stabbing one another to death over and through chinks in the log barricades. It follows Lee's move to the North Ana River where Grant's leaders make a terrible mistake in deployment, but are spared disaster because Lee remains in his tent, too ill to take advantage of the situation. The fight moves further south to Cold Harbor and the wholesale slaughter of Union troops in Grant's biggest mistake of the war. Over 7,000 men are killed in twenty minutes of battle. And finally to the siege of the strategic rail center at Petersburg.

Ultimately Lee will leave Petersburg and march his army west only to be dogged by the Union and finally give up the fight as hopeless at Appomattox.

Although slow moving at times, the average reader will come to know the last year of the Civil War in a way that standard history texts cannot tell it. This is the most critical period of time for each nation's survival. If Lee can hold out for a few more months and Lincoln is not reelected, the pacifist movement in the North will permit the Confederacy their independence and the Union will be broken. With the defeat of Lee in Virginia and the victories of Sherman in Georgia, the South will give up the fight and the Union preserved. We all know the eventual outcome of the struggle. This book gives us the personalized details of how desperate a fight it really was.

Some of the more avid history buffs might be a bit disappointed at the coverage of some events (such as the battle of Cold Harbor), but all in all, this is a fine book on the greatest event in American history. Well written and very readable.

*** Highly Recommended ***

~pjm~

Average customer rating:

Thought provoking
Awesome & Exciting!!!!
gettysburg
THIRD GREAT BOOK
Excellent counterfactual, still fiction

Gettysburg: A Novel of the Civil War
Newt Gingrich , and William R. Forstchen
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Paperbacks
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0312987250
Release Date: 2005-04-05

Book Description

The Battle of Gettysburg has become the great "what if" of American history. Gettysburg unfolds an alternate path and creates for General Robert E. Lee the victory he might have won. Full of dramatic battle scenes, military strategy, and captivating period details, Gettysburg stands as a remarkable entry in the pantheon of Civil War literature and as a vivid novel of the realities of war.The year is 1863, and General Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia are poised to attack the North and claim the victory that could end the brutal conflict. Launching his men into a vast sweeping operation, General Lee, acting as he did at Chancellorsville, Second Manassas, and Antietam, displays the audacity of old. He knows he has but one more good chance to gain ultimate victory. Now Lee's lieutenants and the men in the ranks, imbued with this renewed spirit of the offensive, embark on the Gettysburg Campaign that many dream "should have been"....

Customer Reviews:

Thought provoking.......2007-08-29

Outstanding novel, enough history to keep the Civil War buffs entertained and the "what if" makes it a wonderfull adventure into the imagination.

Awesome & Exciting!!!!.......2007-08-14

1. The prose brings the Civil War battlefield to life.
2. The premise is not all that off the mark. Newt and Forstchen create an entirely plausible sequence of events. I felt that even those that some scholars would argue with are adequately explained in the narrative.
3. The use of historical parallelism is fascinating, especially Chamberlain's leadership of the 20th Maine now in a different 2nd Day action but again the last unit on the flank, and "Pickett's charge in reverse", now [fittingly] on July 4th, rather than July 3.
4. The characters fulfill their commonly understood (if not in modern scholarship) personality strengths and flaws, and makes a downright fun read.

If you pass up this book because you might not like Newt's politics, you are making a HUGE mistake. I couldn't turn the pages fast enough!

gettysburg.......2007-07-19

Like to find out all I can about Gettysburg from different people and how they saw the war.

THIRD GREAT BOOK.......2007-07-05

I will definitely buy Newt's other books, if they are as well written as this one

Excellent counterfactual, still fiction.......2007-05-16

I bought this book some time ago and I only recently found it again on my bookshelf. I am a fan of counterfactual (what if) history for their entertainment value and believed it to be an interesting and relaxing book. It was interesting, but the historical content and the historical arguments that can be made throughout the text are anything but relaxing.

While I do not agree with Newt on his political views, I had hoped that being a son of Georgia he would try to utilize the more recent scholarship defending James Longstreet, Lee's commander of I Corps. After the war, Longstreet was attacked by old Confederates and brother generals such as Jubal Early because he supported the Republican Party during reconstruction and maintained his good friendship with U. S. Grant. The historiography of Longstreet is extensive but the view for the past 70 years has been that of a slow, mean, slightly ignorant general that didnt like to fight. Furthermore, the cult of Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson has been very successful in convincing historians and enthusiasts that Lee and Jackson were closer, friendlier, and more understanding of one another. The truth is that Longstreet was the ranking commander of the two, was visited much more by Lee before Jackson's death, made as many errors as Jackson, and was actually favored by Lee because of his party atmosphere around his headquarters (Lee, a Virginia gentleman, was more attracted to the social scene than to Jackson's somewhat odd religious views. In addition, Longstreet was more tactically and strategically minded than Jackson or Lee and was questioned by Lee many times. (Although not always agreeing with Longstreet which is the entire basis of the book.)

Knowing this, I was angry at Newt. Longstreet here is constantly being reminded by himself, Lee, and the authors that Jackson was the number one corps commander and Lee's choice when deciding who should be utilized first in the field. Longstreet is depicted very much that same way that Sharra does in his "The Killer Angels", having him be mindful of his own problems and quick to temper. I still felt that Newt could have pushed harder for Longstreet to be recognized more by Lee rather than have Lee pit Longstreet against the memory of the dead Jackson.

The novel centers on three main characters although it does shift its focus to other lesser characters for brief periods of time. Lee, Longstreet, and Federal Chief of Artillery General Henry Hunt are given the most page time. The main issues are Hunt's problems with the upper leels of the Federal Army such as Meade, the very likable Sickles, and his own duties as a artilleryman. Lee attends to the battle, his frustration with being seen as a "marble man", and the incompetence of his corps and divisional commanders. Longstreet also attends to the battle, his frustration with being compared to Jackson, and his own problems with commanders. Along the way we encounter Sickles, Meade, Hancock (who is always portrayed as a great commander and man) Chamberlain, and Lincoln.

It is an interesting counterfactual that takes the greatest issue from the battle, the problem of turning south to flank the Federal army after the first day of Gettysburg, and following it to the authors' conclusion. It is enjoyable for the detail and character development if not the historical issues. Overall, I still feel that Lee is being portrayed in the Lost Cause school of history where he fights for god, country, and honor and can do no wrong. Even after taking Longstreet's suggestion to move to the right, Lee is given credit. While both sides are portrayed as being both merciful and murderous equally, the Lost Cause issue remains with Lee and is a nagging detail that some students of history might find bothersome.

