The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862

Rating:
Summary: Another essay collection from Gary Gallagher
Review: Back in the mid-90s, Gary W. Gallagher made a name for himself collecting a series of essays on the battle of Gettysburg. They were more than just histories of parts of the battle. For one thing, the authors looked into various parts of the battle that bad been neglected or misinterpreted, and reexamined things that were taken for granted. For another, the authors examined subjects that hadn't been written about before. One essay even looked into the historiography of Pickett's Charge, and why it was viewed the way it was by the participants.

Since then Gallagher's been doing these at approximately the rate of one a year. All of the campaigns covered so far have been in the Eastern Theater, and all have been relatively well-covered in more comprehensive books. This volume, dealing primarily with Stonewall Jackson's campaign in the Shenandoah in 1862, is something of a departure for the series. The author admits that there's no comprehensive study of the campaign from both sides, and then apologizes half-heartedly for this entry to the series, which devotes most of its attention to the Confederates. Frankly, I don't think that's neccessary. I'm no Southerner, but to be honest, the Yankees in this campaign aren't that interesting. Stonewall, on the other hand, is fascinating, warts and all.

The essays cover a wide range of subjects, and cover them well, for the most part. One deals with Lincoln the war president responding to the crisis in the Valley, another is devoted to Jackson's image and what it meant to the South. One looks at Ashby's image also (this is a common theme in the series, what things meant to the participants, and how they changed history in order to suit their preconceptions), while two other essays examine how the common people looked at the campaign, one following a particular Confederate regiment, the other the civilians in the path of the campaign. Another essay is a brief biography of Charles S. Winder, the commander of the Stonewall Brigade for part of the campaign, while the last image deals with the court martial of Richard B. Garnett. Of all the essays, only the Garnett one is inadequate, with the author plowing little new ground, and basically rehashing what we already know: Jackson couldn't stand to be contradicted, even when he was demonstrably wrong.

The series has gotten away from the battlefield pretty much entirely now. I'm not sure I like this development. I did like it that the series spent some time paying attention to things that weren't directly related to the fighting, but I also enjoyed the battlefield analysis. I'm afraid I am a bit perturbed that Gallagher has gone as far as he has. That doesn't however mean I don't recommend the book; just that I wish he would balance things a bit more.

Rating:
Summary: Gallagher sells out -- again.
Review: Gary Gallagher has always been something of an anomaly in Civil War publishing. Although the most "prolific" of modern authors in the field, in reality he has only written 1 1/2 books of his own in his decades-long career: Stephen Dodson Ramseur (a cleanup of his doctoral dissertation) and the tiny Confederate War (more of a long essay than a book). Everything else are simply editing jobs -- most notably the series of collected essays on particular campaigns, of which this volume is the most recent entry.

Unfortunately, Gallagher -- sitting in an endowed chair of CW studies at the ultra-left University of Virginia -- has in recent years absorbed his colleagues' disdain for things military. Although former NPS historian (and the nation's leading Jackson scholar) Robert K. Krick, and his son, NPS historian Robert E. L. Krick, turn in typically masterful articles on explicitly military subjects, the remainder of the volume is either uninspired or irrelevant. Two hits do not cover for the multitude of misses.

For those who share the view of "New Military Historians" that race, class, and gender are the most important aspects of war, this uneven collection will serve. For those who remember the original entries in this series, and who thing that a series titled "Military Campaigns of the Civil War" ought to focus on just that, save your money.

Rating:
Summary: Essays cover various aspects of well known campaign
Review: With this book, Gary Gallagher continues his efforts to add details to well known Civil War campaigns by compiling essays from a variety of authors. In Gallagher's opinion, most Civil War battles have already been covered well enough by one author or another in narrative form. Thus, the challenge becomes, how can greater detail and insight be presented without simply rehashing the same facts and figures of previous works. His campaign series takes the approach that it would be interesting to have noted Civil War historians present detailed essays about various military aspects of a certain campaign. Typically, these books have resulted from summertime battlefield tours that Dr. Gallagher offers through his university history department (first with Penn State, and now with UVa).

The Shendandoan Valley Campaign of 1862 is somewhat different than previous installments of this series for two main reasons. First, even Gallagher admits that a great overall narrative of this campaign has not been written. Most people know of the campaign, but they do not really know the details of what happened. I fall into this category. I know the basic plot of Stonewall Jackson helping save Richmond through his military exploits and victories against a handful of bumbling Union generals in the Shenandoan Valley. These essays have definitely helped broaden my understanding of what actually occurred.

Secondly, as a previous reviewer mentioned, this book does not have much of a military focus. Instead, it covers a wide gamut of topics. I like the variety and enjoyed most of the essays, but I must admit that a few of them seem somewhat misplaced in a military campaign series. The first few essays discuss Jackson's success, and the impact it had on Union plans, and I would have like to see more of these type essays included. That is my main criticism of the book. Although I found all eight essays well written, at least two of them were not very interesting.

Despite its flaws, I still recommend this book to anyone interested in learning more about this campaign. If you are looking for a book that details the various battles fought during the campaign, this is not the right book for you. But, if you are looking for a broad perspective of the campaign, and how it impacted those involved (soldiers, generals, civilians, and government leaders), then you will be pleased by the contents of this book.