Sword Over Richmond: An Eyewitness History of McClellan's Peninsula Campaign (review)

186CIVIL WAR HISTORY conclusions about the guerrillas of the 1860s might have some broader validity: "Killing guerrillas did not stop the guerrilla war. There were too many guerrillas to be killed, they were too difficult to track down, and there were always more guerrillas to take the places of those eradicated "^. 178). The book is pleasingly illustrated with photographs of some of the Union officers Starr evaluates, but the index could have been more helpful by giving citations to a number of details mentioned in the text, such as the several types of carbines that Starr discusses. On the other hand, the footnotes contain enjoyable speculations—what if Sheridan had remained with the cavalry instead of shifting to the infantry in September, 1862 (p. 67n)—or informative asides—a discussion of how the " 'mounted infantry idea' was very much in the air by the end of 1862" (p. 152n). Starr has written an analytical narrative and a reference work that will endure as the benchmark history of the Union cavalry. Joseph G. Dawson hi Texas A&M University Sword Over Richmond: An Eyewitness History of McClellan's Peninsula Campaign. By Richard Wheeler. (New York: Harper and Row, 1986. Pp. xii, 371. $21.95.) The campaign on the Virginia Peninsula in spring and summer 1862 was one of the major military operations of the Civil War. In several months of deliberate offensive, George B. McClellan and his Army of the Potomac reached the outskirts of Richmond, only to be turned back in the Seven Days Battles. For Abraham Lincoln and the North, the campaign represented a major lost opportunity that frustrated hopes for an early end to the conflict. Southerners, on the other hand, not only celebrated an important victory but also found their greatest captain when Robert E. Lee succeeded to field command after Joseph E. Johnston fell wounded at the battle of Fair Oaks. Relatively neglected by historians, the Peninsula Campaign has yet to inspire a full scholarly examination. Richard Wheeler's Sword Over Richmond does not provide such a treatment but seeks instead to present a "coherent study" of the sprawling campaign through the writings of several score eyewitnesses (p. xii). The author's allocation of space is somewhat surprising; for example, he devotes one hundred pages to events before McClellan set foot on the Peninsula but just fifty to the crucial Seven Days Battles. In all, about forty percent of the book deals with events removed from the Peninsula. The selection of quotations is generally effective—though predictable—and embraces testimony from officers, enlisted men, women, civilians, clergymen, and others. Among many passages that will be familiar to students of the war are BOOK REVIEWS187 W. W. Blackford's account of Jeb Stuart's "Ride around McClellan," Sallie Putnam's portrait of life in Richmond, Richard Taylor's classic description of Stonewall Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley, and McClellan 's self-serving letters and reports. The narrative scrupulously avoids analysis, even of such controversial topics as James Longstreet's conduct at Seven Pines and Stonewall Jackson's repeated failures during the Seven Days. Sword Over Richmond should appeal especially to readers looking for an introduction to the Peninsula Campaign. Wheeler's adroit handling of his eyewitnesses will give them a dramatic, and often moving, chronicle of events. Those seeking new insights or fresh material will be disappointed. A worthy subject and ample manuscript sources beckon —with luck, the wait for a comprehensive modern work on the campaign will soon be over. Gary W. Gallagher Pennsylvania State University Mexican Lobby: Matías Romero inWashington, 1861 -1867. Edited and translated by Thomas D. Schoonover. (Lexington: The University Press of Kentucky, 1986. Pp. xviii, 184. $21.00.) Matías Romero, the Mexican diplomat in Washington during the Civil War and Reconstruction, was an amazing envoy. Although not yet twenty-five years old when he first came to the United States, he soon became a central figure in Benito Juarez's efforts to enlist active American aid in his struggle against the French invaders and their puppet Emperor Maximilian. Tirelessly engaged in rounding up support for his hard-pressed government, Romero established close personal and social relations with a number of leading American...