Drawing on journalistic accounts, memoirs, battle dispatches, and letters from actors large and small in the harrowing conflict, Gettysburg College historian Matthew Gallman gathers an indispensable day-by-day record of the Civil War, enlisting seven fellow historians (two of whom teach at West Point) to provide commentary that gives the documents needed context. In his introduction to the volume, the noted Reconstruction scholar Eric Foner notes that the war made a nation-state of what had been a far-flung congeries of states. It ushered in the first national currency, the first federal income tax, and a national banking system, among other innovations. As it was unfolding, however, the war lent itself to being seen with smaller-scale immediacy--and that urgency, with all its attendant chaos, shines through on every page. A welcome and useful addition to the libraries of scholars, Civil War buffs, and students. --Gregory McNamee

Must Have For The Civil War Home Library!   January 21, 2006

Not a book, per se.....   February 5, 2001

Next best thing to a civil war museum   January 7, 2001

Book is well worth owning!


Day by day comtemporary flavor of the Civil War   December 1, 2000
  13 out of 20 found this review helpful

I have a few problems with his book, which is a collection of old photographs and sketches and letters, reports and other original source material organized in a day-by-day format and with a short commentary for putting each of the original sources in context. The photographs sketches are very nice and contain some that I hadn't seen before (and some old favorites such as the landscape after Hood blew up his ammunition train when abandoning Atlanta). The source material is good when it deals with the politics and the home front, nicely including Baltimore riots, New York draft riots, currency legislation and Grant's Jew order, banning them from his theater of operations. The lacking part to the book is its treatment of military operations. Major battles are reduced to operations reports or letters home about 2/3 of a page long, there are no maps and the day-by-day format eliminates continuity. One is merely left with account after account of regiments being crushed and (in the commentary) casualty figures without any understanding of why operations occurred where and when they did. Worse, the commentary is full of errors. E.P. Alexander is identified as "Lee's chief of artillery". Lincoln made T.S.C. Lowe chief of army aeronautics after meeting him on June 11, 1963 after which he resigned in May 1963. The Union ironclad Carondelet is identified as wooden-hulled. The Confederate ram Albemarle is said to have "survived the mission, but it was so badly damaged that repairs could not be completed before war's end," on page 404, but then on page 467, we read of the Union raid that destroyed it.

Get this book if you want some contemporary flavor to add while you are reading a good general history of the civil war.


A fine new entry in the Civil War library   November 30, 2000
  19 out of 19 found this review helpful

It's been called the first modern war. Mechanized infantry movements, electronic communication, rifled barrels, ironclad battleships, and submarine warfare were all introduced to the world in the American Civil War. But it was also the first war to be covered in detail by modern media. A rich photographic, journalistic, and personally documented legacy has been left behind by the participants and observers. With The Civil War Chronicle, a detailed historical effort has been made to offer these primary sources to the public in a chronological fashion.

The benefits of offering data this way, along with appropriate commentary, is immediately evident to the Civil War buff. But even those with a passing interest in the drama will find plenty to feast on. Within the book's pages lies a wealth of photos, newspaper stories, letters, and diary entries. The famous and the not so famous alike have gripping, first hand stories which speak across the years to future generations. Many were aware of the historical significance of their times, and took great pains to record events for posterity. Other sources, more partisan in nature, took biased pains in illustrating their case to the detriment of the opposing side.

What I particularly enjoyed was the ease of reading the book proffered. It is very well laid out, with a two column approach that allows neat separation of articles, ideas, and dates. The illustrations chosen are well placed, and everything is broken up into easy to read chunks. In the interest of space and reader attention, the editor chose to cut out certain portions of several articles. I can understand the need for this, but I was left wondering about the omitted parts at times. Such is inevitable for the casual reader; I suppose to get it all I would have to devote the years of research that went into this book.

The Chronicle stretches from November, 1860, when Lincoln won his first election despite the fact he did not win the popular vote (something which is ironically resonant today) to May, 1865 when the New York Times declared, "Peace at last." All told, this is a wonderful book, and J. Matthew Gallman will be greatly appreciated for offering this fine new entry in the line of Civil War literary efforts.