While not giving away the ending, it is interesting to see Lee change his personality three times. On the first day of battle he is the typical Lee we have always read about: determined to fight and attack, forgiving of commanders and overly cautious, after the turn south he resembles Prussian General Helmuth von Moltke, quick to find alternate solutions and hear out suggestions, quick to press the attack if a defensible position is established, and more open to moving alongside troops in battle, where as in the final chapters he is General William T. Sherman, unforgiving of incompetence, quick to lead an action if the sight of him will boost morale, and even uttering Sherman's oft repeated statement likening war to hell.

Read the book, enjoy the book, but afterwards, study the battle and characters to see if you agree with the authors.

Robert E. Lee on Leadership: Executive Lessons in Character, Courage, and Vision (On Leadership)

Average customer rating:

GREAT READ
Timeless
Move over Sun Tzu
Robert E. Lee on Leadership : Executive Lessons in Character, Courage, and Vision
Great Book

Robert E. Lee on Leadership: Executive Lessons in Character, Courage, and Vision (On Leadership)
H. W. Crocker III
Manufacturer: Prima Lifestyles
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0761516808
Release Date: 1999-04-28

Book Description

Robert E. Lee was a leader for the ages. The man heralded by Winston Churchill as "one of the noblest Americans who ever lived" inspired an out-manned, out-gunned army to achieve greatness on the battlefield. He was a brilliant strategist and a man of unyielding courage who, in the face of insurmountable odds, nearly changed forever the course of history.

"A masterpiece—the best work of its kind I have ever read. Crocker's Lee is a Lee for all leaders to study; and to work, quite deliberately, to emulate."
— Major General Josiah Bunting III, superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute

In this remarkable book, you'll learn the keys to Lee's greatness as a man and a leader. You'll find a general whose standards for personal excellence was second to none, whose leadership was founded on the highest moral principles, and whose character was made of steel. You'll see how he remade a rag-tag bunch of men into one of the most impressive fighting forces history has ever known. You'll also discover other sides of Lee—the businessman who inherited the debt-ridden Arlington plantation and streamlined its operations, the teacher who took a backwater college and made it into a prestigious university, and the motivator who inspired those he led to achieve more than they ever dreamed possible. Each chapter concludes with the extraordinary lessons learned, which can be applied not only to your professional life, but also to your private life as well.

Today's business world requires leaders of uncommon excellence who can overcome the cold brutality of constant change. Robert E. Lee was such a leader. He triumphed over challenges people in business face every day. Guided by his magnificent example, so can you.

Customer Reviews:

GREAT READ.......2007-10-05

GREAT READ ON MULTIPLE LEVELS. EMPHASIS ON LEADERSHIP TRAITS AND PERSONAL STRENGTHS. GREAT ALSO FOR TEENAGERS TO STRESS MANY ATTRIBUTES TO BEING A LEADER.

Timeless.......2007-07-30

If business leaders and managers would implement a portion of what Lee stood for, we would all have a more desirable work environment!! Book has absolutely timeless principles. Must read for person who really wants to make a difference.

Move over Sun Tzu.......2007-06-16

Move over Sun Tzu.

Harry Crocker has brought new meaning to the "how-to" book genre of business success. Robert E. Lee on Leadership is Crocker's latest book and specifically addresses the business professional. Using General Lee as the paragon of character and leadership, Crocker deftly compares Lee to the modern businessman and draws the appropriate parallels.

Sun Tzu's The Art of War has become somewhat of a cult classic among business "leaders" with its emphasis on destruction of the enemy and preparedness before battle. It was written over two thousand years ago and has served as a blueprint for success on the battlefield as well as the business field.

Crocker's Robert E. Lee on Leadership, however, is unique. Crocker describes the life of a great figure from the 1800s, takes a detailed look at his leadership style, and concludes that modern business leaders could succeed by emulating the revered Confederate general.

Far from being a book solely for the businessman, Crocker's Robert E. Lee on Leadership is a mini-biography of one of the greatest military generals of all time. Despite his military prowess, however, Robert E. Lee was a humble man, as Crocker points out repeatedly. Lee believed firmly that "obedience to lawful authority is the foundation of manly character." Obedience to God was of primary importance for Lee, and he expected those under his command to adhere to the principles of the Bible. A devout Episcopalian, Lee felt that the good leader teaches responsibility by giving it to others. Delegating authority to those under his command was one means by which Lee could accomplish both his military goals and direct Washington College (now Washington and Lee) of which he was president following the Civil War.

The reader takes away from Robert E. Lee on Leadership a lesson not only in business but also in life. Humility served as Lee's code of conduct. His only rule for his students at Washington College was that everyone "would conduct himself as a gentleman." On one occasion a young mother asked for General Lee's blessing on her son. Lee told her, " Teach him he must deny himself." One must control oneself before being able to control others; the business lesson is clear. Crocker uses instances such as these to draw a direct parallel to the life of Christ. By doing so, he gives the reader reason to hope that one can be both a model Christian and a successful man of business.

In battle, Lee was brilliant; he went up against enormous odds and succeeded, but was insistent his soldiers were not to harm any civilians. Never one to blame others, Lee accepted blame in the loss at Gettysburg when clearly his subordinates failed to successfully carry out his plans. But, when he was forced to surrender at Appomattox, he stated "we must submit ourselves in adversity to the will of a merciful God as cheerfully as in prosperity."

Harry Crocker's Robert E. Lee on Leadership belongs in the hands of anyone who has authority over others, whether in business or not. Its lessons are timeless.

Robert E. Lee on Leadership : Executive Lessons in Character, Courage, and Vision.......2007-05-12

Very well written with lessons for today!

Great Book.......2007-01-10

I did not actually read this book, but I bought it for my father who is/has been the top CEO or consultant for a number of very large corporations. He said the book was terrific.

The Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee (Civil War Library)

Average customer rating:

A Measure of the Marble Man

The Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee (Civil War Library)
Robert E. Lee
Manufacturer: Konecky & Konecky
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0914427660

Book Description

Recollections and Letters shows all the varying facets of Lee's character. His letters reveal his personal warmth, bravery and concern for the South during and after the war. No other collection of source materials gives such a whole and rewarding picture of one of the South's greatest sons and heroes.

