During the American Civil War a new, more destructive weapon, the mine, was introduced. It came to be used by many other countries, in the world wars and many other conflicts down to the present, resulting in the death, incapacitation, and severe injury to many fighting men and women. First used even before the Civil War, these explosive devices, both on land and sea, were developed by Confederate naval officer and scientist Mathew Maury, Brig. Gen. Gabriel Rains, Dr. John Fretwell, and Edgar Singer. The new weapons were deployed throughout the war in many states, battles and campaigns.

The growing use of these devices by the Confederacy armies was a result of the Union’s Anaconda Plan, which was very successful in allowing the Federal Navy to control Atlantic ports, Southern harbors, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Mississippi River. This success helped Union forces in many instances to protect the blockade from being violated, helped divide the South in half, and significantly harmed the economy of the Confederate States.

With a smaller population available to fight, the CSA government, led by Jefferson Davis and cabinet secretaries such as Stephen Mallory and James Seddon, accepted the use of mines over time with mixed results. Early in the fighting, they were considered by many uncivilized warfare , and called “tools of cowards” and, “offenses against democracy”. When first introduced some Confederate generals, such as Joseph Johnston and James Longstreet, were against their use. Their acceptance changed how southern forces prepared for battle and their use increased until the end of the war. The use of land mines by Southern forces was the first time they were used by anyone on an extensive basis. The first person to perish from a land mine was a Federal soldier during the battle of Yorktown in early 1862, but he was not the last on either side.

Union forces did not conceal their anger against the use of these destructive weapons. Union Maj. Gen. William Sherman characterized them as “infernal devices.” By the end of the war, he and other Union officers were forcing Confederate prisoners-of-war to clear landmines from the battlefield at their own peril. In the end, mines did not change the result of the war but they caused many casualties.

Rutherford has written the first complete work on the history of this neglected topic. Savas Beatie has included twelve excellent maps by cartographer Hal Jespersen and 22 helpful images. The book includes an instructive glossary, a detailed and thorough bibliography with numerous primary and secondary sources, and an index. The author makes a substantial contribution to understanding this interesting and relevant topic, including facts related to his personal life and what has occurred in the more than 150 years since the Civil War throughout the world. Rutherford has provided fresh insights that help us understand the motivation, strategies, tensions, controversies, and triumphs that characterized the work and lives of the people found in his interesting work.

Do not be deceived by the brevity of the narrative, because Rutherford has written a comprehensive monograph telling a complete and interesting story. He includes anecdotal information from many participants from both the Confederate and the Union sides, allowing readers greater insight into what they thought about these destructive new weapons at different times of the conflict, as well as what Federal troops felt as they marched across mined areas.

This is a first-rate history that will enlighten many people, both serious students of the Civil War and buffs. This reviewer read America’s Buried History straight through, cover to cover without pause, an experience likely to be shared by many others. Highly recommended.

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Our Reviewer: David Marshall has been a high school American history teacher in the Miami-Dade School district for more than three decades. A life-long Civil War enthusiast, David is president of the Miami Civil War Round Table Book Club. In addition to numerous reviews in Civil War News and other publications, he has given presentations to Civil War Round Tables on Joshua Chamberlain, Ulysses S. Grant, Abraham Lincoln, the Battle of Gettysburg, and the common soldier. He earlier reviewed The Petersburg Regiment in the Civil War, Civil War Places and The Union Assaults at Vicksburg: Grant Attacks Pemberton, May 17–22, 1863 .

Note: America’s Buried History is also available in several e-editions.

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