Civil War Blunders: Amusing Incidents from the War

By Clint Johnson

Book Overview

There was little funny about a war in which 620,000 humans died. But it was finding humor amid devastation that kept Civil War soldiers marching toward the enemy. Union or Confederate, those in command proved adept at making mistakes. Many leaders were drunkards, couldn't speak English, didn't know a cannon's breech from its muzzle. Among the galleries of heroes were: Colonel Edward Baker, who told his Federals to follow the plume of his hat if they wanted to find war--and sent them over a cliff in a panicked retreat; General Felix Zollicoffer, who wore a white raincoat so opposing Federals could see him--but not his eyeglasses so he could see them; Thomas Selfridge of the Union navy, who "found two torpedoes and removed them by placing his vessel over them"; Colonel Alfred Rhett, a captured Southern blue blood whose fancy boots proved too small for every Union officer who coveted them; rum-drinking James Ledlie and dance-instructing Edward Ferrero, generals who kept each other company in a Union bombproof while their men faced slaughter. From Fort Sumter to Appomattox, Civil War Blunders traces the war according to its amusing, often deadly miscues. Lurking behind every significant action, as readers will discover, was someone with a red face.

Clint Johnson is a native of Fish Branch, Florida, who has written eight books about the Civil War, as well as biographies and newspaper and magazine articles. He received his journalism degree from the University of Florida, and now lives in North Carolina.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0895871637
• ISBN13: 9780895871633
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: Blair
• Length: 328 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.0" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

The best book (and handiest!)

It was oh so handy in writing my report, but a little confusing. But, I don't know much about war terms or the Civil War itself, so you may not find it so confusing. It was so funny to read and made my project much more fun!

Wonderful collection of stories

I enjoyed reading Mr johnson's. He took the civil war and made it kinda funny. whoever said this book was drivel was obviosly mistaken. This book should be considered a classic and will go down as one of the best books written about blunders in the civil war because there are so many books on civil war blunders.

True stories of ordinary men in our greatest war

An excellent read! Many of these little stories are well known but some were new to me, and I have been a student of the ACW for many years. This is not a "scholarly work"; it is for people who like reading a few short essays a day. Good for beginners who want to get a "feel" for what happened from 1861-65 that didn't get into the ordinary texts.

Overall, a very interesting book.

This book was a very interesting one to read. I read it cover to cover in just three days. Some of the stories were hard for me to understand why they were blunders, but many were funny. Some left me shaking my head in awe as to how some things happened. If you want to read the best stories first, read about the men who faught the enemy naked because they were caught off guard. If you're a Civil War buff, you'll find this book interesting.