THREE battle flags? Oh man. That must be the record or something very close to it. In an era when losing even one was cause for great shame, this must have had a completely debilitating effect on morale even beyond the Jackson stain.

I am really surprised that there were men in the original regiment who survived right up to Appomattox. I suppose the odds say there must have been a few, but it still boggles the mind. How anyone could live through all the actions that came afterward, not to mention camp-borne diseases, is beyond my comprehension.

Another thing I’ve learned about the 18th that you already know but that shocked me is that they were still equipped with smooth bore muskets in MAY of 1863! Mon Dieu!!! In any line-to-line volley action at over 50 paces or so, this would have meant certain defeat for them and very heavy casualties. I knew that the South had some difficulty procuring enough rifles for all its troops, and that men were armed with smooth bores and even shotguns in the early battles, but I didn’t realize that the situation extended more than two years into the war.

Thanks again, Chris. I’ll be sure to send you my copy for an autograph, but it will be after Christmas, since the wife will be buying this for me.

Jackson was a black & white kind of guy in his worldview, which makes him fascinating because so few people really are black and white. As a result, nearly all of his direct subordinates clashed with him at various times because when he gave an order, there was never anything discretionary about it, regardless of the way a battle unfolded.

@JS: The 18th NC had a sad history after C-ville. Of the 325 men in the regiment at the battle, the lost over 126 by battle’s end. (There were many men who would go on to survive the rest of the war, though.) By war’s end, the regiment lost three battle flags, and their commander was passed over for promotion by less-senior, less-able people. The event stigmatized them.

I think the Civil War is bound to be a hot topic these days. We seem to be divided along the same lines. Here in the South, the war seems to smolder to this day. It is strange to read the words of southern orators defending slavery with high flown rhetoric liberally dressed with the words “liberty”, “freedom” and “divine cause”. It reminds me of certain people I hear today.

Thanks for this article, I’ll add it to my reading list.

I’m a casual reader of history – but I did find myself enjoying all the little details in this book. Chris has another book coming out soon… more to read! Maybe we can convince him to preview some of his new work.

I’ve been to the Wilderness/Chancellorsville battlefield, of course, and seen the place where Jackson was shot and where the stretcher bearers probably dumped him onto the ground. In the end, that’s what set off the chain of events that meant he woudn’t recover. Or that’s the official story at the battlefield these days.

As a kid, Jackson was one of my heroes. As I aged and learned more about him, I liked him less and less. He had a tendency to be a terrible bully, and even accused at least one man of cowardice for no good reason. In those days, that simply ruined a man, especially if the accusation came from someone like Jackson. Still, he was one of the few real military geniuses the US has turned out. He’s worth reading about.

A note some buffs might find interesting. The regiment that shot him, the 18th North Carolina, was involved in Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg that same summer. A guide told me that, essentially, the regiment committed suicide that day, retiring from the stone wall only when there was almost no regiment left. As was common in the Confederate Army, the regiment received replacements and continued as a unit right up to Appomattox where it surrendered with only 94 men mustered. I wonder if any of the men who were at Chancellorsville that day survived all the way through to Appomattox? Somehow, I’m thinking it’s not probable.

Thanks for the review!

What are the chances of a signed copy