The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 53, July 1949 - April, 1950 Page: 221
538 p. : ill., maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Book Reviews
generals, and battle scenes, add interest to the story. A few maps
aid the reader in following descriptions of battles. The bibliog-
raphy reveals important omissions in the author's research. The
index is good, but is not always correct.
Mr. Cleaves has performed well the difficult task of carrying
the reader through the many arduous campaigns of Thomas. The
reviewer is inclined to agree that the subject of the volume did
not receive the recognition due him. The reviewer is also inclined
to differ with Commander-in-chief Grant in his estimate of Thom-
as and Sherman in their campaigns in 1864. After all, Sherman
had very little opposition in his march from Atlanta to the Atlan-
tic Ocean the latter part of 1864, and, while he destroyed prop-
erty, he did not destroy armies.
Commendable features of the volume are the skill with which
the author deals with strategy and tactics, the personality of
Thomas, and frequent reference to his contemporary West Point-
trained officers. In this connection, it is unfortunate that he made
an error of fact when he wrote: "Robert E. Lee, Scott's chief
engineer, was promoted to lieutenant colonel of regulars; George
B. McClellan and George Gordon Meade became captains, but
all three had been graduated from West Point some years before
Thomas" (p. 43). Since McClellan was not born until Decem-
ber, 1826, he could hardly have graduated several years before
1840, the year Thomas graduated!
Some other errors of fact are: "On December 15, South Caro-
lina had voted to secede" (p. 63). On pages 7o, 72, 73, he refers
to John Sherman as "Senator John Sherman," and on page 269,
"Secretary of State Chase," and on page 281, "Lee surrendered
April lo."
As a matter of interpretation the reviewer is constrained to
take exception to classifying McClellan with McDowell and Burn-
side as a failure in the East (p. 12o). It is conceivable that had
McClellan received even a part of the support from the Federal
administration that Grant received in 1864 he could have cap-
tured Richmond during the summer of 1862. In fact, McClellan
was hampered rather than aided by the Washington Government.
John W. Burgess, almost fifty years ago, in The Civil War and
the Constitution, Volume II, pp. 104-5, made the stimulating221
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 53, July 1949 - April, 1950, periodical, 1950; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101126/m1/269/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.