The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1867-05-29
The Twelve Decisive Pattles

N "stt correspondence ID Tie Union interest wi
brought to his task the most compreheIlsi
mind, and who manifested the most impartia
lty IN his descriptions and conclusions, W
Mr. William SWinton, then writing for Il
New York Times. Mr. sWinton had prev
I. ously acquired certain distinction in liter
: lure, curious II not eminent, BY work on Il
development Of the English language from j
! various sources, entitled e Rambles Anon
u Words a glance at this work would reae
lily suggest at least one fault of "a book by tll
same author which has been recently issue
2 under the title Of The Twelve Decisive Bal
ties OF the War The fault referred to is tha
OF too obvious an ambition of refinement an
picturesqueness of the style. For this reaso
his descriptions sometimes lack the directnes
and simplicity which the themes call for, an.
his meaning may be occasionally cayiare t
the ordinary reader. With this reservation
we do not hesitate to ratify the high praise be
slowed upon this history Of the critical phase
Of the late war BY the New York Round Ia
Bile, when it says:
: Ii then, we are SO fortunate as to dscoye
one OF those rare observers who at once think
truth OF supreme consequence and has the
clear sight to perceive it; who cannot only
see, but has also the artistic capacity to de-
scribe; who unites the mathematical faculty
O. precision which produces fidelity of outline
with the poetic appreciation which gives color
and vitality to his picture in such case we
may congratulate ourselves upon the enjoy
ment Of the fruit Of happy combination OF
qualities as precious asst is uncommon
| And, especially, as to the judicial honesty
and independence of the work, the Judgment
of the Round Table is borne out by what we
have observed of Mr.. Swinton's manner 81
dealing with the great conflict and the leading
military personages connected with it. On
this point that periodical says:
"The first thing which iorcibly attracts at
tention in looking through the book is the en-
tirely frank and evidently conscientious man
ner in which the great martial figures of both
sides ofthe struggle are handled and discussed
There is no sighting Of the military powers
ola general because he was a Confederate :;
there is no CLOSING the mistakes of another be-
cause he was a Unionist. The praise which is
due to heroism and Scholarships ungrud gingly
awarded on either side; the censure which
attaches to incompetence and pretension is as
bestowed"
1t is no marvel that the work is disparaged
by the New York Tribune, since its editor him
self produced a clotted mass of incondite data,
lumpish assumptions and violent conclusions,
strung together with Mr.. Greelcy's worst Eng
best being so bad that the highest
compliment paid him is the fact that some
people take the trouble TO read it-and pur-
porting to be history of the late civil CON
1lict. This journal says Of 'sThe Twelve De-
cisive Battles thatit is equally preposterous
in pretension and insignificant in execution.
Mr.. Swinton is not in the least danger of be-
ing extinguished by this compendious style Of
criticism in which there is no wit to adorn or
to point the naked malice.
The twelve battles which Mr.. Swinton Sc
lected as the decisive ones of the war, are thus
indicated in his own language:
"Of the twelve decisive battles, Bull Run
made known that the contest was to be war,
not a sixty days. riot; Donelson conquered
the Western border States for the Union Shi- |
lob overthrow the first and Murfreesboro the
second Of the Confederate aggressive cam
paIgns at the West; Antietam overthrow the |
first and Gettysburg the second of the Con-
Tolerate aggressive campaigns at the East the |
eight of the Monitor and Merrmac settled the |
naval supremacy of the Union Vicksburg re-
opened the Mississippi, and, as it were, BIZ
sected the Confederacy; Atlanta opened
path through Georgia, and, as it were, tri-
5ected the Confederacy; the battlein the Will
lerness inaugurated that dernier resort of
hammering out which made an end of the
nsurrection Nashville annihiated the Con-
ederacy at the West; Five Forks was the in
tal stroke of that series under which it top
oled."