Shiloh: Bloody April

The title gives you my thoughts on this book. No library should be considered complete unless it contains a copy of this book. This is the original "definitive" study on Shiloh and has never become dated. Sword combines excellent scholarship with readable informative writing. This produces an enjoyable learning experience for a person new to the battle and the experienced student. Shiloh is the first large battle of the war. This resulted in a learning experience for both sides, officers and enlisted men. These inexperience soldiers showed how brave they could be. At the sametime, they showed how important training and experience is. This horrific two-day battle shocked Americans, as they took the first step toward understanding the real price of war. The battlefield is wooded broken land. The battle is a confused affaire fought over a three-mile front. The battle lines are never a stable as units move forward or fall back. Shiloh never has the long stable battle lines of Gettysburg. In the hands of a less skilled author, the battle can quickly become incomprehensible. Sword's skill couple with an intelligent design of chapters and excellent maps keeps this from happening. While first published in 1974, a "Corrected Edition" was released in 2001. This edition contains information that was not available in 1974. This is only a consideration if you are buying on the secondary market. The "Corrected Edition" is clearly marked and contains a special preface by Wiley Sword.

Too many modern Civil War historians fail to describe the essence of the battles: the fighting and the killing. They spend lots of space on the personalities of the generals and the movements of the armies and regiments, but way too often they fail to convey any real sense of the drama that takes place when the soldiers actually open fire. Sword is one of the few exceptions. His narrative enables you to visualise what the fighting might have been like and he leaves you in no doubt as to how the battle was fought. In addition to being a wonderful storyteller, Sword is a first-rate researcher, and his narrative is superbly documented throughout. This is by far the best book on the battle of Shiloh. Others may have dug up a few letters or diaries that Sword missed, but none of them can present their research like Sword. He certainly deserves 5 stars. My only criticism is that maps could have been better. The terrain with the woods and open fields should have been shown more clearly and some more maps showing the situation along the whole front would have made the book even better. That said, I still think that the maps are adequate and helps you understand how the battle unfolded.

Wiley Sword's "Shiloh: Bloody April" has been in my library for 30 years now. Every so often I take it down and read through it again, partly to refresh my knowledge of the battle and partly to remind myself what good historical narrative is. Like all good modern historians, Sword weaves together a third-person account of this critical battle with excerpts from diaries and letters written by the participants. While more recent accounts of the Battle of Shiloh have delved even deeper into the primary documents, Sword's book remains a classic both for the extensive research that went into it and for its clear and concise prose.

Although published "way back" in 1974, Wiley Sword's Shiloh: Bloody April still proves to be one of the best books on the subject. The book proves to be well written and narrative of the battle provides interesting insights and perceptions. The book remains relatively unbias in nature. The author writes critically about leaders of both armies while understanding that sometimes, mistakes happens! The author provides good background material to the battle before and after. I am not sure what the previous reviewer wrote when complaining about lacks of maps. I thought 18 maps provided in the book was more then enough. This book belong in Civil War library of anyone who have such an interest.

Sword has written a well-researched and detailed history of the battle. There's a good balance between coverage of military movements and personal stories. My only complaint is the same that I have for every other book of this type - not enough maps to give the reader a totally clear picture of events. Nevertheless, I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in the battle of Shiloh.