Stonewall Jackson at Cedar Mountain

385 pages for a 5 1/2 hour battle tells you just about everything you need to know. Krick is very thorough in depicting the battle and is also forthright in warning the reader that he is sometimes delving into supposition and making logical conclusions from the facts at hand. His writing is reminiscent of Gordon Rhea as is his detail. Good maps. I am hard pressed to see how this added to Stonewall's reputation as Bank's men, far outnumbered, kept Jackson from interrupting the consolidation of Pope's Army of VA. This book should stand as the definitive work on the battle.

In my humble opinion, Krick has written an excellent account of a small-scale and largely forgotten but bloody battle. Compared to Gettysburg, Antietam, Chickamauga, Vicksburg, and a host of other larger Civil War battles, Cedar Mountain has been largely forgotten. Fortunately, Krick has taken the time to produce an excellent account of what Stonewall Jackson himself admitted was his finest battle. Krick manages to weave accounts of combatants of both sides with vivid battle actions and excellent descriptions of various terrain features that figured prominently during the battle. The book also contains something several other Civil War studies lack - excellent and ample maps. The maps are of excellent quality and help the reader better understand the flow of battle. I haven't visited the battlefield since the mid-1990s but plan to return in the near future. Krick's title will be an invaluable aid for better understanding the battle during my next visit. Read and enjoy. Highly recommended!

Over several decades I have read thousands of Civil Warbooks, and this is one of the best ever! It should be required reading for anyone researching and/or writing about any aspect of the Civil War. Mr. Krick's masterful study of the battle makes any further account superfluous; it hasthe suspense and excitement of a novel. And, after all, whybother with fiction when such superb historical books areavailable? Excitement and education - what could be better?

I became interested in Cedar Mountain after visiting the battlefield.(very well preserved,BTW.)Returning home I searched for books on the battle.Finding this one I bought it promptly,and have enjoyed it a lot.Krick did an excellent job in providing a rich look at the events.Instead of dry facts,he protrays the story accurately but holds your attention well.I was fully into the battle,almost as if I was there.His writing,along with the very nice maps,will give you the entire story of what Stonewall Jackson called his greatest battle.(And his last as an independent commander.)

If you enjoyed James I. Robertson's brilliant biography of Jackson, please read Krick's masterwork. By focusing on this one battle, Krick takes the time to create rich visual images and build the action. He has a suberb way of approaching an exciting scene from one soldeirs perspective, then approaching from someone elses, slowly building a three dimensional image of the impending action. Believe me, this isn't one to miss!