Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #109297 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 96 pages

Customer Reviews

Tells it as it was
I found this book a very good read, the illustrations of the battle ground were a great help in understanding of how the battle was fought. This made a good companion to "The Union Cavalry comes of Age" (E.J.Wittenberg) and would recommend both of them.

A very good book with honest illustrations
I was not familiar with this battle before reading this book by Dan Beattie and I must say that it was a very pleasant voyage of discovery. This book is written in a pleasant and interesting manner, the lecture is easy and the events are well and logicaly explained - and in the same time it is clear that author is quite erudit on this topic.
The interest of Brandy Station battle lays not only in the fact that it was the biggest cavalry clash during American Civil War, but also in the fatal flaws displayed on both sides. Author explains very well that before summer 1863 Union cavalry acquired a significant inferiority complex, when the Confederate cavalry went to consider itself invincible. That had consequences for both sides during this battle. First, an overconfident J.E.B. Stuart was caught "with his pants down" by Union general Alfred Pleasonton and his forces were surprised when dispersed and vulnerable. But then the excessive caution displayed during the battle by Union commanders made them waste this golden opportunity and allowed Stuart to recover. Ultimately the battle ended with a Southern victory, although this was a victory dearly paid - and both Stuart and Pleasonton profoundly "edited" the truth about what really happened at Brandy Station this 9 June 1863...
The book is quite rich in white and black photos and maps are also very well done. There are three colour plates by Adam Hook, and they are quite honest, but surprisingly only the first shows any actual fighting (and also a display of Confederate military underwear, as the Southerners were surprised at dawn...). The only fighting illustrations are small reproductions of gorgeous plates by Don Troiani. I confess being surprised, that Adam Hook didn't seize this occasion to make a picture of great cavalry fight on Fleetwood Hill (the most intense moment of the battle) or of another dramatic moment (and there were many to choose). Small reproductions of Don Troiani pictures are of course better than nothing, but it is recycling, not creating. Are things going so bad for Osprey that they have to do this?
That doesn't change however the fact, that I liked this book very much and I recommend it to all those interested in military history - even if artwork could be better.