Brigadier General John d Imboden: Confederate Commander in the Shenandoah

Rating:
Summary: A sound, solid and somewhat dry biography.
Review: While many Confederate leaders, especially those from Virginia have been the subjects of numerous biographies; Brigadier General John Imboden is an exception. For that matter the war in western Virginia gets very little attention, unless of course Stonewall Jackson was there. Hopefully, this book will help to change all that. Spencer Tucker has written a good account of General Imboden's military career that actually does more to enlighten the reader as to the situation in western Virginia during the war than it does anything else. One actually gets more of a feel for Jubal Early than for Imboden even though Early is only a player in this story for a short while. Make no mistake, this is a military biography and Imboden the man will not be found here. For example, the deaths of four of Imboden's five wives are usually covered in no more than two or three sentences each, and his run for Lieutenant Governor during the war doesn't even take up a whole paragraph.

Tucker does do a good job of tracing Imboden's military exploits and calls into question the General's recollections of the war when the evidence is against him. In other words, Tucker is very frank in his observations and Imboden does not come over as a great fighter or leader. The battles are fairly well explained but a few more maps would have been nice. Tucker also seems to have done his research but I can't help but feeling like there is much more to Imboden than is portrayed in this book. It could be that personal correspondence from the General no longer exists but whatever the reason Tucker never seems to get beneath the surface of his subject. The writing style is also fairly dry and the book is a little tedious in places.

Still, Tucker does manage to help the reader see into the times of General Imboden, if not his personality, and the reader will see the sacrifices of both Imboden's men and the citizens of western Virginia during the war. Strangely, while Tucker never captures Imboden, he does do a good job of describing the overall situation in western Virginia and the often-overlooked strategic importance of the area. Basically, this is not a great book but it has a place in helping tell the whole story of the war. A story that involves many facets, many areas of fighting, and many men and women who never seem to make the history books.

Rating:
Summary: A sound, solid and somewhat dry biography.
Review: While many Confederate leaders, especially those from Virginia have been the subjects of numerous biographies; Brigadier General John Imboden is an exception. For that matter the war in western Virginia gets very little attention, unless of course Stonewall Jackson was there. Hopefully, this book will help to change all that. Spencer Tucker has written a good account of General Imboden's military career that actually does more to enlighten the reader as to the situation in western Virginia during the war than it does anything else. One actually gets more of a feel for Jubal Early than for Imboden even though Early is only a player in this story for a short while. Make no mistake, this is a military biography and Imboden the man will not be found here. For example, the deaths of four of Imboden's five wives are usually covered in no more than two or three sentences each, and his run for Lieutenant Governor during the war doesn't even take up a whole paragraph.

Tucker does do a good job of tracing Imboden's military exploits and calls into question the General's recollections of the war when the evidence is against him. In other words, Tucker is very frank in his observations and Imboden does not come over as a great fighter or leader. The battles are fairly well explained but a few more maps would have been nice. Tucker also seems to have done his research but I can't help but feeling like there is much more to Imboden than is portrayed in this book. It could be that personal correspondence from the General no longer exists but whatever the reason Tucker never seems to get beneath the surface of his subject. The writing style is also fairly dry and the book is a little tedious in places.

Still, Tucker does manage to help the reader see into the times of General Imboden, if not his personality, and the reader will see the sacrifices of both Imboden's men and the citizens of western Virginia during the war. Strangely, while Tucker never captures Imboden, he does do a good job of describing the overall situation in western Virginia and the often-overlooked strategic importance of the area. Basically, this is not a great book but it has a place in helping tell the whole story of the war. A story that involves many facets, many areas of fighting, and many men and women who never seem to make the history books.