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Whether it is called Bull Run or Manassas, this battle was a great victory for the members of the Confederate States of America and an incredible learning experience for the United States of America. William C. Davis takes his readers on a journey through this battle in an enlightening yet challenging manner. For the newcomer to military writing this book would prove to be very challenging. To follow Davis, the reader would probably need to read through this at least three times because he constantly, seemingly in mid-thought, switches from commander to commander, region to region, and Confederate to Union. While his style is somewhat difficult to follow, he often adds drops of humor to provide comic relief for the strained reader.
Davis describes the events leading up to the battle and the battle itself somewhat chronologically. He writes two or three paragraphs about the actions of the Confederacy during a time period and in the next paragraph will begin describing what the Union did during the exact same time period. After finishing the discussion about the North he jumps over to the South and begins telling their story right where he left off several paragraphs before. During the first one hundred and sixty pages, Davis sets up the actual battle by describing the political situation in 1861 and by telling how these two armies began to organize themselves from militia / civilians to soldiers. Instead of taking the reader directly to the battlefield he allows them to understand the events leading up to it in order to better understand the battle and the motivation behind it. Along with political discussions and the organization of these armies, he also describes in great detail the strategic movements leading to Bull Run and detailed characterizations of the battles key players.
This rising action is peachy, but Davis best writing begins as the battle approaches and he writes, There was never again such a night north or south of Bull Run. It was the twilight of Americas innocence (p. 158). The authors thesis is, America, it seemed had gone mad and gone to war with itself. Four decades of compromise between the sections of the country had come to naught, largely because the lawmakers of Washington repeatedly chose to treat the symptom rather than the illness. It was a sickness that tore at the Republics very being and one that could only be dealt with in violence and pain (p. 1). A thesis by definition is a proposition to be proved and Davis begins this book by proving his thesis.
He eventually drifts away into battle, never to return again. He begins to describe this sickness as he writes about the growing crisis in America. He contends the election of Abraham Lincoln as President, the paranoia of a dwindling minority (p. 1) in Congress, and the growing popularity of abolition in the North left the Southern states with two choices; either cave in on these important issues or secede from the Union. Shortly after supporting the opinion that war was inevitable because of the way America had treated the symptom (p. 1) he dives directly into military strategy and leaves behind the rationale propelling this war. His support of the thesis is overall weak, but overshadowed by his account of the battle. In order to understand why this book is well written even though the thesis is not effectively proven one must realize Davis intentions for writing this book.
He did not intend to prove A major clash of arms was inevitable (p. xiii). His purpose was to tell the story of how these men thought they had Taken part of something special, the largest battle ever yet fought in North America (p. 249) and how many thought this was Surely the first and last battle of this war (p. 249). While he does not directly support his thesis throughout the work it is the underlying precept of this entire struggle.
Every tactical decision or personnel choice was important because of the implications on the overall mission, independence or reconciliation, which had roots from the sickness Davis describes in his thesis. While William C. Davis thesis is not, by definition, convincingly proven, readers must realize he never intended to. His thesis was merely used as an introduction, and thus irrelevant to the overriding purpose of the book. This book does contain a fairly extensive index and is helpful when attempting to retrieve information about various events or people. Several illustrations were provided to help present a visual of what was being described in writing.
These illustrations are not presented clearly and do not contribute to the audiences understanding. They are drawn too small and with too much information to be considered helpful or decipherable. Davis draws the wealth of his information from primary resources. He uses first hand accounts to portray to the audience the reality of the situation, and not merely his analysis of it. This is perfectly demonstrated when Davis cites Major Thomas Rhett, a member of General Thomas J. Stonewall Jacksons staff, gives an account of Jackson receiving the most famous sobriquet of the Civil War (p. 197).
Rhett's description comes from Ben Ames Williams, A Diary from Dixie, which is a collection of letters, diaries, and memoirs from participants of the Civil War. Rhett's comments add insight to Davis description of how Thomas Jackson became Stonewall Jackson. Rhett infers that the nickname may have a negative connotation, saying Jackson stood like a stone wall on the hill reluctant to help his fellow Confederates, instead of fearlessly standing on the hill like most people think today. This primary resource exposes the audience to pertinent information they might have never known.
Overall, William C. Davis does an effective job describing the Battle at Bull Run and its surrounding events. Setting up the battle and using first hand accounts to add realism makes this a captivating book.
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Research essay sample on Battle At Bull Run By William Davis
