Official Review: Civil War Comes Home by Jake McKenzie
Posted: 02 Jul 2020, 05:09
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Civil War Comes Home" by Jake McKenzie.]
Civil War Comes Home: Williamsburg, Virginia tells the story of some key events and personalities of the Peninsula Campaign in the first years of the American Civil War. The book is meticulously researched and uses footnotes, photographs, and illustrations to support the author’s account. The reader gets to see things through the eyes of a diverse range of people. While staying true to the historical record, author Jake McKenzie breathes life into the narrative by imagining the thoughts and dialogue of the personalities living out this piece of history. The result is a history book that, at times, reads like a novel.
It’s 1861 and events that will carry America into a bloody civil war are gathering momentum. Prominent southern military figures such as Lieutenant Colonel James Magruder and Robert E. Lee resign their commissions and join the Confederacy. In Portsmouth, the Union scuttles nearly a dozen warships to prevent them from falling into the hands of rebels. In Virginia, Fort Monroe acquires added strategic importance as the Union’s biggest base in enemy territory. The Fort also becomes a refuge for slaves fleeing from the Confederacy. This crystallizes the wider issue of abolitionism as a key driver for the conflict. Similarly, Fort Magruder at Williamsburg becomes an important fortification for the Confederacy, as it guards the land route to the Confederate capital, Richmond. Battle lines are drawn and redrawn in a series of skirmishes and violent encounters, before tens of thousands of combatants meet at the Battle of Williamsburg in May 1862.
I liked the fact that this book gives the reader many new perspectives on the Civil War. Rather than a dry, historical record, the author has allowed us to view history through the eyes of those who lived it. This dramatization of individual lives brings to the fore aspects of the war that often remain hidden. I was aware, for example, that freed slaves fought in the Union army as soldiers, but I didn’t know that some operated as civilian spies, gathering military intelligence and passing it on through various channels. I also didn’t know that this particular conflict saw the appearance of a nascent aerial warfare capability in the form of the U.S. Army’s Balloon Corps. It is the detail of how the war affected ordinary lives, however, that is perhaps the most appealing feature of the book. The account of Mrs. Payne’s journey to reach her wounded husband is just one example of the way in which the author humanizes what would otherwise be just a forgotten footnote.
While I think that the book has been professionally edited, I still found quite a few minor grammatical mistakes and typos. A note at the back of the book suggests that it is used in schools as a teaching resource. That being the case, the author should consider another round of editing to eliminate as many errors as possible.
I am awarding this book 3 out of 4 stars, deducting one star on account of the errors. The book will appeal to anyone who enjoys reading about the American Civil War or military history generally. The fact that the book is dramatized means that fans of historical fiction may also find something they like here. There are only one or two curse words in the book and no erotic material. It is therefore suitable reading for a wide audience.
******
Civil War Comes Home
View: on Bookshelves
Civil War Comes Home: Williamsburg, Virginia tells the story of some key events and personalities of the Peninsula Campaign in the first years of the American Civil War. The book is meticulously researched and uses footnotes, photographs, and illustrations to support the author’s account. The reader gets to see things through the eyes of a diverse range of people. While staying true to the historical record, author Jake McKenzie breathes life into the narrative by imagining the thoughts and dialogue of the personalities living out this piece of history. The result is a history book that, at times, reads like a novel.
It’s 1861 and events that will carry America into a bloody civil war are gathering momentum. Prominent southern military figures such as Lieutenant Colonel James Magruder and Robert E. Lee resign their commissions and join the Confederacy. In Portsmouth, the Union scuttles nearly a dozen warships to prevent them from falling into the hands of rebels. In Virginia, Fort Monroe acquires added strategic importance as the Union’s biggest base in enemy territory. The Fort also becomes a refuge for slaves fleeing from the Confederacy. This crystallizes the wider issue of abolitionism as a key driver for the conflict. Similarly, Fort Magruder at Williamsburg becomes an important fortification for the Confederacy, as it guards the land route to the Confederate capital, Richmond. Battle lines are drawn and redrawn in a series of skirmishes and violent encounters, before tens of thousands of combatants meet at the Battle of Williamsburg in May 1862.
I liked the fact that this book gives the reader many new perspectives on the Civil War. Rather than a dry, historical record, the author has allowed us to view history through the eyes of those who lived it. This dramatization of individual lives brings to the fore aspects of the war that often remain hidden. I was aware, for example, that freed slaves fought in the Union army as soldiers, but I didn’t know that some operated as civilian spies, gathering military intelligence and passing it on through various channels. I also didn’t know that this particular conflict saw the appearance of a nascent aerial warfare capability in the form of the U.S. Army’s Balloon Corps. It is the detail of how the war affected ordinary lives, however, that is perhaps the most appealing feature of the book. The account of Mrs. Payne’s journey to reach her wounded husband is just one example of the way in which the author humanizes what would otherwise be just a forgotten footnote.
While I think that the book has been professionally edited, I still found quite a few minor grammatical mistakes and typos. A note at the back of the book suggests that it is used in schools as a teaching resource. That being the case, the author should consider another round of editing to eliminate as many errors as possible.
I am awarding this book 3 out of 4 stars, deducting one star on account of the errors. The book will appeal to anyone who enjoys reading about the American Civil War or military history generally. The fact that the book is dramatized means that fans of historical fiction may also find something they like here. There are only one or two curse words in the book and no erotic material. It is therefore suitable reading for a wide audience.
******
Civil War Comes Home
View: on Bookshelves
