West Pointers and the Civil War: The Old Army in War and Peace (Civil War America)

Most Civil War generals were graduates of West Point, and many of them helped transform the U.S. Army from what was little better than an armed mob that performed poorly during the War of 1812 into the competent fighting force that won the Mexican War. Wayne Wei-siang Hsieh demonstrates how the "old army" transformed itself into a professional military force after 1814, and, more important, how "old army" methods profoundly shaped the conduct of the Civil War. Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 12 INTRODUCTION......Page 18 CHAPTER ONE: Colonials, Continentals, and Federals: The Origins of American Military Professionalism......Page 28 CHAPTER TWO: Tactical Expertise and the U.S. Army before the War with Mexico......Page 51 CHAPTER THREE: The Old Army’s Vindication: The Mexican War......Page 71 CHAPTER FOUR: Tactical Continuity in the Decade before the Civil War......Page 92 CHAPTER FIVE: The Beginning of the End: The Old Army on the Precipice......Page 108 CHAPTER SIX: War in Earnest: The First Battles of 1861......Page 129 CHAPTER SEVEN: The Peninsula: Lee and McClellan Leave Their Legacies......Page 151 CHAPTER EIGHT: Morale, Cohesion, and Competence from Second Bull Run to Missionary Ridge......Page 175 CHAPTER NINE: Decisions East and West: The End of the Civil War......Page 194 EPILOGUE......Page 213 Notes......Page 216 Bibliography......Page 262 A......Page 284 B......Page 285 C......Page 286 D......Page 288 F......Page 289 H......Page 290 I......Page 291 L......Page 292 M......Page 293 P......Page 295 S......Page 296 U......Page 298 W......Page 300 Z......Page 302 The author offers an insightful and original portrait of the American army from 1814 to the end of the Civil War. This book demonstrates how the "old army" transformed itself into a professional military force after 1814, and, more important, how "old army" methods profoundly shaped the conduct of the Civil War. This is the first book to show how the antebellum U.S. Army, and especially West Point graduates, affected the course of the Civil War, this volume makes a unique contribution to the history of America's greatest cataclysm Most Civil War generals were graduates of West Point, and many of them helped transform the US Army from what was little better than an armed mob that performed poorly during the War of 1812 into the competent fighting force that won the Mexican War. This title offers a portrait of the American army from 1814 to the end of the Civil War.