Booknotes (Nov 07)

Regular rundown of book purchases and review copies received:

To Take Charleston: The Civil War on Folly Island by James W. Hagy (Pictorial Histories, 1993). I read this one earlier in the year and just got around to purchasing a copy. It's an interesting illustration-heavy book that's out of print, but a few reasonably priced copies remain on the market.

Lone Star Blue and Gray: Essays on Texas in the Civil War ed. by Ralph A. Wooster (Texas State Historical Association, 1995). This volume collects sixteen previously published journal articles dealing with political, economic, and military aspects of Texas' Civil War.

Blockaders, Refugees, and Contrabands: Civil War on Florida's Gulf Coast, 1861-1865 by George E. Buker (Fire Ant Books / Univ. of Alabama Press, 2004).
A fine study of the Union coastal blockade and disruptive inland operations, in cooperation with the significant Unionist element of Florida's population.

Blood, Tears & Glory by James Bissland (Orange Frazer Press, 2007). This is a textbook style, narrative history of the entire war that focuses on the contributions of Ohio politicians, soldiers, and civilians. However, the role of (mid)westerners in the achievement of ultimate Union victory is so well documented in the literature at this point that there is little reason to maintain that their efforts continue to be overlooked. Issues raised by the needlessly off-putting How Ohioans Won the Civil War subtitle aside, B,T&G appears to follow a familiar path for the seasoned Civil War reader.

Guerrillas, Unionists, and Violence on the Confederate Home Front ed. by Daniel Sutherland (University of Arkansas Press, 1999). This is another great essay compilation from U. of Ark. Press. Well known experts contribute eleven chapters covering an aspect of home front violence in a particular state. Excellent.

Camp Chase and the Evolution of Union Prison Policy by Roger Peckinpaugh (University of Alabama Press, 2007).