David Schwinghammer's Blog - Posts Tagged "lew-wallace"
The Valley of the Shadow
I first discovered Ralph Peters when I read a fictionalized novel about the Civil War, FADED COAT OF BLUE, which was exceptional. He wrote it under the pen name Owen Parry.
Recently he's switched to his real name, but he's still writing fictionalized versions of Civil War battles. The emphasis in the Owen Parry novels was more toward characterization. In his most recent novels he's trying to bring little known Civil War heroics and the ordinary soldiers more to the forefront. VALLEY OF THE SHADOW deals with the battles occurring in the Shenandoah Valley while Grant had Lee under siege just outside Richmond at St. Petersburg. What Grant didn't know was that Lee had sent Jubal Early and his corps to try to frighten the North into negotiating an end to the war. And he would have done it if it hadn't been for Lew Wallace. Yes, that Lew Wallace, author of BEN HUR. Wallace's objective was to fight a delaying action with soldiers who had for one reason or other been deemed unfit and with willing civilians. They wouldn't have been able to hold long if Wallace hadn't stopped a train containing a division commanded by James B. Ricketts. He had orders to take his troops to another position, but once Wallace explained what was happening, he was willing to throw his troops into the fray. By the time they were forced to retreat Grant was able to send enough troops to scare Early away from Washington.
I didn't know about Lee's sly maneuver, and I was a history major. But this book is really about General Sheridan vs. Jubal Early. For those who know a little about some Civil War battles. Early was in charge of a corps at Gettysburg. On the second day, Lee sent him a message telling him to attack if the situation presents itself, or something equally ambiguous. Early chose not to attack and you know what happened on the third day during Pickett's charge. Early also replaced Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, who was accidentally killed by his own men at Chancellorsville. Let's just say he had a bad psychological complex and was tired of losing. He was also a crude old boy Southerner who constantly chewed tobacco. In contrast, one of his division commanders was General John Brown Gordon who was more of a Southern aristocracy type with charm and ability; his men loved him, and Early was jealous. We get to see Sheridan and Early fight three battles. In one Sheridan gets the jump on Early with a death defying maneuver; in another it's Early's turn, but not for long. This is where there's a glaring problem. Peters shows us General Gordon and another general looking for a way to get the jump on Sheridan. I'm not sure if Gordon knew Sheridan was in Washington dealing with Halleck, the general of the army, and Secretary of War Stanton who wanted him to set up a defense of Washington. Of course Little Phil wanted to destroy Early's army once and for all. Anyway they climb to a mountaintop and notice that Sheridan's army is pointed in the wrong direction, expecting Early to attack what looks like a dangling flank. So . . . if Gordon can find a ford to cross the river he can sneak up behind Sheridan and drive him from the field. The problem is there's a fork in the road. Gordon puts a branch across the fork leading to the ford. But when he gets there the next morning, the branch has been moved to the other side. Gordon sends an officer to ask a farmer where the ford is; the farmer says it's the second branch that's correct, and he's right. There are also some union sympathizers in a boat on the river who see Gordon and the other general snooping around. They decide to tell the union commander, but they don't think he'll listen. To me, this was some discombobulated foreshadowing; neither incident made any difference.
We also meet some familiar people during the battles. Rutherford B. Hayes is one of the generals. Those of you who know your presidents will recognize our 19th commander in chief. William McKinley was also a young lieutenant during some of the battles. And George Armstrong Custer led a cavalry unit and later a division. Finally, Peters has confederate private George W. Nichols tell part of the story. One of Peters's sources was Nichols's memoir: A SOLDIER'S STORY OF HIS REGIMENT (61st Georgia).
Recently he's switched to his real name, but he's still writing fictionalized versions of Civil War battles. The emphasis in the Owen Parry novels was more toward characterization. In his most recent novels he's trying to bring little known Civil War heroics and the ordinary soldiers more to the forefront. VALLEY OF THE SHADOW deals with the battles occurring in the Shenandoah Valley while Grant had Lee under siege just outside Richmond at St. Petersburg. What Grant didn't know was that Lee had sent Jubal Early and his corps to try to frighten the North into negotiating an end to the war. And he would have done it if it hadn't been for Lew Wallace. Yes, that Lew Wallace, author of BEN HUR. Wallace's objective was to fight a delaying action with soldiers who had for one reason or other been deemed unfit and with willing civilians. They wouldn't have been able to hold long if Wallace hadn't stopped a train containing a division commanded by James B. Ricketts. He had orders to take his troops to another position, but once Wallace explained what was happening, he was willing to throw his troops into the fray. By the time they were forced to retreat Grant was able to send enough troops to scare Early away from Washington.
I didn't know about Lee's sly maneuver, and I was a history major. But this book is really about General Sheridan vs. Jubal Early. For those who know a little about some Civil War battles. Early was in charge of a corps at Gettysburg. On the second day, Lee sent him a message telling him to attack if the situation presents itself, or something equally ambiguous. Early chose not to attack and you know what happened on the third day during Pickett's charge. Early also replaced Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, who was accidentally killed by his own men at Chancellorsville. Let's just say he had a bad psychological complex and was tired of losing. He was also a crude old boy Southerner who constantly chewed tobacco. In contrast, one of his division commanders was General John Brown Gordon who was more of a Southern aristocracy type with charm and ability; his men loved him, and Early was jealous. We get to see Sheridan and Early fight three battles. In one Sheridan gets the jump on Early with a death defying maneuver; in another it's Early's turn, but not for long. This is where there's a glaring problem. Peters shows us General Gordon and another general looking for a way to get the jump on Sheridan. I'm not sure if Gordon knew Sheridan was in Washington dealing with Halleck, the general of the army, and Secretary of War Stanton who wanted him to set up a defense of Washington. Of course Little Phil wanted to destroy Early's army once and for all. Anyway they climb to a mountaintop and notice that Sheridan's army is pointed in the wrong direction, expecting Early to attack what looks like a dangling flank. So . . . if Gordon can find a ford to cross the river he can sneak up behind Sheridan and drive him from the field. The problem is there's a fork in the road. Gordon puts a branch across the fork leading to the ford. But when he gets there the next morning, the branch has been moved to the other side. Gordon sends an officer to ask a farmer where the ford is; the farmer says it's the second branch that's correct, and he's right. There are also some union sympathizers in a boat on the river who see Gordon and the other general snooping around. They decide to tell the union commander, but they don't think he'll listen. To me, this was some discombobulated foreshadowing; neither incident made any difference.
We also meet some familiar people during the battles. Rutherford B. Hayes is one of the generals. Those of you who know your presidents will recognize our 19th commander in chief. William McKinley was also a young lieutenant during some of the battles. And George Armstrong Custer led a cavalry unit and later a division. Finally, Peters has confederate private George W. Nichols tell part of the story. One of Peters's sources was Nichols's memoir: A SOLDIER'S STORY OF HIS REGIMENT (61st Georgia).
