History 358: Western Military History: The Civil
War Dr. Ricardo A. Herrera
CHAP 330 CHAP 209
A
MWF
10:00-10:50 (330)
829-6813
 
herrerra@muc.edu
 Hours:
MW 2:00-3:30,
 TR
10:00-11:00, F by
 
 appointment.
 
OVERVIEW AND GOALS
 
Course description: This course is an intensive examination of the
military history of the American Civil War. It will consider the war
from a variety of perspectives including, but not limited to battles,
campaigns, ideology and philosophy, strategic and tactical practices,
weaponry, logistics, terrain and geography, politics, and economics.
 
Course goals: The goal of this course is a greater understanding of why
and how Americans fought the Civil War and how it turned out as it did.
You will come to understand that the outcome of the Civil War, indeed
many wars, was not foreordained, that it was not simply a matter of
superior numbers, wealth, or technological sophistication. You will
develop a familiarity with some of the primary and secondary sources as
well as something of the historiography of the war. You will learn
something about the military art as practiced by Civil War generals,
about common soldiers' experiences, weaponry, and the roles of geography
and terrain. You will learn something of period infantry drill and
musketry by experiencing them with re-enactors of Company B, 51st Ohio
Volunteer Infantry, and come to know quite a bit about the Gettysburg
campaign and the battle itself by participating in a battlefield staff
ride. You WILL have fun-that's an order.
 
Department objectives: HI 358 will help you develop your skills in
synthesizing and assessing some of the basic literature in the field,
communicating complex ideas in writing and orally, and in analyzing
historical evidence, carrying out a research project, and reaching
informed conclusions (department objectives 1 and 4-8).
 
REQUIREMENTS, ASSISTANCE, AND GRADING CRITERIA
 
General course: Mondays and Wednesdays will generally be devoted to
lectures, and Fridays to discussions of Weigley, or various monographs,
and questions and observations. Please, bring the book in question and
your questions and observations to class.
 
Attendance: This is an upper-level course, thus we should have no need
to discuss this matter.
 
Participation: Again, this is an upper-level class. You must
participate if we are to succeed. This is worth ten percent.
 
Late work: Extensions will not be granted for exams or paper
assignments, nor will late papers be accepted for any reason. Do not
make travel plans that coincide with the class schedule, you will not be
afforded a personal test period. Do not ask for you shall not receive.
 
A.D.A: See the Catalogue for elaboration. Students with legitimate
needs must consult the professor.
 
Academic and personal integrity: You are responsible for reading,
understanding, and abiding by MUC's Catalogue, 2001-2002. Understand
and comply fully with the policies regarding "Campus Citizenship" and
the "Academic Honesty" (pp 33, 62).
 
Plagiarism is intellectual theft and will be dealt with severely. It
will result in a failing grade for the course, notification of your
advisor, and referral to the dean of the college without any opportunity
for making redress. Do not consider attempting it. All assignments
shall have following signed honor statement on the title page (centered
directly below the title):
 
On my honor, I have neither given nor received any unauthorized aid,
nor have I represented the work of others as my own on this assignment.
Furthermore, I willingly and without complaint accept that any violation
of this statement will result in a failing grade for this course.
 
Your signature
Your name
 
Review essays: Three review essays constitute thirty percent of your
grade, ten percent each. Your papers must be computer processed, 700
words long (text), double-spaced, in twelve-point Times New Roman font,
with standard margins (TB: 1"; LR 1.25"), left-justified, with each page
numbered (bottom, center). Your name, class and section, and date must
be in the lower right corner of the title page, single-spaced and left
justified (see Handout Folder for example). Staple the upper left
corner (papers not stapled will not be accepted). They are due at the
end of class. Precision is a must (see Benjamin, pp. 53-8 for further
guidance). Improperly formatted assignments will not be accepted.
There will be no use of the first person. Except for Shaara, there are
NO novels in this course. Please learn the difference between novels
and histories, fiction and non-fiction. I strongly suggest you make use
of the Writing Center. You must demonstrate the following:
 
· Proofreading (do not rely on grammar and spell checking
devices).
· Editing.
· Ability to follow directions.
· Clarity.
· Accurate use of sources and proper citations.
· Style.
 
First review: Address Griffith, and McWhiney and Jameson. Briefly
review their theses and how the authors support their contentions (what
sorts of arguments and sources are used). Which argument do you find
most compelling, most credible, most believable, and why.
 
Second review: Reflect on the popular reputation of Joshua Lawrence
Chamberlain and the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry at the Battle of
Gettysburg. How do Shaara and Desjardin treat Chamberlain and his
regiment? How well deserved are their popular reputations?
 
Third review: Compare, contrast, and discuss the experiences of Rhodes
and Watkins. At a minimum you must address who they were, their motives
for enlisting, the reasons for their service throughout the war, some of
their more important experiences, the sum of their experiences, and
which account touched you most and why.
 
Examination: There is one examination worth twenty-five percent. It
might include, among other things, basic knowledge of map reading,
tactics, weapons, significant individuals, or the ability to apply basic
Civil War tactical concepts in a given situation, and a comprehensive
question in objective and essay formats.
 
