Review: General Braxton Bragg, C.S.A. by Samuel J. Martin

I won this book from LibraryThing and although it has taken a long time to read it, I'm very pleased with it. Enough so that I will keep it.

It looks like a textbook, 10 x 7 inches, no dust cover, shiny hard cover with a portrait of Bragg on the front, and small print with occasional illustrations inside. Minor quibble: it could have used better proof-reading and the battleground maps are hand-drawn and not very helpful.

Confederate General Bragg was a controversial man. He was abrupt, didn't take crticism or even suggestions well, and in general was difficult to get along with. He could even be cruel, but he honestly cared about his men and they knew it. In fact, he always established his headquarters well back from the front lines because after seeing the men bleeding and dying at Shiloh, hearing the screams amid the chaos of battle, he simply couldn't stand to watch it again.

As I read this book, I was amazed that anyone could win the Civil War. Obviously, someone had to win, but with officers regularly disobeying orders, and foot soldiers going AWOL, no wonder Bragg was criticized so much for mismanagement of battles. He also had enemies who were plotting against him, such as Gen. Pope (an Episcopalian Bishop), Patrick Cleburne, Joe Johnston, and many others. Fortunately, Bragg and Pres. Jefferson Davis were old friends. More than once Davis saved Bragg from going down in flames. Many of the C.S.A. officers were veterans of the Mexican War, as was Bragg, and some of the hard feelings stemmed from that war.

This author set out to give an unbiased defense of Bragg. He didn't entirely succeed because his admiration for the man does define the text. He does include Bragg's many faults though, and the reader ends up with admiration for Bragg despite his faults. The end of his life at only 59 years of age comes after a period of time when he was unable to find work. He and his devoted wife suffered much in the aftermath of the war, even living in what had been slave quarters on his brother's farm for some time. It was a sad end for an honorable man who sacrificed everything for what he thought was a just cause.

A Sound Among the Trees by Susan Meissner

This is the story of Holly Oak, a house in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and the generations of women who lived in the house between the Civil War and present day. A cannonball still stuck in the side of the house is a reminder that it survived the war, but it did so because the family had connections to both sides. Rumors say the house is haunted, that there are Yankee soldiers buried in the cellar, and that one of the women in the family was a spy for the North.

Beginning in this way, with Adelaide, the great-granddaughter of the supposed spy, hosting a wedding reception in her garden, I had high hopes for the book. Adelaide's daughter and her husband Carson had lived in the house. Their two children were born there. Then the wife died and Carson and his kids had stayed at Holly Oak, believing the children shouldn't be moved from the only home they had ever known. Now Carson has married a young woman from Texas and they too will live at Holly Oak.

The bride, Marielle, has had a successful career and is presumably an intelligent woman. But this is where the story begins to fall apart for me because Marielle suddenly turns into a timid, frightened, gullible child/woman.

Holly Oak is full of secrets and rumors that no one has bothered to investigate and set to rest. It's like a soap opera where everyone keeps secrets which cause all kinds of problems. I kept thinking, "What's the big deal? Why don't these characters just come out with it?" This could be such a good story but I'm sorry, it just didn't work for me. Nor was there any sense of place and motivation was lacking for the characters' actions.

This is just my opinion of course and you might love the book. It is coming out Monday, Oct. 3, 2011. If you like family sagas and historical fiction, this may well be the book for you.

Review: Ghost Riders by Sharyn McCrumb

Recently Sharyn McCrumb posted on her Facebook page that her next novel will be out in August 2011, and suggested that we should read her earlier book Ghost Riders before then. The new book will be about Tom Dooley, of "Hang down your head, Tom Dooley" fame. His lawyer in the real story was Zebulon Vance, who is a major character in Ghost Riders. By the way, Tom's real name was Tom Dula but everyone mispronounced it.

I had a copy of Ghost Riders on my shelf so I have now read it. The characters in this book are some of McCrumb's best work. A few are real, others fictional, but all totally believable and fascinating. Everyone's favorite McCrumb character, Nora Bonesteel, makes a sort of cameo appearance in it, but another character with "the Sight" is one of the main characters. He is called "Rattler" and he is inseparable from the mountains he lives in, the Appalachians of western North Carolina. He's a loner but frequently reenactors of the Civil War camp in the mountains and if he wants some conversation he'll go visit them. Problem is, their uniforms and firing of period weapons seems to be bringing back ghosts of the real war.

In flashback we meet McKesson (Keith) and Malinda Blalock, union sympathizers in a "secesh" area. This is one of the toughest couples you'll ever meet. When he is forced to join the Confederate Army, Malinda dresses like a boy and joins up too as "Sam Blalock." Turns out she's a good soldier and they plan to cross over to the Union army as soon as they can. It's only when her husband is wounded and is to be sent home that she reveals her sex and goes home with him. That isn't the end of their wartime experiences though, far from it.

There are other superbly drawn characters to fill out the story of mountain people divided by a war they have little stock in, the cruelty shown toward the women, children, and old people trying to survive at home while the young men fight and die, and the lingering feuds that result, a la the Hatfields and the McCoys. This is the war I'm interested in rather than battles and generals and tactics so I greatly enjoyed this wonderful story. Above all, the people's sense of belonging to the Appalachians and their knowledge of the mountains prevails.

I highly recommend this book regardless of whether you are a Sharyn McCrumb fan or not. If you aren't, you will be after reading this book.

Review: The Widow of the South

This book has been sitting on my shelf for quite a while patiently awaiting the day when my mood would dictate reading it. Jeez Louise, what was I waiting for? This is the best novel I've read in years.

I love novels based on real people and real events. The Widow of the South was a real person, Carrie McGavock of Franklin, Tennessee whose large home was near the scene of the battle of Franklin. I knew quite a bit about the battle because Confederate General Patrick Cleburne died there and I had read his biography several years ago. Since I'm a Civil War buff, this was right up my alley.

Apparently this was author Robert Hicks' first novel. I certainly hope it isn't his last. He tells the story through the viewpoint of several characters, one to a chapter. That makes it sound messy and disconnected, but it isn't, and actually I can't think of a better way than to see it through each person's eyes and thoughts.

The day of the battle the McGavock house was commandeered as a hospital and for the next few days and weeks life was a blur of caring for horribly wounded Confederate soldiers. The household linens and even underwear were ripped up for bandages. Carrie's husband John organized hauling water to the house and carrying dead men and amputated limbs outside. There they were stacked like so much lumber awaiting burial or removal. The survivors later referred to Carrie as an angel for the way she comforted and cared for them; they in turn changed her life forever.

Each character is drawn so beautifully that when I came to the final chapter where there were pictures of them, I knew who they were without the captions. Carrie is the main character of course, but we also get to know Mariah, her slave since childhood and lifelong best friend. I'm not sure whether one character in the story is real or not. Carrie is fascinated by him and falls in love. As a respectable southern woman she remains true to her husband, but she spends many hours with Zachariah Cashwell and through their talks, they both learn much about themselves and life.

I won't tell more of the story because I don't want to ruin it for you if you haven't read it, but I do urge you to read this book if you haven't already discovered it. This is a treasure.