Virginia at War: 1861
Review by William R. Trotter

You would think by now that the Civil War in Virginia was a played-out mine for historians and Civil War buffs—what new information or interpretation remains unearthed? But when the information is as well chosen and vividly presented as it is in Virginia at War: 1861, the first of a five-volume series, you'll see
there's still much to be learned about the war events in the Old Dominion.

Each volume in Virginia at War is devoted to a single year. Because of events that took place after 1861, the impression exists today that Virginians were early, zealous, and uncompromising supporters of secession. If nothing else, this compendium of splendid essays corrects that myth. In point of fact, as far as most Virginians were concerned, the connection between their state and the Union was bone-deep and nurtured by heart's blood. Their drift toward secession was slow, reluctant, and agonizing for all save a handful of the most rabid secessionists.

Virginia at War:1861
Edited by
William C. Davis and
James I. Robertson Jr.
The University Press of
Kentucky; 256 pages;
6 x 9; Cloth, $35
ISBN 0-8131-2372-0

Every Virginian understood the harsh realities of simple geography: If a civil war did break out, Virginia couldn't escape being in the frontline of the ensuing battles. After all, only 100 miles separated Richmond from Washington, D.C. It was much easier to be bellicose if one lived at a safe distance from the likeliest theater of war--down in Alabama, for instance.

To the zealots of the Deep South, Virginia was a convenient buffer. To the communities of Arlington, Alexandria, Manassas, or Norfolk (site of the Confederacy's only major naval yard and wide open to amphibious attack), their only buffer was the fortitude and skill of the Rebel troops deployed along the Potomac.

Five of the nine essays in Virginia at War: 1861 examine the state's turbulent social and political conditions on the eve of conflict. Each essay is written by an acknowledged authority in Civil War studies, and each focuses—with remarkably uniform clarity and carefully chosen examples of close-up, personal details—a major facet of life on the brink: How did the western counties "secede from Secession" and form the upstart Unionist enclave of West Virginia? How did the Confederate capital get moved from the relatively safe environs of Montgomery, Alabama, to the exposed and strategically vulnerable city of Richmond?

Ervin L. Jordan Jr. sheds fresh light on the attitudes and concerns of the state's economically vital, but cruelly disenfranchised "Afro-Virginian" population, and many readers will be surprised at how well-informed, clear-headed, and realistically ambiguous the literate blacks were in the early spring of 1861. Their voices are especially illuminating, and Jordan has packed an amazing amount of information into a concise and vivid narrative.

In fact, while each contributor writes in a distinct voice, all the selections share those two traits. Even widely-read Civil War enthusiasts will find abundant new insights in these deeply researched, yet eminently readable chapters.

Three essays focus on Virginia's early military operations. Particularly valuable is John M. Coski's account of the brave, but inevitably futile efforts of the men who constituted the ramshackle"Virginia Navy," a collection of hastily armed civilian craft that was hopelessly outgunned by the mighty U.S. Navy. The men distinguished themselves during early skirmishes along the James,York, Potomac, and Rappahannock Rivers—mere footnotes to the naval campaigns that came later--but even this early it was obvious how wretchedly unprepared the South was to fight.

The woeful story of Robert E. Lee's dismal campaign in what would soon become West Virginia and the subsequent raucous political fallout is recounted by C. Stuart McGehee. And Joseph T. Glatthaar's brilliant analysis of the process by which a chaotic mob of raw volunteers eventually become the prototype of the immortal Army of Northern Virginia is military history at its best.

Among other noteworthy topics, Glatthaar demolishes the myth that Rebel recruits made better soldiers because their tough rural upbringing prepared them for the rigors of camp life and war campaigns much better than the comparatively "soft" back grounds of the Union's city-slicker regiments. While it might be true that the Southern gentry excelled as horsemen, the average Rebel private had never owned a horse.

That private might have an edge on his Yankee counterpart when it came to marksmanship, but popping squirrels off a tree limb wasn't quite the same as sustaining disciplined volley fire when someone was hurling grapeshot at you from 500 yards away. And when the first wave of (then-incurable) measles struck the Confederate bivouacs, it was the "tough, resilient" country boys who died at the rate of one in three who contracted it, while the soldiers raised in urban environments usually shook off its effects and returned to duty without permanent harm.

One well-chosen contemporary voice concludes this first volume: a longish extract from the Civil War diary of Judith Brockenbrough McGuire, an upper-middle-class belle who was uprooted from a near-idyllic life in Alexandria and spent the rest of the war as more or less a permanent refugee.

She was an educated, well-read, sharp-eyed woman, and her trenchant observations of everyday life and her encounters with persons both common and legendary form a powerful counterpoint to the scholarly tone of the historians' essays. Each succeeding volume will feature a suitable excerpt from her "Refugee Diary," a painstakingly updated version of which was prepared specifically for this project.

Virginia at War benefited enormously from the guidance of its two editors. William C. Davis is the dean of current Civil War historians, the author or editor of more than fifty books. James I. Robertson, also a prolific author, is director of the world-famous Virginia Center for Civil War Studies.

They have indeed come up with a fresh and valuable approach to their subject, and I look forward to adding each new volume to my Civil War library. I think every state--on either side of the conflict--should give thought to commissioning a similar series of books.

As to why a series about Virginia is being published by the University of Kentucky? Well, that's explained in the opening pages. What isn't explained are the reasons why a relatively slim volume, containing no illustrations and only a single map, bears a price tag of $35. I fear such a hefty tariff will put these books beyond the reach of the very audience to whom they would be most valuable, although hopefully a more modestly priced trade paperback will eventually appear. But even at the hardback price, this inaugural volume of Virginia at War verges on "instant classic" status and will surely attract the wide readership it deserves.

Award-winning writer William R. Trotter has penned fiction and articles for 35
publications and authored 16 books on subjects ranging from true crime to the
Civil War to his newly released fantasy novel Warrener's Beastie. A consultant
on Civil War topics for the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, and the
BBC, he has been an advisor to the U.S. Marine Corps on Arctic warfare. An
original contributor to the now-legendary Red Clay Reader, Trotter lives in
Greensboro with his wife, fantasy writer/artist E.A. Lustig.

Winter 2006 · Volume 2, Number 1 southernarts JOURNAL pp182-186