Stonewall in the Valley

The book offers a detailed account of the Valley Campaign from the Confederate point of view, and Tanner does a really good job of getting into Jackson's mentality as the Campaign unfolded. Tanner acknowledges that his book only covers the Confederate actions in detail at the very beginning. So while we get a good account of how Jackson's army marched and faced Milroy, Fremont and Banks, the book doesn't explain the Union forces' inactivity and movements as much. Tanner maintains objectivity by critically analyzing Jackson's relations with subordinates and finding fault with Jackson. He also makes it very clear that while Jackson was clearly a strategic expert regarding maneuver, his tactics on the battlefield were nowhere near as good (and this important point becomes more obvious during the Seven Days and Second Bull Run).All in all a good account. More maps would have been nice but they were ample enough. Tanner did a good job of analyzing every critical aspect of a very complex campaign.

This is quite simply THE book to buy on the Valley Campaign. Tanner first wrote this book in the 1970's and updated it in 1996 after new light had been shed on the subject. I have been told by more than one person that this is the one book you need to read to understand the campaign. After finishing the book, I am absolutely convinced that this is the one book you must own on this campaign. Tanner covers everything from the Stonewall Brigade's reentry into the Valley all the way through the trip to Richmond prior to the Seven Days. Tanner analyses the action instead of just reciting what happened. He also offers more than one viewpoint in certain controversial areas of the Campaign. All in all a great book, and one that I'm glad to have in my collection. 599 pp, 14 maps

Generals such as Patton and Rommel were drawn to study Jackson's Valley Campaign because of the successful use of mobility and concentration of force in local engagements to overcome theater area force inferiority. "Stonewall in the Valley" is an incredible story, fundamental to an understanding of the ACW for amateur and professional historians alike. A testament to Mr. Tanner's zeal for history and accuracy was his willingness to go back and undertake a major revision, twenty years after initial publication of the original classic. It is rare that one can point to a signal source of this type as an undisputed, authoritative classic - Hennessy's "Return to Bull Run" and Coddington's "Gettysburg Campaign" are two other examples. Mr. Tanner's work is a success at every level. Whether discussing national politics or the effect of local roads on soldiers' shoes, the commentary is thoroughly researched and rendered with an understandable authority. He is equally adept at identifying and explaining causes and effects and debunking many of the popular myths that have arisen over the years. This is not another contribution to the plethora of Stonewall legend making compilations - this is a serious historical work which examines exactly what happened, the when and the how, the why and why not. There is a most enlightening addition in this revision which discusses the operational art of war - actions which translate overall theater strategy to local area tactics - in the context of Stonewall's Valley Campaign. Mr. Tanner bucks the trend in giving Joe Johnston some credit and in rendering just criticism of the mighty Stonewall where appropriate (more often and harsher than expected). If only we were so lucky as to have a treatment such as this for every other ACW campaign - we can only hope.

Probably the most detailed analysis of Jackson's Valley Campaign I have ever read. Tanner has gone to great length to document every detail of the classic campaign fought in the Shenandoah Valley in 1862. New evidence and extensive analysis are presented in an effort to explain some of the controversies of the campaign. Tanner's conclusions differ in some respects from the traditional explanations of some of Jackson's actions but he backs them up well in light of new evidence. The book will make for rather dry reading for those not interested in military history but for the Civil War buff and Jackson admirer it is the best account I have read of Jackson's career as an independent army commander.