1. Petersburg 1864-65: The Longest Siege
by Ron Field and Peter Dennis (Osprey Publishing, 2009).I don't know when I'll get to this one, so take a look at Brett's review on TOCWOC. Osprey has a couple of interesting titles (to me, anyway) coming up for release later on in the summer from their Elite Series - American Civil War Railroad Tactics
(mid August) and American Civil War Guerrilla Tactics
(late September).2. A Thousand Texans: Men of the 9th Texas Cavalry by Stephen S. Kirk (Two Trails, 2009).
This is the second of Kirk's regimental/roster studies of the units of Ross's Texas cavalry brigade (go here for a review of the first, Sul Ross' Sixth Texas Cavalry: Six Shooters & Bowie Knives).
3. The Battle of Blackwell
by John Hampton Hollingsworth (Two Trails, 2007).Books about the Civil War in SE Missouri are rare, and this serviceable booklet (78 pages) is the first to cover Missouri State Guard Brig. Gen. M. Jeff Thompson's attempt to break the Federal railroad communications between St. Louis and Pilot Knob.
Two comments. The cover illustration shows Union troops overrunning Fort Gregg. A cannoneer of the Washington Artillery of New Orleans is firing a last round. When ordered to surrender or be shot, he replied, "Shoot and be damned!"
ReplyDeleteThose of us who have worked at or near the Petersburg battlefields believe that there was no siege of the town, certainly not a true siege, because Lee's army was never completely surrounded and thus cut off from resupply and reinforcement. We call it the Petersburg Campaign.
It's nice to see someone try to tackle the whole campaign. Too bad with Osprey's format it's only 96 pages. Maybe someday someone will write THE huge book on the campaign.
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Chris