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Unfurl Those Colors: McClellan, Sumner, and the Second Army Corps in the Antietam Campaign
written by Marion V Armstrong
Studio : University Alabama Press
by University Alabama Press
Publisher : University Alabama Press
Released : 2008-03-26
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9780817316006
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 2 reviews)
List Price : $39.95
Our Price : $23.97
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Excellent Study |
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Finally a campaign study by a soldier historian and not by some academic or amateur who has never served in the military! Very well written, great maps placed where you need them, plus a mastery of his subject. Some minor wrong details (at one point [p. 207] he calls Morris' brigade [Third Division Second Corps] one made up of new nine-month's troops when it was actually comprised of new three years soldiers), but overall this is a book to be savored in its details. Armstrong rehabilitates corps commander Edwin Sumner, writes a remarkably lucid narrative of the corps' actions throughout the campaign, and taps published and unpublished sources. This has to be one of the better books published on the Civil War in this century-the number is not slowing down folks. Both beginners and professional historians will learn from this work. Six stars. |
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Unfurl Those Colors - A Great Read! |
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Unfurl those Colors by Marion V. Armstrong is an excellent book for both general readers and Civil War aficionados. It greatly adds to the scholarship of Union corps-level operations during the Maryland Campaign, a rarely viewed subject. Mr. Armstrong explains the Napoleonic foundation for the corps with a focus on Major General Edwin Vose Sumner's Second Corps, the premier fighting corps in the Army of the Potomac. We get an excellent overview of the organization, leadership and weaponry of the Second Corps and the evolution of the command as new regiments are added virtually right up to the Battle of Antietam. Using a style very much like Joseph Harsh's classic treatment of Robert E. Lee in Taken at the Flood, we here follow the Maryland Campaign from George McClellan and Edwin Sumner's perspectives. Once the battle commences, we literally ride along with General Sumner as he leads Sedgwick's division into the West Woods. The author argues convincingly that Sumner's rationale for the movement configuration of Sedgwick's division was logical and in consort with his understanding of McClellan's orders. When the attack disintegrates, Sumner is instrumental in quickly recognizing the disaster and leading the shattered division away from further damage. Mr. Armstrong's coverage of the Sunken Road operations is equally masterful. He convincingly asserts that Sumner ordered French to assault the Sunken Road to prevent the Confederates from getting behind Sedgwick's division. He also believes that McClellan all along planned to strike the Confederate left with the combined might of the First, Twelfth and Second Corps. These two positions are certain to be debated by students of the Civil War everywhere. Replete with many well placed and detailed maps and organization charts, Unfurl those Colors is certain to challenge many conventional views on Edwin Sumner and may fundamentally change your appreciation for his leadership at the Battle of Antietam. |
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