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Book Review: Glory Road
Dec. 27th, 2021 08:35 amI’ve mentioned before my belief that the American Civil War could make for an amazing television series, could we but find a showrunner who realizes behind those stiff daguerreotypes, nineteenth century Americans were a bunch of merry pranksters with absolutely no chill, equally willing to burst into tears or huzzahs at the drop of a hat. Indeed, their greatest prank may have been the fact that they convinced their descendents that they were, in fact, Very Serious.
Obviously this TV show ought to include this story from Bruce Catton’s Glory Road, the second book in his Army of the Potomac trilogy. William W. Averell (Union) and Fitz Lee (Confederate) had been at West Point together. Now, two years into the war, “Fitz Lee had elevated the technique of annoying Yankee cavalry to a fine art, and he used to send taunting messages to his old pal Averell asking when the Yankee cavalry was going to begin to amount to something, and so on. His most recent message had been an invitation to Averell to come across the river and pay a little visit, bringing some coffee with him if possible…”
Averell, at last goaded past endurance, crossed the Rappahannock, routed the available Confederate cavalry, and “left a sack of coffee and a note for Fitz Lee: ‘Dear Fitz, here’s your coffee. Here’s your visit. How do you like it?”
Catton also tells a wonderful story about U.S. Army regular officers, stationed in California at the beginning of the war, who threw a tearful farewell party for their southern brethren who were heading back to old Virginia to take up arms against the army they had sworn to serve. Did anyone consider perhaps arresting them for treason? APPARENTLY NOT. Truly a bizarre age.
Obviously this TV show ought to include this story from Bruce Catton’s Glory Road, the second book in his Army of the Potomac trilogy. William W. Averell (Union) and Fitz Lee (Confederate) had been at West Point together. Now, two years into the war, “Fitz Lee had elevated the technique of annoying Yankee cavalry to a fine art, and he used to send taunting messages to his old pal Averell asking when the Yankee cavalry was going to begin to amount to something, and so on. His most recent message had been an invitation to Averell to come across the river and pay a little visit, bringing some coffee with him if possible…”
Averell, at last goaded past endurance, crossed the Rappahannock, routed the available Confederate cavalry, and “left a sack of coffee and a note for Fitz Lee: ‘Dear Fitz, here’s your coffee. Here’s your visit. How do you like it?”
Catton also tells a wonderful story about U.S. Army regular officers, stationed in California at the beginning of the war, who threw a tearful farewell party for their southern brethren who were heading back to old Virginia to take up arms against the army they had sworn to serve. Did anyone consider perhaps arresting them for treason? APPARENTLY NOT. Truly a bizarre age.
