JEB Stuart: Lots to think about

          Eric J. Wittenberg and J. David Petruzzi produced a book about JEB Stuart’s contribution to the battle of Gettysburg titled, Plenty of blame to go around, Jeb Stuart’s controversial ride to Gettysburg.

          There will be no discussion here of Wittenberg and Petruzzi’s conclusions about Stuart’s ride around and sometimes into the Union Army in late June/early July of 1863. Interested readers of this blog can read the book themselves and reach their own conclusions. The book was published by Savas Beatie.

          The book does give a reader plenty to think about as it covers Stuart’s ride and the difficulties his cavalry encountered along the way. If you begin reading with a negative opinion of Stuart or just think poorly of the decision to go marauding at the beginning of Lee’s invasion of the North, you’ll find plenty of ammunition in this book.

          If you lean toward a more positive opinion of Stuart’s ride, you’ll find plenty of chances to resupply your ammo, too.

          This book is more about the controversy than it is the event itself, which makes it a fun read. Bring your opinion with you when you begin to read this book. Keep it right by your side.

          The decisions made by Confederate leadership at Gettysburg have been debated for 151 years now. There is plenty to debate. However, whether you revere the memory of Confederate commander Robert E. Lee or dismiss him a defender of slavery, one thing is clear: The fight at Gettysburg was not his finest military performance.

          Allowing Stuart to attempt a ride around the Union army at a time when Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was committed to an invasion of Maryland and Pennsylvania seems foolish today. Depending upon Stuart to stay in contact with the main Confederate force appears to be a colossal mistake today.

          And separating his army from the main portion of its cavalry arm at a time when he was leading his army into an all-or-nothing invasion of largely unknown territory? Hummmmm.

          Discussions of Stuart’s failure to be in the Gettysburg area on June 30 when his troopers were really needed must start with the decision to send him on a rompish ride to begin with and that permission came from Lee.

          Before you can opine that Stuart failed Lee, you must agree that Lee failed himself by not restraining Stuart’s desire for a ride around the Union army.

 

          Thanks for reading.

The Speedyleeway list of Civil War books

          Typically, this blogger looks for ways to reference yours truly without using the word I. Writers never want to be accused of having an ‘I’ problem. It is a challenge when writing something as potentially personal as a blog to avoid using the first person.

 

          Challenges, they say, help writers and this writer needs all the help he can get.

          So it is with an abundance of joy that I disregard the normal practice for this specific blog. I want to list my 10 favorite Civil War books.

          Before I do so, be warned that there are lots of Civil War books I have not read yet. There are a very few that I wish I had not read. There are some sitting around the house waiting to be read.

          There are no works of fiction on my list. Please feel free to put fiction on your list of Civil War faves, but my list is non-fiction works only.

          There is an Honorable Mention honoree: The Truth About Chickamauga by Archibald Gracie. The writing style makes this one difficult to read in spots, but it is a research classic. Be warned: Some experts refute some of Gracie’s conclusions.

          My list:

10. The Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference. There are several editors. I use it as a reference. Pretty smart, huh?

9. National Geographic Atlas of the Civil War, Neil Kagan and Stephen G. Hyslop.

8. Battle Cry of Freedom, James McPherson. This is a classic among Civil War books. Everyone should read it, if for no other reason than the understanding one can glean from it about our society.

7. After the War, David Hardin. An elegant look at the lives of some of the most interesting personalities of the war’s era.

6. Mosby’s Memoirs, John. S. Mosby. Obviously the battlefield information is engaging, but his post-war career and his relationship with U.S. Grant are fascinating.

5. Stand Fast Ye Boys From Maine, Thomas A. Desjardin. Just a well-written book about the Union’s far left on Little Round Top.

4. The Chickamauga Campaign, edited by Steven E. Woodworth. This is actually a compilation of papers about Chickamauga and Chattanooga. One very interesting paper is Bull of the Woods? about James Longstreet. An outstanding essay in a group of excellent papers.

3. Decisions at Gettysburg, Matt Spruill. For me, this book stands above others written about the controversies at Gettysburg. A very enjoyable read.

First runner up: Chancellorsville, Stephen W. Sears. This book gets a wow. Obviously, the story is well told. The writing is outstanding. This is a neat, neat work on an important battle. This was a fight full of interesting characters that were important in the narrative of the war. I’ve never been to Chancellorsville, but that is not a handicap when reading this excellent book.

1, 2: Yep, a tie. I cheated. First among equals is Carol Reardon’s brilliant work, Pickett’s Charge in history and memory. The title tells you the subject matter but it can’t give you a feel for the excellence of the writing nor the fascinating way the research is presented. Read this book.

The next equal is Gettysburg: A test of courage, by Noah Andre Trudeau. Think you know Gettysburg? Read this one, which includes plenty of maps with approximate time notations. Gettysburg was the Civil War’s battle royal and Trudeau gives it the royal treatment, a tremendous work.

The statisticians among you have counted and discovered 11 books on the list of 10. That’s because I now live in Big Ten country, where there are 14 member schools. Well, the idea is the important thing, right?

Thanks for reading.

 

The Toledo Mud Hens

          Remember the old television show MASH? The Corporal Klinger character’s back story was that he was from Toledo and he loved the Toledo Mud Hens minor league baseball team.

          If you grew up in California, you didn’t know for sure whether the Mud Hens existed. A script from the make believe world of sitcom TV is not generally a credible source of accuracy.

          Minor league baseball was a big part of the sporting landscape in California before the Dodgers ever made it west. No mystery there. But who knew if the Mud Hens really existed?

          Turns out they do. The Mud Hens are the Triple A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers and Thursday they played the Columbus Clippers, an affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. Toledo won 2-1, a high-quality, professional baseball game that was completed in roughly two hours, 25 minutes. There were no television timeouts, not many pitching changes and no manager replay challenges.

They just played baseball.

Well, okay. Between innings there were all kinds of activities. They threw balls into the grandstand, had contests for kids, had KissCam on the scoreboard and had mascots running around making people happy.

Fifth-Third Park in Toledo seats 9,806 and the game with the Clippers was Toledo’s 14^th sellout of the year. Simply put, the people of Toledo like their Mud Hens.

Most of the Mud Hens fans stayed after the game to watch the huge fireworks display, so if you scooted out you could watch the fireworks from the parking lot and still beat the traffic to the highway. Call that California Training.

A single seat in row H of section 106 puts you three rows behind the home dugout and cost $10. There is a charge if you call and order on the phone with a credit card, but when you do that, you speak to an actual person who helps you find the seat you want. This is a very helpful organization.

Parking directly across the street costs $10, but you can park a block away for $5. Two hot dogs, a large soda and a bag of peanuts is a package deal that costs $7. Programs are free and score cards are free. If you happen to forget a pencil or pen, that’ll cost less than $2.

The entire evening cost $32 and could be cheaper by parking a block away and remembering a pen or pencil.

The park opens at 5:30 p.m., food sales start at 6 and the game starts at 7. You can watch batting practice, although you probably will not be able to watch infield practice.

This is a high-quality, family oriented, fun place to be. Try it, you’ll love it.

 

Thanks for reading.