Civil Warriors

Ah . . . Fall. The leaves are changing, the temperatures are dropping, and, for the fourth and last time, a flood of books is rolling into my office at Fort Leavenworth, submitted by publishers for consideration for the Society for Military History’s Distinguished Book Awards. These awards are given in four categories: U.S., non-U.S., biography/memoir, and reference. Here is a chronicle of the awards given at the 2007, 2008, and 2009 Annual Meetings of the SMH. To go even further back in the history of these awards or find further information on the nominating process click here and here.

Since I suspect my duties chairing this august committee (the other members are Rob Citino, Pete Kindsvatter, Adrian Lewis and George Satterfield) this year won’t give me time to contribute much to this space between now and the time the committee makes its decisions in January, I figured at the least I could use it to document the growth of what my colleagues have dubbed “the pile”. At this point, we are still very early in a process that last year saw around 200 books nominated. Here is the pile as of this afternoon:

As you can see, its defense is in good hands thanks to a gift from the Singaporean officer I worked with this year.

Was in Manassas last week working alongside Gary Ecelbarger, Jeffry Wert, and Carol Reardon on the Penn State Alumni Association’s 17th annual Civil War Battlefield Study Tour. The program was titled: “Lee’s Masterpiece: The 1862 Battle of 2nd Manassas/Bull Run”, and consisted of a day of lectures and two days taking the seventy or so participants around to the various sites associated with the Second Manassas campaign. On day one, we started at Kelly’s Ford (with Carol in the lead), then went to Remington (Carol once again leading), Jeffersonton (me), Jackson’s march (Gary), Thoroughfare Gap (me), and ended with a long Brawner Farm walk (Jeff). The next morning we started at Manassas Junction (Gary and Carol), walked the Unfinished Railroad (Gary on Sigel’s attack, Carol on Grover’s, Gary on Nagle’s, and me on Kearny’s), then did Stone House (me), Groveton (Gary), walked Porter’s Attack (me), 5th NY (Jeff), and walked Chinn Ridge (Carol).

One of the many highlights of this great program (watching Gary, Carol, and Jeff work was of course another, as was getting one of the buses stuck in a ditch at Jeffersonton) was getting to see the area around the Brawner Farm and Deep Cut for the first time after the extensive tree-cutting that has recently taken place. As at Gettysburg, the effect is amazing–actually, “jaw-dropping” would be more accurate–and really makes for a better understanding of what happened. The first photo below is of two then-West Point cadets, Josh DeJournett and Dan Lawton, in front of the “Groveton Monument” with them facing toward the Deep Cut during a 2002 staff ride. The other photo was taken on Saturday and looks toward the monument (it is at right center, click on for a better, full size image) from the parking lot from where we began our walk of Fitz John Porter’s 30 August 1862 attack.

If your last visit to Manassas came more than two years ago, you will remember, like myself and the cadets in 2002, following a trail to find the monument in a clearing surrounded by trees and struggling to visualize S.D. Lee’s artillery firing into Porter from the Brawner Farm. Now the monument looks almost lonely out there by itself . . . but, man, what a fantastic development for students of the battle. The area on the other side of the cut has been cleared as well, so you no longer have to start out your talk about Baylor getting killed in an open field while trying to bring up the Stonewall Brigade with “imagine there are no woods here”.

Second Manassas has always been in my mind one of the most interesting campaigns of the war, and it is hard to think of one in the East that is better for military professionals interested in studying the operational level of war. Thanks to the work recently done on the field, its value for those interested in tactical events is now also high–although not as high as it would be if someone could figure out how to make that darned intersection less of a pain.

Cross-posted from Blog Them Out of the Stone Age

Education at the Army War College is delivered by way of twenty seminar groups, each consisting of about fourteen U.S. students and two or three International Fellows; i.e., foreign officers.   Faculty members from the three war college departments are assigned to specific seminars and teach that group and that group only.  Each group has its own seminar room.  And although seldom noticed, each room is named for an American general, with his name on the door and his photo and biography adjacent to it.

[NB.  The justification for cross-posting here is that seven were Civil War generals (though Scott, Miles, and Crook are associated mainly with other wars) and two -- Lee and Jackson -- arguably should not have seminar rooms because they were never generals in the *United States* Army.  Plus, you know, their participation in a rebellion against the United States.]

