The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 93, July 1989 - April, 1990 Page: 423
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Book Reviews
ern confederacy.... the primary object of each slaveholding State
ought to be its speedy and absolute separation from a Union with hos-
tile States" (p. 377).
The "Editorial Method" essay must be read by the user to enjoy a
profitable association with this book. The editors tell the user their cri-
teria for including materials from Davis's years as secretary of war and
senator, as well as categories of items omitted. Such things as applica-
tions for appointment to the Military Academy, recommendations, offi-
cial nominations, acceptances, and so on, are not used, but the editors
do tell the user where to find them.
An extensive addenda acquaints the user with additional materials
pertinent to previous volumes that have been discovered. Also useful is
a list of symbols and abbreviations, repository symbols, and two useful
maps printed on the endpapers. Finally, an index of over fifty pages
shortens the work for users interested in a single subject or only a few
subjects.
Naturally, one would hope that the volumes could appear more rap-
idly. This project was begun while I was still a graduate student at Rice,
and now I am eligible for retirement. Still, there is much to be said for
the careful, encyclopedic approach of this work. Civil Warriors who
profit from this access into the mind of the Confederate president must
applaud the effort, and be grateful for it.
Stephen F. Austin State University ARCHIE P. MCDONALD
Lifeline of the Confederacy: Blockade Running during the Civil War. By
Stephen R. Wise. (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press,
1989. Pp. xi+403. Acknowledgments, introductions, maps, appen-
dices, notes, bibliography, index. $24.95-)
Blockade running remains one of the most controversial topics of the
Civil War. Part of the debate has been fed by the romantic nature of the
trade and the dearth of serious scholarship. Stephen Wise's Lifeline of
the Confederacy is the most comprehensive study ever completed and
should quiet much of the controversy for many years to come.
Based on extensive research, Wise relates the story of a confused
Confederate government and well-organized groups of profit-seeking
private companies that kept the Confederate armies supplied for four
years. Among the Southern leaders' mistakes was their failure to utilize
the early laxity of the blockade to import goods. The rebel leaders con-
tinued for some time to show little concern as the Union blockade grew
tighter and only acted after the cotton embargo failed to bring Euro-
pean nations into the war.423
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 93, July 1989 - April, 1990, periodical, 1990; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101213/m1/479/?rotate=90: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.