Confederate Foreign Agent: The European Diary of Major Edward C. Anderson (review)

172CIVIL WAR history In discussing the Emancipation Proclamation, Oates attempts once again to synthesize extant accounts and to bring the story up to date. Unlike John Hope Franklin, he emphasizes the importance of diplomatic considerations and seeks to harmonize the differing views of Harold M. Hyman and Glyndon Van Deusen on the respective roles of Seward and Chase in delaying the publication of the preliminary document. The chapter on the assassination is poignantly written, although a bit short. There is no conclusion—Oates lets the facts speak for themselves, and the book ends abruptly with the funeral train's trip to the West. But in view of the author's attention to Reconstruction problems in previous chapters, Lincoln's view of the difficult issues facing the nation after the Civil War emerges very clearly. He was a pragmatist, and whatever might have aided his aims of restoring the Union and finding a secure niche in society for the freedmen would have met with his approval. It would be difficult to find a greater difference between this attitude and that of Andrew Johnson, although the author does not attempt explicitly to outline the distinction. The shortcomings in this biography are relatively minor. Unfortunately , Professor Oates refers to the radicals as "liberal Republicans ," a term which is an anachronism and misleading. The Liberal Republicans of 1872, when the expression became common, were not really radical at all, especially in respect to Reconstruction . It is also unfair to say that McClellan did not win one victory on the Peninsula, as Malvern at least must be considered a military success. Nathaniel Lyon's operations in Missouri are somewhat oversimplified, and Chase's contributions to the Emancipation Proclamation should have been mentioned. Finally, the style is marred by colloquialisms and ungrammatical terms—military units become "outfits," "whom" is sometimes rendered as "who," and the expression, "what the hell," may not suit every reader. Professor Oates tried to add some folksy language, but he may have carried the point too far. All in all, With Malice Toward None is an excellent one-volume biography which deserves to stand beside Benjamin Thomas' as a standard and modern treatment of the Great Emancipator. Hans L. Trefousse Brooklyn College Confederate Foreign Agent: The European Diary of Major Edward C. Anderson. Edited by W. Stanley Hoole. (University, Alabama: Confederate Publishing Company, 1976. Pp. 161. $12.50.) This slim volume contributes significantly to the still incomplete and fragmentary story of Southern purchasing operations in Europe. BOOK REVIEWS173 Anderson's diary, which provides a detailed day by day account of his activities in England and France from May to November 1861, must take its rightful place alongside James D. Bullock's two volume work, The Secret Service of the Confederate States in Europe. Bullock's study, based on his diary, now long lost, puts Anderson's account in the unique position of being the only known extant eye witness description of Confederate purchasing efforts. Curiously, well known books by E. D. Adams, Frank Owsley, and Donaldson Jordan and Edwin J. Pratt do not mention Anderson. Richard I. Lester's recent account of purchasing activities in Great Britain makes only a passing reference to him. Skillfully edited, the Anderson diary is entertaining, informative, and at times exciting reading. Within its pages one finds intrigue, detective surveillance, personal confrontations, extensive bribery, skillful maneuvers, and, of course, outright daring and bravery. And there is humor too. How could one forget, for example, the cocks crowing aboard the Fingal as she otherwise moved in enforced silence through a dense fog and Federal vessels before Savannah . Today's reader is singularly fortunate because Major Anderson was articulate, well educated and above all inclined to record faithfully and fully his daily experiences. W. Stanley Hoole, who is well known as a contributor to and as editor of the Confederate Centennial Studies, comprising twentyseven volumes, has provided a Prologue which reviews Major Anderson's wartime career to the end of the conflict and an Epilogue which describes his post war years until his death in 1883. Extensive and often detailed notes are inconveniently placed after the Epilogue and are followed by a brief bibliography and serviceable index. Charles Cullop...