Description
Edited by Herb S. Crumb and Katherine Dhalle
Major Thomas Ward Osborn enlisted at Watertown, New York, in August 1862, as a raw volunteer with no prior military training and within two year became the Chief of Artillery of the Union Army of the Tennessee. These narrative-like letters to his two brothers cover the first two years of his wartime career from obscurity to prominence, from Commander of Battery D, First New York Light Artillery, to Division and Corps Artillery Chief. They contain detailed accounts of the Penisular Campaign, the Battles of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Chattanooga, as well as his cogent and often penetrating observations on command decisions and generalship. As a line officer, making on-the-spot tactical decisions under fire, Osborn was in a better position than most to bring to the reader insight, clarity, and understanding of the role of the Union artillery during the War. His association with officers high in the chain of command further provided him the unique opportunity that enabled his insightful appraisals and predictions to be more accurate than most other writers whos works were produced during the War.
No Middle Ground adds a valuable chapter to the annals of the American Civil War and an invaluable addition to the history of the artillery during the conflict.
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