Here’s the thing.  The International Fellows (IF) program pays huge dividends to the Army.  As the program web page explains, its  objectives are

To establish mutual understanding and good working relationships between senior U.S. officers and senior officers of selected foreign countries.

To offer an opportunity for senior military officers from allied and friendly countries to study, research, and write on subjects of significance to the security interests of their own and allied nations.

To extend and deepen the professional qualifications of military leaders of other nations.

To enrich the educational environment of the USAWC.

To improve the Fellows’ firsthand knowledge of the U.S. culture and institutions through study and travel in the Continental United States.

These are all worthy objectives, but the first is hugely important, given the fact that most of the officers wind up in top leadership positions in their own armed forces.  (Root Hall has a wall festooned with portraits of foreign chiefs of staff who were graduates of the war college.)  As you might imagine, this kind of informal access can come in very handy at times.  The Chief of Staff of the Army, GEN George W. Casey, Jr., likes the program so well he has tasked the war college with doubling the number of IF’s, from 40 last year to 80 by 2012.  (This year’s resident class has 50.)

It is estimated that among other things, such a dramatic expansion will require the creation of four new seminar groups.  Which in turn will require four new seminar rooms.  Which in turn will require four new names.  I doubt that anyone has given the least thought to the issue of names — it’s got to be dead last among the considerations involved in doubling the IF program — but what the hell.  Here’s a chance to be of service to your country.

(Continued)

This fall I plan to attend the annual meeting of the Southern Historical Association in Louisville, Kentucky. where I’ll be chairing a session.  I suspect that this time I’ll finally meet fellow blogger Kevin Levin, who holds forth on the award-winning Civil War Memory.

There’s always something a little strange about meeting someone in person when you’ve dealt with them online (and, in Kevin’s case, over the phone) for some time.  Fifteen years ago I met Mark Grimsley at Louisville at another meeting of the SHA.  Moreover, I understand that at times Kevin’s blog arouses passionate and controversial discussions, and at times I’ve taken part in them.  There’s always something going on at Civil War Memory, it seems.

In the past I’ve suggested gifts for people to buy Kevin, including a black Confederate toy soldier that I came across at Gettysburg, and I know he loves Civil War art … well, at least some Civil War art.  But I’ve always been somewhat fascinated at the response some of his posts provoke.  If some people are to be believed, Kevin is the embodiment of all (or at least much) of what’s wrong with left-leaning liberal politically-correct professors who really don’t understand the South at all, especially the true meaning of the Confederate flag.  Some people just can’t understand why he can’t recognize the military service provided by thousands of African Americans who embraced the Confederate cause … and that cause, we are told, surely could not be the protection of slavery and a society based on slavery.  It was not until I was poking around a store in search of a toy for my six-year-old daughter (who has a fondness for Transformers) that I came across the real reason why Kevin frightens so many people, especially certain folks from the South.

It’s because he’s an alien force.  Really.  See the picture.  An ALIEN force.

And not just any alien force, it appears … but an alien force with his own action figure.

That’s right, an action figure.  NOT a doll.  And a very tricky action figure, because he wears a gray shirt, doubtless so he can infiltrate SCV meetings without being detected, so long as he does not betray his South Jersey accent.

However, if I were someone who froze in fear every time I learned that Kevin had fired another shot at the glorious Lost Cause on his blog (why the heck he does not put music on the blog, say, “Marching Through Georgia,” is a mystery to me), I really should calm down.  Because, where there’s an action figure, a voodoo doll is not far behind.  That’s right, Dixie Outfitters, here’s a chance to make a little more money.  Take on this enemy of the South, this corrupter of our children, this revisionist of all that is good and true and sanctioned by General Lee himself.  Why limit yourselves to t-shirts and bikinis and bandannas and all those other ways in which you pay touching tribute to the Confederate battle flag (I await the male thong) when there’s a voodoo doll market waiting for you.  No need to take out an ad or say some rather bizarre things on message boards about Kevin.  Just sit at home with your dolls … er, action figures … no, I mean voodoo dolls … and poke away.

(Note to George H. Thomas fanboys: too bad you didn’t think of this, eh?)