Donnybrook: The Battle of Bull Run, 1861

This book is excellent in every way: comprehensive, well-written and well-researched, aspects which do not always accompany each other. The author explains fundamentals in such a way that non-Civil War buffs can understand, but still conveys the more technical and detailed information that enthusiasts demand. I cannot recommend this book too highly.

David Detzer brings an excellent finale to his three book series on the start of the civil war. While not a revealing story of little known events like the first two he provides a different take on the battle of Bull Run. Details of the battle are given within this book but it is not your typical civil war book and the lack of maps is more intentional since it really is about the political fallout and what the military on both sides learned from their encounter. From the defeat of the Union and the retreat to Washington and the rising of Civil War legends like "Stonewall" there is a little something about every side in this book. There is not an inherent bias and what is nice is the coverage of peripheral armies such as those stationed in the Shenandoah, Western Virginia and Harpers Ferry showing their impact on the battle. It is a complete overview and for those who are starting out on civil war history it is a great first book to read. For the more advanced reader of civil war history there is also plenty to gleam since the coverage goes into many areas not looked at as comprehensively by other books. Very highly recommend to those interested in this era of US History.

In a rainy dawn on 22 July 1861 the Federal troops of Gen. Irving McDowell began stumbling into Washington. Many men were so exhausted and broken that they literally dropped to the wet ground and slept. The Battle of First Bull Run had ended, and because initial newspaper censorship had been so effective, the Washington residents were largely unaware that the day before the Confederate army under Gen P. G. T. Beauregard had successfully... well, not defeated the Federals exactly, but certainly repulsed them. Spanked them, if not whipped them. The collision of these two armies, the significant -- and fascinating -- details of that day and the weeks leading up to it, and the kaleidoscopic nature of battle are the subjects of David Detzer's Donnybrook: The Battle of Bull Run, 1861. He does a masterful job of explaining the sometimes vast difference between battle plans on paper in that age, and what happened in reality, and why. If "donnybrook" can be applied to approximately 40,000 (engaged) troops clashing for hours in regiments and companies and unorganized groups, untried, and confused for most of that day, then Bull Run was indeed a donnybrook. What could go wrong mostly did go wrong, and what went right on both sides was largely blind luck. Detzer's ability to evoke the physical and psychological conditions of a Civil War battlefield makes this book particularly absorbing. The heat, dust, weariness, dehydration, and lack of discipline had already affected the troops on both sides in trying to reach the expected enemy, to the point that men broke ranks throughout the day to devour handfuls of ripe blackberries in an effort to quench their thirst. Many died with faces equally stained by cartridge powder and berry juice. This was the largest land battle yet fought on American soil, with the railroad just coming into military use, and Detzer captures the uncertainty and ineptness of so many commanders, West Point professionals and Mexican War veterans, confronted with grand strategies gone awry by reality and bad maps. This book is not definitive because the history of no battle is. Detzer realizes that, and says so, but he does organize the pieces well and turns them up for closer examination.

Detzer has written one of the better overviews of the campaign and battle of First Manassas or Bull Run. Detzer succeeds with this book for several reasons. First, the book is very easy to read and is broken down in manageable chunks. Detzer further broke the book down with the events before and after the battle. This allows the reader to take everything in and not get too overwhelmed. Second, the mini-biographies of all the players and participants are a good intro to many differing personalities. Third, Detzer has used many, many resources in bringing this book together. Fourth, Detzer does something that few military historians do--he explains to the reader what things like caissons are, how the armies were divided up, and introduces the reader to military jargon and ranking systems. While this may be boring for those with more military knowledge, novices will find this refreshing and helpful. Fifth, Detzer has cut through the legends surrounding this battle and gone right for the truth. He admits that sometimes only conjecture can be applied due to lack of resources, but cuts through many legends and debunks them. Finally, Detzer humanizes the battle. Many military historians tend to just talk about troop movements, casualty lists, and the high ranking commanders while passing over the common soldier. Detzer does not make this mistake. In fact, Detzer argues, very convicingly, what a role such things as heat, dust on a march, lack of water, and lack of food could play on commanders' overall schemes as often times soliders could not, or would not, carry out grand ideas for tactics due to fatigue or hunger, something often overlooked by other military historians. Detzer also, refreshingly, talks about how ludicrous it is to dismiss any battles as minor (as some historians have done with Manassas) due to a lack of casulaties. As Detzer points out, 1 dead soldier leads to many broken hearts. However, there are a couple negatives. First off, as many others have already pointed out, there are no maps. Books about battles should always have maps. Detzer tries to explain the topographical elements as best he can, but maps are needed. Also, Detzer does seem to have a slight anti-Southern bias and while that doesn't keep him from giving kudos to Southern soldiers and leaders, he does sometimes seem overly harsh or petty when writing about the Confederates. Finally, Detzer's writing style is unique (he adds lots of little tidbits in parentheses, just like this) and takes some getting used too. Overall, this ranks amongst the best military history books I have read and is certainly one of the best on Manassas. A good read for a novice or hardcore military history buff.