West Pointers and the Civil War: The Old Army in War and Peace

by Wayne Wei-siang Hsieh

Overview

Most Civil War generals were graduates of West Point, and many of them helped transform the U.S. Army from what was little better than an armed mob that performed poorly during the War of 1812 into the competent fighting force that won the Mexican War. Wayne Wei-siang Hsieh demonstrates how the "old army" transformed itself into a professional military force after 1814, and, more important, how "old army" methods profoundly shaped the conduct of the Civil War.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807866009
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	11/01/2010
Series:	Civil War America
Edition description:	Large Print
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Wayne Wei-siang Hsieh is associate professor of history at the United States Naval Academy and has served with the U.S. State Department on a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Iraq.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Hsieh challenges studies that have argued that field fortifications and rifles gave the advantage to defenders, insisting instead that other factors, such as leadership, morale, and troop strength were more influential in success or failure. Smart and genuinely stimulating, West Pointers and the Civil War will be controversial in the best sense of the word.—Joseph T. Glatthaar, author of General Lee's Army: From Victory to Collapse



The originality and importance of this book are indisputable—both scholars and amateurs will find much that is new in Hsieh's scholarship. West Pointers and the Civil War will challenge all readers to take Civil War officers on their terms, to understand their collective and individualized histories, and to see the contingency of war on the front lines of the Civil War.—Peter S. Carmichael, author of The Last Generation: Young Virginians in Peace, War, and Reunion

Editorial Reviews

Judicious and well-researched. . . . Hsieh's project . . . is to explain the mentality of military professionals. . . . It is a task that he accomplishes with great skill.—Journal of American History

A solid contribution to scholarship . . . [An] excellent treatment of antebellum debates over tactical doctrine and particular tactical events during the war.—Journal of Military History

This original and important book asks us to reconceptualize much of what we think about the Civil War.—Journal of Southern History

Skillfully explores institutional efforts to develop and maintain the army's infantry, artillery, and mounted standards.—Civil War Book Review

From the Publisher

Since the founding of the Republic, there has been tension between those who believe in an armed citizenry and those who want a professional standing army. However, after the U.S. Army’s mixed performance in the War of 1812, the die was cast, and the Army set about making itself more professional. Stephen Hoye reads this account of how the Army’s tactics for doing so bore fruit in the Mexican War and later in the Civil War. Hoye’s delivery is clear and somewhat staccato. From time to time, he moves at a pace that some may find a bit hard to follow. Still, he enunciates well and is sufficiently expressive to keep the listener’s interest. M.T.F. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

APRIL 2010 - AudioFile