Customer Reviews:

A Measure of the Marble Man.......2004-12-23

Robert E. Lee never had the chance to pen his own autobiography as U.S. Grant did. He meant to, but kept holding it off until heart disease claimed his life five years after the surrender of Appomattox.

Many of those who served under him during the Civil War wrote biographies of the great Confederate General, claiming to know how he felt, and what he thought. But only two of them really came close. The ponderous but solidly written "Memoirs of Robert E. Lee" by his Aide, Colonel Long, and this volume, comprised of letters actually written by Lee, and the remembrances of those who knew him well, and none more so than the author of the book, his own son, Captain Robert E.Lee, Jr.

Captain Lee describes his childhood in the Lee household, of General Lee's love of animals, especially horses. He describes a man who smiled, was warm, as compared to the austere, solemn descriptions and illustrations of him once the Civil War commenced. He writes how Lee agonized within his own family of the decision to leave the U.S. Army, and then join the Confederacy, even though wishing for a quiet, neutral life, and of Lee's personal losses during the war - a daughter who passed on, a son wounded and captured, the son's frail wife also passing on, and the known loss of their dearly beloved home in Arlington, which was turned into the national cemetery of the same name.

Captain Lee studiously avoids the controversial sides of Lee, his stand on slavery or the rights of the South, concentrating mainly on the personality of man and how he dealt with others.
This is a volume that belongs on the shelf of any Civil War buff, especially those interested in the life of Robert E. Lee.
I recommend this book, and Burke Davis' "Gray Fox" be purchased together.

The Civil War: In the Words of Its Greatest Commanders : Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant : Memoirs of Robert E. Lee

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Grant's "Memoirs" and Memories of Lee in one nice Gift Book

The Civil War: In the Words of Its Greatest Commanders : Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant : Memoirs of Robert E. Lee

Manufacturer: Thunder Bay Press (CA)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1571458379

Book Description

This new edition of two of the greatest works to chronicle the Civil War provides the unique perspective of that great conflict as it appeared to its greatest generals. It is illustrated with over 400 drawings and photographs drawn from historically contemporary sources. The illustrated abridgement of the Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant is contained in this work. Fast-paced, colorful, lucid and laced with flashes of humor, it provides the most authoritative of all contemporary accounts. All the topics that are not covered in the excerpts are summarized by the editor. Historians have always lamented the fact that Lee, who died only five years after his surrender to Grant, was never able to write his personal memoir of his role in the Civil War. The most detailed and revealing view of this great general in action is by General Armistead L. Long in his classic Memoirs of Robert E. Lee. The edition of Long's Memoirs contained in this work is a shortened version of the original. Peripheral matter has been summarized and full texts of official correspondence and extended quotations by other writers have been deleted. What remains is vivid first-hand portraits of Lee just as the author set it down over a century ago.

Customer Reviews:

Grant's "Memoirs" and Memories of Lee in one nice Gift Book.......2002-10-26

This is a lavishly illustrated abridgement of Grant's wonderful "Personal Memoirs" and of Confederate Officer Armistead Long's "Memoirs of Robert E. Lee", two of the major works of the Civil War (Lee never did get around to writing his own memoirs).

Book Description

Steven Woodworth's previous book, the critically acclaimed Jefferson Davis and His Generals, won the prestigious Fletcher Pratt Award and was a main selection of the History Book Club. In that book he showed how the failures of Davis and his military leaders in the west paved the way for Confederate defeat. In Davis and Lee at War, he concludes his study of Davis as rebel commander-in-chief and shows how the lack of a unified purpose and strategy in the east sealed the Confederacy's fate.

Woodworth argues that Davis and Robert E. Lee, the South's greatest military leader, had sharply conflicting views over the proper conduct of the war. Davis was convinced that the South should fight a defensive war, to simply outlast the North's political and popular support for the war. By contrast, Lee and the other eastern generals--notably P.G.T. Beauregard, Gustavus Smith, and Stonewall Jackson--were eager for the offensive. They were convinced that only quick and decisive battlefield victories would prevent the North from eventually defeating them with its overwhelming advantage in men and materials.

Davis and Lee, Woodworth shows, shared a mutual respect for each other for most of the war. But it was respect mixed with a stubborn resistance to the other's influence. The result of this tense tug-of-war was Davis's misguided pursuit of a middle ground that gave neither strategy its best chance for success. The war finally ground to a bloody conclusion with Davis as indecisive as ever and virtually blind to how little confidence his generals had in his leadership.

Drawing extensively upon the papers of Jefferson Davis and the works of leading Civil War historians, Woodworth places the eastern military campaigns in an entirely new light and expands our understanding of Davis as leader of the Confederacy.

This book is part of the Modern War Studies series.

Customer Reviews:

was easy to find and was a great thing to read!.......1999-05-11

It was ok but if your doing a report then it could get a little boring but it is great information!

One of the best books on war time leadership.......1998-04-10

I found this book to be one of the best books about command decisions and relationships between Politicians and generals during the Civil War I have ever read. It covers the battles and the leaders of the Confederacy, both great and flawed. I found it hard to believe that some Southern leaders/generals fought harder against their own side in stupid little infights and disputes. The book goes a long way in explaining Lee's strategy and that of Davis and how they were different and the results of that difference. This book concentrates on the Eastern Theatre, the author's other book 'Jefferson Davis and his Generals' covers the Western Theatre of operations and is brillant in its examination of this area. Both books are well worth reading.

Robert E. Lee: Virginian Soldier, American Citizen

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I have read this book...
A solid intermediate biography of Robert E. Lee for younger readers
A Solid Biography Written for Younger Readers (12 and up)

Robert E. Lee: Virginian Soldier, American Citizen
James I. Robertson Jr.
Manufacturer: Atheneum
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0689857314

Book Description

To some, Robert E. Lee is a beloved general, held in the highest regard. To others, he is one of history's most paradoxical heroes. He fought passionately to defend his homeland and was one of the nation's greatest soldiers, yet his name is often inextricably linked with slavery and secession.

In 1861 Lee was Lincoln's first choice to lead the Union troops in the Civil War. But a strong loyalty to Virginia held Lee back. Instead he chose to become the commanding officer of the Confederacy. Lee had great success in battle by spitting his forces and unleashing suprise attacks. His victory at Chancellorville, where his troops soundly defeated an enemy twice their size, remains the most astonishing.

