Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Booknotes: "The Bloody Fifth"

New Arrival:
"The Bloody Fifth" The 5th Texas Infantry Regiment, Hood's Texas Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia: Volume 1: Secession to the Suffolk Campaign by John F. Schmutz (Savas Beatie, 2016).

Taking advantage of the industry's mid-summer lull, this publisher is grabbing the spotlight and releasing new titles at a fairly furious pace. I was impressed with John Schmutz's Crater battle history from a short while ago and he's remaining on the Virginia front with his first regimental study "The Bloody Fifth". The first two chapters cover the 5th Texas's organization and its first winter in the field. The rest of the book explores the regiment's role in the Peninsula, Second Bull Run, Maryland, Fredericksburg, and Suffolk campaigns. There's the usual array of fine battle maps and the publisher's commitment to using footnotes rather than endnotes. The bibliography is saved for the second volume, so there's no easy way to assess at a glance how many soldier letters, diaries, and memoirs were found. According to the description, the "study is based upon years of archival battlefield research that uncovered hundreds of primary sources, many never before used". The first appendix consists of organizational profiles of each company while the second offers a lengthy series of biographical sketches (some quite substantial) of individuals, men and women, in some way associated with the unit.

3 comments:

  1. Thanks for this, Drew.

    John's second volume, "Gettysburg through Appomattox," is done and edited. It will be formally announced for the Spring 2017 catalog, but might appear before that. You will be impressed with the bibliography. Lots of previously unseen nuggets and stories here.

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  2. Hello Drew
    Thanks for the information on this title, I've got it ordered and looking forward to second volume. I hope that Ted is right and if may appear early.

    You are right it appears that Savas Beatie is publishing at a a furious pace. Looking forward to many upcoming titles. SB sends out a nice monthly newsletter that shows what is upcoming and under contract. These and many others look very promising.

    Confederate Waterloo
    Decision at Tom's Brooks
    Truth Massacred, Battle of Fort Pillow
    The Soldier's General, G.K. Warren
    3rd Vol of Chickamauga - Powell
    Campaigns and Battles Of N.B. Forrest
    Sheridan Berringer's books on Thomas Rosser

    Don H.

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  3. Thanks Don. Appreciate you support. I hope you liked the first of what may well be an occasional column by "Kenya." :)

    The new and amazing Trudeau book on Lincoln as at the printer now, and Confederate Waterloo will go to the printer in two weeks, and Chickamauga 3 in one week; Tom's Brook is now out and available. Happy reading.

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