Another View of Sword's Courage

In an earlier post I reviewed Wiley Sword's Courage Under Fire, in which I was critical of the book. So, I thought I would post excerpts form a review that gives another view of the book. John E. Fairweather, reviewing the book for Civil War Book Review, wrote:

"What is courage? What does it mean to be brave? Is courage something concrete that one can identify, or is it that simple? Is it driven by goals and to what extent does courage affect people’s everyday lives? Ask anyone what courage means, and they could probably give a definition, but ask for an example, and the differences of opinion are sure to generate debate."

"In his new book, Courage Under Fire, Wiley Sword takes on these questions. With excerpts from letters and documented events, Sword shows the courage and the suffering of people caught in the maelstrom of the Civil War in a very real sense. A Pulitzer Prize nominee and winner of the Fletcher Pratt award for his book Embrace an Angry Wind (1994), Sword has put names and faces to the word “courage,” showing that the definition of the word can be as varied as the people who define it."

"If hindsight is 20/20 then foresight should be considered legally blind. Much like a court case, it is important for all involved to see the entire body of evidence before passing judgment. When ordered to attack a heavily defended Confederate position, Lieutenant Colonel Frank Curtiss of the 127th Illinois Infantry refused. Curtiss, a battle hardened veteran, believed that the attack, scheduled to take place across open terrain near Atlanta, Georgia, on August 3, 1864, was foolhardy and refused to allow his men to become cannon fodder for the enemy. Curtiss was subsequently removed from his command, and the attack went on without him. Major Thomas Taylor, of the 47th Ohio Volunteer Infantry did take part in the attack, which resulted in a Union victory although the unit took heavy causalities during the fighting. As one might suspect, he was outraged at the conduct of his superior officer, and hoped that Curtiss would be arrested and charged with desertion under fire. Based on this situation, does it take more courage to challenge authority, or to accept the dangers and try against all odds to succeed?"

Full review.