The Civil War Memoirs of Captain William J. Seymour; Reminiscences of a Louisiana Tiger
Gary O. Joiner (Maps) Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, 1997. Louisiana Paperback Edition [stated]. Gary First Printing [Stated]. Trade paperback. xi, [3], 162 pages. Frontispiece. Footnotes. Maps. Bibliography. Index. Sometimes called the "wharf rats from New Orleans" and the "lowest scrapings of the Mississippi," Lee's Tigers were the approximately twelve thousand Louisiana infantrymen who served in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia from the time of the campaign at First Manassas to the final days of the war at Appomattox. It was this infantry that held back the initial Federal onslaught at First Manassas, made possible General Stonewall Jackson's famed Valley Campaign, contained the Union breakthrough at Spotsylvania's Bloody Angle, and led Lee's last offensive actions at Fort Stedman and Appomattox. Lee's Tigers emerged from the Civil War with one of the most respected military records of any group of southern soldiers.
Dr. Terry L. Jones, professor of history at the University of Louisiana at Monroe, was awarded the Dr. Arthur W. Bergeron, Jr. Award by the Civil War Round Table of Central Louisiana for his contribution to the study of the Civil War in Louisiana. According to the Civil War Roundtable, the award recognizes the work of people who preserve Louisiana’s Civil War history, and was named after famed Civil War Scholar, Arthur W. Bergeron, Jr. Jones has contributed greatly to the study of Civil War History in Louisiana. Since 2011, Jones has had 22 articles published as part of the New York Times online “Disunion” series. Jones, a native of Winn Parish, has served ULM for nearly more than two decades years as a professor. Jones earned his Ph.D. in history from Texas A&M University. Considering the number of Confederate staff officers who served various generals, there is a dearth of published accounts chronicling their experiences. Everyone is familiar with Moxley Sorrel’s or Walter Taylor’s memoirs, and they have become bedrocks for researchers. But those accounts come from the highest levels of command, from the staff officers who served men like James Longstreet and Robert E. Lee, respectively. Narratives from staff officers serving on the brigade level are far fewer than those recording the stories of staff officers for the upper echelons of Confederate command. William J. Seymour was born in Georgia, studied at Hobart College in New York, and then moved to New Orleans to edit a newspaper. It was not until early 1862 that Seymour entered the army, serving as an aide-de-camp for Brig. Gen. Richard Taylor. Captured in April 1862, Seymour returned to New Orleans. When the Crescent City fell under Federal control, Seymour ran afoul of Benjamin Butler after his newspaper published the obituary of Seymour’s father, who was killed leading a Confederate regiment at the Battle of Gaines’ Mill. Arrested, Seymour found himself imprisoned at Fort Jackson for a couple of months. Following his release, Seymour became an aide-de-camp to Brig. Gen. Harry T. Hayes. He served in the Louisiana Brigade through the fall of 1864, when he became ill, spending time in a Lynchburg, Virginia, hospital. Seymour was looking to transfer out of Virginia, and in early 1865, he appears to have been serving on the staff of Maj. Gen. Pierce Butler. Exactly where he finished out the war is unclear.
Partially based on his war-time journals, Seymour penned his memoirs during the post-war years by rewriting his journals. Some of the memoir also appeared in a local newspaper. His reminiscence begins with an extremely detailed account of the river defenses and battles in the lower Mississippi River area in early 1862. Day-by-day entries allow the reader to follow along with the action as Seymour witnessed those events. Incidents in the narrative are not confined to the army, as Seymour mentions numerous vessels like the CSS Louisiana and other Confederate naval ships connected to river defense. He dives into his capture, parole, subsequent arrest, and imprisonment. The reminiscences pick up in April 1863, as Seymour arrives back in Virginia and assumes his position with Hays’s Louisiana Brigade. Seymour provides great details about the battle of Chancellorsville, the Gettysburg campaign, Rappahannock Station and Mine Run, the Overland Campaign, and Jubal Early’s 1864 Shenandoah Valley campaign. Considering the lack of detailed Confederate accounts pertaining to Early’s actions in the summer and fall of the 1864, Seymour’s accounts, especially during the months of May and June 1864, are extremely helpful to students researching the fight for the ”Breadbasket of the Confederacy.” Editor, Terry L. Jones has done a superb job editing the text and providing additional notes to Seymour’s account. The maps by Gary O. Joiner compliment the text, as does the bibliography. It is unfortunate that Seymour’s original diary and journals do not seem to survive. It would be interesting to see just how much material he added to his narrative, and to consider the way his views might have changed over time. Seymour gives a fantastic level of detail regarding the battles and campaigns that he witnessed. The Civil War Memoirs of Captain William J. Seymour: Reminiscences of a Louisiana Tiger is a welcomed addition to the Army of Northern Virginia bookshelf. Condition: Very good.
Keywords: Civil War, Louisiana Tigers, Fort Jackson, Siege, Rappahannock Station, Jubal Early, Shenandoah Valley, Mine Run, Army of Northern Virginia, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Battle of Winchester
[Book #89511]
Price: $75.00