"Lee's Miserables" by J. Tracy Power

As the Civil War dragged on, Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, like Lee himself, came to symbolize the South’s hopes and dreams. Ultimately, Lee and his army symbolized the Confederacy itself, which partially explains why so many want Confederate monuments removed.  

The soldiers in that army were fiercely loyal to their commander, but they also referred to themselves as “Lee’s Miserables.” Army conditions continued to deteriorate in the last year of the war, with growing shortages of food rations, medicine, uniforms, and more. A constantly hungry army will not fight as well as one that has at least minimum sustenance. And food was a signal factor in the rising numbers of desertions.

 

In 1998, J. Tracy Power published Lee’s Miserables: Life in the Army of Northern Virginia from the Wilderness to Appomattox. It may be almost 25 years old, but the work is still up-to-date, and it is so largely because Power told a very different kind of story that most Civil War histories up to that point.

To continue reading, please see my post today at Dancing Priest.

Some Wednesday Readings

 

The Day the Delusions Died – Konstantin Kisin at The Free Press. 

 

Book Chat: We Fought at Gettysburg by Carolyn Ivanoff – Chris Mackowski at Emerging Civil War.

 

Media Confidence in U.S. Matches 2016 Record Low – Megan Brenan at Gallup News.

 

The War in the Low Country, Part 1: The Pocatalico Raid – Bert Dunkerly at Emerging Civil War.