Booknotes IV (July '13)

An all McFarland version of Booknotes...

New Arrivals:

1. Scapegoat of Shiloh: The Distortion of Lew Wallace's Record by U. S. Grant by Kevin Getchell (McFarland, 2013).

I'm not sure if there's enough left to say on this subject to fill a new book length study with significant amounts of fresh information, but this one seems to center on Grant's choice of courier "a mistake that might have made all the difference. This assertion is supported by newly discovered documents written by an obscure Wisconsin quartermaster as well as evidence in official records."

2. The Confederate Surrender at Greensboro: The Final Days of the Army of Tennessee, April 1865 by Robert M. Dunkerly (McFarland, 2013).

Leaning heavily on a large volume of primary source materials of all types, this book gives the Greensboro surrender the level of treatment usually reserved for the more famous Appomattox ceremony. The author also includes a surrender-time Confederate order of battle and a walking tour of the NC town.

3. The 7th Tennessee Infantry in the Civil War: A History and Roster by William Thomas Venner (McFarland, 2013).

A roster history with the appearance of a more than respectable bibliography, the book takes the reader through the 7th's service in western Virginia and the grinding campaigns of the Army of Northern Virginia from the Peninsula to Appomattox.