The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted: Defending the Union: The Civil War and the U.S. Sanitary Commission, 1861–1863 (Volume 4)

Book info: The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted: Defending the Union: The Civil War and the U.S. Sanitary Commission, 1861–1863 (Volume 4) (Hardcover, 782 pages) – Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986. Language: English.

The Years of Olmsted, Vaux & Company, 1865-1874 documents one of the most productive periods of Olmsted's career. During these years he and Vaux created their classic design for Prospect Park in Brooklyn, drew up plans for Riverside and Morningside parks in Manhattan, and designed Chicago's South Park. Its rich assortment of documents will be of interest to historians, landscape architects, urban planners, and anyone concerned with the roots of modern America. The Olmsted Papers project is supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, and is sponsored by The American University. Editorial Reviews Review These papers give us the perspective of a remarkable civilian mind on the Civil War, a perspective which students and enthusiasts are too apt to neglect in the welter of military papers and memoirs.
―Civil War Book Exchange and Collector's Newsletter

The mission of the Sanitary Commission was to provide supplies to Union Army volunteers, and to work with the Army in promoting good health in the ranks . . . The longest and most arresting item in this volume is a private report Olmsted wrote in September 1861 on the Bull Run disaster. Olmsted and several assistants spent late July and all of august interviewing Union troops on the prelude, action, and aftermath of battle. The investigation compiled a lengthy questionnaire and concluded from the responses that the failure in the battle directly flowed from the poor physical condition of the troops in camp. Many had not eaten for days before the fighting, and the Olmsted report concluded that the war could only be won by drastic changes in the organization and supply of the army.
―Civil War History

A treat for the general reader who desires nothing more than to browse through the firsthand accounts of an astute observer. Olmsted's vivid writings on the first battle of Manassas, the Peninsula Campaign, and the Union operations against Vicksburg bring these dramatic events to life. His descriptions of Lincoln, Grant, Sherman and other wartime figures will be of great interest to all.
―Maryland Historical Magazine

Olmsted the man belongs to his own time, but his work and words continue to have meaning today . . . The editors are preserving a life and a work instructive for the future as well as of the past.
―Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography

This expertly edited volume of the papers of Frederick Law Olmsted is a welcome source for all Civil War historians as well as for scholars of U.S. medical history. . . .Organized around the first three years of the war, the letters are presented with analytic introductions and then followed by annotated footnotes that demonstrate in-depth research performed by the project team. All of this meticulous work makes the volume a gold mine for serious researchers in Civil War history.
―Choice About the Author Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903) is considered to be the father of landscape architecture. He was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator.