I am currently reading two excellent books on the Civil War, and though on the surface they do not appear to have much in common, they both involve narratives that are often overlooked or simply not available. In A Slave No More, escaped slaves John Washington and Wallace Turnage, who fleed bondage, lived through the Civil War and Reconstruction, and shared their experiences. They not only risked life and limb to emancipate themselves, they witnessed and dealt with the racial animosities and tensions after the war. David W. Blight, the author, has used their narratives to capture a unique portrait of two men’s struggles. I can’t wait to finish this book and discuss it in more detail.
Blood, Tears, and Glory How Ohioans Won the Civil War is an impressive book. It feels, looks and reads perfect. When I started reading I could tell that James H. Bissland is a fine writer. When we discuss the Civil War, we rarely recognize the contribution that Ohio made to winning the war. The work is well-researched and uses an array of primary sources, including many diaries and early newspaper accounts. This is not just a book on Ohio and the Civil War, though that is indeed its main focus. It is a book about the war and struggles involved for all Americans. Midwesterners are often forgotten in favor of the Northeastern men, who undoubtedly played an important role, but it can be argued that the boys from Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois and Michigan played the a most pivotal role from the Mississippi to east of the Appalachians.
Chris:
I’m not going to thank you for the very nice review you wrote about my new book, “Blood, Tears, and Glory: How Ohioans Won the Civil War,” because–as an old news guy–I know a reviewer’s responsibility is to his readers first Expressions of gratitude from the person written about may be suspected, because the reviewer’s obligation is not to please him or her, but only to tell the truth, like it or not. So…I’m simply going to say your comments made my day.
You have a very handsome and worthwhile site and I’m going to add it to my list of recommended blogs, which I include on my own blog, http://www.bloodtearsandglory.blogspot.com
Keep up the great work.
Jim Bissland
As a native Ohioan, I’m looking forward to reading this book. Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Ohio did indeed play a critical part in winning the Civil War. I believe I read once somewhere that Ohio provided the most troops of any state to the Union cause.
In my own blog, I recently published a posting that describes how three men who had major influences on Abraham Lincoln hailed from the same rural village of 500 people in southeastern Ohio. These men were Bishop Matthew Simpson who served as an advisor to the President and also gave his main funeral oration in Springfield, John Bingham who served on the military tribunal which prosecuted the Lincoln conspirators, and Edwin Stanton, who was of course Lincoln’s Secretary of War. All these men were either born or lived in Cadiz, Ohio.
Also from that same county was George A. Custer, who needs no further discussion here. Finally, one of the attending generals at Lincoln’s bedside after the assassination hailed from Cadiz as well.
Of course, Ohio also provided Generals Grant, Sherman, and Sheridan.
Again, thank you for reviewing the book.
Geoff Elliott
The Abraham Lincoln Blog