A Wonderful Resource is Finally Published

Most serious students of the Army of the Potomac are familiar with the volume of published letters of Lt. Col. Theodore Lyman, a volunteer aide who served on the staff of General George Meade from the fall of 1863 until the end of the Civil War. Meade’s letters are especially insightful, and they’re also very funny in places. It was Lyman who dubbed Meade “The Great Peppery” for his explosive temper.

It’s also long been known that Lyman maintained a set of private journals that were not intended for consumption by anyone else but Lyman himself. Consequently, those journals are even more insightful and even more filled with Lyman’s biting wit and astute observations than are his letters home. For years, the journals have cried out for someone to publish them.

The good news is that the Kent State University Press has finally published Meade’s journals. David W. Lowe has edited the journals and has brought them out in a book titled Meade’s Army: The Private Notebooks of Lt. Col. Theodore Lyman. The book is rather large at 518 pages, but it also has a large pricetag at $45.00.

I’ve ordered the book, and it has not come yet. However, I’m certain that it will be worth the investment, and I expect it to be used often in the course of my work. I will report back once I’ve had an opportunity to review the book.