A Single Grand Victory: The First Campaign and Battle of Manassas

by Ethan S. Rafuse

Book Overview

More than 800 men lost their lives and 2,700 were wounded. Confederate General Thomas J. Jackson earned his legendary nickname "Stonewall" here as fellow Confederate General Barnard Bee, later fatally wounded in the battle, shouted, "Yonder stands Jackson like a stone wall " Both the North and the South believed that a single victory in this first major battle would decide the war before it barely started. Yet the first battle of Manassas, or Bull...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0842028765
• ISBN13: 9780842028769
• Release Date: April 2002
• Publisher: Globe Pequot Publishing Group Inc/Bloomsbury
• Length: 226 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.7" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

A GOOD SHORT HISTORY OF THE FIRST CAMPAIGN

This is the first book I have read in the American Crisis Series, but it wont be my last. The same goes for author Ethan S. Rafuse, I will definately check out more Civil War titles by him. The story is woven together in a short, well written, factual account that proves the books title " A Single Grand Victory" was all that both sides believed they needed to win the American Civil War. The author weaves "traditional" and "new" military history together seamlessly to give the reader a really good general understanding of the campaign and battle of First Manassas/Bull Run. The Theater of Operations and Campaign maps were sufficient to get the reader to the banks of Bull Run without to much confusion. One map shows the initial Confederate positions along Bull Run on 18 July, 1861. This map, like all the battle maps is ok, but does not show the contours of the principal terrain features (Matthews Hill, Henry Hill, Chinn Ridge, etc.) that is always a great aid in allowing the reader to figure out why the troops and guns were positioned, and fought, where they did. Only four maps show the actual battle of 21 July, 1861, and this is not enough to show all the complicated movements, attacks, retreats, and couterattacks that make up this smaller, yet complicated, early Civil War battle. What saves this book is good writing that does not bog the reader down in too much detail. That way the reader can follow the events as they unfold during the battle with the small number of maps provided. But only an overview of the combat is given. (For more detailed combat descriptions I recommend "The First Battle of Manassas" by John Hennessy, and for more and better maps "The Maps of First Bull Run" by Bradley M. Gottfried) The author does not delve too much into the origins of Confederate General Jackson's nickname (an interesting story/controversy in its own right), and follows the traditional view giving the most blame for Union failure to Northern General Patterson and his inability to pin Joe Johnston's Confederate forces in the Shenandoah Valley (same as the reviewer). The book does not have an Order of Battle for the forces engaged that made up the Union and Confederate armies. For me this is always a negative for a book on Civil War campaign/battle histories but for a lot of readers this will not be a problem. One thing the author did include in laying out this book that I have always been a big fan of when reading history is "NOTES" at the end of each chapter that significantly cuts down on flipping pages as I read the book. The book does not have any photos or illustrations, but I found the "Bibliographical Essay and Recommended Readings" section helpful. Overall, a really solid overview, check it out.

