Up Came Hill: The Story of the Light Division and Its Leaders (review)

102CIVIL WAR HISTORY The siege around Port Hudson, Vicksburg, the Battle of Shiloh, and the retreat from Adanta are all described with the smell of battle conditions circulating throughout each entry. The comments on logistics, supply, and abilities of supply officers are most revealing. The descriptions of the looting , destruction, and the effects of war on the morals of Confederate women read like a vivid account of recent vintage. The conditions in areas near army camps as well as the tragic flight of civilians portray the headlong retreat of a populace caught in the vise of fleeing and oncoming armies. This reviewer also found Joe Johnston's retreat from Dalton to Atlanta one of the most interesting accounts of such. Originally, this diary was written in Pitman shorthand and die task of interpretation and editing has resulted in a new source of study of Civil War interest. Patrick is quite honest and shows himseU to be a very frightened soldier who does not want to be shot. The longing for home is always paramount . Having a good reporter's sense, he gives the impression of immediacy which makes for heightened interest. Readers wül also share Patrick's sense of naivete which leads to refreshing insights and noteworthy comments. Arthur Lerner Los Angeles, California Up Came HiU: The Story of the Light Division and Its Leaders. By Martin Schenck. (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: The Stackpole Company. 1958. Pp. vi, 344. $5.75.) in recent years beauregard and jackson have been rescued from relative obscurity by the excellent biographical studies of T. Harry Williams and Frank Vandiver. Ranking equally high witii these figures in importance to the Confederacy were Joseph E. Johnston, A. P. Hill, and others who await their deserved recognition. Freeman provided a beginning with his magnificent Lee's Lieutenants, a composite of the command of the Army of Northern Virginia, but few have sought to delve deeper. Apparently seeking to apply the broad approach of Freeman to a more limited area of study, the author of Up Came Hill states that his purpose is to "recover some measure of the worth of Hill and his subordinate leaders in the hard-hitting Light Division." No one could quarrel with this aim or its value to an understanding of the successes and failures of Lee's force. Unfortunately, however, the present volume is neither an adequate study of the Light Division nor an enlightening biography of A. P. Hill. Although the title and stated purpose lead the reader to expect concentration on the Light Division, Hill emerges as the overwhelmingly dominant hero. Indeed, so concerned does the author become with the heroic proportions of Hill that he arrives at a revisionist appraisal of Jackson and by direct , if unsupported, accusation and innuendo places Hill's frequent antagonist in the role of the villain. To the scholar no hero is sacrosanct, but the labored effort here displayed in building up die reputation of Hill at die expense of Jackson seems to violate the most elementary scholarly standards. Book Reviews103 Not only does the author faü to portray the real Jackson, but his footnotes and bibliography do not show an acquaintance with those scholarly works which have sought to analyze Hill's immediate müitary superior. One does not have to return to Henderson, as the author implies, in order to gain insight into Jackson's character and ability. And if comparisons are to be made, as after the Seven Days Battles, they should rest on impartial evidence . Jackson's inexplicable behavior at White Oak Swamp is well known; less is known of Hill's decision to precipitate the battle at MechanicsviUe without adequate knowledge of Jackson's position or without consultation with Lee. As a recent biographer of Hill noted, his attack was at best imprudent , and Lee himseU criticized the decision for the headlong attack at Beaver Dam Creek. The volume has other faults which tend to detract from its value as a new interpretation. Most notably, its best features are not new. The general accounts of major battles in the eastern area have been so thoroughly worked in the past as to preclude anything distinctively new in interprétation, and it...