Civil War Guns (review)

Although the prologue and epilogue will seem overly pietistic to most Northern readers and, one suspects, even to many Southerners of the present generation, these may be merely ritualistic gestures in deference to Mr. White's position at Northwestern State CoUege of Louisiana and to his publishing auspices, the Confederate Publishing Company. ActuaUy, careful reading shows that the body of the text is far less reverent in tone and is at some points even critical, such as when the author suggests that the amount of money spent erecting monuments might better have been used for charitable purposes. There may weU be more to Mr. White than first meets the eye, though it may not be doing him a kindness to make some of his readers aware of the possibility. AU in all, this is a specialized little work, done without much flair or polish, but, as the only compilation of its kind, it does have information which wül be useful to some people. Wallace Evan Davtes University of Pennsylvania Civil War Guns. By WiUiam B. Edwards. (Harrisburg, Pa.: Stackpole Company, 1962. Pp. 444. $15.00.) After years of research young Mr. Edwards has given us an extremely detailed and comprehensive treatment of Civil War guns. Here is the definitive work on small arms of the 1861-1865 period, a book which Civü War buffs and arms coUectors have been eagerly awaiting for many years. The scope of this book is surprisingly broad; in fact, the title Civil War Guns is a misnomer. In addition to an encyclopedic coverage of small arms per se, the author has made a valiant attempt to cover such peripheral data as war contracts, foreign purchases, Southern armories, and postwar disposal of weapons. The result of including these varied subjects—each worthy of an intensive treatment in itself—is a potpourri of information which must be sifted if one wants specific information on a particular weapon type. However, the author for the first time has given students of the Civil War information and data hitherto virtuaUy unavailable. This is especiaUy true with respect to the problems of arm design, and the issue and use of smaU arms for both North and South. The industrial support of the arms-producing elements of the war is a major theme in this book. Of especial value is a rather thorough treatment of the North-South rivalry in purchasing weapons in Europe. Here is a phase of the conflict which earlier authors have discussed in some detail but not with the exhaustive analysis contained in Edwards ' work. Also impressive is the excellent discussion of Northern contract weapons. The author has solved several riddles of Civil War contracting— riddles which have baffled experts for years. Although rich in factual data on Civil War long arms, hand guns, and machine guns, the organization of this material is poor. Unfortunately, the author does not complete one subject before he takes up the next. It is disconcerting to read several chapters on rifles and muskets, then come 329 330 CIVIL WA R HISTORY to a chapter on revolvers, and then note with surprise that the next chapter is on rifles again. It would have been much easier for the reader if the material had been organized by subject matter. Perhaps even more frustrating , however, is the author's propensity to stray from the subject under discussion or to carry on interminable "asides" about individuals and events. From the title of this book we have certainly every right to expect an objective and technical treatment. We do get this, but the author detracts from his book by an irritating display of sophomoric prose. For example, in discussing weapons disposal after the War, he informs us that "the polyglot minions of Peter the Hermit, slashing through the ranks of Saracens to protect the Holy Sepulchre from infidel defilement, never carried a more varied lot of arms and weapons." And when Mr. Edwards attempts to discuss European history, especially the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, the informed reader hurries on to those sections of the book which are based on facts and not subjective interpretation of history. These lapses are not improved by his pontificating...