A Single Grand Victory: Manassas 1861

You may recall from you public library or you middle school/high school library a book, Edward Creasy's Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World from Marathon to Waterloo. You may have encountered a revised version that included all the 19th century or even the edition that included WWII. The original edition was 1851 and became an immediate and constant bestseller for the remainder of the 19th century. John Keegan writes that Creasy's intention was to offer a 'jolly good read' and oversimplied his analysis in order to reach a general audience. Creasy's idea of indentifably decisive battles took hold among the general readership. On a single day on a single battlefield an army could be annihilated or rescued, a nation could be destroyed or saved, and an empire could be founded or meet its demise. The general of the victorious army must be brilliant. Logistics, political factors, and strategy are secondary factors. The virtue and character of the commanders is the decisive factor of the decisive battle. Brillant commanders with courageous armies make decisive victories. The expectations for a single, grand victory by Northerners and Southerners, their newspaper editors, and their political leaders were based up on the virtue of their societies. Having honor-bound societies with God-on-their-side, with superior versions of capitalism, the North and the South contemplated each other. In the eyes of the South, the North was a mud-sill society of wage slaves, ruled by Yankee merchants and bankers and the seedbed of radical, free love abolitionists. In the eyes of the North, the South was an indolent society of poor farmers and wealthly slaveholders, ruled by a Slave Power Conspiracy and the seedbed of mercenaries eager expand slavery into the American West and Latin America. Aristocratic and chivalrous Southerners expected to be embraced by the aristocratic and chivalrous monarchs of Europe, who would despise the egalitarian North and who would submit to King Cotton. Southerners believed that the North did not have the capacity to accept the economic sacrifice of a war with the Kingdom of Cotton. For the South, 'One Single Grand Victory' would be the story of the Southern War for Independence. For the North, 'One Single Grand Victory' would be the story of the War of the Slaveholders' Rebellion. Looking back from the early 21st century upon the war and its interpretations, the Single Grand Victory notion worked its way into the Lost Cause interpretation of the Civil War as well at the Centenial writings (and videos) of the 1960-2000 era. Gettysburg is the turning point of the war. Pickett's Charge was the turning point of the turning point. Where did these ideas come from? From Creasy's book written in 1851.

Very good short history

I am becoming a fan of this author after reading only two of his books. My reasons are simple; he is an excellent writer and makes a good case for each of his points. Rafuse takes the time to tell the reader what he hopes to accomplish and attains his objectives. Along the way, I am informed and each point is supported with references. His books on the 61-62 war years highlight the growing realization that this is not going to be a short glorious adventure. In bringing this point home, he keeps the reader within the attitudes of the time and increases our understanding of the events as they happened. "A Single Grand Victory" was part of the mythology of the Civil War and weighed heavily on the generals of both sides. The title is both their hope and fear. This caused some actions that seem stupid but are logical within this context. In this short but well written book, we get a good campaign overview with an operational battle study. Well balanced we understand the problems both commanders face and how close the battle came to being a Union victory. The myth of taking Washington, pursuit of a defeated army is well cover with very logical reasons why they did/could not happen. My only objection is that the book lacks enough maps to keep the reader fully informed. This is a common problem, many publishers seem to think military history books do not needs maps.

A great book

First Manassas or First Bull Run was the first major land battle of the Civil War and therefore gave America its glimpse into what would come. Union commander Irvin McDowell, a soldier who was thrust into command without adequate preparation or planning, assembled an army that he knew was not ready. His overall handling of the northern troops at Bull Run can be considered as reasonable given the circumstances and the situation. Criticism of McDowell at Manassas should be taken for what its worth. McDowell did the best he could with what he had to work with. A Single Grand Victory shows Abraham Lincoln's diligence to move against Manassas Junction while dealing with criticism from his military advisors. It also touches on the cultural context of the men who fought on these Virginia fields. Why men chose to fight and why they believed this battle would decide the fate of the war are answered by Rafuse. Though books on First Manassas by John Hennessey and William C. Davis may be considered the standard for the campaign, Ethan Rafuse has added this compelling narrative with an incorporation of new military history to Civil War scholarship. Well written and researched, this short account of the struggle near Manassas Junction comes across as a fine read and shall put the battle not only in its historical perspective but also its political context. Rafuse certainly could be considered as one of the up and coming Civil War military historians of our time.

Every phase of the first major clash of the Civil War

The seventh installment of the Scholarly Resource "American Crisis Series" on the Civil War era, A Single Grand Victory: The First Campaign And Battle Of Manassas by Civil War scholar and historian Ethan S. Rafuse is a meticulous, exhaustively researched, well written examination of every phase of the first major clash of the Civil War which came to be known as the Battle of Manassas. From the march on Centreville to the savage slaughter on Henry Hill, A Single Grand Victory is painstakingly researched, and presented with exquisite detail. A Single Grand Victory is a strongly recommended addition to Civil War Studies supplemental reading lists and academic reference collections.