Bull Runnings

Two more from Savas Beatie:

Eric J. Wittenberg, The Johnson-Gilmor Cavalry Raid Around Baltimore, July 10-13, 1864 – from the publisher:

The Johnson-Gilmor Raid represents one of three attempts to free prisoners of war during the American Civil War. Like the other two, it was destined to fail for a variety of reasons, mostly because the timetable for the operation was a schedule impossible to meet. The mounted raid was a fascinating act of increasing desperation by the Confederate high command in the summer of 1864, and award-winning cavalry historian Eric J. Wittenberg presents the gripping story in detail for the first time in The Johnson-Gilmor Cavalry Raid around Baltimore, July 10-13, 1864.

The thundering high-stakes operation was intended to ease the suffering of 15,000 Confederate prisoners held at Point Lookout, Maryland, a peninsula at the confluence of the Potomac River and the Chesapeake Bay. The story includes a motley cast of characters on both sides and fast-paced drama in a deeply researched study that draws upon published and unpublished primary sources, including contemporary newspapers.

Part of Wittenberg’s cogent analysis compares and contrasts this raid to a pair of other unsuccessful attempts to free Union prisoners of war—the Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid of February-March 1864, and the Stoneman Raid on Macon, Georgia of July 1864—as well as Gen. George S. Patton’s attempt to free his son-in-law and other American prisoners in March of 1945. This book will be welcomed by anyone with an interest in the Civil War, high-stakes cavalry operations, or the politics of Civil War high command.

You get:

• 151 pages of text in 6 chapters, Conclusion, and 5 appendices
• 7 page bibliography
• Full index
• Bottom of page footnotes
• 35 illustrations/photos spread throughout

Lance Herdegen, Opening Manassas: The Iron Brigade, Stonewall Jackson, and the Battle on Brawaner’s Farm, August 28, 1862 – from the publisher:

In the fading light of August 28, 1862, an untested Union brigade of Wisconsin and Indiana men fought an unexpected 90-minute stand-up clash with the Confederate veterans of Stonewall Jackson on the Virginia farm fields of John Brawner. The Rebels recalled a Wisconsin man that day “yelling like demons [in] a roaring hell of fire.” None of them knew the immediate prelude to the far bloodier battle of Second Manassas (Bull Run) had begun. Despite its fascinating origins and far-reaching consequences, surprisingly little has been penned about this remarkable engagement. Opening Manassas: The Iron Brigade, Stonewall Jackson, and the Battle on Brawner’s Farm, August 28, 1862, rectifies this oversight in the first full-length balanced study of the affair ever published.

In August 1862, Robert E. Lee struck north to carry the war away from Richmond. His opponent at the head of the recently constructed Army of Virginia, Maj. Gen. John Pope, was new to the theater and had just suffered a bloody awakening at Cedar Mountain on August 9. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s wing marched first, swinging behind Pope and destroying the massive Union supply depot at Manassas Junction. The stunning move shocked the Union high command. Pope withdrew from his defensive line along the Rappahannock, determined to find and eradicate the Confederates. First he had to find them. Unbeknownst to Pope, Jackson had deployed his men in a strong, wooded defensive position along an abandoned railroad cut. All Old Jack needed was a reason to sally forth and strike an unsuspecting piece of Pope’s scattered army. That opportunity presented itself on the afternoon of August 28, when the men of the Iron Brigade marched along the Warrenton Pike, unaware that danger lurked just yards away off their right flank.

One battle, two authors. This unique study uses a fog-of-war approach to unfold the battle as the soldiers of both sides would have experienced it and how the various officers reacted with only the information they had at the time. Award-winning author Lance J. Herdegen handles the Union side of the equation, while preservation historian and veteran of the National Park Service, Bill Backus, chronicles the Confederate perspective. Together, chapter by chapter, they march their respective forces to the point of destiny and discover unexpected insights into the engagement and the leadership decisions of both sides. The affair was a rude baptism of blood for Western Union men, while the bold thrust by Jackson revealed his location and put his entire command in serious peril.

Opening Manassas is based on primary source material and a complete understanding of the terrain. Its unique dual-author and fog-of-war approach, together with its original maps and explanatory notes, makes it a must-have book for students of the Civil War.

You get:

• 264 pages of text in 31 chapters
• 8 page bibliography
• Full index
• Bottom of page footnotes
• 8 maps
• Illustrations spread throughout