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Cargando... Gray Ghosts and Rebel Raiders (1956)por Virgil Carrington Jones
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Inscríbete en LibraryThing para averiguar si este libro te gustará. Actualmente no hay Conversaciones sobre este libro. Written from a Southern perspective, this book canonizes the Confederate Raider John Mosby. Living in Northern Virginia, where there are still signs proclaiming it Mosby Country, it is good to know these things. And some of his exploits are truly amazing, but a pall is cast over it by executions in reprisal for Union summary executions of Southern irregulars. War was hell, and the Civil War remains a blight on American history. sin reseñas | añadir una reseña
Recreating the incredible adventures of the small bands of irregulars who ranged through northern and western Virginia, snatching couriers to discover Union plans and disrupting supply routes, a historical narrative reveals the impact these daredevils had on the Civil War. No se han encontrado descripciones de biblioteca. |
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Google Books — Cargando... GénerosSistema Decimal Melvil (DDC)973.7History and Geography North America United States Administration of Abraham Lincoln, 1861-1865 Civil WarClasificación de la Biblioteca del CongresoValoraciónPromedio:
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To make Jones’ claim tenable, I’d have to see some sort of economic cost-benefit analysis. It’s clear from the anecdotes that the partisans did cause a lot of disruption; huge detachments of Federal troops were necessary to protect supply lines and railroads – often without a great deal of success. The partisan problem was eventually “solved” by Sheridan, by the expedient of devastating the Shenandoah Valley to the extent that partisan units could no longer draw supplies and information from the populace.
It’s been pointed out in a number of military analysis that “special forces” tend to absorb more material and personnel than they justify. The partisans were at least partially self-sufficient, seizing supplies from the Union army and sending at least some on to the Army of Northern Virginia; it’s the personnel question I have some doubts about. Some military authors hold that the motivation that attracts soldiers into special units means that they end up in lower ranks than they are capable of – sort of a reverse Peter Principle – enlisted personnel stay at that rank, even though they could be NCOs in a conventional unit; NCOs could be lieutenants, and so on. Could the troopers and officers that made up Ashby’s, Mosby’s and other bands have been of better service if incorporated into the regular Confederate cavalry? Hard to say for sure, but I’d guess yes for some of them. Lee and Stuart generally did not hold the partisan units in much esteem.
While reading this, I had a vague recollection of seeing a TV series about Mosby. Sure enough, a little googling disclosed The Gray Ghost, a one-season (1957-1958) television series. I was slightly surprised to find the writing credited to Virgil Carrington Jones, but I probably shouldn’t have been.
I can’t recommend this very highly; a few interesting anecdotes but no real connection to the overall war. And, of course, it needs better maps. ( )