However, only when he surrendered in 1865 did the nation understand the kind of man Robert E. Lee truly was. He was kind and loving, giving all of himself to a reconciliation between the North and the South. In this meticulously researched biography, James I. Robertson explores the life of one of the most revered -- and misunderstood -- Civil War Generals.

Customer Reviews:

I have read this book..........2007-01-22

and heard the author speak today at the 200th anniversary of Robert E Lee's birthday. What hero worship? What aggrandizing? Robert E Lee, himself, would have blushed! James I. Robertson is more of a minister than a historian... his religion is Lee, his analysis is flawed. Lee was not raised by Washington, George was dead in his grave 8 years before Robert E. Lee was even born. Lee was a reaction. A reaction to his father, Harry 'Light-Horse' Lee; a fabuluous military man in his own right, with a penchant to trust too much; especially, George Washington, who advised him on property speculations, which ultimately left Harry Lee broke. Harry, like Washington was a Federalist, a believer of a strong central government. Robert was taught to despise his father, by anti-federalists, who couldn't stand the idea of "America," were threatened by it, and were ultimately destroyed... a confederacy of weakness against a Nation of strength. ( See: Light-Horse Harry Lee and the Legacy of the American Revolution (Paperback) by Charles Royster if you want to read the facts)

A solid intermediate biography of Robert E. Lee for younger readers.......2006-05-16

There are a couple of interesting things about the cover of this juvenile biography of Robert E. Lee. First, the complete title of the book is "Robert E. Lee: Virginian Solider, American Citizen," and the sub-title James I. Robertson, Jr. picked set up an ironic juxtaposition. Because Lee considered Virginia to be his country, rather than the United States of America, he turned down President Abraham Lincoln's offer to become the commander of the Union armies, choosing instead to side with Virginia and the Confederate cause. Consequently, Lee's fame as a solider was in part because he decided he was more of a Virginian than he was an American. There is the additional irony that at the end of his life, after the Civil War, when he was no longer a soldier, he was not exactly considered an "American citizen" by the North. The painting of Lee that appears on the cover shows him in the dress uniform of a lieutenant of the engineers in the U.S. Army, when he was in his mid-twenties, several decades before he made his fateful decision. So the cover does take a step or two back from the picture we have of Robert E. Lee as the commanding general of the Army of Northern Virginia.

The paradox of Lee is that we consider him to be our greatest military commander even though he was on the losing side of the Civil War. The only other general from the "other" side that I can think of who has anything close to that level of respect would have to be Germany's Erwin Rommell from World War II, whose Afrika Corps had a reputation comparable to that of Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. We tend to think of such men as existing independent of the ideologies of the nation's for whom they were fighting. Robertson deals up front with that idea, noting that on the one hand Lee is a beloved general, held in the highest regard to such an extent that he has practically become an American saint, while on the other his name is inextricably linked with the issues of secession and slavery associated with the Southern Confederacy. Robertson's introduction begins by touching on Lee's greatest military triumph at the Battle of Chancellorsville, where he defeated a Union army twice his size by dividing his smaller force in two, but most of the focus is on the Lee legend that exists today.

Eight of the ten chapters in this book focus on Lee during the Civil War: (1) The Making of a Soldier covers how the son of "Light Horse Harry" Lee graduated second in his West Point class of 1829, married Mary Anne Randolph Custis, and served with distinction during the Mexican War in what proves to be the chapter's longest section. (2) Nation Versus Country begins with Lee being appointed superintendent of the U.S. Military Academy and his confirmation in the Episcopal faith, and ends with his wife inheriting the Custis estates in Arlington, his role in the capture of John Brown at Harper's Ferry, and his resignation from the U.S. Army on the eve of the Civil War. (3) Rocky Path to Army Command is one of the most interesting chapters because it reminds us that Lee did not start off the war as a commander, but rather as President Jefferson Davis' confidential military adviser. It was not until June 1862 that Lee was place in command of troops, with low expectations exemplified by his nicknames as "Evacuation Lee" and "Granny Lee."

The Lee that history remembers emerges in the next chapters. (4) Brilliance in the Field shows how Lee bested General George B. McClellan, the overly cautious commander of the Union's Army of the Potomac in the Seven Days' Campaign, and his replacement John Pope at the Second Battle of Manassas (a.k.a. Bull Run, but I go with the belief the winning side gets to name the battle). Robertson underscores the importance of General "Stonewall" Jackson to Lee's successes. (5) The Bloodiest Day is about Lee's first invasion of the North and the Battle of Antietem (a.k.a. Sharpsburg), and the slaughter of Union troops at the Battle of Fredericksburg. (6) Loss of an Arm contrasts Lee's greatest military achievement at the Battle of Chancellorsville with the devastating loss of Jackson. (7) Gettysburg explains Lee's desperate gamble in invading the North a second time, focusing on how he came to order Pickett's Charge, his biggest military mistake.

The next two chapters play out the end of the war, as Lee once again becomes the "King of Spades." (8) Forced on the Defensive looks at how General Ulysses S. Grant forced Lee's army to move backwards to protect Richmond. (9) From Siege to Defeat begins with Lee's entrenchments along the Richmond-Petersburg line and ends with the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House when Lee's starving troops were surrounded by several Union armies. (10) National Symbol is the final chapter, which details what Lee did after the Civil War in becoming the president of what was then Washington College and what is now Washington and Lee University, and covers how his death in 1870 brought on national mourning.

This is a solid intermediate biography of Lee for younger readers, which goes to pains to explain the major battles he fought during the Civil War. The book is illustrated with dozens of black and white etchings and photographs from throughout Lee's life. Robertson also wrote a similar biography, "Standing Like a Stone Wall: The Life of General Thomas J. Jackson," which would certainly provide a nice complement to this volume (Robertson also has written an adult biography of Jackson, "Stonewall Jackson: The Man, the Solider, the Legend").

A Solid Biography Written for Younger Readers (12 and up).......2006-03-17

Part of the books for young readers put out by this publisher, this is a fairly short and not filled with complexity. Having said that, this is also a very well researched, very well written biography of General Lee. It is profusely illustrated, particularly the Civil War years which generated a lot of photographs.

All in all, this is an excellent short biography. I recommend it for not only young readers (Grades 6 up) but for anyone wanting a fairly quick biography that captures the essese of the mas as well as books several times this one's size.

