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Confederates Thomas Keneally 9780060122997 Books

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Confederates Thomas Keneally 9780060122997 Books

I am a "Civil War" enthusiast who enjoys reading a good novel that has been well researched. The Confederates left me with a somewhat mixed bag of emotions, making it a little difficult to review. First off, I would say that Mr. Keneally is a good writer. His main characters are developed well enough that they're memorable. That said, I kept thinking that the book was more like a series of vignettes—divided by chapters. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, & the author does make it work. If I had to pick a central theme—or at least one thread that kept returning throughout the book, it would be the character of Usaph Bumpass, a 20-something VA boy & his fixation on the question of whether his wife, Ephie, "gave herself" to the traveling portrait painter, Decatur Cate, who is now his messmate. We know the truth, & Bumpass knows, but the question seems to be eating him up.

Other "main characters" are a British Journalist who is a Union sympathizer & a spy. Horace Searcy is apparently fictional. And a nurse/spy, Dora Whipple. Searcy falls for Whipple, & asks her to escape to England. I'll leave it at that.

Weaving in & out of the story are actual historic characters, some of whom are more integral to the story than others. The focus is Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's division to which Bumpass & Co belong. It's easy to tell which characters are historical by highlighting the name which will bring up the Wikipedia info.
The Kindle version has X-Ray, also a big help with character names, terms, &c.

The Yankees throughout the book are like shadowy figures. This book is strictly focused on the Confederates.

Some things I liked:

Not having read any of Keneally's books, I thought the writing was good. It kept me reading, & I had no trouble finishing the book.

Having studied the Civil War for several years I learned that there was more downtime—between battles—than major fighting. The book seems to portray the monotony of camp life pretty realistically. Because the story only covered 1862, the worst of the shortages hadn't yet begun. The prisoner exchange was still in effect, & the casualties hadn't yet decimated the army as yet. As a result, it would probably be completely realistic to have the guys eating well.

Some of the things that had me scratching my head:

The mention of D.H Hill several times as "Dan" was not accurate. In fact, it was a more formal period in our history. I did quite a lot of reading on Daniel Harvey Hill a couple of years ago, & he went by the name "Harvey", not Daniel, & I can't imagine anyone calling him Dan. He was also NOT a NC native as is often stated, but a S. Carolinian of which he was quite proud. I can't imagine James Longstreet being called "Jimmy" either. If I'm wrong, I'd love to be corrected.

Was the use of GD really used as much as the author had the men using it in this book? While swearing was certainly used—Certain Union Generals were well known for it—I would be surprised if the damning of God was a usual occurrence in the south. Even if it was, I think the author could have toned it down. (Though it is understandable in the middle of the chaos of war I suppose, I admit I found it offensive.)

If you are looking for numerous battle scenes, you may be disappointed.. This is primarily a character-driven novel that covers only months of the 4 yrs culminating with the Maryland Campaign & Sharpsburg. (Confederate name for Antietam.) On the other hand, if you wanted to know what happens when a body comes in contact with a canister shot or Minie ball, it is there in graphic detail.

One last thing: A reviewer who gave the book a poor rating because she didn't know that all southern women were "such sluts" needs to remember that there are different classes of people on both sides. I would be surprised if a lady of the "landed class" were to offer herself to the soldiers as they passed by. But the lower classes—I wouldn't be at all surprised. The armies all had their "camp followers", something like your "groupies" of today. And women whose husbands had died in the war or were off fighting were sometimes as needy as the men—not that I approve, but…Sometimes history doesn't exactly fit our neat little image.

All-in-all a somewhat quirky, yet intriguing, little novel.


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Confederates Thomas Keneally 9780060122997 Books Reviews

