Stonewall of the West: Patrick Cleburne and the Civil War (Modern War Studies)

Rating:
Summary: A Great Bio
Review: This is a terrific bio of Cleburne. It is well-written, informative, and a joy to read. It follows Cleburne from childhood to his death at Franklin. I was very happy to see that Symonds focused on what Cleburne and his troops were doing at each of the various battles they were at rather than writing on what the army as a whole was doing. Also there have been other bios of Civil War generals in which I thought the background info was kind of boring, but in this case that is very different. Symonds' description of Cleburne's days in Ireland, emigrating to the U.S., and his days living in Arkansas before the outbreak of the war were very interesting. To summarize I would just say this is a well-written, interesting, informative read. With this book and Symonds' bio of J.E. Johnston, I think Symonds has cemented himself as one of the best Civil War biography writers today.

Rating:
Summary: CLEBURNE Of The West
Review: This is a very good book. Patrick Cleburne is my favorite civil war general, and this volume gives a very even-handed discussion of his life, from Ireland to Franklin, Tenn. In particular, it gives considerable space to his growth as a leader. The discussions of Shiloh and Franklin are very good, and understandable. The book gives attention to the General's private life, especially his tragic engagement to Miss Tarleton. In depth but not dry or overwhelming, STONEWALL OF THE WESTis a great introduction to this Commander of the often overlooked western theater!

Rating:
Summary: Stonewall of the West
Review: This is the first book that I've read on Cleburne. Much of it I enjoyed, the part on his proposal to enlist slaves into the Confederate Army in particular, but found that detail was lacking in too many other areas. Also, if one did not have prior knowledge of the Army of Tennessee, they would be very lost.