Book Notes

Going Back the Way They Came: The Phillips Georgia Legion Cavalry Battalion. Richard M. Coffman. Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press, 2011. ISBN 978-0-88146-187-9, 298 pp., cloth, $35.00.

Richard Coffman has constructed Going Back the Way They Came as a companion to an earlier volume entitled To Honor These Men, to serve as a military narrative that chronicles the battles and movements of the Phillips Georgia Legion Cavalry Battalion. Intermixed within the military details are a wealth of primary sources from letters, journals, diaries and the Official Records. The volume includes an extensive series of appendixes (the largest portion of the work) that contain the entire roster of officers and soldiers who fought with the cavalry battalion. Readers will also appreciate the photographs and maps included at the start of the volume. Anyone interested in researching the cavalry unit will greatly benefit from the wide range of primary sources utilized and the detailed rosters.

History of Andersonville Prison, revised edition. Ovid L. Futch. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2011. ISBN 978-0-8130-3691-5, 176 pp., paper, $19.95.

In this work, originally published in 1968, the late historian Ovid Futch presents one of the first comprehensive histories of Andersonville Prison. In this newly revised edition, Civil War historian Michael P. Gray has added a new introduction that explores Civil War prison historiography over the last several decades. The introduction nicely frames Futch’s study, and readers will surely appreciate his extensive use of primary sources, the thorough attention to the experiences of the prisoners, and the extensive bibliography and series of photographs that nicely accent this historical study. Readers have the opportunity to revisit this classic study of one of the darker chapters in the history of the Civil War.

So You Think You Know Gettysburg? The Stories behind the Monuments and the Men Who Fought One of America’s Most Epic Battles. James and Suzanne Gindlesperger. Winston-Salem, N.C.: John F. Blair, Publisher, 2010. ISBN 978-0-89587-374-3, 188 pp., paper, $18.95.

This useful reference volume will interest anyone seeking knowledge on Civil War monuments or the Battle of Gettysburg. James and Suzanne Gindlesperger have exhaustively explored the battlefield and community of Gettysburg to produce an extensive series of maps which pinpoint the precise location of each monument on the battlefield. The authors include photos of each monument and include a few paragraphs that describe the military details of what happened at the location of the marker. Battlefield guides and casual tourists will relish this extensive examination of the process of remembering the largest and bloodiest battle on American soil.

Politics and America in Crisis: The Coming of the Civil War. Michael S. Green. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Praeger, 2010. ISBN 978-0-275-99095-4, 212 pp., cloth, $44.95.

In the latest volume in the “Reflections on the Civil War Era” series, Michael Green examines the political ideology, wrangling, and compromise that constituted the build up to the Civil War. He begins the work, rooted mostly in secondary sources, by providing a brief overview of the major political events throughout the Early Republic. In a strong narrative fashion, ideal for general readers or college undergraduates, Green provides extensive coverage of the Compromise of 1850, the uproar over the Fugitive Slave Act, the collapse of the Whig Party and the consternation and violence connected to Kansas and its quest for statehood. Additionally, he touches on the emergence of the Republican Party, the Dred Scott decision, and Lincoln’s debate with Douglas for the Illinois senate seat in 1858 and Lincoln’s eventual rise to the presidency.

Enduring Battle: American Soldiers in Three Wars, 1776–1945. Christopher H. Hammer. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2011. ISBN 978-0-7006-1775-3, 294 pp., cloth, $29.95.

Readers, especially those interested in a comparative military approach to U.S. history, will benefit from Hammer’s new study on soldiers. He has selected the American Revolution, the Civil War, and World War II as avenues to explore a multiplicity of topics. While the work heavily emphasizes World War II, separate sections also touch on...