Reports of the Committee on the Conduct of the War

Wade, B. F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1800-1878Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.5

Word count: 540K words
Chapters: 55

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Reports of the Committee on the Conduct of the War by Daniel W. Gooch et al.Author: Wade, B. F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1800-1878,Language: English, Class: E456: History: America: Civil War period (1861-1865), Release Date: Jan 6, 2013

Editor's review

This book is a documentary compilation of reports from the U.S. Congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War, with Benjamin Franklin Wade as one of the authors, and is a primary source for the history of the American Civil War. Its value lies not in smooth narrative but in presenting the raw character of wartime investigation, witness testimony, and political maneuvering; it can be read alongside general histories to observe the controversies and accountability mechanisms behind wartime decisions. It is suitable for readers studying the political history of the Civil War, the history of military institutions, and historical methodology, as well as for locating original formulations when writing or teaching. It should be read as an archive rather than a storybook: first understand the committee's background and main investigation targets, then read selectively by topic, pay attention to the report's stance and witnesses' inclinations, and cross-reference other historical sources to avoid treating one-sided statements as conclusive. The electronic edition is convenient for searching and can be used with chronologies and maps.

Who it's for

A good fit for

University teachers and students studying the politics and military institutions of the American Civil War
Historical writers and editors who need to consult primary sources
Readers interested in the investigative mechanisms of the U.S. Congress in the nineteenth century
Library and archive staff engaged in organizing documents

Not a good fit for

General readers expecting coherent narrative or popular storytelling
People unfamiliar with the background of the American Civil War and lacking patience for raw documents
Those who only want quick conclusions and are unwilling to analyze the stance of historical sources

Reading tips

First read the explanation of the committee's background and investigative scope, then select report chapters by topic.
Read against a Civil War chronology, marking figures, battles, and dates as you go.
Place witness testimony alongside later scholarship, noting the report's stance and possible biases.
Use the electronic edition to search names and unit numbers, and build your own index of sources.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book suitable as an introductory reader on the American Civil War?

Not very suitable. It is a compilation of reports from an investigative committee, consisting mainly of testimony and official documents, and lacks coherent narrative and background setup. Introductory readers should first read a general history of the Civil War, then return to this book to verify specific events and controversies.

What source-related issues should be noted when reading?

The report was led by specific committee members, and both the choice of witnesses and the framing of questions reflected a stance. Attention should be paid to the relationship between witnesses' identities, their motives for testifying, and the committee's conclusions, and the material should be cross-checked against other sources rather than treating one-sided testimony as fact.

How can the electronic edition be used more effectively?

First use the search function to locate names, units, and battles, then focus on reading the relevant passages; at the same time, prepare a chronology and maps, mark the timeline and geographic locations as you read, and place scattered testimony back into the specific military situation for understanding.

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Wade, B. F. (Benjamin Franklin), 1800-1878 Author · American · 1800–1878

Benjamin Franklin Wade (1800–1878) was an American politician and a U.S. Senator from Ohio, and one of the leaders of the Radical Republicans during the Civil War. Public information on his early life and education is limited, but his role and political stance in the Senate are clear: he advocated a hard line toward the South and paid close attention to the conduct of the war and military leadership. The library holds one work by him, Reports of the Committee on the Conduct of the War, a political and military investigative document concerning military decision-making and command during the Civil War. Such reports consist mainly of investigation records and testimony, with concrete material reflecting congressional involvement in military affairs. Given the limited public information, his writing style and literary influence should not be overstated; the value of his work lies chiefly in its historical source material.