HomeOdds & EndsOn Sherman's Trail: The Civil War's North Carolina Climax |
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Great Little Book On Sherman's March In North Carolina Apr 23, 2009
Since I live in Union County NC, close to where Sherman entered North Carolina, I have a natural interest on the subject.
"On Sherman's Trail" is a delightful story on Sherman's army entering North Carolina and of the several skirmishes, battles, encampments, etc. they encountered. For example, I enjoyed reading of the skirmish at White's Store NC, close to my home. What Wise wrote is much more than I ever knew of this brief skirmish.
But that's not all. Wise also includes accounts of the Union army's encampment at Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church, battles at Monroe's Crossroads, Averasboro, Bentonville, encampments at Fayetteville and Goldsboro, and ultimately receiving Confederate General Joseph Johnston's surrender at Bennett Place, close to Durham.
The book is an easy read and flows very smoothly with accounts of the Yankees' encounters with civilians and Confederate troops. I also enjoyed reading about out of the way places that history seems to have forgotten (Sneadesboro, Morven, etc.).
A great read whether or not you are particularly interested in the subject. Would like to see more such titles (perhaps actions in Eastern North Carolina 1862-1864?).
Read and enjoy. Highly recommended!
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Connect the Dots Apr 27, 2008
Most of us have stood in some little spot - maybe just a crossroads or a church - and studied a marker commemorating that place. We think about it for a bit and move on. Over time, we accumulate memories of a dot here, a dot there, each worthy in its own right, but forming at best only a vague shape, at worst no shape at all.
Jim Wise connects the dots to reveal for us the full picture of William Tecumseh Sherman's trail through North Carolina. I suspect that even Civil War buffs will whisper "Well, I'll be doggoned" to themselves. The rest of us can say it out loud.
The only problem I have with the book is where to keep it: on the bookshelf or in the glove compartment. I suggest the latter. Mr. Wise has skillfully blended history in with a travelogue. He takes us from interstates through back roads and even along dirt roads when necessary, giving precise driving instructions. At each stop he tells us what we are looking at, and how that place, whether humble or significant, fits into the grand scheme of things. As the outline forms, he oftimes puts shading inside the spaces by using anecdotes and letters and other correspondence (plus lots of pictures) to take us back in time.
The author's droll wit keeps him mindful of situations that a portentous historian might be inclined to let slide: go with Mr. Wise along a dirt road to the small hexagonal brick meeting place of the Richmond Temperance and Literary society. There, on the ceiling, a gold star was painted for each member. The star was painted silver for those deceased. If a member fell off the wagon, his star was painted black. Some stars have been repainted... several times.
What you might want to do is start out lazy, like me, and kick back with an easy, pleasant read as you ride along Sherman's Trail without leaving your chair. Then put the book in the glove compartment. You never know.
2 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Lost Chapter Discovered Apr 21, 2008
Civil War addicts have always had one big gap in knowledge. That's expecially true for those of us from the South.
What happened to Sherman after he burned Columbia? He shows up a few weeks later with his men marching up Pennsylvania Avenue as the Grand Army of the Republic celebrates the victory of the Union, but what happened to him and his men after they left South Carolina's capitol?
Finally, the mystery is solved. Jim Wise, historian and newspaperman from North Carolina's Triangle Area is the sleuth who has ferretted out the truth. ON SHERMAN'S TRAIL is the answer. He opens up this hidden period of our history with a clear, direct, description of the weeks as the big war wound down. Skirmishes, pitched battles, marches through swamps and fields of North Carolina are laid out as the desperate troops of the South tried to block the massive army that had conquered Tennessee and Georgia, sweeping all before it up to the center of South Carolina. Grim fighting. Deadly. Incessant. Some brilliant efforts. Some hopeless stands. Jim tells the whole story down to the last gasps in the outskirts of Durham, N.C., where he lives.
Jim Wise tells the story, but there's an extra I can't wait to test -- he connects all the places and events to the geography of today. The book can be used as a traveller's guide to the back roads of North Carolina -- roads, villages, and cities that Jim knows like the back of his hand. One can take this book and follow what Sherman's men did. See where he forded the creeks or got stuck in the swamps. Visit the cross-roads and farms he marched by and fought over.
The BIG story is just beyond this one. The story about Lee's effort, ended at Appomatox, to break through and join Johnson for a renewed struggle. We KNOW THAT story -- but this is the critical piece that's been missing.
Thanks to Jim Wise for giving us this lost chapter of the story.
Loren B. Mead
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