Edward Hagerman (1939–2016)

Very technical, but fascinating discussion of logistics, development of a modern staff and the increasing use of entrenchment during the war. Other reviews mock his detailed analysis of wagon usage but it will give you a lot more respect for the logistical demands of moving an army in the war.

Of interest is his implication that Grant’s determination of wagon usage at the beginning of his Overland campaign shows that he started from an assumption of attrition rather than mobility. The weight of trains Grant planned for would never have allowed for any rapid flanking movements.

Written in 1988, he relies a bit too much on the “rifled musket revolutionized offensive tactics” theory which later scholarship has pretty much refuted, but other than that, the book holds up well.… (mehr)