Replies

When he's being nostalgic for the Old South of , say, his parent's days, he's not too bad. Folkways, folklore, food, that sort of thing. But when he trots out the ol', "the slaves were happy and loyal" crapola, when contemporay sources (eg, Mary Chestnut's diary) say otherwise, he's pretty dismal. And when he made the claim that Union soldiers only joined up for the bounty, he loses all credibility, at least as a civil war historian : Bell I. Wiley was as staunch a Southerner as you can imagine, and he concluded quite otherwise, as he details in his book, The Life of Billy Yank, and he came to his conclusions after reading the letters and diaries of thousands of Union soldiers . It's one thing to praise Johnny Reb ; it's another to tell lies about Billy Yank, and I think Grissom knew he was lying. The Union soldiers' performance at too many battlefields (eg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, not to mention at Andersonville) was not that of conscripts just in it for the bounty ( and simple logic dictates that if they were, wouldn't they all have deserted?). But when he sticks with "Foxfire" territory, and discusses the folklore and folkways of the rural south in the early and middle decades of the 20th century, he's quite readable. On a scale of 1-10, I give him overall a 4...worth buying used or paperback.

Thanks for the info! I will have to check it out.
I think my local library actually has a copy, believe it or not!

I have never read Mary Boykin Chesnut's diary; just never got around to it.
I do think that *some* slaves were "happy and loyal" but that they were a definite minority.
I understand Chesnut's plantation "Mulberry" is still standing and is an interesting tourist destination, as is the Museum of the Confederacy.
Since they are both within close driving distance for me (Camden SC and Richmond, respectively), I plan to visit them next summer.

There are so many other books on the War Between the States I need to check out, but haven't had as much time since my daughter was born.
I am just getting back into it in the last couple of months.

If you are interested in other books on American history, an excellent non-War related book I just finished was
Roanoke: Solving The Mystery of the Lost Colony, by Lee Miller.
I live in NC and vacation near Roanoke Island every year.
I've read many books on the "Lost Colony" story, and Miller has come closer than anyone in determining what happened to them.
Probably closer than anyone ever will, unless their remains are ever found, which is doubtful.

Thanks again for sharing that with me!

FRegards,
CD