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Although I am new to this author, I think I will follow his work more closely in the future.
Well done, Jackson!
To Rob Jackson, all I have to say is "Cheers, keep the words flowing!"
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The rescue part in the book was a bit abrupt and final...perhaps he could have offered more insight to the final rescue moments.
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Arranged alphabetically, Holton covers a wide range of leadership characteristics-from courage to management by objectives and virtual reality-that unmask problems and bottle necks in almost any private or public corporate structure. Personnel from any level in the corporate structure will find this readable, easily understood, and immediately applicable to their area of work.
This is a must for any organization that is or already has shifted to self-directed or high performance team management. Lee was a master of this strategy, and the details of his skill show clearly through Dr. Holton's work.
Having read extensively of the literature on Lee's command of the Army of Northern Virginia, I was very impressed with Dr. Holton's skill in matching the excerpts from primary sources of Lee's career with the 119 management concepts presented in this compact, 158 page, guide to leadership.
The only quote that I missed seeing in my reading of this work, which would have only added to the character portrait Holton develops, is a paragraph from the January 21, 1993 Congressional Record:
"Robert E. Lee's religious conviction was clearly expressed in his sense of honor and duty. He revealed this in a note he wrote to himself: 'There is a true glory and a true honor: the glory of duty done--the honor of the integrity of principle."
While few of us can muster the sterling qualities (and patriotic impetus) of Marse Bob, we can yet benefit from his wisdom and integrity, and aspire at least to emulate the qualities which made him one of the most respected figures in American history.
The present work is a companion to "From Battlefield to Bottom Line", a study of U.S. Grant's leadership, by the same author. Both are highly recommended to anyone who wishes to learn leadership from two masters.
(The numerical rating above is an ineradicable default setting within the format. This reviewer does not employ numerical ratings.
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With 11 states, Washington D.C. and the brief inclusion of sites in Mexico you will need to spend several weeks going from site to site. However, the author breaks down the trips by state and gives excellent directions that will keep even the novice historian from loosing his way. You will be taken to several larger, well-known sites in West Virginia and Virginia as well as many smaller sites within these states and distant states such as Texas, Missouri and Florida.
Many have been to Sharpsburg, Manassas or perhaps South Mountain but it's doubtful that few have made it Stratford Hall where Lee was born. Therefore, it's fitting that the book starts out at Stratford Hall and gives brief insight into the life and lack of homeownership by Lee. From his birth in 1807 to his death in 1870, he never owned a single place of residence. He slept at his parents' home, army barracks, his wife's inherited house, and several homes borrowed from individuals during and after the war. He never paid out of pocket for any property on which he resided.
The research within these pages is top notch and gives the reader some excellent side bar material to whet his or her appetite for more on Robert E. Lee. The descriptions are concise and to the point and give just enough detail to allow the reader to understand how the specific location played a key role in shaping young Lee or perhaps how it effected his overall battle strategy in his later years. The accounts are well done and not overly detailed giving the average reader a nice foundation for a beginning study on Lee. The chapters are well laid out, state by state, but in order to keep this data from filling several volumes it does not include every little site associated with Lee. Not to worry, the author chose wisely and the selected material flows quite nice.
In going through this work the reader will enjoy his or her journey into Lee's past with stops along the way at several key historic areas. This is not a paperback for the hard-nosed historian, but well-done research for those interested in following in "The Footsteps of Robert E. Lee". Mr. Johnson has done it again and I highly recommend this book!
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For as author Newell points out so clearly and so accurately in this captivating account of the little-known Fall 1861 campaign in West Virginia, McClellan had much going for him as Lee had much against him.
For McClellan and the Union, it was McClellan's devout yet crusty subordinate, General William S. Rosecrans who deserves much of the credit for the Union victory. Rosecrans was aggressive, and he didn't hesitate whereas his boss did. Indeed, Rosecrans own career skyrocketed after his success in West Virginia, only to nose dive so quickly two years later at Chickamauga.
McClellan also had the services of General Jacob Cox of Ohio, who would later distinguish himself in Sherman's Atlanta Campaign, and of the famed explorer Frederic West Lander, who at one time rivalled Fremont in his Westward explorations, but who died so suddenly after the West Virginia campaign.
Also involved was a then little-known NCO named Ambrose Bierce, whose own macabre writings, including "A Horse-Man in the Sky" and "The Mocking Bird" came directly out of his experiences serving in an Indiana regiment during the fighting in West Virginia. If you like the twist and turns of Bierce's fiction, then this non-fiction work is a must.
Also going for McClellan was the key factor of a mountain populace that was on his side.
In contrast Lee suffered from poor generals - one of them, John B. Floyd, bicked constantly with his fellow generals. Floyd, the treasonous Secretary of War in the pre-Lincoln Buchanan Administration, was in constant fear of being captured and hanged. One of the more gifted Generals, Robert Garnett, was killed early on in the retreat from Rich Mountain. Garnett's cousin, Richard, would die in Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg almost two years later.
Lee's troops suffered from poor morale - a fact not lost on the future Confederate commander, who learned from his lessons here, whereas McClellan quickly forgot his.
Of additional note is the fact that two future Presidents - Rutherford Hayes and William McKinley, served in the 24th Ohio during the West Virginia battles, while the Grandfather of George S. Patton fought with the Confederate forces.
Not only does Newell cover fresh ground, but the illustrations, particularly those at the beginning of each chapter, give the reader a "you are there" feel.
The author does an outstanding job in analyzing their strength's and weaknesses, along with their usage of junior officers. This analysis along with snippets of little known historical facts make this a most enjoyable book to read. Coming from a state born of this conflict, the studies within these pages hits real close to home!
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Lee started his memoirs, but never finished, and at his death, the part of history was never really addressed by Lee. There have been many like Longstreet who wrote about the war, but not Lee.
His father had been Lighthorse Harry Lee, a friend of George Washington and a Revolutionary War Hero - a role that would have been Lee's had the Confederacy won. Instead of helping to forge a new nation of independence as his father had, by the simple act of the South losing, he was on the 'wrong side'. Instead of hero, he was a rebel. Lee was troubled deeply by his decision to leave the Union Army and take up leadership for the Army of Northern Virginia. He was the husband of Mary Ann Randolph Custis, great-granddaughter of Washington. Arlington, our national cemetery that is so honoured, was her plantation, and the dead originally put there was done so as an insult to the Lee family.
Lee was a brilliant tactician, did what so few did before him, divide his army in the face of superior forces, and succeeded until the fiasco at Gettysburg in Pickett's Charge.
Since Lee could not or would not complete his memoirs, A.L. Long, with backing of Lee and later his family, took up the role, an amazing chore since most of his work was done when he was losing his sight, and the writings accomplished with a slate used for the blind. Long was military secretary to Lee and the vast amount of information was unpublished before this work. The papers were collected with the assistance of Marcus J. Wright, formerly Brig. General of the Army of Tennessee and Agent for the Collections of Confederate Records.
This books provides a wealth of information on a gentleman, a husband, a father, a lady's man, but first and foremost a soldier and leader.
I highly recommend this for anyone wanting a clear pictures of Robert E. Lee.
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