The Civil War by Shelby Foote

Mr. Shelby wrote a monumental highly detailed account of the Civil War in three volumes. Volume 1- Fort Sumter to Perryville Volume 2 - Fredericksburg to Meridian Volume 3 – Red River to Appomattox Each book contained over 900 tightly written pages. I learned of these books from a Civil War class I took in OLLI. I only read the last two. Being a hardnosed Yankee I had no interest in reading about the first two years which were filled with stunning defeats of the Union. It took me two months to finish reading the last two. I will admit reading was very difficult. The fighting was savage and the thought that these were all Americans killing each other was very depressing. Many parts of our beautiful country were mutilated. Not until the very end did the killing finally stop. The Confederacy gave as well as it got. Time after time after a victory by the Union, it was followed by one for the Confederacy. It seemed like a broken record repeating over and over without lasting effect. The war on the seas was equally devastating. The South built high speed raiders and steel warships which were able to sink or capture hundreds of merchant and warships of the North. The Confederacy knew they were outgunned and had less manpower but their goal was to make it so painful that the North would give up the struggle and allow this new country to exist. The only reason they attacked the North such as at Gettysburg was to that end not to conquer additional territory. They exerted maximum pressure before the re-election of Lincoln. If a peace candidate could be elected they would have won but when Lincoln was re-elected they knew their cause was lost. They fought on but desertions and mounting losses overwhelmed them. In particular, after Atlanta was taken, General Sherman led his Army across Georgia destroying large swaths of countryside. Then going north through South Carolina they took particular pleasure in destroying buildings and railroads in the State that started the rebellion. Over 640,000 blue clad and 450,000 grey clad soldiers and sailors were casualties. These figures include dead and wounded. There were more than 10,000 military actions, including 76 full- scale battles, 310 engagements, 6,337 skirmishes, and numerous sieges, raids, expeditions, and the like. In many ways it was like reading a novel due to the names and conversations included throughout the books. You must have the interest and stamina if you decide to read these monumental books. I have not made the attempt to list events or persons as only by reading can you understand and appreciate the monstrous agony forced on our country to remain a complete country while eliminating slavery which was a curse to both sides. I will share a comment about the Confederate President Jefferson Davis. At the conclusion of fighting, with only a few exceptions all soldiers and civilians were welcomed back into the Union by pledging allegiance to the United States of America. Davis was the lone holdout. While he was released and not tried, he died a man without a country. Jack B. Walters May 30, 2018