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Colleagues,
While researching CS published manuals today at the South Caroliniana Library, I stumbled on this particular little item:
"A Synopsis of the Art of War, Dedicated to the Junior Officers of the Confederate Army" Evans & Cogswell, Columbia, 1864.
This soft-cover pocket manual (106 pages) measures roughly 3 X 4 inches and was in rather excellent shape. There was no author listed either on the front cover of after the Introduction. Reading the introduction was a real treat as the author states he was not allowed to join the service for an undisclosed reason and this was his small contibution to the war effort. He went on to discuss the lack of formal training of the junior officers in the army and sought to give them a 'holistic' view of the service through this publication. The author covers many topics in the publication and gives excellent general decriptions. Below you will find my transcription of the sections and topics discussed (caps are the author's):
-Introduction-(6 pages)
Part 1: The Organization of the Army
a) Education, Election & Appointment of Officers
b) Modes of Levying Troops & Recruiting the Army
c) The Different Arms of Service
1)The Equipment, Organization & Instruction of the Infantry
2)Cavalry & Mounted Infantry-Their Equipment, Organization & Instruction
3)Artillery-Its Equipment, Organization & Instruction
4)The Corps of Engineers
d) The Equipment and Maintenance of the Army
1)The Ordnance Department
2)The Commissariat
3)The Medical Staff
4)The General Staff of the Army
5)The Signal Corps
6)The Inspectors & Inspection
e) The Code for the Government of the Army
1)Military Tribunals
2)Recapitulation
Part 2: The Employment of the Army
a) The Minor Operations of War-Marches
b) Embarkation, Debarkation & Transports
c) Encampment
d) Outpost Duty
e) Reconnoissances
f) Field Sketching
g) Skirmishes & Combats
h) Service in Siege Operations
i) Garrison Duty & The Defence of Fortified Posts
j) Convoys
k) Foraging
l) Naval Operations
m) Languages
n) Military Policy
o) Administration of the Army
p) The Conduct of Campaigns
q) Military Occupation
r) The Gualifications of a General
That's a lot to cram into 106 pages! Obviously, the author intends to give a brief sketch on each topic but spends more time with some than others. Has anyone ever encountered this manual before? Currently, we're pursuing having this publication copied by the library and may look at reprinting it, with the appropriate permissions of course. It would certainly add to a CS officer's impression and is a wonderful and interesting discourse on the service.
Neill Rose
Palmetto Living History Association
While researching CS published manuals today at the South Caroliniana Library, I stumbled on this particular little item:
"A Synopsis of the Art of War, Dedicated to the Junior Officers of the Confederate Army" Evans & Cogswell, Columbia, 1864.
This soft-cover pocket manual (106 pages) measures roughly 3 X 4 inches and was in rather excellent shape. There was no author listed either on the front cover of after the Introduction. Reading the introduction was a real treat as the author states he was not allowed to join the service for an undisclosed reason and this was his small contibution to the war effort. He went on to discuss the lack of formal training of the junior officers in the army and sought to give them a 'holistic' view of the service through this publication. The author covers many topics in the publication and gives excellent general decriptions. Below you will find my transcription of the sections and topics discussed (caps are the author's):
-Introduction-(6 pages)
Part 1: The Organization of the Army
a) Education, Election & Appointment of Officers
b) Modes of Levying Troops & Recruiting the Army
c) The Different Arms of Service
1)The Equipment, Organization & Instruction of the Infantry
2)Cavalry & Mounted Infantry-Their Equipment, Organization & Instruction
3)Artillery-Its Equipment, Organization & Instruction
4)The Corps of Engineers
d) The Equipment and Maintenance of the Army
1)The Ordnance Department
2)The Commissariat
3)The Medical Staff
4)The General Staff of the Army
5)The Signal Corps
6)The Inspectors & Inspection
e) The Code for the Government of the Army
1)Military Tribunals
2)Recapitulation
Part 2: The Employment of the Army
a) The Minor Operations of War-Marches
b) Embarkation, Debarkation & Transports
c) Encampment
d) Outpost Duty
e) Reconnoissances
f) Field Sketching
g) Skirmishes & Combats
h) Service in Siege Operations
i) Garrison Duty & The Defence of Fortified Posts
j) Convoys
k) Foraging
l) Naval Operations
m) Languages
n) Military Policy
o) Administration of the Army
p) The Conduct of Campaigns
q) Military Occupation
r) The Gualifications of a General
That's a lot to cram into 106 pages! Obviously, the author intends to give a brief sketch on each topic but spends more time with some than others. Has anyone ever encountered this manual before? Currently, we're pursuing having this publication copied by the library and may look at reprinting it, with the appropriate permissions of course. It would certainly add to a CS officer's impression and is a wonderful and interesting discourse on the service.
Neill Rose
Palmetto Living History Association
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