Book Review

Even the most dedicated readers of Civil War military history, whose focus is often either on the generals whose decisions shaped the outcome of battles or on the soldiers who fought them, are certain to be less familiar with the duties of the staff officers, without whom neither the generals nor the soldiers could have functioned properly. Military historians have long criticized Union and Confederate staffs for being less organized and structured than the general staffs of more modern European and American armies. J. Boone Bartholomees Jr., a military historian who is also a retired United States Army officer with extensive staff experience, argues that the typical Civil War staff—using the Army of Northern Virginia as a case study—performed as well as anyone could have expected at the time. Though most of Robert E. Lee's staff officers "had little or no military experience," he concludes, "they did what their commanders asked and generally did it very well."

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