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Civil War America
Field Armies & Fortifications In The Civil War: The Eastern Campaigns, 1861-1864
Earl J. Hess provides a narrative history of the use of fortifications--particularly trenches and other semi-permanent earthworks--used by Confederate and Union field armies at all major battle sites in the eastern theater of the Civil War. Hess moves beyond the technical aspects of construction to demonstrate the crucial role these earthworks played in the success or failure of field armies. A comprehensive study which draws on research and fieldwork from 300 battle sites, Field Armies and Fortifications in the Civil War is an indispensable reference for Civil War buffs and historians.
428 pages, Hardcover
First published April 25, 2005
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About the author
Earl J. Hess
51 books28 followersEarl J. Hess is Stewart W. McClelland Chair in History at Lincoln Memorial University and the author of numerous books on the Civil War.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 22, 2021
Well written, but way too much detail about the topic to be enjoyable fully. And this is a comment by an avid reader of Civil War histories. This is more of a text book style and deserves to be in a college course.
May 19, 2018
A book for specialists, but better written than one might expect. The parts on the siege of Charleston are superb.
July 19, 2014
When analysis of Civil War battles usually takes place, there are works written about the infantry, cavalry and artillery and their tactical movements around the battlefield. But something rarely talked about are the fortifications and field works made by the armies in order to solidify the position of the armies both Union and Confederate. Earl J. Hess uses this work, Field Armies and Fortifications in the Civil War, to better explain the design, need and uses of the field works on the battlefields and the fortifications all around the coastline. This is the first in a series of books written on the field works during the Civil War.
Earl J. Hess is an associate professor of history at Lincoln Memorial University and has authored other works such as The Civil War in the West: Victory and Defeat from the Appalachians to the Mississippi and Pickett’s Charge – The Last Attack at Gettysburg. His book on Pickett’s Charge was the winner of the 2001 James I. Robertson Jr. Prize from the Civil War Library and Research Center.
Field Armies and Fortifications in the Civil War: The Eastern Campaigns, 1861-1864 is one of the three books Hess has written surrounding field works in the Civil War. Others in the series are Trench Warfare Under Grant and Lee: Field Fortifications in the Overland Campaign and In the Trenches at Petersburg: Field Fortifications and Confederate Defeat. This book about the fortifications during the Eastern Campaigns is a great start to the series, however, as it brings to light certain things which have been ignored or only slightly mentioned in the annals of history. What Hess does in this work is describe in great detail the way in which the field works were built on the field and the problems which the engineers on both sides faced during that endeavor. With the lack of engineers in the army, many times there would be infantrymen creating the field works. This would create works which were not exactly up to par and the men of the ranks would often complain or slowly work because of the hard labor of construction field works. Throughout the text are many examples through drawings, maps or pictures giving the reader a great idea as to what the fortifications looked like through the war. Many times, people tend to think of forts as completely created with stone and embattlements, but sometimes that was just not the case. For example, Hess talks about Federal Fort Sumner and along with his explanation is a picture of the fortification. There is little to the fort, mainly some wood and sandbags placed upon dug embattlements with the cannons placed onto it. This is something which some readers may not be aware of. Another detail which Hess mentions is the fact that at the beginning of the war, Washington only had one fort as part of the defense. If you look at a map of Washington after the war, the entire city is surrounded with forts some of which were quickly built to suppress Early’s attacks in 1864. These attacks are not mentioned in this book since Hess only takes us up to Bristoe Station and the Fall of Plymouth. He does this in order to deal with the field works and fortifications in the Overland and Petersburg in the coming volumes. Nevertheless, this is a welcome addition to any Civil War Library.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Eastern Campaigns of the Civil War. It gives the readers a better idea of the time it took to create these fortifications and the effect which it had on the battlefield. This work also gives the reader an understanding of how few engineers there were during the beginning of the war and throughout the conflict and the way in which they had to find additional help. This would either end in success or failure and friction between commanders because of it. Field Armies and Fortifications in the Civil War: The Eastern Campaign, 1861-8164 is a welcome addition to any Civil War library and to the academia of the conflict.
Matthew Bartlett - Gettysburg Chronicle
Earl J. Hess is an associate professor of history at Lincoln Memorial University and has authored other works such as The Civil War in the West: Victory and Defeat from the Appalachians to the Mississippi and Pickett’s Charge – The Last Attack at Gettysburg. His book on Pickett’s Charge was the winner of the 2001 James I. Robertson Jr. Prize from the Civil War Library and Research Center.
