The Maps of the Wilderness

An Atlas of the Wilderness Campaign, Including all Cavalry Operations, May 2-6, 1864

by

Bradley M. Gottfried

 We have all read about how Napoleon and Marshal Berthier would crawl over maps during their campaigns. I think possibly that image in my mind started a lifelong love of maps. I love to look at all maps but especially campaign and battle maps. I believe it gives me, and others, a much-needed visual representation of the histories we are reading.

 These books by Bradley M. Gottfried completely switches the program from what we military history readers are used to. Instead of the prose being the main part of the book, in this case the maps are the real headliner. The descriptions are not inferior; in fact, far from it. It is just we are finally given exact and easy to read and follow maps of a campaign or battle. This is in comparison to many very well written military histories that have two or three maps that look like they were drawn by a second grader. This is actually the fifth in this series of books by the author. I can easily recommend all of them to the reader. They are:

The Maps of Gettysburg

The Maps of First Bull Run

The Maps of Antietam

The Maps of Bristoe Station and Mine Run Campaigns

 This book easily measures up to its elder brothers. The confusing and claustrophobic fighting of the Battle of the Wilderness is finally brought into the light of day. The books written about the battle are sometimes hard to follow because of the complete confusion on the part of the actual participants. They sometimes had no idea of where they were, let alone where the units on either side of them were at any given time. The painstakingly drawn maps clears up all of that confusion. 

 In conclusion, if you have any interest in the Battle of the Wilderness, or the American Civil War in general, this book is a must have for your library. While you are ordering it at Savas Beatie please take a look at the rest of the series.

 Robert

Book: The Maps of the Wilderness

Author: Bradley M. Gottfried

Publisher: Savas Beatie

 Detour to Disaster

General John Bell Hood's "Slight Demonstration" at Decatur and the Unravelling of the Tennessee Campaign

by

Noel Carpenter

 This is a small book which is just over 160 pages in length. The book is also printed in large type, so it is not a hard read by any measure. The center of the book has fifteen pages of black and white photos of the people mentioned and towns of the area. The book is followed by three appendices. The first one gives and Order of Battle for the Army of Tennessee. The next is a list of ferries and fords across the Tennessee River between Chattanooga and Florence. The third is the evacuation order for the people living in and around Decatur Alabama.

 Lieutenant General John Bell Hood has lost Atlanta and a good portion of his troops trying to attack General William Tecumseh Sherman and stop him from taking the city. Hood now comes up with an audacious plan. He will do exactly what Sherman has decided on doing except in reverse. Sherman plans to cut his lines of communication and march from Georgia to the sea. Hood intends to cut his lines and head north trying to pull Sherman after him. The disparity between the forces makes Hood's campaign not only a desperate chance, but one that in hindsight is almost assuredly useless. The author tells the story of the beginning of Hood's campaign and Hood's 'Detour to Disaster'.  

 On page 146 the author uses some quotes from other historians about Hood's campaign plans. "An impossible dream" another wrote "Hood's activities after Sherman left Atlanta (to follow Hood) seemed to have been scripted in never-never land".

 However, a lot of other pundits believe that had Hood acted with more speed his campaign would have been successful. General Beauregard, in his report, said that the original plan "would have led to the defeat of Thomas ... if executed without undue delay and with vigor and skill". Which, as the author shows, was not done. Hood's four lost days at Decatur pretty much put paid to the entire campaign. In the Epilogue the writer explains what happened next in Hood's Tennessee Campaign.  Hood was given a last chance to destroy a large part of the Union force against him before the Battle of Franklin, but once again victory was turned into defeat. This would lead to the tragic and useless battles of Franklin and Nashville.

 This is a great book that shows off the truth of the expression "for the want of a nail". It also should be required reading for anyone trying to sift fact from fiction during Hood's days in army command. Unfortunately, we lost the author in 2000. In his retirement he dedicated twelve years to research and write this book, and it shows in this detailed account. Thank you, Savas Beatie, for allowing me to review this book. I do not know anywhere near enough about the Western Campaign in the Civil War. I am just starting to fill that gap and this book has done its job admirably.

Robert

Book: Detour to Disaster: General John Bell Hood's "Slight Demonstration" at Decatur and the Unravelling of the Tennessee Campaign

Author: Noel Carpenter

Publisher: Savas Beatie

They Came Only to Die: The Battle of Nashville, December 15–16

by

Sean Michael Chick

 

 I knew of the author long before I saw this book because he is a prolific wargame designer, and a very good one at that. So, I was very curious to see how his writing compared to his game designing skills. Not that I really had a doubt in my mind. I just wanted to see how much of a crossover there actually was.

 The Battle of Nashville was certainly a battle that did not need to be fought. Lieutenant General John Bell Hood was in charge of the of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. Hood had started the Civil War in Virginia commanding a brigade of Texans. As a brigade, and later division, commander he was in the Army of Northern Virginia under General Robert E. Lee as one of its finest officers. He was wounded in the left arm at Gettysburg; the arm was left pretty much useless. Then his division was sent west with the rest of Lieutenant General James Longstreet's corps to fight under Lieutenant General Braxton Bragg. Hood fought in the Battle of Chickamauga where he was wounded in his right leg, and it had to be amputated. After his recuperation he was first made a corps commander under Lieutenant General Joseph E. Johnston in the Army of Tennessee. He then replaced him and became commander. So, he was a field commander of an army with only one leg and one arm and constantly in pain from his wounds. He fought the Union General William T. Sherman for the city of Atlanta and lost. At this time Hood came up with a plan for his Franklin-Nashville Campaign. In a nutshell, the plan was for Hood's army to go north and in doing so force Sherman to follow him. This did not happen because the size of Hood's army was no more than the Union troops defending Tennessee. This put into motion the terrible battles of Franklin and Nashville.

