This is just a great book! James A. Morgan III has put together an outstanding account of the battle of Ball's Bluff and the skirmishing at Edwards Ferry (October 21-22, 1861). He sets up the situation in northern Virginia on the banks of the Potomac in late 1861 so that it is easy for the reader to understand why and how the events unfolded as they did.
The commander of the Union Army of the Potomac, Major General George B. McClellan was concerned about his armies right flank on the upper Potomac and the threat of a Confederate move from Leesburg, Virginia around that flank and a dash for Baltimore, Maryland. There was a Union Division posted in the area under the command of Brigadier General Charles P. Stone. On the Confederate side Colonel Nathan G. "Shanks" Evans commanded just a brigade at Leesburg and had no plans for an offensive but was constructing fortifications. Evans felt he should pull back from the town because it was an exposed position. When he did 16-17 October, 1861 he set in motion the events that led to the disaster at Ball's Bluff. McClellan was surprised by the withdrawal and started a reconnaissance on the Virginia side of the river by a division. But this recon did not make it to Leesburg and was ordered back on the day of the battle at Ball's Bluff. Stone did not know this and turned a patrol across the Potomac at Ball's Bluff into a raid based on faulty intelligence in conjuntion with a Union diversionary crossing downriver at Edwards Ferry, that eventually became a reconnasiance/advance toward Leesburg under the command of Colonel/Senator Edward Baker (Baker's tactical decisions that day did not help the Union cause), that turned into a disastrous battle for Union forces at Ball's Bluff when forced to retreat across the rain swollen Potomac after running into stiff resistance from Evans' troops who had been ordered to reoccupy the Leesburg area.
McClellan lost a lot of prestige with the Lincoln administration because of the defeat and this and the earlier rout of Union forces at First Bull Run led elements in the government to form the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War (JCCW) to investigate the military reverses. Stone, a man who had made some enemies in the army (who later testified against him to the JCCW) and the government, acted under the impression that his movements would be supported by the Union division on the Virginia side of the river and due to communication errors between himself and McClellan never realized such support did not exist. He was blamed for the disaster, investigated by the JCCW, arrested (but later released), and basically had his career in the army destroyed. Colonel Baker, who had powerful friends in the government (including President Lincoln, Baker was one of his best freinds), died at Ball's Bluff a martyr and never recieved the blame he deserved for the defeat. Evans was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General for his part in the battle.
The author writes very well so it was easy to read the book and keep up with events even though Ball's Bluff is a battle I was not that familiar with. The research is outstanding. An examination of the Bibliography makes that quite clear. And the author has a thorough knowledge of the parts of the battlefield that have not been lost to modern development because he got out and toured the battlefield on foot.
The book has twelve maps that really made it easier to keep up with what was going on as I read the book. There is one Theater of Operations Map that worked really well at showing all the locations mentioned in the book (both sides of the Potomac, Washington D.C., Leesburg, Ball's Bluff, Edwards Ferry), nine battle maps showing the action at Ball's Bluff at various times throughout the day of 21 October, 1861 and two battle maps for the skirmishing at Edwards Ferry 21-22 October, 1861. The battle maps are really good at showing troop positions, movements and the terrain features. I only wish there had been an Area of Operations map showing the entire Leesburg region (Leesburg, Ball's Bluff, Edwards Ferry) so I could have had a better overall mental picture of the contested area. I recommend using "The Maps Of First Bull Run" by Bradley M. Gottfried to get an even better understanding of what happened, but the maps in this book can stand alone. Much better than the maps found in most American Civil War books.
The book is realy well illustrated with fifty two pictures of participants, maps drawn by participants and period newspapers, aerial photos, modern photos of the battlefield taken by the author and more. The book ends with a great Walking/Driving Tour that I intend to use if I am ever in the battlefield area. Five great Appendixes provide even more information for the reader including detailed Order of Battle, more information on a couple of the participants, the death of Colonel Baker, and the Memorials at the battlefield. The Endnotes also contained a lot of additional information that I found interesting.
This is a fantastic book on a small American Civil War battle that I cant recommend enough. This is the first title I have read from Ironclad Publishing and I cant wait to get another one. Outstanding, check this one out!
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