1. Young General and the Fall of Richmond: The Life and Career of Godfrey Weitzel
by G. William Quatman (Ohio UP, 2015).The title implies an eastern theater emphasis, but Quatman covers Weitzel's entire military career at length, with his biography quite advanced past the mid-point of its war coverage before Weitzel even joins the Army of the James. I'm concerned about the "keen research into archival sources" claim in the description as there's no evidence of it in the bibliography, which is only 4 pages in length and comprised almost entirely of published materials.
Well. One book arrival in two weeks. Much like last summer, this winter's anemic input is stressing the machinery. CWBA is a one-man operation that nevertheless insists on consistent output. What this has meant is 1-2 reviews per week basically uninterrupted for 10 years! Essential to the smooth running of this system is a large, regularly replenishing pool of review candidates of all sizes from which to choose. Interesting 150-200 page length studies are a godsend to my ability to bank enough reviews for much needed breaks and also to allow enough breathing room to take on occasional monster tomes [like David Powell's almost 700-page Chickamauga vol. 1]. I keep an internal master list of book prospects projecting roughly 6-8 months into the future and the Bell Curve-y first half of 2015 is not helping my newfound crankiness:
JAN - 1
FEB - 2
MAR - 7
APR - 15
MAY - 5
JUN - 2
Drew: I'll be disappointed if this book hasn't explored whatever archival, etc. sources might be out there. As I pointed out previously, Weitzel was my ancestor Isaac Foskett's first company commander in the Army of the Potomac (U.S. Engineers Battalion, Co. C) before departing in early 1862 for promotion and other fields.
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