Rebels at the Gate: Lee and McClellan on the Front Line of a Nation Divided

Rating:
Summary: A Worthy Companion to "Lee vs. McClellan"
Review: Clayton R. Newell covered the same ground as Mr. Lesser some years ago in his classic "Lee vs. McClellan" but what Mr. Lesser has done in "Rebels at the Gate" is take a fine portrait of the bitter, brother versus brother fighting in the hills of West Virginia and turned it into a landscape. He writes movingly of the Rebel General Garnett, who upon taking the West Virginia assignment to stop the Union forces knew he would die there; of little Josie Gordon, the 18 year son of a Union major, who enlisted in the Union Army much against the wishes of his father, and would be found dead on the battlefield by his heartbroken father.

He also writes of spies, of bushwackers like the deadly Nancy Hart, a little spitfire who killed a Union jailer taking her photo, of the various West Virginia politicians who clamored to 'secede' themselves from the Confederacy, and the figures of history, - Stonewall Jackson, George McClellan, Robert E. Lee, and the sarcastic "bitter" (Ambrose) Bierce, whose Civil War experience, which began in West Virginia, had a profound impact on his future writings.

As a previous reviewer has noted, Lesser has a storyteller's gift, but he also knows his history. A worthy work to place alongside the Newell book, if you can still get a copy.

Rating:
Summary: Yankees at the Gate
Review: I hoped, when I read the advance copy on this book, that this would be the book to look under the rock of West Virginia's creation, but it doesn't do that. It mostly covers the battles and national political maneuverings which concentrated themselves in western Virginia. The creation of West Virginia was one of the most successful and enduring millitary coups ever accomplished by the Federal government, and endures to this day. The people of western Virginia never agreed to this new state. The referendum on statehood which took place in 1862 gathered 19,000 voters. Unfortunately, there were about 49,000 voters registered in these counties in 1861, so 30,000 votes approximately are missing. The Union radicals fled to Wheeling, about as far out of West Virginia as they could get. Many of the new Union volunteers to West Virginia units were actually from Ohio and Pennsylvania, but are still counted as "loyal" West Virginians. A recent examination of the rosters of the 1st West Virginia Volunteer Infantry by the Moore Center in Shepherdstown has shown that 68% of this unit were not West Virginians. Once the new state was founded, they wrote a state constitution which prohibited former Confederate soldiers from state office or serving in the public sector. David E. Johnston (History of Middle New River Settlements, 1905) stated that the new state government had so much trouble finding qualified men to serve that some officials held as many as five offices at the same time. The first three Governors of West Virginia (Boreman, Farnsworth, and Stevenson) were originally from Pennsylvania and New York. In 1870 the Unionist state constitution was rewritten, the Wheeling gang was voted out of office, and the state capitol was moved south to Charleston. Henry Mathews, a former Major in the Confederate Army, was elected governor a few years later. He had been elected to the state house in 1865, but was denied entry. The real story of West Virginia has not been written.

Rating:
Summary: Great Storyteller Tells Tale of West Virginia's Birth
Review: The author's bio says he's had a 20-year career as an archaeologist and historical interpreter. It should also say he's an extraordinary storyteller.

This book is just terrific: brisk narrative pace, interesting characters, colorful anecdotes. It deals simultaneously with the Civil War's initial clash of arms in the mountains of western Virginia, and the political machinations that surrounded the birth of West Virginia and its entry into the Union as the 35th state.

Western Virginia is the place where Generals McClellan and Lee make their Civil War debuts. It is from these mountains that McClellen emerges as the Young Napoleon, hailed as the Union's savior. McClellen's prodigious organizational skills are clearly evident; for example, he pioneers the use of the telegraph in battlefield communications -- one of a dozen Civil War "firsts" the author cites. But the tendencies that would later cost McClellen his command and sully his reputation in military history already begin to rear their heads: exaggeration of enemy troop strength; battlefield timidity ("he sat there with indecision stamped on every line of his countenance"); a haughty, supercilious manner.

In contrast to McClellan, Lee limps out of western Virginia with his reputation greatly diminished -- undermined by uncooperative mountain weather, poor timing and internecine fueds between political generals that precluded battlefield coordination. It was during the bleak days in western Virginia that Lee grew a white beard, and earned the derisive sobriquet, "Granny Lee."

The western Virginia campaign often receives short shrift in Civil War histories, overshadowed by the larger, bloodier engagements that followed. "Rebels at the Gate" fills the void and does so with an engaging, well-paced narrative. This book is sure to delight anyone interested in the American Civil War.

Rating:
Summary: Tries to do to much
Review: The title of the book promises a history of the 1861 Western Virginia Campaign. This little covered campaign propelled McClellan to command of the Union armies and pushed Robert E. Lee into obscurity. Only Jefferson Davis' faith in Lee rescued him from build fortifications along the Atlantic coast. Politically important, West Virginia succeeded from the Confederacy and became a state due to Union success. The infighting between Wise and Floyd provide a look into how poorly the CSA command functioned and how two petty people could bring everything to a halt.

The author attempts to cover all of this and provide unlimited human-interest stories too. He fails, as one part of the story elbows another out of the way, while tripping over a third part. This is not a poorly written book. The problem is origination and discipline. No story is completed and human-interest keeps interrupting. A major problem is maps! In the Illustrations section are three useless maps. First, they are in the wrong place, second the two dealing with battles have to little detail, lastly if you have not looked at the illustrations you will not know they are there.

This is the second book I have read on this campaign. I have not improved my knowledge or understanding by reading it.


Rating:
Summary: Rebels at the Gates Opens an Overlooked Period in the ACW
Review: This is an excellent book. Detailed enough to be useful and interesting but not dry, fast paced, it is a well written chronological account of an early period of the war and the many interesting people involved. The author clearly draws the links between actions taken during this period and later in the war. This is more than just another book on the Civil War. Mr. Lesser explains clearly, without bogging down in minutiae, how the political and military circumstances influenced West Virginia's formation.

A long time resident of West Virginia and western Virginia (the Shenandoah valley) and a sometime student of the American Civil War, I happily learned much that I didn't know about some of my favorite places and historical figures. Intrigued, I read this book straight through.

Rating:
Summary: Rebels at the Gates Opens an Overlooked Period in the ACW
Review: This is an excellent book. Detailed enough to be useful and interesting but not dry, fast paced, it is a well written chronological account of an early period of the war and the many interesting people involved. The author clearly draws the links between actions taken during this period and later in the war. This is more than just another book on the Civil War. Mr. Lesser explains clearly, without bogging down in minutiae, how the political and military circumstances influenced West Virginia's formation.

A long time resident of West Virginia and western Virginia (the Shenandoah valley) and a sometime student of the American Civil War, I happily learned much that I didn't know about some of my favorite places and historical figures. Intrigued, I read this book straight through.

Rating:
Summary: A gripping and involving narrative of a turbulent time
Review: Written by an archaeologist and historical interpreter of twenty years' experience, Rebels At The Gate: Lee And Mcclellan On The Front Line Of A Nation Divided is a study and evocative presentation of the earliest days of the American Civil War. Presenting a portrait of the fundamental issues and charasmatic personalities so strong that the result was a nation polarized. When Virginia Unionists formed the new state of West Virginia to sustain President Lincoln's war effort and block Confederate control of the territory and a key point of access to the North, Union and Confederate troops led by George McClellan and Robert E. Lee respectively were pit in a severe campaign that set the stage for the long years of bloodshed to come. A gripping and involving narrative of a turbulent time in American history.