Secret Missions of the Civil War

by Philip van Doren Stern

By Philip Van Doren Stern. Prominent Civil War historian has woven a compelling history of the Civil War from first hand accounts by men and women who undertook secret missions and were involved in underground activities for both sides. Discussions of codes and ciphers used during this war. 320 pages. 6 X 9.

Genres: History, Civil War, Nonfiction, War, Historical, Reference, American Civil War

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1959

About the author

Philip van Doren Stern (September 10, 1900 - July 31, 1984) was an American author, editor, and Civil War historian whose story "The Greatest Gift," published in 1943, inspired the classic Christmas film It's a Wonderful Life (1946).

Philip van Doren Stern was born in Wyalusing, Pennsylvania into a family of humble means. His Pennsylvania-born father was a traveling merchant of Bavarian descent, who came to Wyalusing from West Virginia with his New Jersey-born wife. Stern grew up in Brooklyn, New York and New Jersey, and graduated from Rutgers University.

After graduating from Rutgers in 1924, Philip van Doren Stern worked in advertising before switching to a career as a designer and editor in publishing.

He was a historian and author of some 40 books and editor most known for his books on the Civil War[1] that a New York Times obituary called "authoritative" and "widely respected by scholars". As an editor, he worked at Pocket Books, Simon and Schuster, and Alfred A. Knopf. He compiled and annotated short story collections and the writings and letters of Abraham Lincoln, Edgar Allan Poe, and Henry David Thoreau.

During World War II, he was a member of the planning board of the United States Office of War Information. He was the general manager of Editions for the Armed Services, which resized popular books so Americans serving in the military could store them in the pockets of their uniforms. He compiled and edited many collections and anthologies of short stories, pictorial books, annotations, and books on historical subjects.

Stern edited, compiled, and introduced The Viking Portable Poe in 1945, a compact collection of letters, short stories, poems, and essays by Edgar Allan Poe. Stern wrote the biographical introduction to the collection, selected the contents included, and wrote introductory essays on the varying genres. The collection became a standard single-volume anthology of Poe's works for almost fifty years.

Reviews

[Tawny Audi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Secret Missions of the Civil War was written by Phillip Van Doren Stern. It is a nonfiction novel. This book was about Secret Missions given to important figures during the time of the Civil War leading up the election and assassination of President Lincoln. Some of the missions were given by Grant, Lee, President Buchannan etc. I gave this book a two out of five star rating because, I didn't really get engrossed in this book and thought it was a bit on the boring side.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you're a war history buff, this is a good read and reveals more behind-the-scenes action from a time in our formative history.

[Nicholas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stern's book caters to all readers, regardless if interested in the Civil War. The author recounts the main actions of each year of the war before delving into some unique stories. As a reviewer mentions, the book attests to many naval escapades. Of the 24 stories recounted, nine deal with naval events. Others revolve around female spying, cavalry raids, explosives, the attempts by the South to burn New York City, prison escapes, and the Draft Riots. All stories are interesting, but since these are first hand accounts, there is the exaggeration, embellishment, and arrogance associated with the desire to make one's contribution to the war much more than what it really was. Case in point is the story on Belle Boyd, the southern 'belle' who believed that her intelligence spying contributed to Stonewall Jackson's victory at Front Royal. Well, that really wasn't the case, though her account makes it seem to be the case. Anyone can locate documentation countering either side of this story, though more of it leans toward dispelling any real contribution on her part. Nevertheless, to read the first-person account helps immerse one into the 19th century and makes for a fascinating read.

Any casual reader can appreciate this book and read it within one or two days. If one is interested in a more in-depth analysis of intelligence activities, take a look at Edwin Fishel's "The Secret War for the Union," a massive and impressive 594-page treatment on the subject.

[Peter Sprunger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stern collects 24 stories from the civil war and packages them chronologically. Most of the stories are first hand accounts to which Stern adds a short introduction describing the significance of each event. However, due to the vast diversity of the stories this book is not a stand alone book. Some stretch the definition of "secret missions". This book would be an interesting addition to a deeper study.

