Booknotes II (April '12)

New Arrivals:

1.  George Henry Thomas: As True As Steel by Brian Steel Wills (Univ Pr of Kansas, 2012).

As happens so often in Civil War publishing, coverage of some areas is feast or famine with several new works appearing over a short period of time after an extended empty stretch. This has certainly been the case with Thomas bios. My first impression is that this one will stand head and shoulders above the others. We shall see.

2. From Western Deserts to Carolina Swamps: A Civil War Soldier's Journals and Letters Home edited by John P. Wilson (Univ of New Mexico Pr, 2012).

Published ten years ago, Wilson's When the Texans Came: Missing Records from the Civil War in the Southwest, 1861-1862 is a particular favorite of mine, a treasure trove of source material appearing in print for the first time. His new book From Western Deserts to Carolina Swamps is an edited collection of the writings of 7th US and later 50th Illinois soldier Lewis Roe. As the title suggests, the infantryman's journals cover both his time with the Regulars in the Southwest and with the volunteers of Sherman's army on their March to the Sea and beyond.