Destruction and Reconstruction: Personal Experiences of the Late War

Civil War memoirs by Confederate general Richard Taylor, son of former president Zachary Taylor. Taylor served with Stonewall Jackson in the valley campaign and joined Lee's forces for the Seven Days battle at the end of McClellan's Peninsula Campaign. After recovering from a wound, Taylor was re-assigned to his home state of Louisiana and spent much of the remainder of the war in the Bayous fighting off General Banks and Admiral Porter. Taylor's account of the actions is often very exciting and well written. Where the book strays is in his personal observations of men and events. Taylor has a favorable view of Generals Bragg, McDowell, and McClellan, three commanders not typically accorded high marks by historians, and a very negative show more view of Generals Grant and Sherman, who are regarded as among our nation's most gifted soldiers. Even more oddly, Taylor argues that the war was not about slavery, but about tariffs and economic dominance. Finally, he is very defensive of President Andrew Johnson's Reconstruction policies (another facet in which he stands diametrically opposed to the view of modern historians). show less