To Err is Humen
It’s very easy (and let’s be honest, great fun) to point out the mistakes that generals made from the comfort of your favorite reading chair. The trick is to get up from that chair and go outside, onto the battleground. If you visit South Mountain (P. 26), for example, you’ll marvel at the rough terrain and wonder how officers could have exerted any control over the fighting there. Or drive down Virginia Route 7 from Berryville to Winchester and imagine Phil Sheridan’s army trying to squeeze its way through Berryville Canyon—headlong into battle with Jubal Early (P. 42).
Visiting any battlefield can give you a better appreciation for the challenges facing military leaders, although soldiers have often engaged in the time-honored tradition of commander critiques. On July 4, 1863, for example, while surrounded by the wreckage of Gettysburg, Major John Nevin of the 93rd Pennsylvania wondered if “Napolean or even Robt. Lee were our commander this evening would they pursue a defeated enemy in this cautious courteous way?” Did you hear that, George Meade?
We’ve made our share of mistakes through the years at Civil War Times while navigating the challenging terrain of historiography, punctuated by deadlines. And let’s be honest, readers have fun pointing them out to us. So much so that when I recently spotted an error in a 1962 CWT (see P. 56 of this issue), I felt relieved. It seems our forebears weren’t perfect, either.
No matter how hard we try, I’m sure more mistakes lie ahead. If and when they appear, I’ll try to keep this line from playwright George Bernard Shaw in mind: “A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.”
Originally published in the June 2012 issue of Civil War Times. To subscribe, click here.
