BOOK REVIEW
Loyal Till Death, A Diary of the 13th New York Artillery
This is much more than an account of an artillery unit that
served in both theaters of the war. It is also presented much differently than
one might expect when reading regimental histories in general. Instead of a
straight narrative, Breshears provides an anthology of after-action reports by
officers, memorandums, and battery orders in a collage-like fashion to provide a
rendition of the unit’s activities throughout its existence.
The cornerstone of the book is the long letters written to family members by Capt. William Wheeler who served with the battery until his death near Atlanta in 1864.
The letters reveal an extremely articulate, well-educated and cultured man who is not reticent in expressing his observations gleaned from daily camp life, marching, contacts with civilians and fellow soldiers, and experiences in battle. He is committed to the cause and provides an excellent depiction of the battery’s role at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg with some graphic descriptions of the carnage.
The unit was part of the Eleventh Corps, and Breshears defends the Corps’s performance at Chancellorsville, maintaining that the command structure ignored the good intelligence that Rebels were about to attack the Federal flank. Despite this, Gen. Joseph Hooker becomes one of his favorites later on when the battery is transferred to the Chattanooga area.
Wheeler bemoans the fact that Gen. Franz Sigel was hampered by the Union army’s proclivity to keep existing regiments, brigades, divisions and corps under strength during the Valley Campaign. At Gettysburg, he gives praise to General Meade for his cautiousness in pursuing Lee and criticizes Gen. John Reynolds for his rashness in bringing on the engagement.
As far as his corps commander is concerned, Wheeler opines that Gen. O.O. Howard is more adapted to the church than the army as a result of his religious predilections.
Marching in the South, he is amazed at the plight of the poor
whites there, pitying them for their lack of education and enterprise, and
concluding that they are really a tool for the political and military purposes
of the ruling class.
As an educated man himself, Wheeler is more appalled that many of his own men
cannot write their own letters home or even sign their own payroll forms. He
starts a voluntary school to teach them to read and write that is placed on a
hiatus as the army tightens its grip on Atlanta and where he ultimately meets
his fate.
Breshears concludes the book with appendices providing a historical sketch of the battery with its service record and commanders, the dedication address of its monument at Gettysburg and a eulogy of Wheeler by his former college classical language instructor. While Wheeler’s letters are true gems, to savor them is not cheap—the reader having to pay $37 for that privilege.
Frank Piatek
Frank Piatek graduated from Geneva College with a B.A. in history. He received his J.D. from Duquesne University in 1972. He is a member of several reen-act-ment groups and past president of the Mahoning Valley Civil War Round Table.
Taken from Civil War News
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