2003-01-08 Shades of Lee's Lieutenants

This book is the long awaited Union counterpart to the classic "Lee's Lieutenants" by Douglas Soutall Freeman. Freeman's incomparable work charted the high command of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia through its formation, the glory years and the annihilation of this proud army during the American Civil War. It features high on the favourites list of all serious Civil War scholars and general Civil War readers alike for its insight, the grandeur of its syle and the colourful drama of its subject. Russel H Beattie has now stepped up to deliver the Union equivalent and has set himself a challenging goal. The layout and even the look, feel and tone of the book owe much to the gravity of Freeman's work but the content is entirely original. Navigating confidently the choppy waters of the first year of the war, Beattie explores the dilemma of finding suitable commanders for a rapidly expanding volunteer army, and its grafting onto a tiny Regular Army nucleus. Personalities later to become familiar as senior army, corps and division commanders make their entrances as lieutenants, captains and majors. The struggle to form and lead a jumble of inexperienced soldiers and officers is well described. The First Battle of Bull Run is narrated from the Union side in tremendous and enlightening detail - exploring the strengths and all-too-frequent foibles of the key personalities with critical insight. The emergence of McClellan is covered intensively and all the positives and negatives of his influence on the neophyte command are revealed. This throws helpful light on later events as the instability of the army's basic foundations are exposed. The book stands high in my estimation mainly because of the originality of its research. Relying heavily on original manuscripts and much new material, Beattie does not re-hash accepted opinions and reputations, but he questions and investigates afresh. This is not a book for readers unfamiliar with the war or its course. Heavy demands are made to recognise names and incidents and readers must have a good familiarity with surrounding events and their relation to get this microcosm of the war in perspective. Beattie's style is lively and relies heavily on reported dialogue to give it the kind of freshness evident in Freeman's work - yet it is up to date and is refreshingly authoritative and measured. If the remainder of the series matches this first volume it will bear favourable comparison with Freeman's illustrious forbear.