Lee's Young Artillerist: William R. J. Pegram

A Nation Divided: Studies in the Civil War Era

by Peter S. Carmichael

This biography of artillerist Pegram, who participated in every major Virginia battle by the end of the Civil War, is a case study in the Confederate worldview. Carmichael (PhD candidate, Pennsylvania State U.) challenges other historians by demonstrating that Pegram and his fellow soldiers shared a religious belief in human inequality based on scriptural interpretation, their "cause" becoming synonymous with Godliness and their defense of slavery not merely an economic or cultural defense but representative of a much deeper religious conviction. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Genres: Civil War

264 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1995

About the author

Peter S. Carmichael was Robert C. Fluhrer Professor of Civil War Studies and Director of the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College.

Reviews

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 4 out of 5]

the wild Amazone

Carmichael has written a first rate biography of one of the South's finest. He challenges those Civil War historians who conclude that a weakened belief in slavery and loss of will and morale contributed to the defeat of the Confederacy.
Civil War News

/////

More about "the cause" than artillery

The great strength of this book is in highlighting the ethos of Southern gentlemen like Willy Pegram. Carmichael demonstrates that men like Pegram were engaged in a holy war and as such, performed heroic feats on the battlefield.

So if you're one of those people who are still facinated by "the cause" of this war, then this is a book for you. If you're looking for a book on Confederate artillery tactics, techniques, and procedures, however, you'll have to look elsewhere.

Gary Schreckengost

/////

[Manray9 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mundane, pedestrian, reads like the doctoral dissertation I think it was.