Roll Call to Destiny: The Soldier's Eye View of Civil War Battles

An excellent book which describes actions of individual Civil War infantry, cavalry and artillery units within the context of the larger battle. Brent Nosworthy's research to enable the detailed descriptions of nine such engagements has obviously been meticulous.The author discusses how advances in weaponry affected Civil War battles. He also discusses how European military tactical theories of the time had their impact on American Civil War actions. The reader is given insight as to the role terrain, field works and fortifications played in the outcomes of these actions. There is an interesteting discussion on how Civil War historiography (how the war was viewed at different times) presented a challenge to the author in his effort to present accurate descriptions. He does well in meeting this challenge by giving the reader a nice balance of Union and Confederate viewpoints, but always with a view toward accuracy.The author has a dry sense of humor which sometimes comes to the fore to lighten things up a little. The bottom line here is the reader is given a down to earth picture of what the Civil War soldier experienced as a member of his individual unit in that unit's combat destiny.

I found this book an interesting review of how the Civil War was fought by the participants, men and officers in the ranks. Many books focus on the generals and their actions. This books strength is that it focuses on specific units in specific actions to demonstrate how infantry, artillery and cavalry interacted on the battlefield. The author has gone back to the original after action reports and commentaries to get the initial impressions for the participants and not the self-serving tracts of people defending their reputations. There are lots of maps and drawings. Some of them are hard to read because they are too dark, but generally they are helpful. I enjoyed the book and recommend it.

This book continues the research developed in Mr. Noseworthy's previous work on the Civil War "The Bloody crucible of Courage". The former book, an epic in its own right because of the ground breaking nature of analysis for evaluating Civil War combat and weapons' performance was largely theoretical in content. Here the author has drawn upon that same research to provide vivid descriptions of how Civil War combat was actually conducted, using the full array of tactics and weapons that were available at that time. Here then the Civil War fan will find the action content of Mr. Noseworthy's earlier research. Breaking his book down to an introduction and six chapters, this takes a careful look at various tactical situations in the conflict. Well known actions like First Manassas and Gettysburg are mixed with lesser known fare. Even in the better known actions Mr. Noseworthy manages to bring out little known tactical aspects that have often escaped most descriptions of combat in this conflict. Few books on the Civil War provide us an example to see how the troops actually fought, the formations they usually employed, and how the weapons performed in live-fire situations. Noseworthy has carefully drawn his comparisons to provide a rich example of different infantry vs. infantry, cavalry vs. cavalry and artillery vs. artillery combats. He also provides examples of how each arm fought against the others in a manner similar to what Keegan did in his famous "Face of Battle". Civil War combat studies often get mired in excessive examples of what captain so and sos company did against major so and sos. Because of the extensive nature of primary sources available on the Civil War, authors get carried away with the details of various named officiers on both sides and lose track of the narrative flow of combat. We thus learn a lot about various officers and their companies in many small action accounts, but somehow in all this detail we learn very little about how these units actually fought, and what means they employed for success (or failure)in their actions. Noseworthy tries hard not to get mired in this kind of detail, even though to some extent its unavoidable. The true strength of this book lies in how the author makes comparisons between methods of warfare in the past and present in regards to the Civil War. We thus learn that what regimental officers were trying to employ in the Civil War were taken from earlier examples of Frederick The Great and Napolean. This takes a lot of the mystique away from what we as Americans tend to cherish so much about our Civil War. The earlier wars in Europe, going back to the 18th century were examples that all the officers and generals of both sides drew upon for inspiration in their strategy and tactics. Somehow, in all the research that has taken place since the 1860s many historians have over-looked this fact. The desire to see the Civil war is a uniquely American conflict has distorted o

