The Wilderness Campaign (review)

62CIVIL WAR HISTORY accomplishments and correctly identifying the Ohioan's ultimate military downfall as stemming from a subtle shift in his state of mind when unexpected events intruded on his careful plans. In short, Rosecrans lost the battle of Chickamauga and with it his military career because he became, inwardly, a whipped man. Wood's account of Bragg, while critical, is nevertheless one of the more sophisticated and insightful examinations of that general to date. He finds much to praise in the Southern general's strategy and much to criticize in his interpersonal relations. In the end, he winds up agreeing with those who have suggested that Bragg would have been better suited for an administrative job. Finally Wood deals with the Nashville campaign, in which he finds Union commander George H. Thomas supremely adept in the practice of the art of command and Confederate general John B. Hood as becoming increasingly detached from reality. Wood's prose is serious and scholarly yet clear and direct, enlivened by occasional wry quips. His analysis is sophisticated and thought provoking, and his book is an important contribution to our understanding of Civil War command. Steven E. Woodworth Texas Christian University The Wilderness Campaign. Edited by Gary W Gallagher. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1997. Pp. xv, 283. $29.95.) Despite the thorough coverage already given the Wilderness campaign by the books of Gordon Rhea, John Michael Priest, and Edward Steere, some specific aspects of the fighting have been nicely highlighted by the essays in this latest collection edited by Gary Gallagher. According to Brooks D. Simpson in "Ulysses S. Grant, the Northern Press, and the Opening of the Wilderness Campaign," the Union commander recognized the importance of how the press presented military campaigns to the civilians back home and tried to be as informative as possible. The press expected a decisive victory once the campaign began, and Grant "could not reshape expectations about the conduct of military operations" (31). Gary W. Gallagher's "Our Hearts Are Full of Hope: The Army of Northern Virginia in the Spring of 1864" demonstrates that the morale of the army and of the Southern people was high despite the reverse at Gettysburg. Robert E. Lee faced supply problems but felt that he still could defeat the Federals and perhaps force the North into giving up the war effort. Like the "grey wolves" of Lee, the men of the Union force facing them were in a positive mood when the campaign began. John J. Hennessey shows in "I Dread the Spring: The Army of the Potomac Prepares for the Overland Campaign" that the Federals had confidence in George G. Meade and his corps commanders and that the soldiers looked forward to fighting under Grant's leadership. BOOK REVIEWS63 The Army of the Potomac failed for a variety of reasons to defeat Lee in the Wilderness. In "Union Cavalry in the Wilderness: The Education of Philip H. Sheridan and James H. Wilson," Gordon C. Rhea argues persuasively that those generals performed poorly and contributed significantly to the army's poor performance . Nevertheless, the Union cavalrymen fought better than they had in the past and had some good, young leaders who demonstrated the capacity to lead them to victory in the future. Peter S. Carmichaers essay "Escaping the Shadow ofGettysburg: Richard S. Ewell and Ambrose Powell Hill at the Wilderness" tackles the performance of two prominent Confederate generals. He states that, though not brilliant corps commanders, Hill and Ewell have been unfairly criticized on the basis of biased postwar accounts by John Brown Gordon and Henry Heth. Carmichael shows that the two men have been "convenient scapegoats for Confederate lost opportunities and near-disasters at the Wilderness" (155). '"Lee to the Rear,' the Texans Cried" by Robert K. Krick is an extensive examination ofthat well-known episode in the battle.According to Krick's analysis , Lee at this point in the war felt it was necessary "to throw his person into battlefield situations that he earlier had mastered by other means" (189). Focusing on an overlooked Union unit, Carol Reardon's "The Other Grant: LewisA. Grant and the Vermont Brigade in the Battle of the Wilderness" examines...