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Title: Lee's Cavalrymen: A History of the Mounted Forces of the Army of Northern Virginia, 1861-1865 by Edward G. Longacre ISBN: 0-8117-0898-5 Publisher: Stackpole Books Pub. Date: 01 April, 2002 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $36.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.33 (3 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Letters, diaries, memoirs of cavalrymen, and more
Comment: Lee's Cavalrymen: A History Of The Mounted Forces Of The Army Of Northern Virginia is an exhaustively researched, superbly presented, "reader friendly" study of the southern calvary troops active in the American Civil War, as well as a welcome and complementary volume to Lincoln's Cavalrymen which presented an intense scrutiny of the cavalry units of the North. Drawing upon the results of an extensive study of newspaper archives, calvary-specific dispatches, letters, diaries, and memoirs of cavalrymen, and more, civil war historian Edward G. Longacre effectively utilizes these core source materials to produce his erudite and fascinating discourse, which is very highly recommended reading for Civil War buffs, students, and researchers.
Rating: 5
Summary: Lee's Cavalrymen
Comment: An excellent overall study of the cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia. Told generally in a narrative style, the book provides a solid discussion of and evidence for Confederate cavalry dominance in the earlier part of the war. Specific actions are covered--just about all of them, in fact, which means there isn't necessarily room for a lot of detail about every event. Longacre also includes material on the training and daily life of the cavalry. Disadvantages in weaponry and materiel, as compared to the Federals, also get plenty of time.
Longacre gives a balanced picture of Stuart; it's hard to see how a historian of ANV cavalry could avoid writing about their commander for most of their existence, and Longacre offers both praise and criticism, as well as a couple of insightful points. He's not at all a Stuart partisan; in fact, one gets the feeling he would probably rank Hampton first in tactics.
This book offers a sensible account of the Confederate cavalry at (and not at) Gettysburg, and represents a modification of Longacre's view in his earlier book on the subject. In the earlier book Longacre seemed to accept the viewpoint that Stuart "should have" been present, whereas now, perhaps influenced by *Saber and Scapegoat* (which appears in his bibliography), he takes a more positive view.
Longacre is more original, and perhaps more questionable, when he analyzes the tactics of mounted charges. He claims that ANV troopers wanted to fight mounted, but with revolvers and other firearms rather than sabers, and I wish he had provided more supporting quotes, because I've read plenty of primary sources (Gilmor) where sabers are used with glee. His assertion that sabers were really more effective than firearms at close quarters is interesting, and he goes on to state that mounted charges really were of little use, being more or less outdated and causing high casualties. But did mounted fighting, which took place until the end of the war, actually result in more casualties than attrition, disease among horses and men, or the kind of dismounted fighting cavalrymen sometimes did in the West, where they were ordered to charge breastworks? (history of the 7th TN Cav). I wanted to see more analysis, more numbers and more quotes.
Certainly a complete and interesting account, as far as I know the only such work, and required reading for anyone interested in the topic.
Rating: 3
Summary: A fair followup to "Lincoln's Cavalrymen'
Comment: Longacre is very impressed with the "style" of Stuart. This has caused him to ignore his short commings as a commander. The book is less a study of the actions and TO&E that went into the war, than a isn't J.E.B. great book. His short commings are glossed, the 7 Days, over or not covered at all, Ox Hill.
He falls into the trap of the early CSA were just better and ignores the problems the Union had with building a Cavalry. He did an excellent job of covering this in his last book. Then, he falls into the better equipment trap w/o looking at how the war shifted tatics and the why ANoV failed to adapt.
This is not a bad book but a disapointment after his excellent "Lincoln's Cavalrymen".
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