 The author shows us the background to the Battle of Nashville and also the history that led each of the commanders during it. He says that many times Hood has been excoriated in print and that he does not deserve it. He feels he was a commander who was put into a desperate situation and did the best he could under the circumstances. The situation that the Army of Tennessee was in, lacking almost everything that an army needs, even before their invasion of Tennessee, is shown to the reader. The actual battle and the terrible retreat that the Army of Tennessee faced in the middle of winter is explained in detail.

 The author also gives us little biographies of every commander that is mentioned in the text. The book is full of black and white pictures of the combatants and the different areas of the campaign. The one thing that I love are the maps. These are as clear and full of information as a reader could possibly want. 

 This is an excerpt from the book:

"Total Rebel losses in two days of battle were at

least 6,000 with 4,462 prisoners. Fifty-three cannon

were in Union hands. Federal losses were at least

3,000. With most casualties coming within a few hours

at the end of each day, Nashville had a fairly high loss

rate per hour. In addition, it was the most lopsided

victory achieved by an attacking army in the Civil War,

with the possible exception of Five Forks and Sailor’s

Creek, which involved fewer troops and casualties

than Nashville."

 

  The book ends with many descriptions and photos of what the intrepid amateur historian will find when going to the many historic sites mentioned in the book. I have read several of the great books that are in the Emerging Civil War Series from Savas Beatie. I am pleased to say that this volume follows in its older brothers' footsteps. This is a perfect introduction to someone who just wants an overview or a reader who plans to dig into the subject more deeply. Thank You Savas Beatie, for allowing me to review this very good volume on a little-known part of the war in the west.

Robert

Book: They Came Only to Die: The Battle of Nashville, December 15-16, 1864

Author: Sean Michael Chick

Publisher: Savas Beatie

 

 The Maps of Spotsylvania through Cold Harbor:

An Atlas of the Fighting at Spotsylvania Court House Through Cold Harbor, Including all Cavalry Operations, May 7 through June 3, 1864

by

Bradley M. Gottfried

 If you ask most readers of military history what they find most annoying in some history books the answer will be the lack of maps. However, to me that is not the most annoying. The thing that will set my blood pressure higher than anything is poor unreadable maps. We have all seen it. A book has one to three maps in it that looks like either a Rorschach test or something drawn by a four-year old. If you are going to add maps to your books, please look at them. I cannot believe that these things that pass for maps are just gleefully published by editors. The addition of good maps helps the reader immensely when they are trying to discern not only what happened but also why it happened.

 Savas Beatie has been publishing a group of books that are a complete one-eighty turn from the books I mentioned above. However, some readers take umbrage at books that have 'maps' in the title. They believe that it is really just a picture book for adults and while the maps are done well, they will have to read a second book on the actual battle/campaign to really know the history.

 So, with these books Savas Beastie has hit the perfect middle ground. The maps are gorgeous and give you not only troop placement but also the terrain. You can see exactly why this or that regiment was disorganized when it moved up to its position. You also get the written history to further explain what is actually happening and why.

 One side note about the actual 'wilderness' areas both before and during the Overland campaign that Spotsylvania etc. were part of. These areas were 'new growth' and not older forests. If you go to the battlefield today it is very easy to not understand the problems the troops had compared to what you are walking through. Now you can easily go off trail and walk between the trees etc. In 1864 the trees were all still young with many branches obscuring anything except the man in front or behind you.

 It is hard for us in the 21st century to understand the amount of sheer bloodshed and horror that took place in the areas shown in this book. The casualty figures are absolutely insane for the small amount of ground that is shown and discussed. You can easily drive for only five to ten minutes to get from one part of these maps to another. 

 This is from the author about the other books in the series and the idea behind them:

"I began the overall project with The Maps of Gettysburg in 2007. It continued in 2009 with two more installments: The Maps of Chickamauga (by David Powell and David Friedrichs) and my own The Maps of First Bull Run (2009). I continued the series with The Maps of Antietam (2012), The Maps of Bristoe Station and Mine Run (2013), The Maps of the Wilderness (2016), The Maps of Fredericksburg (2018) and, most recently, The Maps of the Cavalry in the Gettysburg Campaign (2020). All of these titles have been reprinted at least once (and several many times) and all of them remain in print today. 

 This series uses maps and precise facing-page text to visualize the action and thus better explain and understand a military campaign. There is no better way to understand military actions and no book can contain enough maps. Coverage herein is intended to be neutral. As anyone who is familiar with this series will attest, its purpose is to offer a broad and full understanding of the subject matter rather than a micro-history of a particular event or day."

 At least in this book the author has met and exceeded his ideas for the series. It is so much easier to understand military history with well-done maps for you to look at in between reading passages.

 The book itself covers a lot of ground. Not only do you get full maps of the Battle of Spotsylvania, you also get to read and look at the Battles around the North Anna and then end up with the foolish Union attack at Cold Harbor. All of the cavalry engagements that took place during the same time period are also given the full treatment. 

Two of the excellent maps in the book.

 This book, and the entire series, should be a part of any history lover or wargamer's library. I will definitely be picking up The Maps of the Wilderness and a few others. Thank you, Savas Beatie, for allowing me to review this very good book.

Robert

Book: The Maps of Spotsylvania through Cold Harbor

Author: Bradley M. Gottfried

Publisher: Savas Beatie