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Civil War Weather in Virginia ReviewWhat is the temperature of "very hot" or "almost frozen"? How many inches of rain are in a "torrent"? Douglas Southall Freeman speaking in 1955 cited a need for detailed information on weather during the Civil War. With the exception of Joseph L. Harsh's, book "Sounding the Shallows"; no one has tried to address this subject. Harsh's book only considers weather during the month of September 1862 as part of his detailed study for the Antietam Campaign. Part of the problem is detailed weather records were not a government responsibility. The little detail we have is from amateur meteorologists and the families that preserved their work. The record have gaps, illegible entries and areas where no one kept records. All of these problems, taken together, make a detailed weather record spanning years a difficult undertaking. Robert Krick recognizes this by saying the Victorian title would be "Civil War Weather in Washington, D.C., and in the Virginia Theater of War, Encompassing Virginia and Maryland and Pennsylvania, including Weather Affecting Some Military Operations in what became West Virginia Halfway through the War." The current title is much easier to use but the Victorian title gives you a much better idea of what this book contains.
Each month from October 1860 to June 1865 is a one page. The monthly format is a few pages of contemporary observations about the weather and a daily table for the month. Table entries are date, day of the week, sunrise and sunset in Richmond and the DC temperature at 7 AM, 2 PM and 9 PM. Each day has a remarks entry for comments like overcast, amount of rain or an observation about the day. This may not seem to be much but it is invaluable in building a picture of the war. Using September to November 1861, as an example, I developed a real understanding of why sickness could become such a problem. The volunteers lived in tents and subjected to constant drilling suffered about a 30-degree drop in the 2 PM temperature coupled with 23 days of rain. Snow fell starting November 24 adding to their misery. The tables are clear, concise and very easy to use. The above took only a couple of minutes and presents a clear impression of weather during these months. The tables allow us to check contemporary accounts and help us understand what the writer thinks happened. Robert Krick observes that based on the readings, it is doubtful that bodies froze overnight at Fredericksburg. This will not cause us to reject the accounts but requires we understand other factors may have contributed to the memory. Gettysburg College maintained the 7 AM, 2 PM and 9 PM schedule for temperature readings and these are included for the battle.
This is not a "sit down n read" book. It is a much-needed book and the information will help complete our picture of the war. Only an author with the status of Robert Krick could have brought this book to the public. I thank the University of Alabama Press for publishing so valuable book and adding to the understanding of the war in Virginia. This type of technical reference is invaluable in gaining a fuller understanding of the conditions that the armies faced. This knowledge helps a student of the war to more fully understand those decisions on which battles and campaigns turn.
Civil War Weather in Virginia OverviewThis work fills a tremendous gap in our available knowledge in a fundamental area of Civil War studies, that of basic quotidian information on the weather in the theater of operations in the vicinity of Washington, D.C., and Richmond, Virginia. Krick adds to the daily records kept by amateur meteorologists in these two locations. Anecdotal descriptions of weather found in contemporary soldiers' dairies and correspondence combines these scattered records into a chronology of weather information that also includes daybreak and sunset times for each day. The information in Civil War Weather in Virginia is indispensable for students of the Civil War in the vital northern Virginia/Maryland theater of operations.
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