James A. Morgan III - A Little Short of Boats: The Battles of Balls Bluff and Edwards Ferry, October 21-22, 1861

[P]erhaps a small demonstration on your part would have the effect to move them, wrote Army of the Potomac commander Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan to Brig. Gen. Charles P. Stone on October 20, 1861. This simple telegram triggered a demonstration by General Stone that same afternoon that evolved into the bloody subject of James Morgans A Little Short of Boats: The Battles of Balls Bluff & Edwards Ferry, October 21-22, 1861.Opposing the Union effort was Brig. Gen. Nathan Shanks Evans small Confederate command at Leesburg. Reacting to the news of Federals crossing at Balls Bluff and Edwards Ferry, Evans focused on the former and began moving troops to the point where Col. Edward D. Bakers troops were gathering. The Northern troops were on largely open ground, poorly organized, and with their backs to the wide river when the Southern infantry attacked. The twelve fitful hours of fighting that followed ended in one of the worst defeats (proportionally speaking) either side would suffer during the entire Civil War, wrecked a prominent Union generals career, and killed Baker--a sitting United States senator and one of President Abraham Lincolns good friends. The disaster rocked a Northern populace already reeling from the recent defeats of Bull Run and Wilsons Creek.A Little Short of Boats sets forth the strategy behind the demonstration, the fighting and the key command decisions that triggered it, and the many colorful personalities involved. The bloody result, coupled with the political fallout, held the nations attention for weeks. The battles most important impact was also the least predictable: the creation of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War. Ostensibly formed to seek out the causes of the string of defeats, the Joint Committee instead pushed the political agenda of the Radical Republicans and remained a thorn in Lincolns side for the rest of the war.Gracefully written in a conversational style, Morgans study is based upon extensive firsthand research and a full appreciation of the battlefield terrain. This fully revised and expanded sesquicentennial edition of Morgans A Little Short of Boats includes numerous photos and original maps to make sense of the complicated early-war combat. Seven appendices offer an order of battle, discussions of key participants and controversies, and a complete walking tour of the battlefield at Balls Bluff. This special edition will please Civil War enthusiasts who love tactical battle studies and remind them once again that very often in history, smaller affairs have important and lasting consequences.About the Author: Born in New Orleans, Jim Morgan grew up in Pensacola, Florida, and now lives in Lovettsville, Virginia. A former Marine, Jim is a past president of the Loudoun County Civil War Roundtable, a member of the Loudoun County Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee, and a volunteer guide at Balls Bluff for the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority.