Booknotes (May '13)

New Arrivals:

1. Rethinking Shiloh: Myth and Memory by Timothy B. Smith (U of Tenn Pr, 2013).

Sort of a follow up to The Untold Story of Shiloh, this new collection has nine essays (presumably original in part or whole). From the description: "The topics range from a compelling analysis and description of the last hours of General Albert Sidney Johnston to the effect of the New Deal on Shiloh National Military Park and, subsequently, our understanding of the battle. Smith’s careful analyses and research bring attention to the many relatively unexplored parts of Shiloh such as the terrain, the actual route of Lew Wallace’s march, and post-battle developments that affect currently held perceptions of that famed clash between Union and Confederate armies in West Tennessee".

2. The Last Days of Stonewall Jackson: The Mortal Wounding of the Confederacy's Greatest Icon by Chris Mackowski and Kristopher D. White (Savas Beatie, 2013).

This new paperback is a revised and expanded edition of the authors's 2010 Thomas Publications hardcover of the same main title (and part of Savas Beatie's lavishly illustrated series Emerging Civil War). The 2nd edition has numerous appendices, looking at subjects like Jackson's Lexington, his post-mortem legacy, and the physical monuments dedicated to him.

3. Columns of Vengeance: Soldiers, Sioux, and the Punitive Expeditions, 1863-1864 by Paul N. Beck (U of Oklahoma Pr, 2013).

Among the battles covered in Beck's brief overview are Big Mound, Dead Buffalo Lake, Stony Lake, Whitestone Hill, and Killdeer Mountain. Also of interest is Beck's attempt to revive the Civil War context of these campaigns.