Thursday, December 6, 2012

Quantitative study of Overland Campaign

I'm a big enthusiast of military numbers studies and what they can tell us. Unfortunately, these emerge in published book form only rarely in our Civil War universe. The latest addition will be Lee's Army During the Overland Campaign: A Numerical Study by Alfred C. Young III (LSUP, 2013).  Quantitative studies are most widely useful when campaign numbers and losses comparisons over time figure largely in the accepted historical narrative, and one can argue that the 1864 Overland Campaign is the best example of this.

2 comments:

  1. Drew,

    Great point about the Overland Campaign. It struck home because I've been browsing through the Southern Historical Society Papers looking for Petersburg content, and speeches as early as 1885 were already creating the myth of an unstoppable horde of Union soldiers in 1864. I'm looking forward to this one with great interest, and I hope a follow-up volume is done on Petersburg and Appomattox.

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    Replies
    1. A book I should get around to revisiting someday is Steve Newton's numbers and OB book for the Confederate army in 1864.

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