Читать книгу The Bay State Monthly, Volume 3, No. 5 - Various - Страница 2

By George Lowell Austin

I

At the present time, everything bearing upon the history of the American civil war has special interest. Nearly a quarter of a century has passed since the struggle began, and during the interval asperities have died away and peace and harmony hover over a united people.

During the war and in the years immediately following its cessation, a number of soldiers and civilians wrote histories, on the Union side, some of these being careful and exhaustive studies of limited fields of action, and others of the entire field of operations. It necessarily happened, however, that, owing to misconceptions arising from their opposite points of view, their lack of personal knowledge, and the absence of authentic documentary evidence, these writers were not always able to penetrate the plans and purposes of the Confederate leaders, or even to describe with entire accuracy the part borne by the Confederate troops in particular engagements.

As time goes on, the deficiency is being met, and the memoirs of those Confederate soldiers and civilians who bore a prominent part in the struggle, either in the field or the council chamber, and who had a full knowledge of the facts, are fast coming to light, and are perused with more than common interest by military actors and students. The true and exhaustive history of the civil war cannot be written until all the facts shall have been made known. Even then, the reader must always bear in mind who states the facts, and also that the truth is oftener found in the memoir of some gallant and straightforward soldier than in that of a politician.

Of the myriad of bound volumes and pamphlets called forth by the war, a very large number have long since been consigned to oblivion. Many of these were written to bolster up personal ambitions, interests, rivalries and jealousies, while as many more were composed, without regard to facts, to gain dollars and cents. Of none of these productions need anything further be said.

Comparatively speaking, there were but few books relating to the war and published during the war that deserve to be recalled. After the war, quite a number were issued, and, within the last ten years, a large number have appeared, all destined to rank as "authorities" for the future historian. The purpose of the present series of articles is, to give such information in regard to these publications, as shall guide students in mapping out a course of reading, and shall assist persons entrusted with the selection of standard books on war history for use in city and town libraries.

The suggestions and information herein offered are, at their best, only random notes. No special plan, or classification, will be followed by the writer; his sole aim being to include only what is absolutely worthy and "authoritative."

THE AMERICAN CONFLICT:—A History of the Great Rebellion in the United States of America, 1860-64: Its Causes, Incidents, and Results. Intended to exhibit especially its Moral and Political Phases, with the Drift and Progress of American opinion respecting Human Slavery, from 1776 to the close of the War for the Union. By Horace Greeley. Illustrated, 2 volumes. pp. 648, 679. Hartford: O.D. Case and Company.

This work was composed, with the aid of an amanuensis, in the early hours of the morning, before the beginning of the editorial tasks of each day. Mr. Greeley's long connection with the Tribune, as its editor-in-chief, tended to make him more familiar with American politics from 1830 to 1860 than almost any other of his contemporaries, and when he proposed to himself to write the history of the American civil war, he could justly claim to have full knowledge of the causes which had led to it. In the preface to his first volume (1864) he stated frankly that "the History of the civil war will not and cannot now be written." All that he hoped to accomplish, then, was to write a political rather than a military history of the great struggle. He succeeded, and his work deserves to rank as one of the most valuable, and, so far as it goes, accurate and impartial narratives of the contest.

The first volume treats chiefly of the causes and events which culminated in secession, while the second volume (1866) depicts, without embellishment, the military and political victories which ended in the restoration of peace. The author cherished the belief that the war was "the unavoidable result of antagonisms imbedded in the very nature of our heterogeneous institutions: that ours was indeed an 'irrepressible conflict,' which might have been prevented."

In its military portions the work is decidedly weak, and much of interest and value is omitted. For facts, the author relied chiefly on Moore's Rebellion Record, Victor's History of the Southern Rebellion, (embracing important data not found in the Record) and Pollard's Southern History of the War. After a later survey of the war-literature, Mr. Greeley felt justified in the candid claim that his work "is one of the clearest statements yet made of the long chain of causes which led irresistibly to the war for the Union, showing why that war was the righteous and natural consequence of the American people's general and guilty compliance in the crime of upholding and diffusing Human Slavery."

This work won such popular favor that it soon reached a sale of one hundred thousand copies. But when, in 1867, its distinguished author signed the bail-bond of Jefferson Davis, its sale was suddenly checked. The act was an unselfish one; its propriety, however, was questioned by many persons. Whether, on account of it, Mr. Greeley be blamed or applauded, his work merits commendation as a valuable authority on the political history of the American civil war, and ought always, as such, to be consulted.

THE HISTORY OF THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA:—Comprising a full and impartial account of the Origin and Progress of the Rebellion, of the various Naval and Military Engagements, of the Heroic Deeds performed by Armies and Individuals, and of Touching scenes in the Field, the Camp, the Hospital, and the Cabin. By John S.C. Abbott. Illustrated. 2 vols. pp. 507, 629. Norwich. Conn: The Henry Bill Publishing Company.

