Cozzens, Peter. The darkest days of the war; the battles of Iuka and Corinth.

COZZENS, Peter. The darkest days of the war; the battles of Iuka and Corinth. Univ. of North Carolina Press. 390p. illus. notes. bibliog. index. c1997. 0-8078-5783-1. $19.95. A

The battles of Iuka and Corinth admittedly weren't the most significant conflicts of the Civil War, and truth to tell even most historians would have to pause for a moment before recalling them. It is true that the Confederates were indeed turned back, but even a complete victory would only have delayed somewhat General Grant's determination to strangle Vicksburg. And even though the Union's General Rosecrans won, the encounters in northeastern Mississippi only accelerated the downward slope of his career.

Why then write a book on these obscure episodes? Independent scholar Peter Cozzens bravely admits that one reason was that they have been neglected by researchers and historians. More to the point, however, they also bring attention to a murky phase of the war, and highlight the personalities of the leaders involved on both sides. This is useful, because those who begin to study America's Civil War soon run into an awkward situation. The great battles and troop movements in the eastern states--Bull Run, Antietam, Gettysburg-are all straightforward, easy to find on maps, and simple to relate to the conflict's "big picture." The same is true of the Mississippi Valley campaign that cut the Confederacy in two. But the large core of the central Confederacy that lay between the two major theaters of war is not so easy to digest. It was a great featureless region of few resources and little strategic value, hosting a mishmash of minor campaigns undertaken by quarrelsome, second-rate generals.

All the more reason, then, for this well-done account. Cozzens writes a dynamic narrative filled with real people fighting a typical war: soldiers marching and gossiping while their officers puzzled over bad maps and scanty intelligence reports, wondering just what the enemy was up to. This is an appealing read, but not always a brisk one. YA readers can easily omit some chapters devoted to the eternal bickering among generals, and to the minutiae of small units being sent back and forth over back roads. The rest of the book is a fascinating insight into the way the Civil War was really fought: i.e., in boredom, confusion, and sudden drama. Raymond Puffer, Ph.D., Historian, Edwards AFB, Lancaster, CA

A--Recommend for advanced students and adults. This code will help librarians and teachers working in high schools where there are honors and advanced placement students. This also will help KLIATT's usefulness in public libraries.