Punitive war : confederate guerrillas and union reprisals /

What explains the willingness of Union officers and soldiers during the Civil War to force civilians out of their homes, burn entire towns to the ground, and, at times, execute prisoners on the spot? Mountcastle (Ft. Leavenworth Combat Studies Institute) addresses this question by taking a fresh look at the nature of Confederate guerrilla warfare and the Union Army's calculated response to it. In this highly readable and insightful account, the author argues persuasively that enough evidence exists to establish a credible cause-and-effect relationship between Southern guerrillas and the North's espousal of punitive war. Indeed, nothing eroded the barrier between the soldier and civilian spheres more than guerrilla problems, leading Union soldiers of all ranks to conclude that the people of the South were in arms against them. It convinced Yankee generals, especially Grant and Sherman, that the war needed to be extended to include civilians and property. This produced what has been called "a war of frightfulness," the destructiveness of which Mountcastle believes too many historians have downplayed. An excellent analysis of Union counterinsurgency activities and their devastating effects in war-torn Dixie. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. E. M. Thomas Gordon College

In his new look at a complex problem, U.S. Major Mountcastle contends that Confederate guerrilla warfare during the Civil War grew from the bottom up; that Union reprisals to it began in the ranks-not as an order from higher headquarters-in the western theater, specifically in Missouri, as early as 1861. Nominally a Union state, Missouri was divided from the start, so much so that its new governor was appointed, not elected. It was soon under martial law and a succession of commanders, including Grant and Sherman, were soon convinced that retaliatory punitive action against Confederate tactics was justified and that it must extend to civilians and their property. Hence the total war that resulted. This is a valuable close-up study of the ugly side of war, best appreciated by specialists. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.