The author of the Life of Napoleon Bonaparte was never too particular in regard to his facts, but those which he made use of he could array with such skill as to completely captivate the judgment of the unwary. In his History of the Civil War, all the enthusiasm of the writer, his easy flow of rhetoric, his vast fund of anecdote, and his characteristic inability to discriminate between truth and falsity, assert themselves. The chief importance of the work consists in its treatment of events, as army-correspondents saw them, and, hence, it comprises many minor features, usually omitted by more sober historians. As a political history, it is almost worthless; as a military history, it is even worse. Still, it possesses a marked value, for the reason already stated, and is attractive by reason of its numerous illustrations, all engraved on steel from original designs,—comprising portraits, battle-scenes, diagrams and maps. The first volume was printed in 1863; the second in 1865.

A HISTORY OF THE CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA:—By The Comte de Paris. Translated with the approval of the author. Edited by Henry Coppee, LL.D. 3 volumes. 8vo, pp. 640, 820, 954. Philadelphia: Porter and Coates.

The first volume of this work was published in 1875, the second in 1876, and the third in 1883. A fourth volume is now in course of preparation, and will conclude the series.

The prime qualifications of a historian, dispassionateness and thoroughness, are everywhere manifest in the splendid work of the Count of Paris. His is the first attempt to produce a full and complete history of the civil war, based upon official records both of the North and of the South. The whole narrative exhibits unsparing and successful research, calm judgment, temperance alike in praise and censure, and an earnest endeavor to deal justly and fairly with both sides of the great conflict and the actors in each. There are chapters in the work which will always provoke discussion, and some of the author's conclusions in special instances may be controverted; still, the great merits of the work, as a whole, cannot but be generally and cordially recognized.

The work is distinctly a military history, without, however, ignoring purely civil transactions when an account of them is needed to throw light on the military movements. The author's theory, relative to the origin of the war may be stated thus:—The South saw that, as the North increased in prosperity, it was decreasing, and was losing the balance of power which it had always held since the adoption of the Constitution. It determined, therefore, to force slavery into the new States and Territories; and, failing in this, it foresaw but two alternatives,—either to give up the cause as lost, or to initiate a conflict and a satisfactory peace from its opponents. It chose the latter, and was thwarted.

The first volume treats of the American army, past and present, of Secession, and the events of the war to the Spring of 1862; the second volume continues the narrative of events from Gen. McClellan's Peninsula Campaign to the issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation. The author, in considering the relations of the commanding general to the administration, praises the former and blames the latter; and, in commending the campaign, shows himself a poor master of the art of war, and in some respects an indifferent critic of practical military operations. The Count of Paris wrote these chapters in 1874.—twelve years after the events, and with ample testimony at his command. It is strange that he could not reach the conclusion, then and now commonly held, that McClellan's treatment of President Lincoln throughout his entire career seems to have been highly insubordinate and apparently based upon the idea that he regarded himself as the nation's only hope, forgetting that to a free people no man has ever become indispensable, however powerful his intellect or exalted his virtues. Barring certain conclusions which are open to easy controversion, the narrative is exceedingly careful, graphic, and in the main truthful.

The third volume (1883) is translated and edited by Col. John S. Nicholson of Philadelphia, and covers the eventful year 1863,—the operations and movements on the Rapidan and the disaster to the union arms at Chancellorsville,—the movements upon Vicksburg, Gettysburg, and the retreat of Lee's array to Virginia. Closer attention is paid, in this volume, to the legislation, administration, finances, resources, temper, and condition generally of the North and the South, and valuable accounts are given of the organization at the North of the signal corps, the medical and hospital service, the military telegraph, the system of railroad transportation for military purposes, the soldiers' homes, and the sanitary and other commissions.

As a whole, and so far as published, the work purports to give an accurate account of what took place in all quarters of the theatre of war, and is generally successful. It never errs on the side of partisanship, but occasionally through ignorance or misapplication of facts. From first to last, it is an honest and straightforward narrative, at times eloquent and at times vivacious. The reader is bored by no flights of rhetoric; but students will always lament a lack of philosophical tone and critical appreciation of men and events. The maps and plans, which are numerous and are furnished from official sources, are all that could be desired.

REMINISCENCES OF FORTS SUMTER AND MOULTRIE IN 1860-61. By Abner Doubleday, Brevet Major General, U.S.A. 1 vol. 12mo pp. 184. New York, Harper & Brothers.

The author bore an honorable and responsible part in the actual outbreak of hostilities between the national government and the revolted states, and in this book he gives a simple and faithful recital of some of the more important facts. Though so misrepresented by certain critics, the book is not an attack on Major Anderson's character; on the contrary, it clearly shows, and attempts to show, that that commander firmly subdued all considerations and devices which seemed inconsistent with his duty as a soldier of the United States, and held himself ready to be sacrificed to the trust given him. General (then Captain, 1st artillery U.S.A.) Doubleday was at Fort Sumter during the bombardment, and, as might be expected, his volume gives many incidents of the life of the little besieged band, and of the siege itself, which appear here for the first time, and which throw fresh light upon the conduct and principles of both parties to the conflict. As a personal narrative, it is one of the most charming and instructive relating to the war. The book was published in 1876.