Grant and Lee: A Study in Personality and Generalship

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Fresh, Stimulating, and Thought Provoking Comparison of Two Remarkable Generals.
Interesting Comparison Between Lee and Grant
Unique Unbiased View of the Generalship of Both
A Very Enjoyable Book, Very Interesting & Very Creative
Outstanding Analysis by the Clausewitz of the 20th Century!

Grant and Lee: A Study in Personality and Generalship
J. F. C. Fuller
Manufacturer: Indiana University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0253202884

Customer Reviews:

Fresh, Stimulating, and Thought Provoking Comparison of Two Remarkable Generals........2007-04-09

Grant and Lee, A Study in Personality and Generalship, published in 1932, compares quite favorably in its detailed research and readability with works by modern writers and historians like Shelby Foote, James M. McPherson, Gary W. Gallagher, and Stephen W. Sears. This work by Major General J. F. C. Fuller is notable for directly challenging the conventional wisdom that Grant was little more than a "butcher" and that his eventual success was almost entirely due to the North's larger population and more abundant resources. In Fuller's view Grant was not only the greatest general of the Civil War, but ranks among the greatest strategists of any age. Fuller generated even more controversy with his contention that Robert E. Lee in several respects had major failings as a military leader.

Controversial or not, Major General J. F. C. Fuller was no ordinary soldier writing about the Civil War. Fuller was a highly respected British military strategist and noted author. In the 1920s he collaborated with B. H. Liddell Hart in developing new ideas for the mechanization of armies. Ironically, their recommendations were more readily adopted in Germany than in Britain, France, or the U.S.

Grant and Lee, A Study in Personality and Generalship, is a relatively short book, around 300 pages. Fuller writes with clarity and precision. He makes careful use of firsthand accounts; he paid particular attention to opinions of staff officers, as men in these roles were likely to have gained greater insight into the personalities of Grant and Lee. He also utilized the opinions of foreign witnesses of the war, like Colonel Fremantle, as a check on insiders' observations. His sources were identified through extensive end notes as he realized that his findings would be controversial. He includes statistics on battle losses to illustrate that the persistent belief that Grant's losses were abnormally high is simply a myth, and that Lee's percentage losses were actually higher.

There are many exceptionally good books on the Civil War, but there are few that are as readable as Fuller's Grant and Lee, and offer such a fresh viewpoint (albeit, now nearly 75 years old, but one that remains stimulating and thought provoking). Grant and Lee, A Study in Personality and Generalship, is available in a reprint edition (1982) by Indiana University Press. Five stars.

Interesting Comparison Between Lee and Grant.......2005-06-23

Whatever your view of Robert E. Lee and U.S. Grant, Fuller's book will challenge you to think long and hard about your beliefs concerning both generals.

As a Southerner, I have to admit that Fuller makes a compelling case for Grant being the better general between the two. One instance is where he confronts the idea that Grant was a butcher because of the heavy casualties during the Wilderness-Spotsylvania Campaign. While Grant indeed suffered the heavier losses, the percentage of losses was acutally lower than Lee. In fact, this was a common occurence in many battles in which Grant commanded.

The book's contents are as follows:

1. The Two Causes - the two nations, presidents, armies and other North/South factors both generals had to operate within.
2. The Personality of Grant - modesty, common sense, courage.
3. The Personality of Lee - humility, tact, audacity.
4. The Generalship of Grant and Lee, 1861-1862 - description of the battles fought by both generals during both years (Shiloh, Fort Donelson, Antietam, Fredericksburg, etc).
5. The Generalship of Grant and Lee, 1863 - Vicksburg, Gettsyburg, Chattanooga, Chancellorsville.
6. The Generalship of Grant and Lee, 1864-1864 - Spotsylvania, Wilderness, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Appamattox.
7. The Two Generals - comparison and contrast between their two styles and personalities.

One other interesting point mentioned by Fuller was perhaps making the Confederate capital in Atlanta instead of Richmond. I have often thought how such a move would have affected the fighting in Virginia, Georgia, and my home state of North Carolina. Something interesting to ponder!

I highly recommend the book. Read and enjoy.

Unique Unbiased View of the Generalship of Both .......2005-01-20

If you read the introduction to this book, you will understand that Fuller has set out to write a brief but direct book on the Generalship capabilities of Grant and Lee. In the introduction, Fuller notes that Henderson's classic book on Jackson is more a romantic study than one that is an objective view. He goes further to say that a full study of Jackson gives a different appreciation. A respect for his maneuvering and desire to fight but also his idiosyncrasies and secrecy that Fuller indicates would cause one to question Jackson's sanity. With that introduction, you are prepared for the author's blunt assessment of both Generals. The book is brief concentrating more on strategy than just battlefield tactics. He concentrates on the critical battles of the war and the general effect the war has as a whole not just the eastern theater. In Lee, he notes that he was not a grand strategist but one that fought with intuition. As a General, he excelled on fighting on the defensive as showed in the final campaign. However, Lee preferred fighting aggressively and his errors show at Gettysburg and Malvern Hill. In the case of Chancellorsville, Fuller notes that Lee should have used the wilderness more often as a greater asset for defensive maneuvers instead of coming out in the open into battle. That like a spider, he should have waited for opportunities to attack and withdrawal with the protection of cover. He further indicates that Lee had a poor operating staff and his administration impaired supply and clarity of orders as all were given verbally and minimally. Grant on the other hand was a former quartermaster, was well organized and had a global plan of the war hence his simultaneous operations with the western theater and his multiple prong attacks in the east. Fuller notes that at first his objective was to follow Lee and not concentrate on the Richmond. But later he changed to maneuver so that Lee had to react to him as opposed to the reverse. Grant was often accused of having little imagination but as Fuller notes, he did not have the imagination to inflate numbers that were against him (McClellan) but he was rational in knowing that the Confederates had limited manpower. Through his intuition, Lee had success against the earlier Union generals but as Fuller points out, he could not fathom Grant.

The book is critical of both; however, as an overall commander, Grant comes across as much more able and Lee a totally different commander highly capable on the defensive but not as much a hands on commander as most would previously think. Both men are stripped bare; the author offers a unique unbiased view of the war without the human frailty of sentiment.

A Very Enjoyable Book, Very Interesting & Very Creative.......2003-08-05

This is a small book, but don't judge it by its size. It is a great little book. Grant & Lee, with such different backgrounds, lead two great armies in the strangest of times. In the end, with no grudge, the two men get to know and respect each other. But the story of how these men fought & how they thought so similarly in the battlefield and how they were both so noble and courageous help show that two men that could not have been more dissimilar, ended up being so alike serving their causes. I highly recommend this book. Very entertaining, and very educational.

