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Title: Balls Bluff: A Small Battle and Its Long Shadow by Byron Farwell ISBN: 0-939009-36-6 Publisher: Howell Press Inc. Pub. Date: 01 October, 1990 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (4 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A Small battle with Great Political Significance
Comment: After reading this very well written book about a small battle shortly after the first battle of Bull Run, I had to visit the battle site in Leesburg, VA., which is on the Potomac River just north of Washington D.C. The site is breath taking as it fits Farwell's description of this seemingly lonely site very well. The reconnaissance assignment led by Colonel Baker, a close friend of Lincoln and Senator from Oregon, becomes a total military failure. The military amateur Baker sends virtually his complete force up the high bluffs from the river to a virtual open plain to be picked off by the unseen enemy hidden in the woods, which may have included Evan's Confederate Tramp Brigade. Baker is picked up off early causing a full-scale rout as the Union soldiers panic to the bluffs and the river shot down as they try to escape. Bodies fall into the Potomac and many actual float down river to Washington. This total failure after Bull Run has great political and psychological fall out for Lincoln and the government. The commanding officer that sent Baker across the river is not at fault but he quickly becomes a scapegoat and the Committee for the Conduct of the War is born. The committee ruthlessly imprisons the commander, General Stone, whose failure to recognize the seriousness of his charges and his abandonment by the self serving McClellan (better you than me) contributes to his harsh treatment. The committee lives on to
Court Martial Fitz John Porter at second Bull Run and terrorize numerous Union Officers in the future.
Rating: 5
Summary: A "gem" of a book!
Comment: Indepth analysis of a small,little-known,early Civil War engagement whose ramifications had poignant consequences for the Union.Farwell has written a facinating,readable account, incorporating brief character studies of many interesting participants. The only disappointment is the lack of good maps of the battle site and surrounding area. Nevertheless,it will whet your appetite for an exploratory visit to the Leesburg area.
Rating: 4
Summary: A Very Good Book!
Comment: Farwell did an excellent job in his telling of the Battle of Ball's Bluff, fought in the Fall of 1861 on the Virginia side of the Potomac River, just upstream of Washington.....Having had an interest in this battle (especially its enormous political ramifications) for over 20 years (I lived close by), I found the book a delight to read. While much of Farwell's material about the battle obviously comes from "Battles and Leaders", the Official Records, etc., he added tidbits of information that made the book even more interesting. For example, two of Paul Revere's grandsons fought there, as did Oliver W. Holmes, Jr., a grandson of George Washington, and many others of famous lineage. Also, Ball's Bluff was so named since George Washington Ball - another descendant of our 1st President - lived nearby. In addition, Farwell interjects anecdotes which give insight into the life of the ordinary soldier in the early phases of the war.....Farwell's major contribution, however, is in presenting the enormous political consequences of this small battle, in which the extremely popular Senator, Colonel Edward Baker - Lincoln's closest friend - was killed. Federal General Stone was cast as the scapegoat, jailed, and ruined - though no charges were ever filed; and the infamous "Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War" was formed. The result was "McCarthyism" almost 100 years before the real thing.......I have only two criticisms of Farwell's work: he failed to cite his references; and the sole map provided was most inadequate. I had additional maps and my personal knowledge of the area at my disposal, but for the reader unfamiliar with the battle, the battlefield, and the surrounding area, a series of better maps would prove most useful and make the book much easier to follow......This is a book BOTH for beginners and hard-core Civil War buffs. A long time coming, it was truly a delight! Philip Szlyk, Millbury, Massachusetts
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Title: Tempest at Ox Hill: The Battle of Chantilly by David A. Welker ISBN: 0306811189 Publisher: Da Capo Press Pub. Date: December, 2001 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
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Title: Battle at Bull Run: A History of the First Major Campaign of the Civil War by Williwm C. Davis ISBN: 0807108677 Publisher: Louisiana State University Press Pub. Date: 01 May, 1981 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Pea Ridge: Civil War Campaign in the West by William L. Shea, Earl J. Hess ISBN: 0807846694 Publisher: University of North Carolina Press Pub. Date: 01 March, 1997 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: To The Gates of Richmond : The Peninsula Campaign by Stephen W. Sears ISBN: 0618127135 Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Pub. Date: 01 May, 2001 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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Title: Bloody Hill: The Civil War Battle of Wilson's Creek by William Riley Brooksher ISBN: 1574882058 Publisher: Brassey's Inc Pub. Date: 18 February, 2000 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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