audiobook The Civil War: The Third Year Told by Those Who Lived It: (Library of America #234) by From Library of America in History

Review

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful. The Civil War: The Third YearBy Robin FriedmanThe Library of America has been commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War by publishing individual volumes of primary source material for each of the four years of the conflict. The first two volumes covering 1861 and 1862 were published in their respective sesquicentenial years; The Civil War: The First Year Told by Those Who Lived It (Library of America #212);The Civil War: The Second Year Told By Those Who Lived It (Library of America). The newly-published third volume; "The Civil War: The Third Year Told by Those who Lived It" (2013) covers the eventful third year of 1863. The book's coverage in fact begins on January 20; 1863; with Union General Ambrose Burnside's ill-fated "mud march" at Fredericksburg; and it concludes on March 10; 1864; with Ulysses Grant's promotion to lieutenant general and commander of the Union armies. Brooks Simpson; Foundation Professor of History at Arizona State University selected the texts and edited the volume. Simpson has written extensively of the Civil War; including books about Grant and Sherman.In both its texts and its editing; this is a lengthy; informative; and fascinating volume. The book includes 736 pages of first-hand accounts of the military; political; and social history of the events of 1863 presented chronologically. There are 149 separate entries; some short and some extensive; from approximately 80 sources. The authors include famous figures; including Abraham Lincoln; Frederick Douglass; Grant; Sherman; Henry Adams; Joshua Chamberlain; Whitman; Melville; and more for the Union and Jefferson Davis; Robert E. Lee; Mary Chestnutt; Lafayette McClaws; and more for the Confederacy. The volume includes as well many entries from historically obscure figures; including soldiers on both sides of the line; diarists; ministers; and observers.The selections likewise range from the famous to the obscure. Lincoln's iconic Gettysburg Address; for example; is familiar to all readers. Some of the entries by famous individuals may; however; be new to many readers. For example; the volume includes several letters by Union general Sherman; including a letter to William Swayne dated June 11; 1863; to Sherman's wife dated June 27; 1863; to Henry Halleck; dated September 17; 1863; and to Roswell Sawyer; dated January 31;1864; in which he offers hard-edged; candid observations on nature of war; of the secession and on the coming Reconstruction. These letters remain provocative and thoughtful. Among the best of the documents included in the volume by an unknown author is an article by one Lois Bryan Adams written on February 8; 1864; for the Detroit Advertiser and Tribune. Ms. Adams describes her brief meet-and-greet with the President at a public reception day in the Lincoln White House. Her article includes as well a detailed depiction of the streets of downtown Washington; D.C. The writings in this volume; familiar or obscure; are almost always perceptive and articulate; and a pleasure to read.Military events in 1863 focused on three pivotal battles: Gettysburg from July 1 -- 3; Vicksburg; which fell to the Union on July 4; and Chatanooga from November 23 --25. Each of these battles and the events leading to and following them are described in several articles and from a variety of perspectives. For example; the descriptions of Gettysburg include the diary entries of Arthur Fremantle; a British officer who observed the battle from within the Confederacy's lines and who had access to its high command; a report by Joshua L. Chamberlain on his defense of Little Round Top; diary entries by Confederate soldier Samuel Pickens; and letters from a Union nurse; cordelia Hancock about her experiences in caring for the Gettysburg wounded. Other battles and campaigns; including Chancellorsville; Fort Wagner; Chickamauga;Mine Run; and others; famous and obscure receive coverage.Political events discussed in the volume center upon the use of African American troops following the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1; 1863. Frederick Douglass' speeches and writings play a prominent role in the book as do depictions of the heroism of African American soldiers at Fort Wagner; South Carolina; Port Hudson; Mississippi; and Olustee; Florida; among other places. For the Confederacy; the volume includes a January 2; 1864; memorandum by General Patrick Cleburne; signed by several other Confederate officers; recommending the emancipation and enlistment of African American soldiers as a way to boost the Confederacy's sagging military fortunes and to achieve independence. Civil rights and civil disobediance during the conflict; in both Union and Confederacy; also receive substantial discussion; including the prosecution of copperhead Clement Vallandingham; the New York City Draft Riots; and the Richmond bread riots. A long entry by Richard Cordley describes the sometimes overlooked conflict in Missouri and Kansas which included a bloody massacre in Lawrence; Kansas led by the infamous William Quantrill.The book gains a great deal from Simpson's editorial apparatus. Short introductions to each entry help guide the reader through the many documents. Simpson's introduction to the volume places the events of 1863 in perspective in the context of the entire war. The book includes a dense; 15-page chronology of the 1863-- early 1864 time period covered by the volume which shows; among other things; the broad scope of the events of the year; some of which are not treated in the text. The volume concludes with informative endnotes and with short biographies of each of the individuals who wrote the texts included in the book.There is a great deal to be learned from this volume and from the two earlier books in the series about American history and about the seminal part the Civil War played in it. The source material adds a great deal to the many narrative histories available about the War and furnishes almost limitless material for reflection and for further reading. I am looking forward to the final LOA volume in this series; scheduled to be published in 2014.Robin Friedman2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. First hand view of the Civil War's third yearBy Steven PetersonThis is an examination of the third year of the Civil War in the words of those who lived during this sanguinary time. The third year featured bloody battles--Chancellorsville; Gettysburg; Chickamauga--and two battles that severely harmed the Confederacy--Gettysburg and Vicksburg.One senses the despair of people like Frederick Douglass; as he lashes out against President Lincoln on the subject of black soldiers (pages 431-434) and the frustration of troops like Thomas Dodge of General Burnside's ill-fated Mud March (as Dodge says [page 6]: "It seems that Mud is really King"). On the Mud March; it is poignant to read General George Meade's sense of pain for Burnside's failed maneuver. We read Lincoln's letter to General Hooker (pages 18-19); after having named Hooker as commander of the Army of the Potomac; in which he gently chides Hooker for his politicization; his naked ambition; and his statement that the government needed a dictator.Gettysburg? We read General Williams' letter indicating his support for Meade's having been named to command the Army of the Potomac; after Lincoln accepted Hooker's resignation. One of the more interesting of the pieces are entries in the diary for July 1-4 made by English observer Arthur Fremantle. He noted General Longstreet's concern about Pickett's Charge--and the aftermath of that failed venture. Then; there is the correspondence between Robert E. Lee and President Jefferson Davis over Lee's offer to resign as commander of the Army of Northern Virginia.The last entry is a letter from General Sherman to General Grant; in which Sherman implored Grant to stay in the West; away from the politics of Washington DC.Some additional features--a chronology of the year and some biographical notes.All in all; a nice compendium for those who wish to experience the Civil War through the eyes and ears of those who lived it.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Get the entire 4-book set!By CustomerThis 4-book series is a MUST READ for anyone serious about Civil War History!...Through the letters; proceedings; news articles; and journal entries of dozens of fascinating individuals on both sides of the conflict the reader is drawn into the intense passions and emotions evinced by the people who fought in and experienced the American Cataclysm. Anyone who wants to look beyond the cold; raw statistics of the war will be rewarded with detailed descriptions and accounts that capture perfectly and literally "man-on-the-street" views of the conflict. More oft-repeated thanks to my high school history teacher Ms. Jeanne Lee for inspiring me to learn; read; and learn even more...