The United States Marine Corps. in the Civil War—The Second Year (review)

324civil war history until more than two hundred pages of stories later, in the epilogue, does Lowry address this "most remarkable finding" (222) of the study. Because a full regiment had roughly 900 privates and one colonel, he says, there ought to have been about 18 colonels court-martialed in a study of 16,044 privates of the courts-martial under study. Instead, 105 colonels and 71 lieutenant colonels were court-martialed. Lowry offers several explanations for this excess ofcourtmartialed colonels. One, a "statistical problem" (224) stemming from the theoretical size of a regiment and the steady decline in actual size, undermines the "finding." So, colonels might not have more misbehaving at all, but investigating regimental sizes is beyond the scope of his study. This kind of speculation instead of analysis characterizes the book. It does, however, complement Lowry's interest in human nature and human foibles— the metapurpose. There are thirty-two pages of introduction, epilogue, and appendices and 207 pages of descriptive stories. The discrepancy suggests that this study of courts-martial might have been better presented as a speculative article posing hypotheses with samples from the first cases. The "findings" could then emerge as a book after detailed analysis of the completed index. Lowry asserts that this study of "military discipline" opens a "whole new avenue into our understanding of that great war" (8). That remains to be seen. Francis N. Stites San Diego State University The UnitedStates Marine Corps, in the Civil War—The Second Year. By David M. Sullivan. (Shippensburg, Pa.: White Mane Publishing, 1997. Pp. xii,373. $40.00.) The second volume of Sullivan's account of the U.S. Marine Corps during the Civil War describes the activities of Marines from the beginning of 1861 to the middle of 1862. Sullivan covers their role in the Peninsula Campaign, the Mississippi Campaign, and in river and blockade actions. He also devotes chapters to the court martial of one of the Corps' senior officers, the problems created by wartime expansion, enlisted life, and musicians. This is an extremely detailed chronological narrative. During the Civil War the Marine Corps was small, expanding from less than two thousand to just over three thousand men. They served in small detachments on board ships and guarding naval bases. This meant that there were no real Marine operations during the war; instead, Marines played a minor, secondary role in navy and, occasionally, army operations. This is reflected in Sullivan's account, which is mainly achronicleofskirmishes andthe actions ofMarine detachments in larger battles. Sullivan makes no effort to draw conclusions from his material and does not include either an introduction or a conclusion. This is not a major drawback in the sections covering military operations, but the other chapters would have benefitted from some analysis. The chapter on music, for instance, largely consists of a list ofconcerts and casualties. Still, a picture ofthe Marine Corps does book reviews325 emerge. While small, the Corps provided useful service. The ability of ship's guards to maintain order was important to the rapidly expanding U.S. Navy. Marines seem to have been particularly useful for countering snipers and forming small landing parties during the river and coastal blockade operations which formed the bulk of the navy's activities. Marine officers were quick to take offense and prone to petty squabbles. Sullivan includes nearly two hundred illustrations, photographs, and maps. Most ofthese consist ofpictures from contemporary popular histories and posed studio photographs.All ofthe maps are reproductions ofcontemporary sketches and maps. While of historical interest, the maps are not linked to the text and do little to clarify the often confusing descriptions of operations. This is an exhaustively researched book. Sullivan seems to have read every letter, diary, and report written by or about Marines, and quoted most at length. This is a boon to the researcher, but it makes for a plodding, repetitive narrative. Sullivan also assumes that his reader is intimately familiar with the Marine Corps during this period. For example, on the first page and numerous subsequent pages Sullivan refers to "Harris" but does not mention that this was Col. John Harris, the Commandant ofthe Marine Corps, until page 49. It would...