The bloody crucible of courage Fighting methods and combat experience of the Civil War

This massive study of Civil War weaponry, tactics and combat practices covers so much so well that it's indispensable; it's also so densely written that even series students of the conflict may find it slow going. The author, a distinguished independent scholar, has written similar studies of the 18th century's wars (The Anatomy of Victory) and Napoleonic ground combat (With Musket, Sword and Cannon), and here, as in those books, is politely revisionist. Civil War generals were not ignoramuses who mindlessly pitted mass infantry formations against rifled muskets, but men who had studied the revolution in both tactics and weaponry in more detail than is usually allowed in conventional Civil War historiography, of which the author has no high opinion. (It also neglects the prewar roots of the ironclad ship, which Nosworthy does not.) The need for a revolution had not been proven in 1861, and the outstanding merit of the book is the way it pulls into a single narrative how that revolution was completed-or in some cases not completed. Competent officers soon learned that the rifle was potent but not invincible, until it became a repeater (which it should have been in the Union Army by 1863) and the riflemen were snug behind field fortifications, supported by rifled artillery. But the smoothbore Napoleon (for Napoleon III, be it noted) saw out the war because of its greater mobility, and the much derided bayonet retained a psychological impact and the cavalry saber a physical one, both at close quarters. With its first-hand accounts, diagrams and all-in-all exhaustive coverage, this volume is an exceptional reference. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Nosworthy's multilayered study connects the experience of the major Civil War engagements from First Manassas to Petersburg with the fighting methods available to the troops involved. The author (With Musket, Sword, and Cannon: Battle Tactics of Napoleon and His Enemies) emphasizes the notable differences in the fighting characteristics between the armies of the North and South, between the federal and rebel forces in the eastern and western theaters, and among the services one was attached to-infantry, artillery, cavalry, and navy. The book provides the context needed to appreciate the overall place of the Civil War in the historical evolution of military thought and practice. On a secondary level, Nosworthy blends the story of newly emerging weapons (arms introduced much earlier in Europe) and the stubborn resistance by high command and soldier alike to such innovations as rifled muskets and cannon. The work's drier facts and figures are frequently enlivened by dramatic personal descriptions of what it was like to march from dawn to dusk or fight in a large-scale action. In a far-ranging conclusion, Nosworthy cautions all who investigate the Civil War against the pitfalls associated with professional chauvinism, overspecialization, and historicism. A fine read and an indispensable reference tool, this book is recommended for all military science and Civil War collections and all libraries.-John Carver Edwards, Univ. of Georgia Libs., Athens (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.