Shenandoah 1862: Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign

by Peter Cozzens

Overview

One of the most intriguing and storied episodes of the Civil War, the 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign has heretofore been related only from the Confederate point of view. Moving seamlessly between tactical details and analysis of strategic significance, Peter Cozzens presents a balanced, comprehensive account of a campaign that has long been romanticized but little understood. He offers new interpretations of the campaign and the reasons for Stonewall Jackson's success, demonstrates instances in which the mythology that has come to shroud the campaign has masked errors on Jackson's part, and provides the first detailed appraisal of Union leadership in the Valley Campaign, with some surprising conclusions.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781469606828
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	02/01/2013
Series:	Civil War America
Edition description:	1
Pages:	640
Sales rank:	492,779
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Peter Cozzens is an independent scholar and Foreign Service officer with the U.S. Department of State. He is author or editor of nine highly acclaimed Civil War books, including The Darkest Days of the War: The Battles of Iuka and Corinth.

Table of Contents

Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. This War Is a Farce
2. Daughter of the Stars
3. They Ain't Rigged Out Like Uncle Sam's Men
4. The Dam[n] Trip
5. Our True Policy Is to Attack
6. Is Not War a Game of Risks?
7. Be Careful Not to Be Caught
8. Dangers Close Us Round on Every Side
9. We Are Very Hard Pressed Now
10. Keep That Army in the Valley
11. We Are in for It
12. It Seems Very Much Like Murder
13. General Jackson Was Completely Taken In
14. Vacillation Is Our Name
15. Now We'll Have War in Earnest
16. A Country to Fight For
17. God Blessed Our Arms with Victory
18. On Your Course May Depend the Fate of Richmond
19. Go It, Boys! Maryland Whip Maryland!
20. We Must Cut Our Way Through!
21. This Is a Crushing Blow
22. Attack at Daylight
23. A Question of Legs
24. I Was Never So Relieved in My Life
25. Save the Bridge at Port Republic
26. The Preservation of Our Army Depended on Us
27. I Have Lost Confidence in Frémont
28. All Has Gone Wrong Today
29. The Game Cock of the Valley
Appendix: The Opposing Forces in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign
Notes
Bibliography
Index

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Cozzens uncovered a gratifying body of new primary source material and provides a fresh chronological narrative of a major Civil War campaign."—Robert K. Krick, author of Stonewall Jackson at Cedar Mountain

Drawing from an impressive array of both Union and Confederate primary sources, Peter Cozzens has produced the most comprehensive and balanced study of the 1862 Shenandoah Valley Campaign to date. A fascinating, in-depth work of scholarship—and a great read!"—Kent Masterson Brown, author of Retreat from Gettysburg: Lee, Logistics, and the Pennsylvania Campaign

A real challenger for the title of best campaign study. . . . Cozzens' lively style combines first person accounts with his considerable skill as a storyteller."—James Durney, independent Book Reviewer

Editorial Reviews

Cozzens is . . . a master of Civil War military history at tactical and operational levels. He deploys a large body of unfamiliar primary material in this detailed analysis of a campaign less one-sided than the accepted view that it represented Union blundering and the triumph of Confederate planning and execution, signaling the emergence of one of history's great generals, Stonewall Jackson."—Publishers Weekly



A magnificent, well-documented study of one of the most important campaigns of the Civil War."—Washington Times



The definitive history of the Valley Campaign."—Army Magazine



A compelling chronological and bilateral narrative of the entire campaign from March to June 1862. Using primary source materials from both sides, Cozzens offers new interpretations of the campaign and of Stonewall Jackson's legendary success, which was not nearly as brilliant as it appeared but was as much the result of Union failure as the triumph of Southern arms. . . . Jackson's errors are covered here, as are those of a succession of Union commanders, all really learning their trade in these early stages of the war. Sure to become the standard work on the campaign, this book is strongly recommended."—Library Journal



A welcome, much-needed addition to Civil War campaign studies; valuable to scholars and enthusiasts alike. Highly recommended. "—Choice



Utilizing his extensive collection of sources, the author paints for the reader an excellent description of the region in which the campaign took place. . . . Cozzen's book, both in its research and scope, will certainly surpass Robert G. Tanner's impressive Stonewall in the Valley as the standard work on the 1862 Valley Campaign."—The Historian



A must read for those who want to develop a more complete understanding of this essential campaign in Civil War history."—Southern Historian



Has the mythos that surrounds Jackson the icon overwhelmed the human foibles and military failures that bedeviled Jackson the man? Cozzens offers a magisterial examination of the Valley Campaign to answer this and many other questions. He brings scrupulous research and a keen analytic eye to Jackson's logistics and tactics. The result is a vigorous account that captures both Union and Confederate perspectives and brings a much needed modern interpretation to one of the war's most storied campaigns."—Civil War Times



An incredibly learned and absorbing exercise of history, the best single work on any Civil War campaign to appear in many, many decades."—Open Letters



An excellent, unbiased view of both sides in the early part of the war and is strongly recommended for those interested in how the soldiers and leadership conducted themselves during the 1862 Shenandoah campaign."—On Point

From the Publisher

Cozzens (The Darkest Days of the War) is an independent scholar and a master of Civil War military history at tactical and operational levels. He deploys a large body of unfamiliar primary material in this detailed analysis of a campaign less one-sided than the accepted view that it represented Union blundering and the triumph of Confederate planning and execution signaling the emergence of one of history's great generals, Stonewall Jackson. Without debunking Jackson, Cozzens describes a commander still learning his craft. Jackson's obsession with keeping his strategic intention to himself too often left his subordinates confused. As a tactician he tended to commit his forces piecemeal. The Union generals opposing him performed reasonably well in the context of divided command, inadequate logistics and constant micromanaging by Abraham Lincoln. In particular the president's concern for Washington's safety led him to withhold troops from McClellan's Peninsular Campaign-a decision Cozzens reasonably says enhanced McClellan's natural caution. Jackson's victories revitalized a Confederacy whose morale was at its lowest after a string of Union victories. The South now had a new hero, whose personal idiosyncrasies and overt religiosity only enhanced his appeal. 13 illus., 13 maps. (Oct. 10)

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Publishers Weekly

The Shenandoah Valley campaign of 1862, in which Confederate Gen. Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's troops managed to prevent the much larger Union armies from reinforcing and capturing Richmond, has received numerous book-length treatments, either on its component battles (e.g., Robert Krick's Conquering the Valley: Stonewall Jackson at Port Republic) or, as here, on the full campaign (e.g., Robert Tanner's Stonewall in the Valley). Generally, the books have focused on Stonewall Jackson and the Confederate viewpoint. Here, however, Cozzens (The Darkest Days of the War: The Battles of Iuka and Corinth), a Foreign Service officer with the U.S. Department of State, presents a compelling chronological and bilateral narrative of the entire campaign from March to June 1862. Using primary-source materials from both sides, Cozzens offers new interpretations of the campaign and of Stonewall Jackson's legendary success, which was not nearly as brilliant as it appeared but was as much the result of Union failure as the triumph of Southern arms heralded in the press at the time. Jackson's errors are covered here, as are those of a succession of Union commanders, all really learning their trade in these early stages of the war. Sure to become the standard work on the campaign, this book is strongly recommended for all collections.
—David Lee Poremba

Library Journal