Portraits of Conflict: A Photographic History of South Carolina in the Civil War (review)

book reviews175 General Lee ( 1 878), which reprinted parts of twenty or so of these letters, revised some of thesejudgments and included many episodes not mentioned in his correspondence. To get the full story of Lee and the Confederates' war through Taylor's eyes, military historians will have to weigh the two volumes together. Cultural historians may also feel a bit shortchanged, for in the end this is a love story—and a pretty good one—with only one side told. Bettie Saunders held out for a decade; Taylor won her not with bold strokes like his hero Stonewall Jackson but with dogged persistence like his enemy General Grant. Even then she made him burn her letters, although she later wrote a reminiscence of their dramatic, tearful wedding in Richmond the night before the Confederate capital fell (reprinted as Appendix 1 in Lee 's Adjutant). Still, half a loaf is better than none, especially since Taylor's letters, with their expressions of personal piety, idealized romance, and military bravado, are textbook examples of the Old South's chivalric code. Carl J. Guarneri St. Mary's College of California Portraits of Conflict: A Photographic History of South Carolina in the Civil War. By Richard B. McCaslin. (Fayetteville, Ark.: The University of Arkansas Press, 1994. Pp. xi, 345. $68.00.) When the Civil War began, few South Carolinians described themselves as professional photographers. Three who did—George S. Cook, Charles J. Quinby , and Richard Wearn—left a treasure offine photographs, many of which fill the pages ofthis excellentbook. Theirphotographs, the authorbelieves, compare favorably in quality and concept with those of Mathew Brady, widely praised as the greatest ofCivil War photographers. To their body ofwork McCaslin has added the contributions of a handful of small-town South Carolina photographers , such as Yorkville's John R. Schorb, as well as the pictures of photographers who accompanied the Federal armies that invaded the Palmetto State by land and by sea. Portraits ofConflict is largely a volume of photographs ofCivil War soldiers posing before a camera, either in a studio or in the field. Consisting primarily of busts or standing soldiers displaying their weapons and looking directly into the camera, Portraits ofConflict represents the artistic standards of Civil Warera photographers. Smileless, melancholy faces, young and old, display the deadly seriousness with which these men engaged in Civil War. Gun emplacements , Union blockading vessels, camp life, and scenes ofdestruction comprise the remainder of the photographs. Battlefield scenes detail the ineluctable destruction of Fort Sumter, the blackened ruins of Columbia, and the mounting rubble ofCharleston. Notably absent are photographs of the battlefield dead. 176civil war history McCaslin's contributions to this volume consist of thoughtful, straightforward introductions to each of the eight chapters and short biographies of individuals pictured or descriptions of each scene depicted. The introduction to chapter 1 identifies the photographers and traces their careers. When known, McCaslin lists the photographer's name for each picture included. The introductions to the next six chapters describe in general terms the participation of South Carolina troops and their adversaries in the various Civil War military theaters. Chapter 8, a portfolio on Reconstruction in South Carolina, carries the pictorial story to 1877, slightly beyond the title. The 200- to 300-word biographies and scene descriptions, in addition to placing soldiers in battle and camp, are supplemented by Appendix A, which traces the post-Civil War careers of those pictured. When taken altogether, the introductions, the biographies , and the appendix represent considerable research on the part of the author. A thorough index helps readers check on individuals of particular interest. Portraits of Conflict is a sensibly priced, beautifully produced photographic history. The weaknesses are minor. A short glossary of early photography terminology, perhaps at the end of the introduction to the first chapter, would have assisted readers, and a few may complain that some of the photographs previously appeared in print, but such are minor considerations. Portraits of Conflict is a valuable addition to Civil War and South Carolina history . Marion B. Lucas Western Kentucky University Baptism ofFire: The Republican Party in Iowa, 1838-1878. By Robert Cook. (Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1994.) Pp. xiii, 310. $34.95.) Robert...