Civil War authors while knowable and good writers have special abilities that define their work. Stephen Sears brings battles to life on the written page. Steven Woodworth explains the inner workings of Confederate politics in a way that is fun to read. Eric Wittenberg captures the experience of the cavalry during the war. Gordon Rhea writes wonderful detailed accounts of the Overland Campaign's battles. Brent Nosworthy has the ability to personalize the experience of soldiering in the Civil War. This is his unique contribution to the history of the war and a major reason to read his books. He brings the techniques of soldiering and fighting onto the printed page in a way that makes the reader feel the experience. This ability produces an emotional and physical experience that can stay with you long after the book is completed. In the chapter on the Fifty-seventh New York at Fair Oaks, there is a section on marching in mud. Nosworthy conveys not only a description but creates a physical experience that places the reader in the mud trying to move forward toward battle. I have read many accounts of soldier's marching in the mud but none is the equal of this. The description will always be with me and whenever I read about mud and will help me understand what is happening. Burnside's Fight: The Struggle for Matthews Hill is a fine description of how a Brigade acts in battle. This is a detailed account of what it takes to handle a Brigade keeping in mind the condition of your men and trying to counter action's of the enemy. While detailed, the account is never boring and places us next to the commander during the fight. Burnside's Fight: The Advance to Bull Run Battlefield is a fresh look at the problems associated with marching inexperienced soldiers and trying to maintain a schedule. The Second Minnesota Infantry at Missionary Ridge and the Attack and Defense of Fort Sanders, round out the chapters on infantry combat. Each makes a real and unique contribution to understanding this experience. Artillery is not ignored. The Washington Artillery on Mare's Heights gives us the experience of working guns under infantry fire. The artillery's complex dance receives just enough detail to make us understand what losing a trained man means. Webster's Parrotts and the Attack against Arkansas Post, give us an account of how deadly good artillery fire is and how guns can dominate the battlefield. The chapters on cavalry are not on the same level as the infantry and artillery chapters. Cavalry versus Cavalry at Gettysburg, while not poor, has seen much better treatments. Little new is presented here. This is the weakest chapter in the book. However, the chapter on the Seventh South Carolina at Darbytown Road captures the grim reality of being the underdog but refusing to accept defeat because of it. The reality of the Overland Campaign is brought home as the Seventh is forced to retake ground lost the previous day. The book contain

Although in some ways Brent Nosworthy's new "Roll-Call to Destiny: The Soldier's Eye View of Civil War Battle" can be viewed as a companion to his previous, ground-breaking "The Bloody Crucible of Courage: Fighting Methods and Combat Experience of the Civil War," fundamentally "Roll-Call to Destiny" is independent of that earlier volume, written from a quite different perspective. Thoroughly grounded in firsthand accounts, "Roll-Call to Destiny" provides a vivid examination of combat during the American Civil War: infantry, cavalry, and artillery (and even naval, or at least riverine, action), from the beginning of the war until nearly its end, both Eastern and Western theaters, Union and Confederate. The focus is not principally upon the experiences of individual soldiers, but rather upon the activities of "small units" (usually, regiments or batteries, but also brigades or larger organizations, where appropriate) at several different battles, including First Bull Run, Gettysburg, and Missionary Ridge, but also lesser-known actions such as Arkansas Post and Darbytown Road. The author does not attempt to provide detailed accounts of the whole battles, but rather focuses upon one or more selected small units at those actions to illustrate numerous facets of Civil War warfare. He is particularly careful to link the theory and practice of such American combat to European military history and technical developments, showing how the American experience fit into a broader picture and that it is impossible to really understand the battlefields of 1861-65 without taking that broader picture into account. In several cases, the author challenges conventional wisdom and provides convincing new answers to old questions. Besides this innovative and insightful assessment of Civil War combat, "Roll-Call to Destiny" offers plenty of more traditional military history in the form of stirring narratives of dramatic episodes peopled by soldiers whose courage and skill rose to the occasion - or sometimes did not. This is a book that should be of great interest and value to anyone seriously interested in the real nature of fighting during the American Civil War. Even those who think that they have already read everything there is to be said on the subject will come away with new information and ideas. This is definitely a book that deserves a strong thumbs-up.