The Wilmington Campaign: Last Departing Rays of Hope

Rating:
Summary: The Civil War History of Wilmington finally written
Review: A great book covering the entire Wilmington expedition. The maps really set it apart from any other Civil War book, being very detailed. As far as the Fort Fisher portion of the book, I think Rod Gragg's "Confederate Goliath" is an easier, more engrossing read. The closing of Wilmington is by far my favorite series of battles during the Civil War, but I must admit that after the capture of Fort Fisher, its a pretty big bore.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Maps
Review: A great book covering the entire Wilmington expedition. The maps really set it apart from any other Civil War book, being very detailed. As far as the Fort Fisher portion of the book, I think Rod Gragg's "Confederate Goliath" is an easier, more engrossing read. The closing of Wilmington is by far my favorite series of battles during the Civil War, but I must admit that after the capture of Fort Fisher, its a pretty big bore.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent history of an obscure Civil War Campaign
Review: The Civil War had many campaigns, and numerous battles. Most of them have been chronicled at one time or another. The battle of Fort Fisher, in North Carolina near Wilmington, was wonderfully written about a decade ago in Confederate Goliath by noted historian Rod Gragg. Gragg's book however, finishes with the end of the battle, and has nothing or next to it to say about the ensuing campaign to capture the city of Wilmington itself. The campaign as a whole is the subject of Chris Fonvielle's book, which has a larger scope than Gragg's excellent work, and is equally skilled.

Fonvielle is a southerner, and was a resident of Wilmington at the time the book was written. Since I had just finished another book that was originally published by Savas publishing (Last Chance for Victory) and I had hacked it to pieces here as unreasonably pro-Confederate, I was somewhat apprehensive when I started this book. No worries, Fonvielle is balanced, forthright, and very careful with the issues and participants on both sides. The result is a wonderful depiction of the campaign and battle as they occurred, with a number of wonderful anecdotes. The author also does a masterful job of depicting the strategic context of the campaign and battle, and their impact on the war's last phase.

I've read a number of books on the Civil War. This one has excellent maps and illustrations, is well-thought-out and concise, without being either cursory or overly brief, and is well-documented. I would recommend this book to any Civil War buff.

Rating:
Summary: The Civil War History of Wilmington finally written
Review: This is history written right. From the details of the major battles for Fort Fisher, the defense of Fort Anderson, right down to the smaller actions around this important port city, the author covers all. Being a student of Maj. General W.H.C. Whiting, I was amazed to see the only known, full length photo of him, published for the first time. The maps are wonderful, especially the fold outs. Written portraits of all the players are included in the text, without bias. The author is a native of Wilmington, and his love for the area shows with this work. 130+ years after the final battles of the war were fought, Wilmington's story is told.