This was a thouroghly enjoyable and absorbing read. I would as a military historian and civil reenactor highly recommend this book to anyone who has an intrest in any form of history, as this book covers the events and human intrest and interaction excellently. So to Mrs. Mesic three cheers Hip Hip Hurrah! ( )

Well, this one definately isn't for the casual reader. The first bit is a rather dry overview of the unit. There wasn't much new info here; most of it can be found elsewhere (and presented with a bit more panache). The geneology portion is a bit more interesting, but again, its not for eveyone. Being someone who can revel in minutia, I enjoyed it but if I'djust been looking for an interesting read about the unit, I would have given up pretty early on. ( )

Not for the casual reader, Cobb’s Legion Cavalry provides a detailed log of the Confederate cavalry during the Civil War. It will be of interest to Civil War buffs who seek detailed unit histories from the war and to genealogists who had an ancestor in Cobb’s Legion Cavalry. Cobb’s Legion was formed in Georgia, and consisted of cavalry, artillery, and infantry units. The artillery and infantry units were soon attached to other commands, so this volume only considers the cavalry and its movements and engagements during the war. In doing so, it touches upon many of the major battles of the Civil War, ranging from Virginia (Bull Run) to Pennsylvania (Gettysburg) to the Carolinas. The first part of the book is ordered chronologically, with detailed information on troop deployments, casualties, and engagements. The second half of the book is a roster of the men who served with Cobb’s Legion Cavalry during the course of the war, with as much biographical information as the author could collect.

The book is obviously meticulously researched, and the biographical information is very impressive. Nonetheless, it isn’t a work for I’d recommend. Involved more in the minutiae of the struggle, it becomes repetitive and tedious (just like war) and doesn’t really have an overview of the tactical issues. The only “character” who appears consistently through the volume is one of Cobb’s Legion Cavalry’s commanders, Wade Hampton, whose character and history are more evident in the appendix than the body of the work. Also, it is obvious where the author’s sympathies lie. The members of Cobb’s Legion Cavalry are “gallant” and honorable, and the Yankees barbaric and unchivalrous, who only prevail by virtue of their superior numbers, equipment, and rations. If researched using exclusively “Yankee” source material, perhaps the opposite conclusion would be reached. ( )

I'm of two minds about Harriet Bey Mesic's "Cobb's Legion Cavalry." The genealogist in me is impressed with the second half of this book, with its rosters of men in the cavalry units, and most impressively, a short biography of almost every man. I have ancestors who fought on both sides of the Civil War, and even though I didn't expect to find any family connections, I looked anyway. This part of the book, with its wealth of factual material, is a wonderful resource.

On the other hand, I was not as impressed with the first half of the book, which presented a narrative of the Cavalry's movements and actions from the spring of 1861 to Lee's surrender in 1865. Although also based on factual sources, Ms. Mesic's writing in this section shows a distinct bias, a conscious decision that I feel undermines most of the information contained here. That is, Confederate soldiers are good guys, invariably gentlemanly in all actions, while Union soldiers are bad guys, uncouth and not worthy of any respect.

There's also a tendency to present events in a way that, although technically factual, might not be a true representation of what happened. For instance, on page 134 she writes:
"[Union General Phil] Sheridan was relieved of his command of the cavalry of the Army of the Potomac and ordered to the Shenandoah Valley on August 2, 1864..."

Yes, technically, Sheridan was relieved of that particular command. However, it was because he was tapped by Grant as commander of the Army of the Shenandoah, with the task of taking on Jubal Early's troops and clearing out the Shenandoah Valley region (in much the same way Sherman was marching through Georgia). That is, it was a promotion. Maybe Ms. Mesic just felt this information was too far afield of her stated topic. The reason it struck me as odd was because I happened to read a biography of Sheridan several months ago and knew there was more to the story than was implied here.

Also, I was struck how she came back time and again to emphasize her concern for Confederate soldiers who were taken prisoner of war and how they were being treated, but not once did she mention the infamous Andersonville Prison in her own home state of Georgia where thousands of Union soldiers (including some of my own ancestors) suffered and died. Maybe that is also a topic she felt was too far afield, but since she brought up treatment of Confederate prisoners, I think some comparisons and contrasts to the prisoners taken by Cobb's and shipped South deserved a few lines of the narrative, too.

Again, I feel the rosters presented in Cobb's Legion Cavalry are an outstanding resource for genealogists and historians. But the biased narrative 'history' was a disappointment to me and why I rated the book so low. ( )

A complete and fulsome history of Cobb's Cavalry and its contributions to various battles in the American Civil War, this is not a book for light or casual readers. It is for students and study, where it can be used as a magnificent source materials for papers and themes. Only the first half of the book is "written" for readers; the balance is a listing of all the men who served (with mini-biographies) and various source materials. Mesic is a descendent of a member of the legion and is obviously biased in both her attachments and her reporting of various battles, but she has compiled a mountain of research materials into a very usable format for students and teachers. ( )