Communication.To the Editor: I am writing to express my appreciation to Professor Robert Houston Robert Houston is an American actor and director from California. Robert first became known for his character Bobby in Wes Craven's 1977 horror classic The Hills Have Eyes. He directed the samurai epic Shogun Assassin in 1980. for writing in his review (Journal of Southern History, 71 [May 2005], 458-59) that my book, West Wind, Flood Tide flood tide also flood·tide n. 1. The incoming or rising tide; the period between low water and the succeeding high water. 2. A climax or high point: a flood tide of fears. : The Battle of Mobile Bay The Battle of Mobile Bay was a naval battle fought on August 5 1864, during the American Civil War. In addition to shutting down one of the two remaining Confederate ports, the other being Savannah, Georgia, this Union victory (together with the capture of Atlanta), was a , "will undoubtedly remain the best work on the Battle of Mobile Bay for many years to come." I would, however, like to challenge a number of the professor's comments, particularly his belief that Farragut's victory at Mobile Bay was not a factor in Lincoln's 1864 re-election. I. Houston writes: "West Wind, Flood Tide presents some intriguing insights, such as the use of army signal corps officers, including the founder of the corps, Colonel Albert J. Myer Albert James Myer (September 20, 1828 – August 24, 1880) was a surgeon and U.S. Army officer. He is known as the father of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, as its first chief signal officer just prior to the American Civil War, the inventor of wig-wag signaling (or (whose full name is not given in the text and whose last name is consistently misspelled) to speed up communications among the Union vessels." Author: The professor must have skipped page 67, line 20, in my book, where Colonel Myer's name is spelled in full: Albert J. Myer. II. Houston: West Wind, Flood Tide "is well supplied with fundamentally excellent maps (though sometimes they fail to mark an important place, such as Petit Buoy buoy (boi, b  `ē), float anchored in navigable waters to mark channels and indicate dangers to navigation (isolated rocks, mine fields, cables, and the like). Island)."
Author: There is no mention of a Petit Buoy Island in West Wind, Flood Tide. Apparently, the professor is referring to Petit Bois Island, which he has misspelled. This small island did not have a major role in the Battle of Mobile Bay. III. Houston: The author of West Wind, Flood Tide "tries to present the Battle of Mobile Bay as ... ending ... the war by largely terminating the South's blockade-running capabilities." Author: The topic of ending the war "by largely terminating the South's blockade-running capabilities" is a much broader subject and is not one of the themes in my book. The only reference to this topic is from Stephen Wise's book, Lifeline of the Confederacy Confederacy, name commonly given to the Confederate States of America (1861–65), the government established by the Southern states of the United States after their secession from the Union. : As long as the Confederacy had ports that blockade runners could use, the war would be prolonged. IV. Houston: "Much of this erroneous interpretation [Farragut's Mobile Bay victory helped Lincoln win the presidency] might well have been avoided if the author were current in the broader literature on the Civil War." Author: Although James McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , 1988) was not quoted in my book, the following excerpt from that book supports my belief that Farragut helped Lincoln win the presidency: "In retrospect the victory at Mobile Bay suddenly took on new importance as the first blow of a lethal one-two punch one-two punch n. 1. A combination of two blows delivered in rapid succession in boxing, especially a left lead followed by a right cross. 2. Informal An especially forceful or effective combination or sequence of two things. . 'Sherman and Farragut,' exulted Secretary of State Seward, 'have knocked the bottom out of the Chicago platform'" (p. 775). V. Houston: "An endnote See footnote. citing Carl Sandburg and none citing James McPherson illustrate the problem. Indeed the only reference to McPherson is a bibliographic citation of his atlas, with no mention of Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era." Author: The professor must have missed the excerpt from McPherson's book, The Atlas of the Civil War. See note 6, chapter 7. JACK FRIEND Mobile, Alabama Editorial note: Except for corrections of spelling and other purely formal matters, letters to the editor are printed as received. W. Robert Houston declined the Journal's invitation to respond to the letter above. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion