The Civil War: A Narrative, Volume 3: Red River to Appomattox

My dad has always been a reader of military history, the Second World War and the War Between the States in particular, so, as a sort of rebellion, I never read much Civil War history. And then only when class beckoned. My first introduction to Shelby Foote, then, was in Ken Burns's great documentary.

This third volume in Foote's magnum opus, then, came after I recognized the great narrative value of the first and second. It is as stellarly good as people claim. Foote, a novelist (and he apologizes for that), writes his history so well it reads like a novel. He weaves his story so compellingly at times that even when I know the outcome of a battle, he makes me dramatically believe (suspend disbelief) that the other side might win. He show more paints his characters dramatically, gives back stories, and the like. I feel Longstreet's defensive nature, I know Sherman is fiery, I sense Jackson's quirky genius, I understand Lincoln's frustration with his generals. Though a novelist, this work is good history too. Historians might fault him for not using footnotes (though he explains why he does not), or deride him for not discussing such arcane things as social history. But this isn't his purpose. He accomplishes what he sets out to do well.

This particular volume takes the story from 1864 through to the end of the war. This book is longer than the previous volumes, but I didn't think it dragged like the second. The genius and tenacity of Grant and Sherman are expertly told; Lincoln's political genius comes out; and Lee's acumen comes out. (One wonders how the duel between Grant and Lee would have come out had the Confederacy had the war materiel that the Union did.) The stalemate around Petersburg and Richmond contrasts greatly with the total war pushes of Sherman. What a timid general Joe Johnston was. I find no redeeming qualities in his generalship. He was a sight better than Bragg. What a reckless fool Hood was as a general: the opposite of Johnston's timidity.

A good conclusion to the series. show less

After finishing the second volume of Shelby Foote’s truly mammoth history of the American Civil War last year, I resolved to sit down and read the final book in his series, titled THE CIVIL WAR: A NARRATIVE: RED RIVER TO APPOMATTOX. I’m ashamed to say both books sat on my shelf for more years than they should have, but being a lifelong history buff, I was determined to finish them, and I am all the better off for it, because Foote, who became known to millions of Americans through Ken Burns’ great documentary series on the war, was not only a master of history, but also a superb storyteller, and that talent is manifest on every page.

RED RIVER TO APPOMATTOX picks up where the previous book left off in early 1864, with Ulysses Grant show more taking command of all Union armies in the field, surely the best decision Abraham Lincoln made as President, and journeying from the western theater of the war to Washington, leaving behind William T. Sherman in his place. Thus the main narrative of this book is taken up with Grant’s campaign in Virginia to capture the Confederate capital in Richmond, and destroy the rebel Army of Northern Virginia under the command of Robert E. Lee, and with Sherman’s legendary invasion of Georgia, with its goal of capturing Atlanta, and then gutting the Confederacy by marching his army through the heart of the South to the sea. The intention of both campaigns was to utterly destroy the Confederate States’ will to continue the rebellion and to reunify the United States of America. And though Foote gives these campaigns the ample attention they deserve, he is no less diligent in covering the ill-fated Red River expedition, the cavalry exploits of John Hunt Morgan and Nathan Bedford Forrest, the military actions in Arkansas and Missouri, and the war waged at sea between the United States Navy, and what forces the Confederacy was able to muster on the Atlantic and along the eastern seaboard. These latter actions are often portrayed as side shows to the main theaters of war, but they had an impact on the larger conflict just the same.

As in his previous books, Foote’s attention for detail is unparalleled, and combined with his abilities to craft a compelling narrative, takes the reader into the heart of the battles, putting them right there beside the commanders on both sides in their councils of war that decided the fates of thousands of men under their command. Through Foote’s narrative, we come to understand how the Confederacy’s luck simply ran out in 1864, when faced with relentless foes in Grant and Sherman, who brought the full military might of the North to bear against a South that was simply running out of resources, especially in manpower, and forced on the defensive, where it slowly and grudgingly, but inevitably, lost ground until there really was nothing left to lose, or for which to continue fighting. Not that the Confederates truly didn’t go down swinging, giving it all until the last bloody mile. We get as good an account of the duel between Grant and Lee as anyone is likely to read, as blow by blow, they clash in The Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, Cold Harbor, and ultimately, the siege of Petersburg. But as compelling as that part of the book is, I really enjoyed reading about Sherman’s push into Georgia, and the minuet his army played with Joseph Johnston’s Confederate forces in the northern part of the state. Sherman proved to be a shrewd commander in the field, and like Grant, he knew how to grasp an opportunity, and if one did not exist, found a way to create one. But Johnston earns our respect, for he knew he was outmanned and out gunned, and did his best to play the cards dealt him to his advantage and not waste the lives of the men serving under him. He is quite the contrast to John Bell Hood, who succeeded Johnston when Jefferson Davis grew tired of Johnston’s reticence to take the fight to the invading Yankees. Hood proved to be more aggressive on the battlefield, but his tactics were no match for Sherman. Hood is among the many Generals, both North and South, we come to know well in these pages, including George Thomas, Philip Sheridan, James Longstreet, Jubal Early, and John B. Gordon.