Outstanding Analysis by the Clausewitz of the 20th Century!.......2002-08-24

The oft-repeated view, especially from Confederate defenders, is that Grant won though he was a drunken butcher indifferent to high casualties whose triumph was inevitable because of superior manpower and supplies. John Frederick Charles Fuller, the British Major General, and along with Liddel Hart one of the top military strategists of the 20th century, provides overwhelming evidence to lay this view to rest. Grant practiced maneuver warfare when he could, and his Vicksburg campaign (not just a siege, rather a series of five battles), along with Jackson's valley campaign, are the two greatest campaigns of the war. In his final Overland campaign, Grant could not maneuver much because Lincoln required that he keep substantial forces between Lee's army and Washington. By a thorough analysis of Grant's and Lee's battles throughout the war, Fuller makes the case that Grant was among the best generals ever, and greater than Lee, who was also great but had his limitations (after Order 191 was lost and recovered by McClellan's troops before Antietam, Lee would only issue oral orders, and his subordinates were often confused by them; Grant was known for crystal clear written orders, following the example of Zachary Taylor under whom Grant (and Lee) had served in the Mexican War). Rating Grant so highly will of course be heresy for neo-Confederates, but there is no question Grant has received unfair treatment even among historians. Another Fuller book, "The Generalship of Ulysses S. Grant" adds more details to the defense of the claim that Grant was an excellent general. In assessing the relative greatness of Grant and Lee, one should keep in mind their age difference and the difference in upward mobility on the two sides during the war. Lee was 14 years older than Grant, Lee was already a Colonel when the war started and still serving on active duty, whereas Grant had left the army as a captain after the Mexican War. At the start of the war, Winfield Scott, who had served in the War of 1812 and masterminded in the Mexican War the amazing defeat of a country of 20 million people with 12,000 invading troops, was the greatest soldier on either side. However he was old and so fat he could no longer ride a horse; his campaigning days were over. After Scott, Lee was the best soldier on either side at the start of the war--and Lee was offered command of the Union army but turned it down. However Grant rose through the ranks because he learned quickly from his mistakes at Belmont, Forts Henry and Donelson, Shiloh, and Holly Springs. By the end of the war Fuller's analysis shows Grant was clearly the superior general, and not just because he had superior numbers. Even the oft-cited mistake at Cold Harbor, according to Fuller, is exagerrated. Fuller summarizes the overall casualy numbers during the war: the ratio of killed and wounded to total forces engaged for Grant was 10%; for the whole Federal army it was 11%; for the whole Confederate army it was 12%; and for Lee, it was 16%. One must be fair to Lee and not lose sight of the fact that he was an exemplary, even a saintly individual who must always be acknowledged as among the great American generals. But the simplistic, grossly unfair judgment of Ulysses S. Grant is revealed here as a sham which must stop. Under the razor-sharp and penetrating analysis of Fuller, one of the greatest military historians of all time, the conventional, common opinion of Grant is shown to be balderdash. Ulysses S. Grant was one of the greatest generals the U.S. has ever produced. Though written many years ago, Fuller's book is still relevant to this ongoing national discussion, and is a must read for anyone who wants to compare Union and Confederate generalship. Regarding Grant's drinking, Fuller doesn't discuss this, but this too is greatly exaggerated. He was indeed a binge drinker. When I asked the renowned Civil War historian Ed Bearss about this, he said Grant got drunk about four to six times during the war, always when he was away from his wife (she was with or lived near him during some campaigns and he was always lonely without her). Moreover, in the Civil War one could usually tell when battle was near, and there was usually inactivity during the winter months. The circumstances are not comparable to a modern general's always being on call in the nuclear age. Grant's occasional binge drinking never once affected his generalship, in public functions he usually would not drink at all, being a semi-recovered alcoholic except for the occasional binge. The stereotype is that Grant was constantly drunk during the war. This too is an unfair assessment not based on historical fact. Read this book and will see just how wrong the stereotype of Grant's generalship is, and how good a general he was.

Retreat from Gettysburg: Lee, Logistics, and the Pennsylvania Campaign (Civil War America)

Average customer rating:

Great book on the aftermath of Gettysgurg
Lee's Highest Achievement
Gettysburg - The Rest of the Story
Retreat from Gettysbury: Lee, Logistics, and the Pennsylvania Campaign
a compelling lookat a neglected aspect of the Gettysburg campaign

Retreat from Gettysburg: Lee, Logistics, and the Pennsylvania Campaign (Civil War America)
Kent Masterson Brown
Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0807829218
Release Date: 2005-03-09

Book Description

In a groundbreaking, comprehensive history of the Army of Northern Virginia's retreat from Gettysburg in July 1863, Kent Masterson Brown draws on previously unused materials to chronicle the massive effort of General Robert E. Lee and his command as they sought to move people, equipment, and scavenged supplies through hostile territory and plan the army's next moves.

More than fifty-seven miles of wagon and ambulance trains and tens of thousands of livestock accompanied the army back to Virginia. The movement of supplies and troops over the challenging terrain of mountain passes and in the adverse conditions of driving rain and muddy quagmires is described in depth, as are General George G. Meade's attempts to attack the trains along the South Mountain range and at Hagerstown and Williamsport, Maryland. Lee's deliberate pace, skillful use of terrain, and constant positioning of the army behind defenses so as to invite attack caused Union forces to delay their own movements at critical times.

Brown concludes that even though the battle of Gettysburg was a defeat for the Army of Northern Virginia, Lee's successful retreat maintained the balance of power in the eastern theater and left his army with enough forage, stores, and fresh meat to ensure its continued existence as an effective force.

Customer Reviews:

Great book on the aftermath of Gettysgurg.......2007-06-08

This book has far more detail on the events of Lee's retreat and Meade's pursuit after the Gettysburg battle than any other book I have read. It gives a lot of reasons why Meade was not able to quickly pursue and re-engage Lee before Lee crossed the Potomac. There is also a lot of insight into what Lee hoped to accomplish with his invasion of the North, and why Lee considered it worthwhile, even with his defeat at Gettysburg.