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting collection of espionage stories, mostly primary source collections, from the Civil War. It highlights several fascinating stories, of rogue Confederate ships in Antarctica, female spies seducing officers, and possible confederate involvement in the New York Draft Riots. Unfortunately the fog of war has left many mysteries to history and it’s likely we’ll never know the full story of what went on, even who was actually working for who. Still good for a history or civil war buff.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book compiles numerous first-person stories about spy missions and other secret missions that occurred during the Civil War. Some of the stories are interesting but others are boring (particularly the ones about boats) - depends on your interests I think. I did like the narration and explanations the author shares before and after each story.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

one of most difficult to read and follow books I have ever read. I was not impressed.

[Roger Piasecki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy reading about the civil war and really liked this book!

[Jason Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Philip Van Doren Stern's nonfiction book, “Secret Missions of the Civil War,” he describes multiple stories and accounts from people like John Brown, while also noting the lead-up to the Southern states leaving the Union in 1861, starting with South Carolina. A couple of things I liked about the book were the lead-up to the breakup of the union and the South. I feel like this is easy for me to understand, and later on in the book, I feel it becomes more vague, and you question what you are reading.

Some things I didn’t like about the book are that I felt the title lied to us. There are some Parts about the books that really are about secret missions, while mostly all the other parts of the book are about Lincoln's term as president. If I had named it the I would have called it something like “Lincoln's handling of the Civil War.” I also feel like it was hard to keep reading at first due it being very repetitive. The book gets better as you go on, but it takes a while before it gets good. After careful reading and consideration, my final review is 3.4 / 5.

[Lee · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book filled with numerous short stories of secret missions of the war. Some were ones I was interested in hearing about; the NYC Draft Riot, St Albans Bank robbery, Morgan’s ride etc. The main issue I found was that these were taken from the actual source documents or articles written, usually by the participants, shortly after the Civil War. As a result many of these were dry and not that interesting while the event itself was. It would have been nice if the author had polished up these stories in order to make it more readable.

[Joe Spoto · Rating 5 out of 5]

I once heard someone say that no matter how old a book is, it is new to you if you have never read it before. This book is from 1959 but it was new to me. Each year of the civil war has a short chapter which explains the overall picture and conditions for that year. Following that, the chapters are first hand accounts written by the people who participated. It was very interesting and enjoyable to read.

[DeWayne Neel · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of "secret events" from numerous sources that were used in the Civil War, and a diary, is in some cases kept by sailors on special ships that provided the spy information in an unforgivable war. Some of this collection has humor, others reflect disastrous consequences, while other writings are a history lesson.
This is a 1950s book updated in 1990, correcting and updating some of the long-lost facts. An interesting read.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Summary of various undercover missions undertaken by both sides. Most were very novel for their time but wouldn't even meet the classification as Secret today. Some previously unknown events in my studies. The files appear to be limited - they were secrets after all. Some brave characters undertook dangerous work. Interesting.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book for helping research my Civil War "project".

[Kim Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good. I enjoyed reading some of the stories, but most of them aren't stories I will be able to use in class. It was mostly just for my personal edification.

[Carole Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tried reading this an eon ago when I was a wee thing and I couldn't get through it. I think it was too dry for me back then, now that I am an old fart I was able to get through this with ease.

This is filled with compelling stories from both sides of the war that nearly tore the United States in half. This book remained neutral and unbiased. I think that is what I liked most about it. Yes, there are always two sides to every story and it was nice to see foolishness and heroism on both sides of the war through this.

I also really liked the fact the stories were first-hand accounts from men and women who lived during the times with some back-story as well. However, if you have limited knowledge on the war, this is not the book for you. There is some back-story that is missing/needed to fully grasp what is going on.

There were some pictures near the end, but I do wish there were more. Maybe some pictures of the person speaking/sharing the stories. I think that would have added a star or two.

In the end, this was good. Very interesting stories, but missing some needed back-story for those that don't have a lot of knowledge on the subject. There were a couple of pictures of some machines and whatnot, but I feel more would have made the world and stories come to life more. I do recommend this for history buffs who are interested in the American Civil War. Out of five stars, I stamp this with 3.

[Vincent Truman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit hampered by time (references to IBM punch cards and text-bleeping out words like "damn" abound), this is a worthwhile tome for someone very familiar with the Civil War (context is often missing and/or a bit dodgy).

[Brian Callahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable, most stories I have read before, but well presented. Section on cyphers was most interesting.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

PRETTY GOOD