A Hard Trip: a History of the 15th Mississippi Infantry. C.S.A.A Hard Trip: A History of the 15th Mississippi Infantry, C.S.A. By Ben Wynne. (Macon, Ga.: Mercer University Press Mercer University Press, established in 1979, is a publisher that is part of Mercer University. External link
abbr. International Standard Book Number ISBN International Standard Book Number ISBN n abbr (= International Standard Book Number) → ISBN m 0-86554-806-4.) Civil War regimental histories are usually about as interesting as watching paint dry and about as frustrating as trying to work a jigsaw puzzle depicting a herd of zebras. Many degenerate into a trite retelling re·tell·ing n. A new account or an adaptation of a story: a retelling of a Roman myth. of well-known battle narratives, attempting with little success to integrate a particular regiment's contributions. In fact, writing regimental history may be among the most difficult tasks attempted by Civil War historians. This slender volume, however, is a fine piece of work. Ben Wynne has defied the odds and produced a regimental history that is both readable and valuable. Those who venture to write such studies in the future could profitably use this one as a model. Particularly good is its final chapter, tracing the postwar history of the men of the 15th Mississippi Infantry Regiment, C.S.A. The 15th Mississippi Infantry Regiment was formed in the spring of 1861 from Attala, Carroll, Choctaw, Holmes, and Yalobusha Counties in north central Mississippi. The regiment saw its first serious action at the battle of Mill Springs The Battle of Mill Springs, also known as the Battle of Fishing Creek in Confederate terminology, and the Battle of Logan's Cross Roads in Union terminology, was fought in Wayne and Pulaski counties, near current Nancy, Kentucky, on January 19, 1862, as part of the , Kentucky, on January 19, 1862, and its last at the battle of Bentonville The Battle of Bentonville was fought March 19–21, 1865, in Bentonville, North Carolina, near the current town of Four Oaks, as part of the Carolinas Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the last major battle to occur between the armies of Major General William T. , North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. , on March 19-21, 1865. It surrendered with the other tattered elements of Joseph E. Johnston's command on April 26, 1865. Between these bookends, the 15th Mississippi fought in such campaigns as Shiloh, Corinth, Vicksburg, Atlanta, and Nashville. Wynne has done yeoman yeoman (yō`mən), class in English society. The term has always been ill-defined, but generally it means a freeholder of a lower status than gentleman who cultivates his own land. work in ferreting out primary materials relating to the regiment. He also provides thirteen pages of photographs, including several of members of the unit. In general, he has admirably marshaled pertinent secondary sources, with one striking exception: Thomas L. Connelly's magisterial mag·is·te·ri·al adj. 1. a. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a master or teacher; authoritative: a magisterial account of the history of the English language. b. two-volume study of the Army of Tennessee The Army of Tennessee was the principal Confederate army operating between the Appalachians and the Mississippi (the Western Theater) during the American Civil War. It is named after the State of Tennessee, unlike the Army of the is not cited at all, while Stanley Horn's 1952 volume is. There are also a few other peculiarities and errors. A map depicting troop dispositions at the battle of Mill Springs gives January 18 as the date of the battle, rather than January 19. Full source citations are given each time they are first used in each chapter, rather than using a shortened form throughout after the first citation. Many citations of quotations from secondary sources should be prefaced with "quoted in" because the material quoted comes originally from primary sources. The paucity of subheadings in the volume's index makes it less useful. Somewhat puzzling (in a book dealing with a Confederate unit) is the use of "Bull Run" instead of "Manassas" to refer to the battle of July 21, 1861 (p. 50). Compared to the overall quality of this book, however, these are minor criticisms. This is a fine regimental history, one of the best of its genre. Both Wynne and the publisher are to be congratulated. Troy State University FRANK ALLEN DENNIS |
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