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78CIVIL WAR HISTORY federacy "far more important [to ultimate victory] than the conquest of Virginia." Henry W. Halleck expressed the opinion that the Mississippi River campaign was "the most important operation of the war." Confederate leaders eventually recognized this but not until it was too late. The Mississippi was lost by the summer of 1863, and as Merrill demonstrates , the Union navy played an important if not decisive role in that loss. Amphibious operations are emphasized in what is in many ways a companion volume to the author's earlier work, The Rebel Shore. From Forts Henry and Donelson through the Vicksburg campaign, Merrill narrates the engagements that determined control of the western rivers. The account of Union shipbuilding is particularly interesting. Confederate naval activities are included, but efforts to challenge Union superiority on the western rivers were feeble, and other than the exploits of the Arkansas, little or no success was achieved. My two major criticisms are: first, the absence of maps; and second, concluding the study with the Vicksburg campaign. Although there were no important naval engagements on the western rivers after the summer of 1863, the struggle for control of the rivers continued to the end. In addition, the Red River campaign was a major amphibious operation . Dr. Merrill's style is lively, his research impressive. All in all, a readable and interesting book. William N. Still, Jr. East Carolina University Diary of Howard Stillwell Stanfield, 1864-65. Edited by Jack J. Detzler. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1969. Pp. 232. $6.75.) Letters From Alabama, 1817-1822. By Anne Newport Royall. Edited by Lucille Griffith. (University, Ala.: University of Alabama Press, 1969. Pp. 292. $7.50.) Kiss Clara for Me. Edited by Robert J. Snetsinger. (State College, Penn.: The Carnation Press, 1969. Pp. 175. $7.50.) Letters to Eliza from a Union Soldier, 1862-1865. Edited by Margery Greenleaf. (Chicago and New York: Follett Publishing Company, 1970. Pp. 177. $4.95.) Old Mountain City. By Bonnie Carpenter. (San Antonio, Tex.: The Naylor Company, 1970. Pp. x, 105. $7.95.) The value of published diaries and letters depends not only on the writer 's ability to convey his experiences, thoughts and observations but also on the editor's knowledge of the subject and competence to annotate the material. The five volumes under review vary greatly in both content and presentation. BOOK REVIEWS79 Two of the works are travel accounts, The Diary of Howard Stillwell Stanfield, 1864-65, exceptionally well-edited by Jack J. Detzler, and Letters From Akbama, 1817-1822, edited by Lucille Griffith, to whom historians and general readers are indebted for resurrecting Anne Newport Royall's fascinating record which has long been out of print. Both editors reflect an understanding of history and proper research procedures , and both have given meticulous attention to detail, provided excellent biographical sketches of the writers and included explanatory notes. Detzler merits special mention for his use of manuscript collections and other materials deposited in libraries from Connecticut to California, and also for his critical bibliography and informative appendices . The Diary of Howard Stillwell Stanfield is the erratically-kept record of a restless, sickly young man who could not serve in the Union Army and hoped to rid himself of his frustrations by taking a trip overland from his home in Indiana to California. Traveling by wagon, rail and stagecoach, many of his experiences were similar to those of others, but he described more vividly than most not merely the inconveniences, hardships, scenery, Indians and buffalo, but also included his impressions of communities such as Salt Lake City, Virginia City, San Francisco and Maryville (California). Stanfield had a special talent for telling about his fellow travelers and those he met along the way. He was intrigued with Brigham Young, whom he heard preach, and gave a most interesting sketch of the Mormon leader. After a brief stay in California, during which time the Civil War ended, the homesick youth sailed via Panama to New York and continued by rail to his home in South Bend. Unfortunately, he did not report the voyage in detail but what he did record makes fascinating reading, and the editor's commentary compensates for this and...

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