Army of Amateurs: General Benjamin F. Butler and the Army of the James, 1863-1865

827 Pages·1997·3.44 MB·English

by  Edward G. Longacre

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Page i
Army of Amateurs
Page ii
Also by the author:
From Antietam to Fort Fisher
General John Buford
Grant's Cavalryman
Jersey Cavaliers
Mounted Raids of the Civil War
Pickett, Leader of the Charge
The Cavalry at Gettysburg
The Man behind the Guns
To Gettysburg and Beyond
Page iii
Army of Amateurs
General Benjamin F. Butler and the Army of the James,
18631865
Edward G. Longacre
Copyright © 1997 by Stackpole Books
Published by
STACKPOLE BOOKS
5067 Ritter Road
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or
by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to Stackpole Books, 5067 Ritter Road,
Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania 17055.
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Longacre, Edward G., 1946
Army of amateurs : General Benjamin F. Butler and the Army of the James, 18631865 /
Edward G. Longacre.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8117-0135-2
1. United States. Army of the James. 2. Butler, Benjamin F. (Benjamin
Franklin), 18181893. 3. VirginiaHistoryCivil War 18611865. 4. North
CarolinaHistoryCivil War, 18611865Campaigns. I. Title.
E467.1.B87L66 1997
973.7'092dc21
[B] 97-20605
CIP

Page v
In memory of my great-grandfather,
Sergeant Henry M. Flanagin,
5th Pennsylvania Cavalry,
Army of the James
Page vi
The movement of the forces under Butler was close to the boundary line
between the true art of war and the game of bumblepuppy.
General William Farrar Smith
The ignorant officer is a murderer.
Anonymous
Page vii
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Preface xi
1 1
Ben Butler Takes Command
2 21
From Desk General to Field Leader
3 45
Anatomy of an Army
4 67
On to Richmond?
5 87
Debacle at Drewry's Bluff
6 101
Death in the Meadows
7 125
The Petersburg Follies
8 143
Four Days of Frustration
9 163
Regular Approaches
10 183
Action on the Northside, Action on the South
11 205
A Taste of Victory
12 227
From the James to the Hudson
13 245
Closing the Last Door
14 269
Winter of Content
15 287
Final Triumph
16 311
Postwar Service
Notes 327
Essay on Sources 375
Index 379