Booknotes V (April '14)

New Arrivals:

1. Scouting for Grant and Meade: The Reminiscences of Judson Knight, Chief of Scouts, Army of the Potomac edited by Peter G. Tsouras (Skyhorse Publishing, 2014).

A prolific author probably best known for his alternate history works, Peter Tsouras here edits the memoir of Judson Knight, which was original published as a National Tribune serial. Knight began his Civil War service as a scout for Philip Kearny. Leaving the army due to illness after Antietam, Knight resumed his intelligence gathering activities for the Overland, Petersburg, and Appomattox campaigns. Including reminiscences from William Landegon and Anson Carney, the book is actually more than Knight's writings. In addition to inserting editor's notes and informational boxes within the main text, Tsouras also contributes source notes in the traditional format.

2. Last to Join the Fight: The 66th Georgia Infantry by Daniel Cone (Mercer UP, 2014).

Organized during the summer of 1863, the 66th was a relative latecomer to the war, fighting in the 1864 Atlanta and Tennessee campaigns. It's commander, Colonel James Nisbet, published the 1911 memoir Four Years on the Firing Line but Cone's book is the first regimental history for this Army of Tennessee unit. A slim study, Last to Join the Fight is both a summary of the 66th's service as well as a demographic analysis of the men in its ranks.