Lee's Highest Achievement.......2007-02-20

Like many of the other reviewers here, I am in awe of the detail here regarding Lee's retreat from Gettysburg. More than any other campaign of Lee's, this movement revealed his true abilities. The most difficult operation for any military organization is retreat. Lee conducted a masterful retreat. Mr. Brown illuminates this in painful detail, right down to the placing of skirmish lines and Lee's minute orders to his commanders.

Unlike some of the other reviewers, I do take exception to the idea of the entire ANV operation in Pennsylvania being a great raid as novel. This has been advanced by several other historians for some time. What is done here in this book, however is to detail just how much it was a foraging raid done on an army scale. He actually lists the CS regimental seizures down to individual horses and curry combs. He then notes Federal messages regarding the clothing, toys, etc found in captured or broken down CS wagons. All of this provides plentiful evidence that the ANV's primary mission was foraging with a major battle being secondary at best.

The maps and illustrations are good, the prose is readable, and though the detail at times can be mind numbing, the book remains a fast read. Mr. Brown has taken a subject covered almost to overkill and written something fresh and thought provoking. As noted above, anyone (like myself) who had been a critic of Meade's for failure to bring Lee to battle on advantage will likely change their mind after reading this evidence. Meade's people were in worse straits than the retreating CS forces due to logistical failures. His cavalry was worn and poorly supplied, it actually can be considered a minor miracle they were as successful as they were in their pursuit. The pursuing Federals had to follow through areas repeatedly stripped of food and supplies by the retreating CS forces. Conversely, the CS forces as they contracted became stronger (relatively) while the Federals became more strung out. Mr. Brown's illustrations of the strength of CS defenses at Falling Waters and Williamsport highlight the correctness of Meade's decision not to attack with his strung out forces before it was too late.

This book does a great service to a largely ignored aspect of the Gettysburg campaign. I do agree that Gettysburg was not the decisive point in the East and also that in a logistical/strategic sense Gettysburg was a victory for the CS. The ANV survived and despite the irreplaceable manpower loss, gained enough materially wise to last until homegrown resources could sustain it further.

This book is well worth the price. It is an eye opener and knocks some traditional historical concepts on their butts. Mr. Brown has done history a great service with this book.

Gettysburg - The Rest of the Story.......2006-10-07

Most accounts on the Battle of Gettysburg give limited coverage to R.E. Lee's retreat from Gettysburg.. The text notes "The idea for the Pennsylvania campaign arose many months before. It was born in a desperation caused by the looming collapse of the Army of Northern Virginia if it remained in war-ravages central Virginia without adequate food and supplies for its men and fodder for its horses and mules." Consequently, from the moment that Lee reached the Maryland side of the Potomac River the countryside was scoured by Confederate quartermasters and commissaries of subsistence for food, fodder and supply. Interestingly, "The effort to obtain food, fodder, and equipment would never stop; even the three days of battle at Gettysburg did not interfere with it." The author, Kent Masterson Brown, addresses in detail the acute logistical problems attendant to Lee's army's retreat from Gettysburg with the critical supplies that had been foraged.

The text is broadly arranged into three sections: 1st disengagement at Gettysburg and crossing the South Mountain range; 2nd travel to Harrisburg and Williamsport; 3rd defense of Williamsport and Falling Waters, Virginia then travel to Staunton Virginia. "A slow, fighting retreat sounds simple in theory, but it is extraordinarily difficult in practice, particularly with a large army burdened by enormous trains." The trains were more than fifty-seven miles of wagon and ambulance trains plus ten of thousands of livestock. The text gives excellent, brief narratives of Lee's army's travels to the Potomac River, the cavalry attacks on the trains plus the engagements of the rear guard troops as Meade attacked.

Most interesting is Brown's accounts of attending to the sick and wounded. Those that could walk accompanied the trains while other wounded rode in ambulance wagons if available. However, for those seriously ill or wounded or who lacked transportation, surgical teams were ordered to stay with them. For example, of the 1,300 wounded in Johnson's Division, 446 were left behind. Ever effort was made to care for the sick and wounded whether they could travel or had to be left behind. Protecting the trains was exceedingly difficult; the escorts suffered along with the helpless wounded.

The entire army was in Hagerstown by the morning of 7 July. The author notes that"The movement of Lee's army from the morning of 5 July until the afternoon of 6 July was one of the most critical episodes of the retreat from Gettysburg, although it was far from being filled with battle action." "Lee's slow march and bold rear guard on 5 July had a profound effect on Meade and his lieutenants." Next Lee had to set up strong defenses until he could make arrangements for crossing the Potomac River. Using the ferries at Williamsport was exceptionally slow so that Lee's defenses must hold until he could build a pontoon bridge at Falling Waters. By 10 July the Williamsport defense line was almost ready, but Lee had limited time to cross the Potomac. The last person crossed the pontoon bridge on 14 July. The text narrates Meade's attempts to engage Lee and prevent his army from crossing the Potomac. However, the text concludes that "....there was nothing Meade could have done to prevent Lee from winning the race to the Williamsburg defense line or holding it."

Once across the Potomac River, The Shenandoah Valley served as the corridor for Lee's army's evacuation. The problem now was to take care of the sick and wounded and get them to the General and Receiving Hospital at Staunton, Virginia. Staunton was soon overrun with sick and wounded soldiers. The text provides a brief but excellent account of this phase of the retreat.

President Lincoln blamed Lee's escape on Meade's slow response. While Meade undoubtedly could have done better, Brown notes Meade's army "was in a desperate condition, many artillery batteries could not accompany their corps while his horses and mules pulling many of the guns and caissons were so exhausted and weakened by excessive campaigning and lack of forage that they collapsed...." Throughout Lee's retreat, Meade had critical supply problems that limited his response.

The author concludes "Although the battle of Gettysburg was indeed a Confederate loss, the invasion of Pennsylvania may not have been. In fact, Lee successfully brought his army and all its trains across the Potomac River. In the process, he managed to get out of Pennsylvania and Maryland more than forty-five miles of quartermaster and substance trains filled with impressed stores." One can only speculate on how, or if, the Army of Northern Virginia would have survived without these supplies. Lee's very successful retreat maintained the balance of power in his theatre of operations.

This is an excellently researched work; Kent Brown uses much previously untapped source material. This book is the major source of information on the retreat from Gettysburg and will be of interest to all serious students of Civil War History.

