More Civil War Curiosities contains strange but true stories from the four-year conflict that raged across a one-thousand-mile battle front with more than three million men in uniform. Anything could and often did happen. Webb Garrison recounts instances of friendly fire casualties; the unperfected art of spying; banishments and deportings; grisly tales of missing limbs; name changes for both people and ships; disguises that worked (and some that did not); and many "firsts" and "lasts." Fragging; or purposely killing a fellow soldier; was the probable cause of the death of Thomas Wilson; a tyrannical Federal general. He died in action at the battle of Baton Rouge when; according to one account; he was seized by a group of his own men who held him in front of a cannon before it was fired at the enemy. When Confederate Gen. Jubal Early marched on Frederick; Maryland; he offered not to torch the town for a payment of $200;000. It took the townspeople a day to borrow the money?and 87 years to pay it back. When Chambersburg; Pennsylvania; failed to raise a ransom of $500;000; Early's subordinate; Gen. John McCausland; burned the town to the ground. The arm of Confederate Gen. Stonewall Jackson was amputated when he was wounded at the battle of Chancellorsville. Following the operation; Jackson's corps chaplain gave the arm a respectful burial?complete with a gravestone?in his family's cemetery. When the general died a week later; the rest of him was buried in Lexington; Virginia. Hiram Ulysses Grant was mistakenly listed as Ulysses Simpson Grant by the congressman appointing him to West Point. Grant did not protest; and the name stayed with him all the way to the presidency of the United States.
#2291876 in Books Naval Institute Press 1993-11Ingredients: Example IngredientsOriginal language:RussianPDF # 1 9.25 x 6.25 x .75l; #File Name: 1557505063224 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A great insight on the Soviet sea raiders of WW2By DeckerIts pretty hard to find memoirs of Soviet veterans from World War 2; especially since Eastern Front literature is completely flooded with accounts from the German perspective. It seemed for every Russian soldier's story there are at least five more German based ones. So I was pretty happy when I got my hands on this and immediately dove into it. Took me little over a week to finish the main body of it which is Viktor Leonov's own story. The "Black Devils" as they were referred to by the Axis forces; were naval scouts who ran various operations behind German lines. Being part of the Northern Fleet; Leonov and his brothers in arms took part in guerrilla style raids on German convoys and bunkers in the far north. Aside from raids they also scouted out enemy positions and captured German officers or "tongues" as they were called.In this book Leonov comes across as very humble; despite him earning Hero of the Soviet Union twice; he spends at lot of time on his comrades. There are lot of names to memorize and sadly a lot of them don't live to see the end of the war I guess that's why Leonov brings them up. While reading there are a lot of citations explaining various events and Soviet military culture; so I kept switching back and forth between the text I was reading and the notes in the back of the book. Not only are the exploits of this Russian unit quite heroic but apparently they are also true. Though Leonov does point out some inaccuracies as well as the author who explains better in the notes. One being how Leonov and a couple other scouts captured over 3;000 Japanese soldiers. While it may not have been quite as dramatic as the legend the fact that Viktor and his comrades secured the surrender of thousands of Japanese soldiers is still pretty astonishing.The icing on the cake though were the appendices and notes which provide more depth and information into the Soviet naval scouts. Overall its a good book and I can recommend it to anyone who as interest in the subject matter. Its not really for light reading though as there are maps; names; unit numbers and a lot of other bits of information that while a military historian may enjoy the general reader may be somewhat overwhelmed. Its kind of a shame; the appendices and notes point out that there is definitely a lot of information on these units out there but no one has really bothered to bring it to light.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A True CommandoBy EvanThis was an amazing book about the portrayal of a Soviet Naval Commando Unit during World War II. This memoir by Viktor Leonov touches on the personal lives of the men training together as well as the unflinching courage and sacrifices these men made in order to see that the mission succeeded. James F. Gebhardt; the man who helped Leonov research information for this book for American Market did a stupendous job with an excellent bibliography and plenty of footnotes to support the research and translations. Being an avid reader of Special Forces books in general; it was interesting to find read this book since Soviet WWII Special Warfare books are few and far between. A few times I caught myself losing focus but the action scenes kept me glued to the pages. Definitely not for the every day reader but an amazing find for those into Special Warfare stories. Cheers0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Don't pass this one up.By JohnHave gotten 1/2 of the book read and so far it is a real account of the men who fought for Russia during WWII. It is a first hand look into the evolution their special forces; and the brutality of the war.As a history buff; this book is a must finish/must read.
