The Confederate Order of Battle: The Army of Northern Virginia

Rating:
Summary: An Amazing Compilation
Review: F. Ray Sibley has indeed done a service for the Civil War historian. He has spent more than a dozen years to compile what researchers will ultimately proclaim as the conclusive reference on the organizational make-up of the Confederacy. The Confederate Order of Battle: The Army of Northern Virginia is a rare accomplishment that will greatly reduce the amount of time and effort spent on research for sometime to come. This 486 page volume is destined to be labeled as the standard reference for those studying the organizational framework of the Army of Northern Virginia. In his first volume of a planned three volume series, Sibley has carefully analyzed numerous resources and has subsequently compiled them into a single reference book that defines the structure of the eastern Confederate forces as they went into battle. In a massive undertaking, Sibley's The Confederate Order of Battle: The Army of Northern Virginia and his ensuing works will literally shrink the amount of time and effort researchers, genealogist, and history writers will take in conducting research and verifying their work. Sibley's work fundamentally allows students and researchers to identify a composite listing of a unit's history. In the same light, it enables one to ascertain the identity of a Confederate commander's combat career without the need to consult other resources. In The Confederate Order of Battle, Sibley has carefully defined even the most difficult to find unit identifications and commanding officer names and has listed them chronologically by battle. Additionally, and perhaps more importantly, Sibley has meticulously indexed the entire reference in two distinctive and functionally worthwhile manners. First, he has provided a Main Index that alphabetically lists the commander's name with a parenthetical notation of the unit he commanded. Secondly, and most impressively, he has defined in three subsequent sections the Confederate Infantry, Artillery, and Cavalry units. Under these sub-indices, Sibley has organized each operational type listing by the unit's state and hierarchical echelon within the Confederacy. In short, the indices are what makes this book unique and particularly user friendly. Collectively, the main body listings of the units by regiment, brigade, division, corps and, ultimately army, coupled with the notably functional indices are what makes Sibley's book a reference masterpiece in terms of practical value. However, what especially makes this book useful is its extensive endnotes and exceptionally complete bibliography. In tandem with the main body listing of each Confederate battle, unit designation, and commanding officer, the endnotes and bibliography offer the researcher a complete single source reference for the study of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. In follow-on works, Sibley has planned additional volumes describing the orders of battle for the Confederate western armies and armies of the trans-Mississippi and coastal defense forces. In the end, this three set volume will be an indispensable reference and a must for all Civil War libraries. All in all, The Confederate Order of Battle: The Army of Northern Virginia will undoubtedly become a common source for historians and researchers to use in the years to come.

Rating:
Summary: Very useful reference work
Review: This is a very useful reference work which gives the command structure, so far as is known, for the ANV and its subsidiaries down to the regimental level. It will be invaluable for specialists. I found the footnote structure to be somewhat confusing: it might have been better to restate these scattered notes as brief paragraphs on the units and events mentioned.