jjares reviewed The First Battle of Manassas: A Captivating Guide to the First Battle of Bull Run That Took Place at the Start of the American Civil War on + 3270 more book reviews
It says much about America's understanding of war when citizens, politicians, and food sellers rushed out to see the first Battle of Manassas. By the end, those carriages with picnics and champagne raced back to the safety of Washington, DC, along with soldiers who had only signed up for 90-days service. Obviously, the Union decided they could have the war won within 90-days and they suddenly had a problem with the 90-day soldiers leaving the field.
There were a couple of things I really liked about this book. Sometimes Captivating History states what might be obvious, but it still catches the reader with surprise. Washington, DC is surrounded by Maryland, and the book tells us that Lincoln worked hard to keep Maryland from going to the Confederacy by" imprisoning secessionist ringleaders." That kept the Union capital from being surrounded by enemy territory during the war.
The other thing that caught my eye was the clever way the author enclosed thumbnail sketches about important figures, North and South, without seriously slowing down the story. That is great writing. I never recognized the importance of uniforms until reading (p. 24) that people were inadvertently shot (by friendly fire) because they were wearing what they enlisted in, which may have been the wrong color of the uniform.
I was delighted to see the discussion of the US Balloon Corps and their short relationship in the Civil War. I knew it existed, but the few sentences in this book explained why they didn't last long in the war arena.
There were a couple of things I really liked about this book. Sometimes Captivating History states what might be obvious, but it still catches the reader with surprise. Washington, DC is surrounded by Maryland, and the book tells us that Lincoln worked hard to keep Maryland from going to the Confederacy by" imprisoning secessionist ringleaders." That kept the Union capital from being surrounded by enemy territory during the war.
The other thing that caught my eye was the clever way the author enclosed thumbnail sketches about important figures, North and South, without seriously slowing down the story. That is great writing. I never recognized the importance of uniforms until reading (p. 24) that people were inadvertently shot (by friendly fire) because they were wearing what they enlisted in, which may have been the wrong color of the uniform.
I was delighted to see the discussion of the US Balloon Corps and their short relationship in the Civil War. I knew it existed, but the few sentences in this book explained why they didn't last long in the war arena.
