The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-02-12
HIS NEW HOOK.

gress for fourteen years, and was then wise and efficient Governor of Ala bama, has written a book of over 800 pages which has just been published by the Neale Publishing Company of New York and Washington. It is in some of the book stores and Is begin ming to be sold by subscription. It Is handsomely bound in Confederate gray with gilt lettering of the title on the outside. Its title is sgniflcant-"The War Between the Union and the Con- federacy, and It's Lost Opportunities. This Is a correct title; there never was any War Between the States" though that was the title which Alexander H. Stephens gave his book. It is a mis- homer The States never fought each other as States. General Oates in the first chapters sets forth clearly the causes of secession and war, which the young people should carefully read. He condemns the firing on ])rt Sum- ter by the ,Confederates as unwise and detrimental to their cause. He gives the reasons which influenced the pro- visional Congress to elect Jefferson Davis as President, gives his strong and his weak points in an interesting chapter. This Is followed by a chapter on Abraham Lincoln, giving a general view of his characteristics, so that the reader may compare and draw his own conclusion as to the Presidents of the opposing sides to the great conflict.
 The book gives a brief but truthful account of all the great battles and gives interesting historic accounts of Confederate generals-R. E. Lee, AL bert Sidney Johnston. Joseph E. John ston, Bragg, Beauregard, Hood, stone wall Jackson. Ewell. the Hills, Long street, Taylor, E. Kirby Smith, Early. Stephen D. Lee, Hardee, Pembertop and others and a full chapter on For rest. The book also contains criti- cisms of Grant. Sherman Sheridan. Hooker, Meade, Rosecrans, Banks. Pope, slocum, Hancock, sickles and other Federal generals.
 The book is in nowise apologetic. It takes the ground that the States had the right to secede from the Union for causes which they deemed sufficient and that the South fought for the right of local elf-government and slavery being a State institution each State where 1t existed had the right to maintain or abolish it. The author explains why 1t was that the non slave owners fought so manfully for the Confectionery He also maintains that a large per centage of the negro slave men should have been put into the Confederate army and given their freedom for faithful service.
 The chapter on Confederate finances and Confederate money Is worth to the reader three times the price of the hook. There are three chapters on the great battle of Gettysburg as the turn ing point in the great struggle. and they, alone, are worth more than the price of the book. Lost Opportuni- ties" are shown to have occurred on each side in battles and military oper- ations as in civil administration. Tho devotion to the cause and gallantry of the men In the ranks are highly praised, and 1t is claimed that if Pres ident Davis and the Confederate Con- gress had done their respective duties half as well the independence of the Confederacy would have been estab- llshed.
 The cruel policy of General Grant is severely criticised. but its success in terminating the war is admitted,
 The cause of Mir. Davis's great pop ularity with the Southern people after the war is assigned and Mir. Lincolns three master strokes of public policy are given.
 The authors conclusions in the lat ter part of the story of the Confed- crate struggle for independent exist ence. while largely speculative, are profoundly interesting. Appendices A and B are exhaustive epitomes of bat ties and casualties among the Alabama soldiers of Laws brigade.
 The book also contains a chapter giving a brief history of the war be- tween the United States and Spain in 1898.
 The book is replete with facts, many of which have never been printed be- , fore.
 . It is written in a strong, lucid style and every Idea is expressed in such , plain and forceful language as to be , easily comprehended by the reader , even of limited education. All old . soldiers will read 1t with great satis- ] faction and we learn that the author } priced it so low-only $S-that the poorest of them can obtain 1t. It should be read by the younger gener- ation for it will inform them of the true causes of secession and the great war which followed. It will also in- } form them in concise language of the reasons as given by Lincoln and Grant why the Union made such vast expen- ditures of money and the. lives of men to put down the Confederacy and re- store the Union as 1t was. The book , gives all these great events in the most concise manner and in the short est space possible Whoever carefully , reads this book will thereby acquire in } the shortest possible space of time a heorrect idea of the causes of the great est war that ever shook this continent and of the reasons why the Confed- eracy failed to become an independent l nation.