The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 106, July 2002 - April, 2003 Page: 484

View a full description of this periodical.

Southwestern Historical Quarterly

for lack of vision and centralized planning while praising the North's greater un-
derstanding of the logistical needs of modern warfare.
Clark's discussion of Longstreet's move south emphasizes the lack of coordi-
nation and railroad connections, the flawed communications, the low capacity
of southern railroads, and the disintegration of the South's rolling stock. A
troop movement that should have taken hours instead took days as soldiers
cooled their heels waiting for late connections, repair work, or the latest acci-
dent report. Despite these structural problems of southern roads, Clark contin-
ually points out that these problems could have been overcome with centralized
planning and adaptable leadership. His critique of Jefferson Davis downplays
ideology and states' rights as the leading factor for this failure, one point sure
to raise debate.
On the other hand, Clark believes that the Lincoln administration and north-
ern railroad managers (specifically Daniel McCallum, John Garrett, Tom Scott,
and Prescott Smith) better understood centralized planning, government pow-
er, and how to use the railroad effectively. The movement of the Eleventh and
Twelfth Corps shows how the North coordinated the transfer of troops, set prior-
ities, used the telegraph, and solved problems as they arose. Indeed, the troops
arrived in Chattanooga ahead of schedule.
Clark's treatment of the managerial differences between the two combatants is
more descriptive than analytical. The book examines railroad management only
from the government's and military's perspectives. The individual railroad com-
panies' concerns, problems, and bureaucratic systems could have been delved
into more deeply. That analysis would have given a more well-rounded view of
the problems these managers faced. The book also digresses from aspects of rail-
road management. Clark spends considerable time describing what soldiers ate,
drank, and saw while traveling on the railroads. He also discusses military leaders
and tactics that appear only tangential to railroad management. Ironically, the
book does not focus enough on management and suffers from a meandering
narrative. Despite these problems, the book provides some interesting insights
that both Civil War and railroad historians will find of interest.
St. Louis Community College at Meramac STEVEN G. COLLINS
Frontier Blood: The Saga of the Parker Family. By Jo Ella Powell Exley. (College Sta-
tion: Texas A&M University Press, 2001. Pp. xii+331. Illustrations, preface,
notes, bibliography, index. ISBN 1-58544-136-8. $29.95, cloth.)
Author Exley describes the Parker saga as a "quest for freedom, civil as well as
religious" (p. 3). After reading this narrative one hopes they-individually or
collectively-found it. The book opens and closes with Quanah, the family mem-
ber likely known to most readers. In between Exley has stitched together ac-
counts of John, the Maryland-born patriarch, his sons Daniel and James W.,
James's daughter Rachel and niece Cynthia Ann, mother of Quanah.
John made the first move over the Appalachians, shortly after the Revolu-
tionary War, but Daniel, the "anti-missionary missionary" (p. 125) led the flock

484

January

Upcoming Pages

Here’s what’s next.

upcoming item: 553 553 of 768
upcoming item: 554 554 of 768
upcoming item: 555 555 of 768
upcoming item: 556 556 of 768

Show all pages in this issue.

This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.

Tools / Downloads

Get a copy of this page .

Citing and Sharing

Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.

Reference the current page of this Periodical.

Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 106, July 2002 - April, 2003, periodical, 2003; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101223/m1/552/ocr/: accessed March 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.

Univesal Viewer

International Image Interoperability Framework (This Page)

Back to Top of Screen