Comments on: General Lee’s Army

By: Bull Runnings

Bull Runnings — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:12:08 +0000

[...] on the topic of reviews, I sent an email to Joseph Glatthaar (author of the book I discussed here and here) the other day, and he was kind enough to respond helpfully. He went above and beyond [...]

By: Leftwich’s Gun Crew’s Rebuttal « Bull Runnings

Leftwich’s Gun Crew’s Rebuttal « Bull Runnings — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 05:37:12 +0000

[...] Bull Run persists, showing up as recently as Joseph Glatthaar’s General Lee’s Army (see here and here). And a new Lost Cause publication states that the Rebels faced the largest army ever [...]

By: Society of (Mostly) Civil War Historians Part II « Bull Runnings

Society of (Mostly) Civil War Historians Part II « Bull Runnings — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 02:13:11 +0000

[...] got me to thinking about some issues raised in Joseph Glatthaar’s General Lee’s Army (see here and here) about an inherent lack of discipline among males in Southern society and in the army. If [...]

By: Drew W.

Drew W. — Sat, 31 May 2008 03:35:42 +0000

Harry,
Yep, that’s the research I was getting at. Tenney has some methodology holes (e.g. he takes some regimental strengths from pre-Williamsburg returns listed in the O.R. and carries the same numbers over to the Seven Days) but they are good ballpark figures.

Drew

By: Harry Smeltzer

Harry Smeltzer — Sat, 31 May 2008 02:37:38 +0000

Drew,

The most recent work on the topic of numbers in Seven Days is Leon Walter Tenney’s 1992 GMU master’s thesis. I believe he had the numbers as 100K for the AotP, and 110K for Lee.

By: Drew W.

Drew W. — Fri, 30 May 2008 16:35:11 +0000

Harry,
It bugs me that historians continue to assert that McClellan significantly outnumbered Lee during the Seven Days, when the available evidence shows them to be roughly even at worst and more likely outnumbered by the Confederates when taking into account the Richmond defense forces (militia, heavy artillery, organizing units, other fixed units etc.).

By: Harry Smeltzer

Harry Smeltzer — Fri, 30 May 2008 02:28:24 +0000

Dmitri,

With 200 pages to go, I’m finding the book to be a mixed bag. Some good info on the makeup of the army, the soldiers’ reasons for joining up and fighting, their lack of discipline, their vandalism in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania – in those respects, not your father’s ANV – I doubt we’ll see this book raffled off at any SCV meetings. But in other ways the tale is sometimes shockingly conventional – dare I say wrong – in a DS Freeman sort of way. For instance, Glatthaaar states that the Confederate armies were outnumbered at First Bull Run, Seven Days, and Cedar Mountain. Hmmm…

And yes, the footnotes leave a whole lot to be desired. As for the research methodology, sample sizes, etc…, I haven’t tried to wrap my brain around that yet. A man’s got to know his limitations.

By: Dimitri Rotov

Dimitri Rotov — Fri, 30 May 2008 01:05:41 +0000

Puts me into a state of heightened crankiness. Am currently tabulating the research methodology outrages for a second post. First super-grumpy post is here:
http://cwbn.blogspot.com/2008/05/information-free-history.html

By: Out, Damn’d Spot! Out, I Say! « Bull Runnings

Out, Damn’d Spot! Out, I Say! « Bull Runnings — Wed, 14 May 2008 01:55:38 +0000

[...] making my way through Joseph Glatthaar’s General Lee’s Army (see here).The first four chapters, while they had lots of really good information, were a real chore to [...]

By: Mike Peters

Mike Peters — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:24:56 +0000

Harry,

Putting the footnote dilemma aside, I am enjoying Glatthaar’s latest.

I heard Joseph Glatthaar speak on this subject almost 2 years ago. He shoots holes in some long held myths. The conflict was not, as some would have us believe, “a rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight.” Also, there was widespread support for slavery across the board & not just from the aristocratic upper class. Glatthaar also contends the Rebel cause was not lost because the Union had more material & a numerical advantage.

Based on the lecture & what I’ve read so far, I would recommend the book.

Mike