ebooks William Howard Russell's Civil War: Private Diary and Letters; 1861-1862 by William Russell in History

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Sir Billy's Small But Important ContributionBy alisonsbedWilliam Howard Russell; well before he set foot upon U.S. soil; established himself as a correspondent with integrity; grit and a genuine feeling for soldiers and their commanders in war. He also knew something of arms; logistics and tactics; having served as war correspondent for the Times of London during the Crimean war. His dispatches from that bloody theater were above all honest; and it was largely due to his work that the British public at large; perhaps for the first time in that nation's history; developed a personal day-to-day interest in the triumphs; failures and outrages of the campaign. One can argue that Russell helped to force changes in British military culture; even in fact that his work over-turned an entire administration. So it was this pugnacious and forthright journalist who disembarked in New York in 1861 to report on the looming disaster of disunion and civil war for the benefit of an English audience. His dispatches and diaries begin before the onset of hostilities; and he reported on the public mind such as he found it; both in the South and the North; and upon the readiness of both sides for what he foresaw would be a grueling; bloody farce. At first trusted and even courted by politicians; generals and large stake-holders on both sides; he delivered to his audience back home very honest appraisals of the ways in which the armies and populations were situated to withstand the coming disaster. I think most historians of today would find his claims both clever and fair. In brief his view was this: Southern folk had no idea of the dimensions of the slaughter that lay ahead; but were at the very least fitted out to participate in that slaughter with a fair degree of bloodthirsty glee and cavalier courage; Northern people were unprepared in every way; and in any case there was no cohesive vision in the North: they were a more sophisticated people; but shared no cultural bond that would see them through a bitter war. Once the firing begin; Russell's career was short. He reported first Bull Run as a stroke of idiotic luck for Southern arms; and as a dishonorable humiliation for Northern soldiers. Of course these dispatches eventually fell under the notice of politicians and generals in Washington--men upon whose trust and generosity his mission by this time depended--and he found himself shut out of the proceedings. He could not obtain passes or permission to report on the war; this was the punishment for his honesty. He lost access; and so the purpose of his mission was foiled. His name became a by-word for treachery; he could seldom find decent lodgings or a good horse; his very life was threatened by the press and by the rabble; he was even arrested (for hunting on a Sunday). He tried to stick it out; to travel; to gauge what was happening; but he found he could no longer report on the war; and was left to report instead on the dreary routine in Washington and points north. Seeing the futility of this arrangement; he boarded ship and sailed home. Notwithstanding this failure; this book is essential reading. Russell's view of America north and south in the weeks leading up to Sumter; his expert testimony on the arms and morale of both sides; his (at first) easy relationships with the most important soldiers and statesmen of the time; make for a fascinating book. It is an uneven and anti-climactic project to be sure; but today it stands as an indispensable primary document.