Keneally combines history and a compelling story to tell about a company of Confererates veterans in the Stonewall Brigade during the summer leading from the Peninsula Campaign thru the battle of Second Manassas to the bloodbath of Antietam. He includes true to life conversations with Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, A.P. Hill and Pete Longstreet along with his fictional characters to paint a fascinating picture of wartime action.
"Conferereates" is a good read for students of the Civil War as well as fans of historical fiction.
I liked how the author made the people interesting and true to life. There was a good mix of action on the battlefield with what was also happening with the characters.
It
was a difficult time for Lee's army. I found it very interesting that many solders left and went home because they did not believe that the South should be fighting an offensive war.
About half way through. Just love the way it is written, tying in aspects of the lives, present and past, of different Confederates marching with Jackson north in Virginia, especially their daily lives. Although a novel, it caused me to reflect on the non battle conditions, particularly the Confederate soldiers, had to endure on a daily basis that went far beyond the stress and risks of battle.
This is an early Keneally and really, he is better at 'story' than this tale, overburdened as it is with characters the reader does not get a chance to get to know. I was floundering as my knowledge of the Civil War is not great. I may give it a second chance after I bone up on some history. I was kind of put off by the names of the characters and found it hard to visualise much other than the awful killings that are the common theme throughout. Ultimately, it is a good anti-war book without being preachy as it does clearly point out how futile this conflict was. It was a mess. However, the book is also convoluted and messy and it is probably a book that if Keneally rewrote, he would do a way better job as he is ultimately, a great storyteller.
I read this in HB when it first came out in the late 1970's. !2.00 full price. (A long time ago) A very interesting novel that sparked a huge interest in the Civil War for me that last to this day. I thought this to be one of the best Civil War novels written (I have read many since then) The author is an Historian and can also write fiction. Definitely worth my time to read this again but as an e-book.He really brings that generation to life.
I'm not vey knowledgeable about the Civil War yet, and am not at all familiar with the locations mentioned in the book, but somehow that didn't detract from my ability to be drawn into this mesmerizing story to the point where I couldn't put it down. The writing is so beautiful and so authentic that I could see and feel what was being described as if I were actually there. I'm sorry I finished it so quickly, but couldn't stop myself-it's that good.
I am sad that I've finished this book. I enjoyed every moment of it. I felt as though I was along for the ride with Stonewall and his men. It was mostly a rough, sad ride and knowing what I know about the the cause of the Civil War, I still do not understand why these men fought. Some men love war and the life of war, some needed money badly and were paid to be a soldier by someone who didn't want to fight, some were newly immigrated to the United States but very few fought for the right to keep slaves - very few even owned slaves. I very much enjoyed the side story of Usaph and his wife Ephie that ran throughout the book giving us a little break from the war going on always down the road. I knew the Civil War was fought on roads from South to North to East in yards of citizens like ourselves but until I read this novel I haven't thought about it in terms of "what if it was on my road in my yard".
I am a "Civil War" enthusiast who enjoys reading a good novel that has been well researched. The Confederates left me with a somewhat mixed bag of emotions, making it a little difficult to review. First off, I would say that Mr. Keneally is a good writer. His main characters are developed well enough that they're memorable. That said, I kept thinking that the book was more like a series of vignettes—divided by chapters. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, & the author does make it work. If I had to pick a central theme—or at least one thread that kept returning throughout the book, it would be the character of Usaph Bumpass, a 20-something VA boy & his fixation on the question of whether his wife, Ephie, "gave herself" to the traveling portrait painter, Decatur Cate, who is now his messmate. We know the truth, & Bumpass knows, but the question seems to be eating him up.

Other "main characters" are a British Journalist who is a Union sympathizer & a spy. Horace Searcy is apparently fictional. And a nurse/spy, Dora Whipple. Searcy falls for Whipple, & asks her to escape to England. I'll leave it at that.

Weaving in & out of the story are actual historic characters, some of whom are more integral to the story than others. The focus is Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's division to which Bumpass & Co belong. It's easy to tell which characters are historical by highlighting the name which will bring up the Wikipedia info.
The version has X-Ray, also a big help with character names, terms, &c.

The Yankees throughout the book are like shadowy figures. This book is strictly focused on the Confederates.

Some things I liked

Not having read any of Keneally's books, I thought the writing was good. It kept me reading, & I had no trouble finishing the book.

Having studied the Civil War for several years I learned that there was more downtime—between battles—than major fighting. The book seems to portray the monotony of camp life pretty realistically. Because the story only covered 1862, the worst of the shortages hadn't yet begun. The prisoner exchange was still in effect, & the casualties hadn't yet decimated the army as yet. As a result, it would probably be completely realistic to have the guys eating well.

Some of the things that had me scratching my head

The mention of D.H Hill several times as "Dan" was not accurate. In fact, it was a more formal period in our history. I did quite a lot of reading on Daniel Harvey Hill a couple of years ago, & he went by the name "Harvey", not Daniel, & I can't imagine anyone calling him Dan. He was also NOT a NC native as is often stated, but a S. Carolinian of which he was quite proud. I can't imagine James Longstreet being called "Jimmy" either. If I'm wrong, I'd love to be corrected.

Was the use of GD really used as much as the author had the men using it in this book? While swearing was certainly used—Certain Union Generals were well known for it—I would be surprised if the damning of God was a usual occurrence in the south. Even if it was, I think the author could have toned it down. (Though it is understandable in the middle of the chaos of war I suppose, I admit I found it offensive.)

If you are looking for numerous battle scenes, you may be disappointed.. This is primarily a character-driven novel that covers only months of the 4 yrs culminating with the Maryland Campaign & Sharpsburg. (Confederate name for Antietam.) On the other hand, if you wanted to know what happens when a body comes in contact with a canister shot or Minie ball, it is there in graphic detail.

One last thing A reviewer who gave the book a poor rating because she didn't know that all southern women were "such sluts" needs to remember that there are different classes of people on both sides. I would be surprised if a lady of the "landed class" were to offer herself to the soldiers as they passed by. But the lower classes—I wouldn't be at all surprised. The armies all had their "camp followers", something like your "groupies" of today. And women whose husbands had died in the war or were off fighting were sometimes as needy as the men—not that I approve, but…Sometimes history doesn't exactly fit our neat little image.

All-in-all a somewhat quirky, yet intriguing, little novel.