Narrative of Military Operations Directed During the Late War Between the States

by Joseph E. Johnston

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Genres: Civil War, History, American Civil War, War

160 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1874

About the author

Joseph Eggleston Johnston, Confederate general, in the Civil War surrendered to William Tecumseh Sherman in 1865.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_...

Reviews

[Frederick]

I wanted to start reading about Confederate General Joe Johnston after reading Union General Grant saying basically that if the South had gone with Johnston they would have won the war. Then, I read that Sherman regarded Johnston as the Confederate General he had the most trouble with. Then, the third thing I read was that the Confederate soldiers under Johnston, even toward the end, thought they could win. He made Sherman pay a huge price in manpower when Sherman went against him, outnumbering him by a large margin. So, I read this to see Johnston's point of view. Now, I can move on to historian's conclusions. This is the beginning of my trying to understand why he was so respected by his enemy and treated with contempt by his own government.

[Susan Johnston]

If you are a student of the Civil War, this first hand account by one of the greatest Southern Generals is a must.
Because of an acerbic relationship with Jefferson David, Joe Johnston was passed over and micromanaged so his talents were never fully realized. He understood the imbalance between Northern and Southern resources and had he not been replaced by Hood before Atlanta, he might have husbanded the remaining men and equipment and changed the course of the war. No one can tell.
But his accounts of the battles both on the field and off provides a fascinating view of Southern Leadership.
A definite recommendation.

[Tim]

This is a good book if you're interested in the internal politics of the Confederate High Command during the war. Johnston seems mainly to be interested in defending his reputation rather than providing real primary-source material. Reading his account you often feel as if you're only just now being filled in on an ongoing feud between some of your friends. And while to some degree we can understand his desire to set the record straight as he sees it this work still does not make for good reading. If you're a professional and working in that particular subject matter you'll likely find it useful, which is in part why I was reading it, but if you are simply looking to read some history by one of its participants then move along- nothing to see here.