More Generals in Gray

by Bruce S. Allardice

Book Overview

Describes the six categories of Confederate general and offers biographical sketches for 137 of the more obscure officers.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0807119679
• ISBN13: 9780807119679
• Release Date: January 1995
• Publisher: Louisiana State University Press
• Length: 301 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Very Interesting

"More Generals In Gray" by Bruce S.Allardice is an extremely interesting and well researched book. There are 137 little known about Generals of the Confederacy listed in this wonderful guide. Mr.Allardice has given the reader very interesting insight to the life of each General listed.The book is well researched and extremely easy to read with photos of the majority of the Generals listed. The book gives great insight on how the states elected a General before and during the WBTS,and the problems that went along with this type of policy, which is very helpful and interesting. This book is a must have for anyone interested in the WBTS and especially the Trans-Mississippi department.Well written and nicely documented.5 stars.

Great supplementary reference, especially for Trans-Mississippi

I was uncertain about the merit of this title before I purchased, but I need not have been. Author Bruce Allardice has created a worthy supplement to Ezra Warner's "Generals in Gray." The presentation format of "More Generals in Gray" is very close to that of Warner's classic reference works, but in single column vs. two columns for Warner's books. For most of the 137 entries a photograph, sketch, painting of the person is provided, except where ones were not available. The author provides background information including birthdate, state, parents, education as well as prewar occupation. Following this is a description or relevant military career, ranks achieved, commands, postwar life and death. Allardice closes each biography with a description of what sources led to the inclusion of the particular figure as a general. Notes and sources are provided after each entry as well. One caveat is that the reader should not expect to find a large list of generals overlooked by Warner, that is not the direction of this work. Instead, Mr. Allardice has cast a wider net to include those who would be legitimately rejected by the earlier criteria. He carefully provides detailed criteria and explanation for his additions. Most names here are men who were either never really promoted/confirmed or who were generals in state service or appointed in the Trans-Mississippi by E. Kirby Smith. This brings us to the strength of the study: the inclusion of men acting as generals who were either appointed by Kirby Smith or who led state forces as generals in actual campaigns. Both of these are indeed generals in the true sense of the word. Those studying the Trans-Mississippi will definitely find the backgrounds provided here beneficial. The less exciting entries for the reader are those appointed very late in the war (e.g. March 1865 or later) but never confirmed and really never served in the capacity of general. In addition, there were those referred to as generals in various Confederate post-war histories, but whom the author demonstrates did not really achieve the rank. Though it is perhaps a thankless task, the author is to be commended for setting the record straight with regards to these men. As a bonus, in an appendix Mr. Allardice lists another ~135 individuals sometimes referred to as generals by less authoritative sources. In one or two sentences for each he explains the reasons for excluding them. "More Generals in Gray" is a well-written and organized supplement to Warner's work. This volume will appeal the most to a narrower group of civil war enthusiasts and particularly those studying more obscure engagements. Note that now is a good time to obtain inexpensive remaindered copies.

There's more to the story...........

Ezra Warner's classic 1959 volume tells us the stories of the 425 Confederate General Officers about whom we can't argue as to whether they were, in fact, a General; this volume tells the stories of several about whom we CAN argue. Warner gives the criteria, and this book does, too; a man had to be nominated to General Officer rank by President Davis, AND confirmed by Congress. The reasons to be here, not in Warner's book, are several; most commonly, a man could be a General of state militia, nominated by the Governor, confirmed by the legislature, not a General of the Confederacy. [President Jefferson Davis makes this book that way]. These militia officers can be seen as the equivalent of modern National Guard Officers. In some cases, there was a disconnect between the President and Congress, in others, there is doubt as to who appointed the man, and when. Thus we have the first Hispanic General, Santos Benavides--some records have him as a Colonel, others as a late appointment to Brigadier General. [The first American Indian General is in Warner's book--no doubts about Stand Watie]. A special case is that of nine officers appointed to Brigadier General by General Edmund Kirby Smith using his expanded powers as Commander of The Transmississippi Department. Communication between Richmond and the West was most difficult after the fall of Vicksburg in July, 1863; Smith was, thus, in a situation unique in American history. These nine men are but a small part of a most complicated story; Warner lists them in an appendix; here they get full honors. In these reviews, I try to differentiate between books for the general reader, and those for "people like me". This book falls, I think, somewhere in between. It is superbly done, well written, well illustrated; a most respectful account of men deserving full respect, even if they aren't a "big name". For those poor folks who are like me, this book is, indeed, essential. You know who you are....

More Generals in Gray -- Completes A Picture

I have owned and used Mr. Warner's classics Generals in Blue and Generals in Gray for over 40 years. Mr Allardice shows us the men appointed General by the various Southern States. This book proves the point the Government of the Confederacy was still having growing pains; the point being the generals from the Trans-Mississippi not being confirmed by the CSA Senate, in Richmond, Va. This is a great book for the Civil War Buff. It is a must need in your War Between the States Library.

Fascinating Particulars About Nondescript Generals

A tome devoted to biographical sketches of 137 men united only by their arguable status as Confederate generals sounds like one of the ultimate Civil War "buff books". It is a pleasant surprise to open its pages and discover no dreary catalogue of minutiae. Instead, the author has condensed years of research into a series of sparkling capsule lives that reflect the wide range of characters and events in America's bitterest conflict.Each of the subjects has some claim to having held the rank of general in the Confederate military but not enough of one to have earned listing in Ezra J. Warner's authoritative "Generals in Gray". However solid or dubious their entitlement to the highest rank, however, they form a cross-section of important and interesting Southern officers and citizens. They came from a variety of backgrounds. Ten were born in the North, nine in Border States, nine abroad (including one veteran of Napoleon's Grande Armee, whose unit's performance in the defense of New Orleans fell short of Napoleonic standards). Not all had embraced independence eagerly. Michael Jefferson Bulger, for instance, voted "no" in the Alabama secession convention but nonetheless enlisted in the 47th Alabama Regiment. At Cedar Mountain, he suffered wounds to his arm and leg, binding the latter with corncobs and suspenders. At Gettysburg, he was captured after being left for dead. Following such mishaps, he ended up living to age 94, enjoying a placid post-war career as a farmer and occasional politician.In contrast to the indestructible Bulger, Edward Gantt was a fire-eating secessionist who resigned his seat in the first Confederate Congress to raise a regiment in Arkansas. After being captured with the garrison of Island No. 10, he returned home on parole but then experienced an astonishing change of heart. In late 1863, the formerly rabid states-righter slipped across the Yankee lines and spent the rest of the war urging his former countrymen to lay down their arms.Many more such tales are told here. The author has a keen eye for incisive facts and quotations, and his writing wastes few words. For the serious student of the Civil War, this work is a valuable reference. For everyone else, it offers hours of fascinating browsing.