Rebellion in Missouri: 1861 (review)

Abstract

Book Reviews337 also inescapably a bore, with an intellect more ponderous than imaginative. His achievements stemmed more from the honest and strenuous application of a superbly balanced mind to a succession of limited problems than from innate characteristics of brilliance and vision. This image of Adams as a character etched in cold stone is the traditional one, and here it is reproduced faithfully; but like many images it is largely a myth. Adams was in fact essentially human, a man with a full quota of passions and prejudices and deep perceptions who developed an iron selfcontrol only through constant inward struggle. He had periods of mental torment and deep despair, as anyone who will read his diary and personal correspondence for the period of the Trent affair can readily ascertain. Genuine humor, usually acerbic, occasionally broke through a studied reserve into his conversations and writings. He was not at all a placid man but had a temper easily roused; he was as capable of sustaining antagonisms as of grimly and mercilessly prosecuting them. Although his joyous moments were never boisterously manifested, he did on occasion experience profound elation . As for his shallowness, one has only to read his incisive analyses of European politics in the form of periodic reports to the Secretary of State during his London mission and place these reports against die background of subsequent developments in European history to become persuaded of his vision and mental acumen. That Dr. Duberman has failed to catch the essence of Adam's personality in this, the first full-length scholarly biography ever published about this son and grandson of American presidents, is the book's chief fault. Its virtues, however, are many: solid and extensive research combines with judicious selection and careful analysis to give die volume distinction and character as history. The book is written with restraint and simplicity, but not always with tiie clarity one might expect of one who had lived for several years in close proximity to the Adams style. For an Adams to have written the jargon found at the top of page 267, for example, would be almost unbelievable. Verdict: a thorough and eminentiy serviceable biography of a notable American. Norman B. Ferris University of Southwestern Louisiana Rebellionin Missouri: 1861. By Hans ChristianAdamson. (Philadelphia: The Chilton Co., 1961. Pp. xix, 305. $5.00.) "Rebellion in Missouri: 1861" is tiie third and best story of an American hero, General Nathaniel Lyon. The others were eulogistic, written in the stilted and artificial speech of the 1860's, and unobtainable. In this new treatment Colonel Adamson, who directed the writing of all the humaninterest history of the Army Air Forces in World War II, ably presents Lyon as a daring political and military leader in Missouri during the first months of die Civil War. His political leadership is courageous, his miUtary leadership is reckless, albeit brave and effective. 338civil wa ß history Less tiian three months elapsed from tiie time Lyon seized the initiative in St. Louis until he sacrificed himself in battle. The climax to that whirlwind campaign came on August 10, 1861. The scene was the crest of a scrub oak hill, twelve miles southwest of Springfield, overlooking Wilson's Creek, a tributary of the James Branch of White River. Here Lyon elected to play the role of a captain of infantry and to throw away his life for the cause he espoused. The Confederate forces possessed the field after the battle and owned a victory; however, despite General Sterling Price's strong prodding, General Benjamin McCulloch refused to follow up and the Southern advantage frittered away. Lyon's efforts in Missouri were significant to the outcome of the war. He secured to the Union the important river city of St. Louis and its arsenal, relieved tiie state capital at Jefferson City of secessionist Governor Claiborne Jackson and the pro-Southern legislature, insured the navigability of the Mississippi, Ohio, and Upper Mississippi rivers, and kept the faith with loyal Union citizens in the West. Although Lyon's actions ultimately retained Missouri in the Union, his death at Wilson's Creek bore heavily on the conscience of the Lincoln government . Congress went so far as to pass...