I remember two comments from Professor McPherson worthy of note. I think they say a lot about his character and agenda.
First, he made a comment in an interview (I no longer recall where or when) that any defender of Confederate heritage was either a racist or a dupe of racists. I found this to be a appallingly bigoted statement. The New Market Museum stopped selling McPherson's books as a result, if memory serves.
Second, he said, in an interview about black Confederate soldiers, that the reports of finding dead black Confederate soldiers on battlefields were bogus. The corpses were white soldiers blackened by the sun. I will not attempt to confirm nor refute the existence black Confederate soldiers, but this statement is breathtakingly ignorant and easily refuted. Anyone who has seen a body left out in the sun for a few days (and I have had the dubious pleasure), can easily see what race the victim was. Caucasians do not develop kinky hair, nor are other Negroid features brought about by such exposure. Skin becomes ashen blackish-gray, but race is not obscured for a long time after death (i.e. until flesh starts to fall or is eaten from the body). McPherson's statement shows he is willing to do violence to truth to defend his agenda. Anyone reading his works would do well to bear that in mind. That being said, I would not recommend ignoring his works. I especially enjoyed his For Cause and Comrades as well as What They Fought For. His work is certainly worth reading (with caution) and debating. Given his penchant for twisting facts, I am curious if he left out letters from For Cause and Comrades that did not fit his thesis. That, I believe, is unfortunately a legitimate question.