Earl J. Hess

Earl Hess might be the hardest working man in the field of American Civil War historiography, in as much as he seems to have a new monograph coming out every other year. In this book Hess continues to emphasize his thesis that late unpleasantness of 1861-1865 was not really the first modern war, by demonstrating all the ways that the artillery arms of the respective Confederate and Federal militaries were not that great an advance on their Napoleonic predecessors. Yes, there were some rifled cannon available, some of which were breach-loaders, but issues of fire control and unreliable fuses limited actual performance.

Frankly, Hess finds the most interesting difference is that the gunners of the American Civil War seemed to have been much more motivated than their Napoleonic predecessors, as they were generally willing to stand by their guns until the verge of being overrun, and than die by their guns. Hess suspects that the lesson that European observers should have been taking from the combat is not that the forces were so green, it's that so much was done with men basically dragged off the street with the addition of solid training in a viable doctrine, and with a willingness to learn lessons from experience.

It has to be admitted that this is a rather dry exercise, but if you need to learn about the nuts and bolts of artillery at this stage of history, this is the book you want to be dipping into.… (meer)

Makes the reader think about Civil War battles in a different way. Emphasizes the role of tactics and drill to infantry movement, formation, and combat. Claims most units and commanders did fairly well with this considering their minimal preparation. Hess argues that the rifle was not revolutionary to Civil War tactics. It really did not increase the accuracy, firepower, or speed of fire. The rifle offered distance, but few officers, men, or units fired at that range. Chapters describe the different tactical moves through numerous case studies.… (meer)

Military logistics is a field of study that has found popularity only in recent years, as The Information Age allows huge amounts of historical data to be analyzed in a fashion that has not been accessible to historians before. The topic has seen increasing popularity after World War II, the Allied victory in which is perceived to be a logistics miracle performed primarily by the United States. While most studies of military logistics focus on the 20th century, "Civil War Logistics: A Study of Military Transportation" reaches a bit further back in American military history to cover logistics in a pivotal conflict.

Authored by prolific Civil War historian Earl Hess and published by Louisiana State University Press in 2017,"Civil War Logistics" is a 368-page book divided into ten numbered pages, endnotes, and an index. As a field, logistics can be divided into distinct specialties: procurement, distribution, and transportation. Hess makes it clear in his title that this book only discusses transportation. Chapter 1 introduces the reader to logistics in military history going back to ancient times, while Chapter 2 lays out how the Federal and Confederate armies performed logistics according to mid-19th century concepts. Chapter 3 begins the examination of Civil War transportation systems with a view of river-based transportation--in essence, river steamers, the vast majority of which were paddle-wheelers. Hess initiates in this chapter the practice of first reviewing Union efforts in the field followed by Confederate efforts in the same method. Chapter 4 details Civil War use of the new railroad technology as a military logistics vehicle while demonstrating Union strengths and Confederate weaknesses in deploying this transportation mode. Chapter 5 is a look at coastal shipping as a military logistics tool and its role in Union operations; this mode of transportation had little impact for Confederate forces due to Union control of Confederate waters.

Chapter 6 covers what is known in modern military logistics as "the last tactical mile"--the horse-drawn wagon train. This mode of transportation was important to both sides in the war, and Hess treats the topic appropriately. Chapter 7 looks at three different and specialized transportation modes: pack horse and mule; cattle herds (really rations on the hoof); and foot power--after all each soldier carried a small supply depot on his person. Chapter 8 examines a specialized form of military logistics--the mass movement of troops. Hess focuses on the use of railroad for this logistics method by both sides, but there were also large troop movements by water during the war as well. Chapter 9 is about the countermeasures taken by Confederate forces against Union river transportation targets, while Chapter 10 shows how military force was used against railroads, wagon trains, and coastal shipping targets during the war.

Earl Hess has provided a welcome addition to the pool of Civil War scholarship in a field that seldom receives as much attention as it should.… (meer)