Retreat from Gettysbury: Lee, Logistics, and the Pennsylvania Campaign.......2006-08-06

A must read for anyone how has intrest in the Gettysbury Campaign. The Author Mr. Kent Masterson Brown has capture every detail of General Lee's Retreat. He capture many details that other authors have never mention such as how General Lee went about evaucation of the many field hospitals. The again is a must read for everyone with a Logistics background.

a compelling lookat a neglected aspect of the Gettysburg campaign.......2006-06-13

Kent Masterson Brown's treatment of the Army of Northern Virginia's retreat of the after the bloody battle at Gettysburg is meticulously researched, and fills a notable gap in the literature on the campaign. The story focuses on the retreat of the ANV, and the strategic decisions made by the Southern leaders, rather than that of their adversary the Army of the Potomac. To some degree this is as it should be; Lee arranged the retreat masterfully and restored the balance of power between the armies in a matter of days, while Meade, commanding the Union AoP, was content to cede the initiative, and eventually allow his enemies to escape.

Meade was unable to capitalize on the tactical victory at Gettysburg in a way that more thoroughly relentless, risk taking generals such as Grant or Sherman would have. Brown speaks to both the skill of Lee's command in arranging the retreat as an aggressive rear-guard action (keeping Meade uncertain of his intentions), but also the hesitancy and trepidation with which Meade pursued him. One of the great what-ifs of the war imagines a more aggressive Union commander attempting a counter-punch to break the retreating ANV decisively.

Brown argues that Lee's ability to manage the logistics of the retreat, namely to return to Virginia with enormous stores of livestock and supplies foraged from Pennsylvania, turned the Gettysburg campaign from a tactical defeat into a minor victory. But this argument I believe entirely overstates the importance of logistics and supply. Although it's true as Brown argues that the escape of the ANV with its supply trains full allowed the army to continue the war re-sustained, the loss of such a large part its the manpower and the officer corps at Gettysburg would eventually prove decisive. But the argument that the logistical aspect of the campaign turned a strategic disaster into a strategic success is certainly provocative, at the very least demonstrates fresh thinking about the campaign.

A masterful, compelling book.

Average customer rating:

Definitive, sort of......
Needs More Maps
Lee
A Real American Hero
Abridgement good but is nearly all military details

Lee
Douglas Southall Freeman
Manufacturer: Scribner
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0684829533

Customer Reviews:

Definitive, sort of.............2007-08-16

From the time I was a toddler close to 60 years ago, I was taught that Robert E. Lee was, except for Jesus Christ, the greatest man who ever lived. A lifetime of study has confirmed my parents' opinion...I am NOT unbiased about General Lee. If Robert E. Lee was the greatest man, Douglas Souhthall Freeman was the greatest Civil War author, and he's not unbiased, either.

Anyone reading this probably already knows Lee's story...born of a great mother and a useless father whose earlier greatness was long forgotten... raised in aristocratic poverty....West Point with no demerits...30+ years in the Army as an engineer, with brief combat in Mexico...offered command of the Union Army...a man who cried as he followed Virginia out of the Union...took over the Army of Northern Virginia a year into the war and made it, man for man, the greatest fighting force the world has ever known...held off a vastly larger, and better supplied, Army for three years...surrendered, then set the example for his men in becoming citizens of one nation...accepted the Presidency of a small college, and, in the five and a half years he had left, started it on the road to becoming the world-class school it is today...served God to the end, suffering his final heart attack while running a Vestry meeting at the Church pastored by one of his old generals.

In 1915, a young newspaperman named Douglas Southall Freeman accepted a contract to write a 75,000 word biography of General Lee. Born in Lynchburg, the son of one of Lee's troops, he had learned about the General at a young age. Twenty years after starting, Dr. Freeman finally finished his 1,000,000 word biography, and saw it published in four volumes; those four volumes ARE definitive, and the greatest biography in the English language.

Richard Harwell, who knew Dr. Freeman, made this one volume abridgment in the 1960's [and also a very fine one volume version of Freeman's "George Washington"]....it is very probably the best one volume study of Lee available, for which Harwell would give ALL the credit to Dr. Freeman. OK, what is lost in the abridging? Fair question if you're spending your money for this...I'm going to round numbers. Freeman takes 400 pages for the first 54 years [100 for Mexico], 1,600 for the war, and 400 for the last five and a half years. Harwell has roughly 100 [27 for Mexico], 400 and 100. Lost are the footnotes, the appendecies, the bibliography, much of the dialog, and most of the redundencies....

Should you buy, and read this? Definitely. There are a LOT of one volume biographies of General Lee, ranging from kid's versions, to good, bad, and indifferent. Two or three are by men who actually met him. Harwell has done a superb job. Now the real question....do you need to read the whole four volumes? If you are a poor soul like me, you already have. Your best bet would be a used set, but if affordable, they may not be in good shape, and if in good shape, they may be expensive. [I was lucky to find a decent set for $35]. ["Lee's Lieutenants" is easy to find at a good price, and "George Washington" is impossible]. There were badly overpriced paperbacks available, but I'm not sure they still are; there is a beautiful leather bound edition in print, but you can imagine the price. The four volumes are definitive, and very readable....while you're deciding, read this first...

Needs More Maps.......2007-08-13

I enjoyed reading this book but it was sometimes hard to figure out what happenned in each of the battles since there was typically only one map for each battle. In fact the map for gettysburg did not even show where any of the troops were at any time during the battle.

If you want to read this book I would recommend having maps of the battlefields that you could refer to. This would help you figure out what is going on better.

Lee.......2007-05-25

This was purchased for a book report. The book was a great source of information.

A Real American Hero.......2006-09-21

This book was a fantastic education on Robert E. Lee. General Lee was not just a Confederate hero, but an all-American hero. He had a character that all men would do well to emulate. It is too bad that his birthday is not a national holiday. Thank you for reading this review.

Abridgement good but is nearly all military details.......2006-07-10

This adridgement of Freeman's four-volume biography is certainly a popular necessity - it opens the work up to a much broader audience that would find the original too intimidating an investment of time or money. Freeman's elegant, descriptive prose is preserved and has aged remarkably well.

The chief failing of this abridgement is it's imbalance in focus. It has been reduced to a study of Lee's generalship rather than a true biography. Fully three-fourths of the book is a thorough, tactical description of his four years of battle in the Civil War, with the other 59 years of his life serving as mere bookends. While these military details are fascinating and are certainly required reading for students of the conflict, the end result leaves one feeling rather at a loss for who Lee was as a husband, father, and citizen.

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