The last year of the Civil War was the final act of an incredible real-life drama, far more compelling than anything a writer of fiction could conjure, with triumph and tragedy in equal measure and in conveying all this, Foote surpasses himself. One cannot help but be moved by the way Union men and their Confederate foes, made peace with each other after years of slaughter on the battlefield. Somehow they were able to rise above the bitterness of defeat and the desire for vengeance, and remember that they were all still Americans. Though he is reviled today for his actions after the war, Nathan Bedford Forrest’s final order to his men, issued at Gainsville, Mississippi, in May of 1865, will come as a revelation. I don’t think I’ve read a final account of the road to Appomattox, and how Lee and Grant came together in Wilmer McLean’s parlor.

To say that THE CIVIL WAR: A NARRATIVE: RED RIVER TO APPOMATTOX is not light reading is putting it mildly. This is the ultimate deep dive, and Foote builds cinderblocks of text—paragraphs that take nearly a whole page in some cases—that some readers will find intimidating. My copy comes in at 1060 pages, and it was a daunting task to complete. Published in 1974, it is most certainly a work of old school history. Foote’s objectivity may not sit well with many in the 21st Century; there is no “presentism” in these pages, no attempt at weaponizing history to serve an agenda. Make no doubt about it, Foote was no apologist for the Confederacy, no romantic when it came to the “Lost Cause.” His focus is squarely on the Americans who took up arms against each other between the years of 1861 to 1865, and I do believe he does them justice. His books are a must read for any serious student of American history. show less

I cannot believe I finished! This Volume was even longer than the other two - over 1000 large pages of fairly small print. Not an easy read - yet, well worth it. This one basically covers the final squeeze of the dwindling Confederacy. From Grant's crossing of the Rapidan forcing Lee's retreat to the trenches around Petersburg and Richmond to Sherman's chasing and then virtually destroying Johnson, then Hood's Western army with the resulting destructive march through Georgia and the Carolina's. Also, sadly, Lincoln's assasination -- I was quite moved by this, although of course, I knew it had occurred -- I still felt the shock.

All was quite well-done as I've stated in my reviews of the first two novels. The reader, however, must be show more prepared for detail, close reading, and maps. Sometimes in this one, I felt that the maps were maybe a bit lacking - in previous Volumes it seemed I followed the action and strategy a bit easier. And the ending did rather drag on -- I got the feeling Foote just couldn't stand to let his magnum opus go.

Unforgettable, really. I need not read any more Civil War history now - I am sated . . .

"Some went even further in their gloom. A blood-stained diary, salvaged from the pocket of a dead man later picked up on the field, had this grisly final entry: 'June 3. Cold Harbor. I was killed.' " show less

It took me quite a while to finish this three volume series by Shelby Foote as in this third book I read usually two pages each day. More to savor the experience for as long as I could. I became acquainted with Mr. Foote during the epic Ken Burns series on PBS. He struck me as someone who knew his stuff on this subject and he did not disappoint in print.

Shelby could narrate like no other I have encountered on this great struggle in our nation's history. I was a bit surprised he did not delve much into the tragedy of the Union soldiers at Andersonville. Also the ending of this third and final volume focuses on Jefferson Davis's travails at the conclusion of the war. On balance though each and every twist and turn, victory and defeat is show more laid out in detail. I was left with the thought that the south given its military leadership only needed the resources to have prevailed. Thankfully they did not have this and we have our nation in its whole. show less

The third volume of Shelby Foote's Civil War trilogy brought surprises to me of the place of the war in the West that is pretty well ignored by less complete histories of the war. I did not realize the critical part it played in the winning of the war, slowly chopping away at both the breadth and strength of the Confederacy. Foote continues the detailed approach to descriptions of the battles, both major and minor.

He gave a reasonable accounting of Lincoln's assassination but included what else was happening elsewhere at the same time. Nor does he spend a great deal of time delineating the grief of the people with the loss of this great leader. Because this is not a book about the people, but about the soldiers and their efforts. Even show more grief did not stop the continuing efforts to successfully conclude the war in all quarters.

In the last chapter, however, Foote did spend considerable time tracing out what happened with Davis from the time he began his run to escape the capture until his death. I did not know while he was held prisoner, he was so tormented by the commander of the fort. show less

A very well-researched narrative-style telling of the end of the Civil War. Foote tried to turn a series of mechanical battles into a story. Few details were left out; it is very thorough. However, the narrative seemed to try and excuse the actions of the South and its leaders during the war so it was not to my taste.

Of all of the books in this series, this--the third and final volume--is my favorite, for a number of reasons.

First, in this book the North wins. Finally, we see competent generals take the helm and lead the Federal army to victory--a victory it could have won at least two years earlier. I admire the generals and fighting men of the South as much as anybody, but as a patriotic American I am partial to the north.

Second, this book describes the actions which saw the participation of the 114th New York regiment--one of whose members was Orlando Barney Monroe, my great-great grandfather.

Finally, this book relates the story of the only battle of the American Civil War fought in Brazilian territory. It was a sea battle between Union and a show more Confederate ships, fought in the Baiha de Todos os Santos--the port of present day Salvador. In that instance, because the Union ship violated international law by firing on the Confederate vessel within neutral waters, Brazil briefly (for a space of a few minutes) entered the war on the Confederate side--firing on the American ship from a fort on the coast. It is tantalizing to think of what might have happened had the US not been able to smooth things over with the Brazilian government.

This has been an outstanding (if not long) series to read. The Civil War--in all it's glory and bloodiness--has come alive to me as I have read Shelby Foote's monumental narrative.

www.comingstobrazil.com show less