The Source

Confederate Military History – Extended Edition

By Michael K. Shaffer · Originally published September 2017 · pp. 12–13

The Source writers to avoid political issues. In volume one, Evans and two other authors dispatched with many of the political topics. In addition to Evans, who wrote a section entitled ‘The Civil History of the Confederate States,’ J.L.M. Curry penned the ‘Legal Justification of the South in Secession,’ and William R. Garrett authored a section on ‘The South as a Factor in the Territorial Expansion of the United States.’

By Michael K. Shaffer

Broadfoot reprint of the Confederate Military History. “This truly great contribution to Confederate literature, written by devoted Confederates, surpasses anything yet undertaken on behalf of the Southern cause, and will be received and preserved as an invaluable compendium of the records of the most momentous period in American history.” This description, from a review in the August 1899 edition of Confederate Veteran Magazine, offers a glimpse into the wealth of information contained within the pages of Confederate Military

History. Originally appearing in 1899 as a 12-volume set, printed in Atlanta by the Confederate Publishing Company, former Brig. Gen. Clement Anselm Evans served as editor and assembled a lineup of former Confederate officers to write the history of their respective states. The set also included the states of West Virginia and Maryland and a volume on naval operations. Evans endeavored to capture the military history, which occurred within each state and encouraged

Editor Clement A. Evans. Working tirelessly with each volume’s author, Evans strove to ensure the timely completion of the entire series. Some writers battled ill health; Jed Hotchkiss completed his work shortly before dying. The authors of each of the state volumes follows: Bradley T. Johnson, Md.; Robert White, W.V.; Jed Hotchkiss, Va.; D.H. Hill (son of Lt. Gen. Daniel Harvey Hill), N.C.; Ellison Capers, S.C.; Joseph T. Derry, Ga.; Joe Wheeler, Ala.; Charles E. Hooker, Miss.; James D. Porter, Tenn.; J. Stoddard Johnston,

Map example. Ky.; John C. Moore, Mo.; John Dimitry, La.; John M. Harrell, Ark.; Orin M. Roberts, Texas; J.J. Dickison, Fla.; and Lt. William Harwar Parker wrote the naval edition.

One benefit to modern researchers rests in the biographical sketches and images of general officers from each state. Following the military recap in each volume, these descriptions provide information on famous officers, as well as those of lesser renown. Some of these sketches offer details not found elsewhere. The original set, sold on a subscription basis at the cost of $48 for a cloth edition or $60 for half-leather, proved out of financial reach for the primary target audience—the veterans. In 1910, Confederate Veteran Magazine

Cross-reference chart in Broadfoot edition.

Texas officers.

purchased the entire run and offered them at half-price. (See March 2017 installment of this column for more information on Confederate Veteran.) For many years, researching the set presented a challenge given the absence of an index. Tom Broadfoot removed this obstacle in 1987 with the reprinting of an expanded version of the original collection. Robert S. Bridgers served as the editorial director for the index and developed a systematic method to capture the 5,925 individual names, more than 600 maps, and various illustrations found in the original set. Amassing copies of each of the original expanded editions— never widely available—Broadfoot Publishing reprinted the collection, with each state as a standalone version. The included cross-reference chart, shown, assists researchers referencing the original version. With the addition of a two-volume index, the Broadfoot set numbers 19 volumes and 12,000 pages. The original set contained approximately 7,000 pages, so the expanded version offers researchers much more, including the ‘Biographies of Confederate Soldiers Residing in the North’ section, published for the first time. The Broadfoot collection also significantly expands the biographical sketches—including many officers below the rank of general—from roughly 400 in the original to over 6,000. Despite the bias of the original writers, and numerous errors found within the pages—incorrect ranks, dates, and inaccuracies in certain maps—this source contains a large amount of information helpful to researchers. Those seeking printed copies of the set (and some individual state titles) can obtain them from Broadfoot Publishing, at http:// www.broadfootpublishing.com, or check WorldCat http://www. worldcat.org for help in finding the collection in a local library. A few websites contain digitized versions of the original Confederate Military History, including the Internet Archive at https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Evans%2C+Clement+Anselm%2C+1833-1911% 2C+ed%22 and Hathi Trust at https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/000113357 https://collections.nlm.nih.gov/catalog/nlm:nlmuid-14121350R-mvset. At both sites, users can view pages

Deadlines for Advertising or Editorial Submissions is the 20th of each month. Email to: [email protected] online, conduct searches, or download different file formats. Please keep suggestions for future ‘The Source’ columns coming; send them to the e-mail address shown below. Continued good luck in researching the Civil War! Michael K. Shaffer is a Civil War historian, author, lecturer, and instructor, who remains a member of the Society of Civil War Historians, Historians of the Civil War Western Theater, and the Georgia Association of Historians. Readers may contact him at [email protected], or to request speaking engagements via his website www.civilwarhistorian.net. Follow Michael on Facebook www.facebook.com/ michael.k.shaffer and Twitter @ michaelkshaffer