Jeffry D. Wert

This dates from 1987 and, while the depiction of Third Winchester has been overtaken by Patchan's "Last Battle of Winchester", Wert's coverage of Fisher's Hill and Cedar Creek remain the standard. Wert's usual good writing in this volume, but especially notable was his incisive critical analysis throughout the book of tactical and strategic decisions by Early and Sheridan.

I almost gave up half way through. Up to that point, it is more narrative and little analysis. I wanted detailed description of Stuart’s tactics and cavalry methods. But I said to myself I have to read through Gettysburg to see what the author says about Stuart’s raid. I’m glad I did, because the second half was far more interesting and informative. Stuart was such a conflicting character: vain and ambitious but devoted and fearless in battle. Loved the attention of the ladies but was show more faithful to his wife and children. Partied, danced and sang but never touched alcohol. In the end, he was of great service to Lee, the Army of Northern Virginia and the South. This book does a good job of conveying the richness of Stuart’s life and service. show less

I finished reading this book while traveling to the Grand Canyon.

In it, we learn of the defensive posture of most of the generals for the Union army, who were unwilling to commit to offensive action, and thus often failed to win, but simply avoided losses. This made the war much longer than it would have been with more aggressive generals on the Union side.

There is little information about the confederate side, and almost nothing about anything other than the army of the Ptomac.

This is a show more detailed book for those who are into the details of the civil war. For the rest of us, it is interesting, but I kept wanting to get to the punch line. show less

General James Longstreet: the Confederacy's Most Controversial Soldier by Jeffry Wert

★ ★ ★ ½

The Civil War era has always interested me. And I am always amazed on how much there is to learn about the war even after the many books I’ve read on it and the college courses I attended. This book just adds to the details, and quite well. This book on General James Longstreet (a Confederate General that was Lee’s right-hand man and became quite the scapegoat after the Confederates lost) show more is great addition to the history of the Civil War.

The author delves into the man and his time in remarkable detail. It is obvious the Wert did a lot of research. He is fair and just in his picture of Longstreet and has plenty of accurate information, all written an interesting format that kept my attention. One must pay attention when reading this book. The author goes into quite the fine points when it comes to the battles that Longstreet was a part of. This is good, but if you’re like me and your mind wanders a bit, you’ll start getting confused (I went through a lot of “wait, so who was where and who won what?!”) if the attention isn’t fully there…this also goes for the large amount of names mentioned throughout the battle scenes. Luckily, the author does post maps of the battles for some extra reference for the easily confused (aka ME). I wish that the author would have focused on Longstreet more after her service in the military. I felt like even though Longstreet lived several decades after the end of the war and he dealt with a lot of backlash, there was little information and it was quickly bundled into the end. A good book if you’re into the time period. show less