First Blood (Civil War)

Rating:
Summary: The Eastern Theater of the Civil War, April-July 1861
Review: "First Blood: Sumter to Bull Run" by William C. Davis and the Editors of Time-Life Books is the second volume in The Civil War series. Chapter 1, "The Shadow War," covers the rush on both sides by young men eager to go off to war while the politicians continue to posture. Chapter 2, "The Soldier's Craft," looks at the plans of General in Chief of the Army, Winfield Scott to execute the war and the state of military training at the start of the war, including the textbook procedure on "How to Load a Rifle." Chapter 3, "Action on the Flanks," details the initial skirmishes of the war and the events leading to the creation of the state of West Virginia. The First Battle of Manassas (I am in the "winner gets to name the battle" camp on this one) is covered in the final two chapters. Chapter 4, "The Battle is Joined" brings the armies together on the field while Chapter 5, "Verdict on Henry House Hill" details the turning point of the battle and the beginning of the myth of "Stonewall" Jackson. This volume relies more on photographs than most of the others in this series, providing dozens of pictures of the innocent lambs going off to the slaughter without a clue that war is not a grand romantic adventure. My biggest complaint about the books in this series is that they simply fall apart if you read them a lot. The pages come away from the binding, which ends up being a big gray folder. This is a shame, because this is an enjoyable illustrated collection for Civil War buffs to own.

Rating:
Summary: The Eastern Theater of the Civil War, April-July 1861
Review: "First Blood: Sumter to Bull Run" by William C. Davis and the Editors of Time-Life Books is the second volume in The Civil War series. Chapter 1, "The Shadow War," covers the rush on both sides by young men eager to go off to war while the politicians continue to posture. Chapter 2, "The Soldier's Craft," looks at the plans of General in Chief of the Army, Winfield Scott to execute the war and the state of military training at the start of the war, including the textbook procedure on "How to Load a Rifle." Chapter 3, "Action on the Flanks," details the initial skirmishes of the war and the events leading to the creation of the state of West Virginia. The First Battle of Manassas (I am in the "winner gets to name the battle" camp on this one) is covered in the final two chapters. Chapter 4, "The Battle is Joined" brings the armies together on the field while Chapter 5, "Verdict on Henry House Hill" details the turning point of the battle and the beginning of the myth of "Stonewall" Jackson. This volume relies more on photographs than most of the others in this series, providing dozens of pictures of the innocent lambs going off to the slaughter without a clue that war is not a grand romantic adventure. My biggest complaint about the books in this series is that they simply fall apart if you read them a lot. The pages come away from the binding, which ends up being a big gray folder. This is a shame, because this is an enjoyable illustrated collection for Civil War buffs to own.