Tweet
Gents,
The ole Sinks seem a little quiet so I thought I'd see if any of you have taken a stroll through Warren Grabau's work on the Vicksburg Campaign entitled "Ninety-eight Days."
I'm roughly 330 pages into it, with approximately 200 left to go. I picked it up because my knowledge was fairly thin in regard to one of the war's more important campaigns. Thus far, I can say the following about it. One, I think that Grabau's concept of tying the campaign into a larger sense of the geography of the country in that region adds considerably to the tale. I really found myself nodding as he covered the hellacious fighting and manuevering that took place in and around Port Gibson as Grant put his forces ashore on the east bank of the Big Muddy. Having participated in the event in those parts last May, I thought Grabau was spot-on with his depictions of the terrain and the effects it had on both sides- a.) that it was harder than Hell to move through, b.) that keeping an organized formation in the midst of vines, thick vegetation, and jaggedly sharp changes in elevation really bogged things down and c.) that the lay of the land favored the defender. Two, Pemberton doesn't emerge (at least not yet) as a near-traitorous coward of treasonous proportions. Rather, he was a somewhat competent commander shackled by largely 2nd class troops, a mixed bag of subordinate generals, a lack of adequate manpower, and orders from Jeff Davis that more or less tied him to eventual rot in the bastion. Three, the Federals were not characterized by brilliant generalship nor the world's most stunning fighting troops but were instead able to rely on steady, battle-tested veterans, competent field and staff level generals, Grant's solid but not brilliant strategizing, and most importantly, sheer weight of numbers. Four, of Pemberton's men, the best, by far, were the two brigades led by John Bowen. Cockrell's Missourians and Martin Green's Arkansans and Missourians were far and away the crack troops of the Army of Vicksburg. They were the ***** they knew it, and the Federals respected them considerably for their fighting prowess. Bowen takes his licks, mainly for his dislike of Pemberton and the occassional insubordination he was guilty of. Nonetheless, Bowen seems to be a more-than-competent division commander. As I recall, he fell ill shortly after the campaign and died suddenly. That's something of a shame as he seemed to be a fine commander with above-average skills.
I'm not done with the book by any stretch and the storied siege is yet to come but thus far I must say I like the book and Grabau's style. My one knock is that the maps (very crucial to the way he tells the story, particularly with his emphasis on georgraphy and topography) are all at the back of the book. As a result I find myself flipping back and forth with huge chunks of text sandwhiched between each hand. If the maps were placed within each chapter I think that would be more helpful.
Has anyone else read this book yet? If so, what are your thoughts and how would you compare it with other works on the campaign?
Kind regards,
Fred Baker
The ole Sinks seem a little quiet so I thought I'd see if any of you have taken a stroll through Warren Grabau's work on the Vicksburg Campaign entitled "Ninety-eight Days."
I'm roughly 330 pages into it, with approximately 200 left to go. I picked it up because my knowledge was fairly thin in regard to one of the war's more important campaigns. Thus far, I can say the following about it. One, I think that Grabau's concept of tying the campaign into a larger sense of the geography of the country in that region adds considerably to the tale. I really found myself nodding as he covered the hellacious fighting and manuevering that took place in and around Port Gibson as Grant put his forces ashore on the east bank of the Big Muddy. Having participated in the event in those parts last May, I thought Grabau was spot-on with his depictions of the terrain and the effects it had on both sides- a.) that it was harder than Hell to move through, b.) that keeping an organized formation in the midst of vines, thick vegetation, and jaggedly sharp changes in elevation really bogged things down and c.) that the lay of the land favored the defender. Two, Pemberton doesn't emerge (at least not yet) as a near-traitorous coward of treasonous proportions. Rather, he was a somewhat competent commander shackled by largely 2nd class troops, a mixed bag of subordinate generals, a lack of adequate manpower, and orders from Jeff Davis that more or less tied him to eventual rot in the bastion. Three, the Federals were not characterized by brilliant generalship nor the world's most stunning fighting troops but were instead able to rely on steady, battle-tested veterans, competent field and staff level generals, Grant's solid but not brilliant strategizing, and most importantly, sheer weight of numbers. Four, of Pemberton's men, the best, by far, were the two brigades led by John Bowen. Cockrell's Missourians and Martin Green's Arkansans and Missourians were far and away the crack troops of the Army of Vicksburg. They were the ***** they knew it, and the Federals respected them considerably for their fighting prowess. Bowen takes his licks, mainly for his dislike of Pemberton and the occassional insubordination he was guilty of. Nonetheless, Bowen seems to be a more-than-competent division commander. As I recall, he fell ill shortly after the campaign and died suddenly. That's something of a shame as he seemed to be a fine commander with above-average skills.
I'm not done with the book by any stretch and the storied siege is yet to come but thus far I must say I like the book and Grabau's style. My one knock is that the maps (very crucial to the way he tells the story, particularly with his emphasis on georgraphy and topography) are all at the back of the book. As a result I find myself flipping back and forth with huge chunks of text sandwhiched between each hand. If the maps were placed within each chapter I think that would be more helpful.
Has anyone else read this book yet? If so, what are your thoughts and how would you compare it with other works on the campaign?
Kind regards,
Fred Baker
Comment