Drill and musketry: Re-enactors of Company B, 51st OVI
(www.51stovi.com) have graciously agreed to allow us to
participate in their spring training at Zoar on 23 March. They will
teach you the rudiments of Civil War infantry drill and how to fire a
rifle. This will give you an additional, albeit limited, perspective on
the role of the infantry, and it's a real blast.
 
Battlefield staff ride: From 26-28 April we will conduct a battlefield
staff ride, a highly interactive class taking place on the battlefield
worth fifteen percent, at Gettysburg National Battlefield Park. The
class will be divided into Union and Confederate sections with each
student given or one or two historical characters to research and whose
persona you will assume when on the battlefield. We will walk and drive
the battlefield, following the course of the battle, stopping at key
points where you and your opponent, assuming the guises of your
historical characters, will discuss your courses of action and reasons
for taking them. Your discussion will touch upon the tactical situation
and terrain and what, now that you've been resurrected, might do
differently. You will be questioned by me and by the class. The ideal
is an engaged, challenging, knowledgeable, and, frankly, fun.
 
Biography: You will research and write a brief, six-page critical
biographical study of one of your historical characters and his actions
at Gettysburg worth twenty percent. It will be based largely on primary
resources.
 
Grade Breakdown:
 
Book reviews: 30%
Battlefield staff ride: 15%
Biography: 20%
Final: 25%
Participation: 10%
 
A: 100-96 B+: 90-88 C+: 80-78 D+: 70-68 F: 60-0
A: 95-91 B: 87-84 C: 77-74
 
 D: 67-64
 B-: 83-81 C-: 73-71 D-:
63-61
 
Readings: You must read the assigned chapters in preparation for each
class.
 
W: Weigley, A Great Civil War: A Military and Political History,
1861-1865.
 
G: Griffith, Battle Tactics of the Civil War.
 
M: McWhiney & Jameson, Attack and Die: Civil War Military Tactics and
the Southern Heritage.
 
R: Rhodes, All for the Union: The Civil War Diary and Letters of Elisha
Hunt Rhodes.
 
W: Watkins, Company Aytch: A Confederate Memoir of the Civil War.
 
D: Desjardin, Stand Firm Ye Boys from Maine: The 20th Maine and the
Gettysburg Campaign.
 
S: Shaara, The Killer Angels: A Novel.
TOPICS AND READING ASSIGNMENTS
 
I: Lessons from Mexico and the Opening Campaigns: 1846-48 & 1861
14 Jan: Overview and Lessons from the Mexican War.
 
16 Jan: First Bull Run.
 
18 Jan: W "Introduction," 1.
 
II: Opening Campaigns: 1861
21 Jan: MLK Day. MUC holiday.
 
23 Jan: Naval Actions and Minor Affairs.
 
25 Jan: W 2, 3.
 
III: The Western Theater and Ironclads: 1862
28 Jan: Forts Henry and Donelson.
 
30 Jan: Ironclads.
 
31 Jan: Shiloh.
 
IV: On to Richmond and Back to Washington: 1862
4 Feb: The Peninsula Campaign.
 
6 Feb: Jackson's Valley Campaign.
 
8 Feb: G & M due.
 
V: Confederate Initiative: 1862
11 Feb: Second Bull Run.
 
13 Feb: Antietam.
 
15 Feb: W 4, 5.
 
VI: Transformation of the War: 1862-63
18 Feb: The Hard Hand of War.
 
20 Feb: Fredericksburg.
 
22 Feb: W 6, 7.
 
VII: Maneuver Warfare: 1863
25 Feb: Stones River.
 
27 Feb: Opening Moves on Vicksburg.
 
1 Mar: Chancellorsville.
 
Spring Break.
4-8 Mar: Work on your tan.
 
VIII: A Fourth of July to Remember: 1863
11 Mar: Gettysburg; read W 8.
 
13 Mar: Opening the Father of Waters: Vicksburg Falls.
 
15 Mar: D & S due.
 
IX: The River of Death: 1863
18 Mar: Chickamauga; read W 8.
 
20 Mar: Chattanooga.
 
22 Mar: No class.
 
23 Mar: Civil War infantry drill, Zoar.
 
X: Carving up the South: 1864
25 Mar: Sherman's Preliminary Moves South.
 
27 Mar: Red River.
 
29 Mar: Good Friday. MUC holiday.
 
XI: If It Takes all Summer: 1864
1 Apr: The Wilderness.
 
3 Apr: Campaign for Atlanta.
 
5 Apr: W 9, 10
 
XII: Starving Crows and Making Georgia Howl: 1864
8 Apr: Sheridan in the Valley.
 
10 Apr: "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the Boys are Marching."
 
12 Apr: W 11, 12.
 
XIII: The End Nears: 1865
15 Apr: Fort Fisher.
 
17Apr: Petersburg.
 
19 Apr: R & W due.
 
XIV: The End: 1865
22 Apr: W 13.
 
24 Apr: No class.
 
26-28 Apr: Gettysburg.
 
XV: Loose Ends
29 Apr: Loose Ends.
 
Final Examination
2 May: 8:00-11:00.
 
This syllabus is not a contract and can be changed by the instructor at
his discretion.