A Life For The Confederacy: As Recorded in the Pocket Diaries of Pvt. Robert A. Moore, Co. G, 17th Mississippi Regiment, Confederate Guards, Holly Springs, Mississippi (review)

Book Reviews325 later." At Cassville he cites, in Hood's support, only some !insupportable conclusions of others: Dyer's in the case of Wood's brigade which care would have revealed to be an interior brigade which could hardly have "wandered" across three division fronts without someone asking, profanely, where it was going; and Horn's, which is merely a rewrite of Hood's account . And all three of them ignore the fact that Johnston, not Hood, was in command, and that Hood's alleged insistence upon attacking Sherman was merely a subordinate's recommendation—one which would have delighted Sherman had Johnston accepted it. Comparing Hood's statements with actual events, as shown clearly in the Records, one wonders if he wanted Johnston to succeed at Cassville— or anywhere. It appears doubtful, else so eager a fighter would hardly have avoided the chance given him by Johnston to smash Sherman's left. Neither would he have diverted his whole corps to do a regiment's job of investigating the "wandering fragment" which, Dyer, Horn and Hood's unidentifiable "General" Carson (page 104) nothwithstanding, Hood admitted in his report (page 334) "turned out to be the enemy's cavalry" with which his skirmishers were already engaged. The facts point to the ugly conclusion that Hood deliberately avoided battle on the morning of the 19th to wreck Johnston's first chance to damage Sherman substantially without risking more than the Confederacy could afford; for to contribute loyally to a victory at Cassville would be defeating his own schemes to discredit his commander and gain for himself the command of the Army of Tennessee. The whole pattern of his book bears it out—a sadly twisted attempt to conceal various truths by a conscience-torn failure whom, tragically enough, nature had endowed originally with the basic attributes of a loyal and honorable man. Advance and Retreat will interest the casual reader to whom color rather than fact is important. And it should whet the appetite of the more serious to seek out the truth. But beware of the maps between pages 111-112 and opposite page 166. The former fits neither the ground nor the Federal dispositions, and the latter has no connection with the "battles around Atlanta." Allen P. Julian Atlanta Historical Society A Life For The Confederacy: As Recorded in the Pocket Diaries of Pvt. Robert A. Moore, Co. G, 17th Mississippi Regiment, Confederate Guards, Holly Springs, Mississippi. Edited by James W. Silver. (Jackson , Tennessee: McCowat-Mercer Press, 1959. Pp. 168. $4.00.) during the past few years a number of excellent Civil War diaries and journals have been published. These intrinsically interesting primary accounts are of great value to both the specialist and the layman who desire to learn more about the war through the medium of its basic unit—the common soldier . Taking its place amongst the finest of such works is A Life For The Confederacy. 326CIVIL WAR HISTORY Robert A. Moore left his father's prosperous farm near Holly Springs at the age of 22 to enlist as a private in Company G, 17th Regiment Mississippi Volunteers (Infantry). Shortly after entering the service, he commenced a diary, recordinghis observations on small pocket-size notebooks. That he undoubtedly had received a superior education can be deduced from the high caliber of his daily entries, his family background, as well as the fact that Holly Springs during this era could boast of no less than four colleges. Moore's diary reveals that he was a mature, pious, patriotic and generally well-rounded individual. As a shrewd, competent observer and recorder, Moore—through his dairy —has enabled the present-day reader to gain a keen insight into everyday life and events in the Confederate army. His candid observations—and experiences —leave little doubt that the common soldier of today has changed very little from his Civil War predecessor. Moore saw action in some of the greatest and bloodiest clashes of the war, (First Manassas, The Seven Days, Sharpsburg , Fredericksburg, Gettysburg) and his remarks and criticisms are of particular interest and value in securing a better understanding of these oft-written battles. Finally on the field of Chickamauga he—as...