Review by Choice Review
A definitive account of the undeservedly neglected Olustee Campaign and its relationship to the wider strategic and logistic problems of the Civil War. Nulty uses the insights of new-style military history to revise the verdict of most general histories that the Civil War in Florida was largely a futile and politically motivated sideshow. He emphasizes Florida's significance for Confederate commissary supplies and argues that the Union offensive in East Florida in 1864 was an example of modern warfare against enemy railways, resources, and manpower, which, in spite of incompetant commanders and "the third bloodiest Union defeat of the war" at Olustee, was at least a partial success. This book is excellent military history based on thorough research--a clear narrative of combat operations and a balanced analysis of strategy. Despite its title, the book deals only briefly with the politics or civilian life of Confederate Florida. For nonmilitary matters students will still need to consult works such as John E. Johns's Florida During the Civil War (1963). Civil War buffs and students of military history should find Nulty's book profitable and enjoyable. There is an extensive bibliography and nine maps. Public and academic libraries. -H. B. Raymond, Colby College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
