Grape and Canister (review)

454civil war history subordinates. I do not think he has a friend in the whole army. No man, no matter what his business or service, approaches him without being insulted in one way or another. . . . Mr. Cleaves has rescued Meade from such an appraisal, but his work might have been even more effective had he depicted this kind of in-fighting in die power structure of die Army of the Potomac. Burke Davis Greensboro, North Carolina Grape and Canister. By L. Van Loan Naisawald. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1960. Pp. xiv, 592. $10.00.) when the army of the potomac is mentioned, one instinctively thinks of massed lines of blue infantry snaking down dusty roads or deploying across open fields to do battle. Occasionally, someone will think of Alfred Pleasanton, John Buford, and odiers whose cavalry acted as die army's eyes. But few people take cognizance of, and fewer students realize die value of, die artillery of diat superb army. As this new and needed study points out, however, had it not been for these batteries and dieir heroic gunners, at least four major victories for die Eastern army might easily have been stunning defeats. Mr. Naisawald, historian at the Manassas National Military Park, has written a work that deserves equal billing widi Jenning C. Wise's Confederate history of artillery, The Long Arm of Lee. He has recounted die role of artillery in the major battles in die East widi die dioroughness of a Douglas Freeman. Throughout the work he has sprinkled nuggets of information that will broaden die knowledge of every student of Civil War campaigns. For example, we learn diat, owing to die rough and wooded terrain in which die army was expected to operate, McClellan early concluded that longrange artillery could never be used to full effectiveness. Thus, die standard weapon in Federal batteries became the 12-pounder smoothbore known as the Napoleon. Two-thirds of die artillery units used diis piece; die remainder manned 10-pounder Parrotts and 3-inch ordnance guns. We learned too that artillery casualties were higher for horses than for men, that canister was die more punishing of the four types of shells used, and that, contrary to public opinion and erroneous references in the Official Records, grape was rarely if ever used against infantry. The bulk of diis study is a history of guns and gunners in die Army of die Potomac. Readers will learn die intricate motions of firing cannon commensurate widi die brave deeds of many unsung heroes. There were Generals Henry J. Hunt and William F. Barry, who labored diligendy to improve their branch against the stubborn opposition of Henry Halleck; Captain George Hazard, who turned down an infantry colonelcy to serve in the artillery and dien died from wounds received in battle; Captain Hubert "Leatíier-britches" Dilger, an intrepid German who manipulated cannon as if diey were pistols; and fourteen-year-old bugler Johnny Cook, who at Sharpsburg voluntarily Book Reviews455 manned a cannon and displayed such valor in die face of danger that he became the youngest Congressional Medal of Honor recipient in die nation's history. Yet, the artillery arm was continually hampered by a lack of high-ranking officers. Moreover, denied independence of action and placed under die control of infantry officers who knew little and cared less for the problems of cannon dispositions, Federal camion werenever used to full effect until Gettysburg . But, ironically, gunners never again had die opportunity to flex their muscles as fully, for die struggle in Pennsylvania marked die end of fighting in open country; thenceforth, cannon were used sparingly in die Wilderness campaign and as siege pieces before Petersburg and in neither instance were able to develop their full firepower. In a work as detailed as diis, it is almost natural that a few proofreading slips would and do exist. On page 73 die text is repeated almost verbatim in die accompanying footnote, and die closing paragraph of die book is a repetition of material found on page 135. Illustrations of die various types of camion, as well as of some of die outstanding gunners in die Eastern army, would have greatiy enhanced die...