Field Armies and Fortifications in the Civil War: The Eastern Campaigns, 1861-1864 is one of the three books Hess has written surrounding field works in the Civil War. Others in the series are Trench Warfare Under Grant and Lee: Field Fortifications in the Overland Campaign and In the Trenches at Petersburg: Field Fortifications and Confederate Defeat. This book about the fortifications during the Eastern Campaigns is a great start to the series, however, as it brings to light certain things which have been ignored or only slightly mentioned in the annals of history. What Hess does in this work is describe in great detail the way in which the field works were built on the field and the problems which the engineers on both sides faced during that endeavor. With the lack of engineers in the army, many times there would be infantrymen creating the field works. This would create works which were not exactly up to par and the men of the ranks would often complain or slowly work because of the hard labor of construction field works. Throughout the text are many examples through drawings, maps or pictures giving the reader a great idea as to what the fortifications looked like through the war. Many times, people tend to think of forts as completely created with stone and embattlements, but sometimes that was just not the case. For example, Hess talks about Federal Fort Sumner and along with his explanation is a picture of the fortification. There is little to the fort, mainly some wood and sandbags placed upon dug embattlements with the cannons placed onto it. This is something which some readers may not be aware of. Another detail which Hess mentions is the fact that at the beginning of the war, Washington only had one fort as part of the defense. If you look at a map of Washington after the war, the entire city is surrounded with forts some of which were quickly built to suppress Early’s attacks in 1864. These attacks are not mentioned in this book since Hess only takes us up to Bristoe Station and the Fall of Plymouth. He does this in order to deal with the field works and fortifications in the Overland and Petersburg in the coming volumes. Nevertheless, this is a welcome addition to any Civil War Library.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Eastern Campaigns of the Civil War. It gives the readers a better idea of the time it took to create these fortifications and the effect which it had on the battlefield. This work also gives the reader an understanding of how few engineers there were during the beginning of the war and throughout the conflict and the way in which they had to find additional help. This would either end in success or failure and friction between commanders because of it. Field Armies and Fortifications in the Civil War: The Eastern Campaign, 1861-8164 is a welcome addition to any Civil War library and to the academia of the conflict.
Matthew Bartlett - Gettysburg Chronicle
March 18, 2014
In a field as populous as American Civil War history books, you can find some very specialized books. Authors often try to find little odds and ends sort of subjects, ground that hasn't been as thoroughly covered as Gettysburg, for example. Field Armies and Fortifications in the Civil War is definitely one of those specialist works, but it's definitely one of the better ones out there.
Hess' book is extremely well researched, and it shows. There isn't just a wealth of written material here, there is a plethora of maps throughout the book. Not only are the maps plentiful, but they are highly detailed and relevant to the narrative. The narrative also covers a wide range of campaigns and battles that happened in the Eastern Theater, including many lesser known ones. Throughout the descriptions of these battles and campaigns, Hess does a good job of sticking mainly to the impact of field fortifications on their conduct.
Despite the esoteric material covered, and the deep detail the author delves into, the narrative is quite readable. Hess does a good job explaining engineering terms that the average reader might not be familiar with, and maintains a good pace, so the depth and detail doesn't feel exhausting.
My main complaint about the narrative is a couple of curious choices that Hess makes in choices of terminology. It's not the technical engineering terminology, that's great, but Hess refers to Union forces throughout the narrative as "Unionists." This is a term usually associated with Southern civilians or paramilitaries that supported the Union, and not actual Union forces. They should be referred to as "Union" or "Federal." At one point, he also refers to a Pennsylvania civilian who provided intelligence to the Union Army in the Gettysburg campaign as a "Union sympathizer." This is an odd choice of terms, since the man was a citizen of a Union state, and the term "sympathizer" is usually associated with people identifying with the opposing side to wear they live. These are relatively minor trespasses, but they are strange, and really stand out in an otherwise quite skillful work.
Hess' book is extremely well researched, and it shows. There isn't just a wealth of written material here, there is a plethora of maps throughout the book. Not only are the maps plentiful, but they are highly detailed and relevant to the narrative. The narrative also covers a wide range of campaigns and battles that happened in the Eastern Theater, including many lesser known ones. Throughout the descriptions of these battles and campaigns, Hess does a good job of sticking mainly to the impact of field fortifications on their conduct.
Despite the esoteric material covered, and the deep detail the author delves into, the narrative is quite readable. Hess does a good job explaining engineering terms that the average reader might not be familiar with, and maintains a good pace, so the depth and detail doesn't feel exhausting.
My main complaint about the narrative is a couple of curious choices that Hess makes in choices of terminology. It's not the technical engineering terminology, that's great, but Hess refers to Union forces throughout the narrative as "Unionists." This is a term usually associated with Southern civilians or paramilitaries that supported the Union, and not actual Union forces. They should be referred to as "Union" or "Federal." At one point, he also refers to a Pennsylvania civilian who provided intelligence to the Union Army in the Gettysburg campaign as a "Union sympathizer." This is an odd choice of terms, since the man was a citizen of a Union state, and the term "sympathizer" is usually associated with people identifying with the opposing side to wear they live. These are relatively minor trespasses, but they are strange, and really stand out in an otherwise quite skillful work.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews