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318CIVIL WAR history ern warfare—and the Civil War was in every sense a modern war—logistics is to strategy as the tail is to the dog it wags. To live off the country to the extent of foraging for food is only one factor; to replenish artillery ammunition, to evacuate casualties, to receive reinforcements, to communicate with higher headquarters—these require a protected line of communication to a secure base. Acceptance of this fact leads to even greater appreciation of Grant's gamble southeast of Vicksburg. Just as Scott knew he would be in deep trouble unless he captured Mexico City without delay, so Grant knew after Port Gibson that until he reached the river again north of Vicksburg and reestablished contact with Porter's gunboats and transports, he faced logistical strangulation. Inevitably there are a few errors of fact in the book. At Fort Donelson the author refers to Floyd as "Confederate Secretary of War," and describes Grant's demanding of Buckner "immediate and unconditional surrender," when in Grant's note these adjectives were reversed. In discussing some of the "climactic moments of the war in which Grant was involved," and which fell on Sunday, Mr. Miers unaccountably includes Chancellorsville. And by some inversion he has T. Kilby Smith commanding the "second brigade of the 54th Ohio." Grouped near the center of the book are six photographs of the principal characters and six well-chosen photographs or engravings of scenes and action around Vicksburg; the latter are excellent and add much to the narrative. The three sketch maps supplied, however, are not adequate for the reader who wants to trace in any detail the various river operations. The Web of Victory is an excellent work and can be recommended without reservation as a welcome addition to the Civil War shelf. It is to be hoped that the author will continue his researches in the Civil War field (this reviewer thinks, for example, of the unmined gold in that grand and glorious fiasco, the Red River Expedition). Whatever his subject, any future Civil War volume by Earl Schenck Miers should be assured of an army of readers. Arthur P. Wade West Point, New York. The North Reports the Civil War. By J. Cutler Andrews. (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1955. Pp. x, 813. $6.00.) this book is primarily about the newspaper correspondents who covered the Northern side of the Civil War for the Northern newspapers. The volume gives some background also on the daily newspapers of the North and their methods and problems, and offers some appraisal of the over-all coverage of the war, but the greatest attention, both in spirit and in quantity, is given to the day-to-day performance of the reporter in the field. Mr. Andrews' approach is for the most part chronological, except for the opening survey chapters and for a "Thirty" chapter appraising coverage. While this approach permits bringing in the background of the war itself, another problem then arises: the correspondents move on and off the scene many times. Any one newsman (some three hundred were in the field, and probably fifty or more are mentioned in some detail) comes into focus only with rather sustained effort by the reader. Even so, the result is very satisfactory. The work Book Reviews319 of individuals is covered in tremendous detail, the hazards of the effort are seen clearly, the spirit of the reporting of the war is well presented in numerous examples, and one gets a vivid picture of the war correspondents. Mr. Andrews cites many instances which show how these men needed to be vigorous, alert, and durable, both physically and mentally. They really got to the fighting, and their lives were indeed dangerous. In an engagement early in the war, a New York Herald correspondent crossing a battlefield came upon a wounded Confederate officer. "The wounded man raised himself slowly upon his elbows and leveled his gun at the correspondent. There was no time to expostulate. The reporter quickly drew his pistol and put a bullet through the officer's head." Captured correspondents, moreover, shared the fate of Union troops taken prisoner by the enemy. A. D. Richardson and Junius...

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