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How the South Could Have Won the Civil War: The Fatal Errors That Led to Confederate Defeat |
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You Are Here: Home > History Books > Civil War > Item 26
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How the South Could Have Won the Civil War: The Fatal Errors That Led to Confederate Defeat
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by Bevin Alexander
Sales Rank: 36809
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$12.97
At Amazon
on 6-23-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Hard Cover with 352 pages
Published by: CrownEdition: 1st Edition December 31, 2007
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0307345998
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0307345998
Book Dimensions:
9.3 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
Weighs: 1.2 pounds
From Publishers Weekly
Military historian Alexander (Lost Victories et al.) offers a well-reasoned brief that lays the blame for the Confederate defeat in the Civil War primarily on President Jefferson Davis and Gen. Robert E. Lee, and their war-long insistence on conducting toe-to-toe frontal assaults against the much-stronger Union Army. Alexander argues that had Davis and Lee listened to Gen. Stonewall Jackson, things very well could have turned out differently. Jackson—and like-minded generals Joseph E. Johnston, Pierre G.T. Beauregard and James Longstreet—warned against conducting an offensive war against the North. Instead, they advocated waging unrelenting war against undefended factories, farms, and railroads north of the Mason-Dixon line, bypassing the Union Army and winning indirectly by assaulting the Northern people's will to pursue the war. While Alexander convincingly argues that there was nothing inevitable about a Southern defeat, he is no Lost Cause advocate. Instead, he presents well-drawn and clear-eyed tactical and strategic analyses of the war's most crucial battles (including First and Second Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg) to buttress his contention that had Jackson not perished in May of 1863 (and had Lee and Davis adopted Jackson's strategy), the South just might have won the Civil War. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From The Washington Post's Book World/washingtonpost.com
Alternative history is an alluring parlor game. Pick a crucial historical event -- Gettysburg, say -- and try to pinpoint exactly where things started to go wrong for the losing side. That's what military historian Bevin Alexander does in his latest book, How the South Could Have Won the Civil War.
Alexander argues persuasively that the wartime policies of President Jefferson Davis and the military strategy of Gen. Robert E. Lee led to the failure of the Confederacy. Had Davis and Lee listened to Gen. Stonewall Jackson, the South might have won. Some battles and campaigns -- including the Shenandoah Valley and Seven Days campaigns, Second Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and those that ended with the final surrender at Appomattox, which all led to awesome loss of life -- might not have been fought at all.
Jackson wanted to bring the war directly into Union territory. He would have moved the Confederate army "north of Washington, where it would threaten Baltimore, Philadelphia, and the capital's food supply and communications," writes Alexander. By destroying vital industries, thereby undermining the Union's means of production and livelihood, Jackson hoped "to win indirectly by assaulting the Northern people's will to pursue the war." Alexander also contends that Jackson's tactics of "maneuver," rather than the frontal assaults favored by Lee, would have led to fewer casualties, an important point given the difficulty of replacing soldiers from the comparatively small Southern population.
Alexander's opinions are firmly stated, but his assertions are not always well documented. There is no evidence that I am aware of that Union Gen. George Meade "ordered the entire Union army to retreat back to Pipe Creek" in Maryland from Gettysburg on June 30, 1863. Nor does Alexander provide any proof for this. He may be referring to Meade's so-called Pipe Creek Circular, a contingency plan the general never implemented.
How the South Could Have Won the Civil War echoes chapters from two of Alexander's earlier books, Lost Victories and Robert E. Lee's Civil War. Even the chapter headings are essentially the same. It is not clear why Alexander felt compelled to repackage these previous works for public consumption, since the arguments he made in them are not substantially changed. Yet, despite the book's limitations, readers who are unfamiliar with Alexander's earlier works will find How the South Could Have Won the Civil War thought provoking and informative.
Copyright 2008, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved.
Reader Reviews
A Southern military victory was never impossible even if it was highly unlikely. In the years since the Civil War, a number of points in the war were selected as places where a different result could have produce a Southern victory. All these points ended with Gettysburg and ignore the Western Theater. This concentration on Robert E. Lee and his army is in keeping with the historical importance they hold in the Southern view of the war. Bevin Alexander supplies a very readable book on why a different course was possible. This is not a balanced book that gives the "could have won" position couple with the reasons and/or statements supporting the historical action. This book embraces each of the "could have won" position with no dissenting voice. Stonewall Jackson is the key element in the author's arguments. Jackson is pushing Lee, Lee's orders trump Jackson's strategy, Jackson's actions produce total victory while the actions Lee & Davis only delay defeat. The author produces some interesting gymnastics in maintaining the position that Jackson was the CSA's best hope of victory. James Longstreet is villain or hero, depending on the battle. At Second Manassas, Longstreet delays attacking until Pope is in a position to escape destruction. At Gettysburg, Longstreet is the champion of Jackson's ideas fighting and overly aggressive Lee trying to save the South. People who read Civil War history will be troubled by many of the author's conclusions and should find a number of misstatements. This is not to say that the author plays fast and lose with the truth but that he tends to over state his position and be carried away by his arguments. What is right with the book? First, it is an excellent compilation of the position of where the South could have won the war. Most of the major battles from First Manassas to Gettysburg are examined and reasons to expand or secure victory given. Second, this is a very readable and enjoyable book. While disagreeing with the author on almost every point, I enjoyed reading his arguments. Next, this book, unlike most of this kind, acknowledges the western theater. At a couple of places, the author notes how the western campaigns are creating problems in Richmond and the politics of east vs. west in Lee's army. Lastly, it is not a bad summary of the war in the East through Gettysburg. Readers can use this as an introduction to the subject or as a review of these positions. After reading this book, be sure to check each of the theories and find out why they are considered questionable. This is NOT a Myth of the Lost Cause or the South Will Rise Again book. This author has spent the time to catalogue the how and the where that could have changed the course of a war.
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How the South Could Have Won the Civil War: The Fatal Errors That Led to Confederate Defeat
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Price: $12.97
Updated on 6-23-2008.
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