The History of the Confederate War, Its Causes and Its Conduct, Volume 2 (of 2): A Narrative and Critical History

In Short

This volume serves as the second half of a comprehensive military and political history of the American Civil War. It chronicles the trajectory of the war from the winter of 1862 through the final surrender, moving through pivotal campaigns like Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and the Wilderness. More than a simple timeline, the work functions as a critique of generalship, questioning the competence of Union and Confederate leaders alike. It remains a significant historical artifact, preserving the perspective of an author deeply engaged in the tactical debates that defined the late nineteenth-century view of the conflict.

The Story

The narrative arc of this volume begins amidst the winter gloom of 1862, following the devastating Federal repulse at Fredericksburg. The text establishes a rhythm of persistent, often ill-fated, military maneuvers. It tracks the shifting fortunes of the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia, documenting how the war became increasingly characterized by professionalized, high-stakes slaughter. The author emphasizes the transition from the early, experimental stages of the war to a period of total, grinding attrition.

As the narrative progresses, the focus shifts to the Western theater, detailing the strategic importance of the Mississippi River and the relentless, often frustrated, attempts of Federal forces to secure Vicksburg. The account moves with careful attention to the geography of conflict—the tortuous bayous, the tangled thickets of the Wilderness, and the fortified heights of the Shenandoah. The author portrays these campaigns as a series of lessons in command, where the advantage of superior numbers held by the North was frequently offset by the defensive ingenuity of the Confederate commanders.

The story reaches its emotional and tactical peak during the summer of 1863, with the twin turning points of Gettysburg and Vicksburg. The author does not treat these as inevitable victories, but rather as the culmination of immense human effort and the exhaustion of military options. Following these events, the narrative traces a slow, inexorable decline for the Confederacy. The story follows the rise of Ulysses S. Grant to supreme command, noting his transition to a war of movement and massed assault, which eventually led to the brutal clashes at Cold Harbor and the long, wearying siege of Petersburg.

The final chapters transition from the battlefield to the broader political and social landscape. The author discusses the growing desire for peace among moderate voices in the South and the stark reality of Sherman’s march through Georgia and the Carolinas. The destruction of Columbia serves as a flashpoint for the author’s reflections on the bitterness of the war’s final phase. The volume concludes not with a triumphant celebration, but with a somber recognition of the war’s exhaustion, the collapse of Confederate resistance, and the somber reality of a reunited country left to reckon with the staggering cost of its survival.

How It Unfolds

The struggle for emancipation The narrative opens by framing the war as an inevitable consequence of the clash between free and slave labor systems. It argues that slavery was the fundamental source of the conflict, necessitating a political and military recognition of the true stakes of the war.

The failure at Fredericksburg The author details the tragedy of Burnside’s assault on Marye's Heights, emphasizing the futility of repeated, bloody charges against entrenched positions. This episode serves as an early example of the "blundering obstinacy" that the author finds throughout the conflict.

The Vicksburg and Gettysburg campaigns The text provides a granular account of the tactical maneuvers leading to these decisive clashes. It contrasts the naval struggles on the Mississippi with the grand, climactic battles in Pennsylvania, highlighting the role of geography in shaping the war's outcome.

The war of attrition As the narrative reaches the Wilderness and Cold Harbor, it shifts to focus on the raw, industrial scale of the fighting. The author vividly describes the confusion of the jungle combat and the astronomical casualty rates, framing these battles as the definitive, if brutal, turning points of the war.

The final campaigns The closing sections follow Sherman’s march and the siege of Petersburg, documenting the total disruption of Confederate logistics. The author concludes by tracing the political maneuvering and the final, weary movements that led to the inevitable conclusion of the war.

The People

The book centers on the figures who held the levers of military and political power. Ulysses S. Grant emerges as a central, pragmatic force. The author portrays him as an officer who understands that success requires utilizing all available resources and maintaining a clear, unwavering objective, despite the immense loss of life his strategy entails. In contrast, Robert E. Lee is depicted as the ultimate master of the defensive, a commander whose ability to maximize limited resources makes him a formidable opponent even when he is strategically overwhelmed.

Ambrose Burnside and Joseph Hooker are presented as cautionary tales. The author highlights their inability to grasp the evolving reality of the battlefield, noting their tendency to persist in failed plans at the cost of thousands of lives. William Tecumseh Sherman appears as the instrument of the war's totalizing end, a figure whose march through the South brings the reality of defeat directly to the civilian population. Finally, the author discusses politicians like Abraham Lincoln and, to a lesser extent, Confederate leaders. Lincoln is framed as a figure of singular focus—a man whose primary, overriding goal was the preservation of the Union, and who was willing to subordinate all other concerns to achieve that outcome. These men do not emerge as static heroes or villains; they are shaped and constrained by the demands of a conflict that quickly outgrew the capacities of the institutions they served.

In Its Own Voice

The Confederate war furnished two conspicuous manifestations of supreme heroism on the part of large bodies of men--one upon one side, the other upon the other.

The author makes this observation while comparing the carnage at Fredericksburg to the later assault at Gettysburg, framing both as tragic examples of military endurance.

"I have always regretted that the last assault at Cold Harbor was ever made.... At Cold Harbor no advantage whatever was gained to compensate for the heavy loss we sustained."

The author quotes this assessment of the battle to underscore the brutal, often fruitless, nature of the warfare that defined the final stages of the conflict.

What It's Really About

At its core, this history is an inquiry into the nature of effective leadership in a crisis. The author is obsessed with the question of why the North, despite its overwhelming material superiority, struggled for so long to achieve a decisive military victory. The narrative is underpinned by a profound skepticism regarding the competence of political appointees in military roles and an admiration for the professional soldier who understands the grim mathematics of war. It explores the tension between tactical brilliance and the overwhelming force of numbers, ultimately arguing that the war was won not through a single stroke of genius, but through the patient, often agonizing, application of superior strength. It is a study of how nations adapt—or fail to adapt—to the reality of a conflict that has ceased to be a series of glorious battles and has become a test of endurance.

Why Read It Today

Readers with a deep interest in Civil War military strategy will find this book a valuable, if opinionated, resource. The author writes with a clear, direct style that avoids flowery sentimentality, preferring instead to break down the logic of troop movements and the failures of command. However, today’s reader should be prepared for the book's period-specific sensibilities. The author displays an analytical detachment that can feel jarring when discussing the human cost of the war, and his commentary on the moral and social makeup of the soldiers—including his generalizations about immigrants in the Union army—reflects the attitudes of a writer from the early twentieth century.

Despite these limitations, the book remains compelling for its immediacy. It captures the sense of frustration and the grinding fatigue that settled over both the North and the South as the war dragged toward its conclusion. Those interested in the "Great Man" theory of history will appreciate the focus on the interactions between leaders like Grant and Lee. It is not an easy or light read; the density of the tactical descriptions requires patience. Yet, for those who want to understand how the conflict was viewed by a generation that had lived through its aftermath, this work offers a window into the professional and emotional assessment of the war that defined modern America.