MARCH WAR SHORT STORY READALONG: The Boy Commander of the Camisards

                Our March story is again by George Cary Eggleston.  Eggleston was a Confederate soldier in the American Civil War and wrote a memoir after the war.  This short story comes from his book entitled “Strange Stories from History” (1886).  The book was aimed at juvenile boys and has a “you’ll never believe what happened next” quality to it.  Eggleston is an above average writer and he brings some flair to his stories.  I have not read the book, but based on this and the February reading, I would have to say he does manage to get some interesting history lessons in while enhancing the entertainment value of the nonfictional elements.  His stories read like an episode  of Disney’s “History for Young People”.

                “The Boy Commander of the Camisards” is “based on a true story” (if it were a movie, you would see that disclaimer).  In background, Eggleston explains that during the reign of Louis XIV there was a geographically isolated region of France named Cevennes.  Cevennes was heavily Protestant (Huguenots) and when Louis decided to force the conversion of the region to Catholicism, a revolt broke out due to the severe repression conducted by the King’s forces.

                The star of the story is Jean Cavalier.  Although just a teenager, he becomes one of the rebellion’s leaders.  He convinces the rebels to use a strategy of dividing their forces and using them to harass the oppressors at widely separated targets.  This prevents the superior royal forces from concentrating on destroying the rebels.  Most of the story deals with some amazing vignettes from Cavalier’s career.  He is a master of disguise – not just himself, but also his troops.  I was reminded of Alfred the Great versus the Danes.  Cavalier does not always avoid battle and does not always win, but he does always live to harass another day.  The vignettes are entertaining even if you are not a fourteen year old boy, but Eggleston does have a tendency to lay it on thick.  Jean is too good to be true.  The only wart mentioned is that Cavalier routinely killed prisoners or gave no quarter.  This is excused by way of the old “both sides did it” argument.

                I love stories that seem fictional, but when you research them they turn out to be surprisingly accurate.  I also love stories that open up a door to a fascinating historical character or event.  I figured there was no such person as Jean Cavalier.  It turns out that the basics about the rebellion and the “boy commander” were founded in reality.  Eggleston has buffed up and boyed up the story and conveniently left out some negatives.  As a sop to his audience, he has reduced the age of his hero.  Cavalier was actually 21 when his military career began.  The military genius label was not far off, however.  The strategy and tactics are pretty realistic.  Eggleston never uses the term “guerrilla warfare”, but Cavalier was a practitioner.  If you don’t know how it was practiced in the 18^th Century, this story will give you a tutorial.  It previews the Peninsular Campaign in the Napoleonic Wars and the Philippine Insurrection after the Spanish-American War.  Eggleston alludes to, but sugar-coats the extreme atrocities by both sides.  The biggest flaw is that in order to put the cherry on top, he has Cavalier signing a treaty with Louis that guaranteed the people of Cevennes religious freedom.  In fact, Cavalier did not insist on that guarantee and accepted a king’s commission.  Now you know why his friends rejected the treaty and Cavalier had to continue his warring elsewhere.  I do not think Eggleston ever seriously considered using the word “traitor” in his panegyric.  Oh well, I don’t tell my students Francis Marion hunted Cherokee Indians and was mean to his slaves.

grade =  B

April's story:  British Gunners as Cave Dwellers

FEBRUARY SHORT STORY READALONG: The Battle of Lake Borgne

       The second story in our readalong is appropriately about the Battle of New Orleans.  Appropriate because it is the bicentennial anniversary of the famous battle.  Here in Louisiana we take that battle seriously and do not buy the bull crap that because it was fought after the Treaty of Ghent was agreed to, it was laughably useless.  Would the British have given New Orleans back if they had taken it?  Highly unlikely.  You know why that is a big "what-if"?  Because Andrew Jackson whipped British ass so we did not have to find out the answer to that question.  The story is entitled "The Battle of Lake Borgne" by George Eggleston.

        Most people, including Louisianians, don't know that the climactic showdown of January 8 was the third of three noteworthy actions.  George Eggleston included the stories of these two neglected actions in his book "Strange Stories from History" which was published in 1886.  Eggleston aimed his book of nonfiction short stories at a young audience and they read like adventure stories.  Surprisingly, the stories are not "gosh-wow".  The two I read as part of this project are on the Battle of Borgne and the "Battle in the Dark".

        The "Battle of Lake Borgne" tells the story of the British assault on a small flotilla of American gunboats that were trying to prevent a British landing on the shore of Lake Borgne.  Eggleston does an excellent job outlining the British and American strategies.  We understand why the battle took place and the advantages and disadvantages of each side.  This builds to the description of the action which has a ring of swashbuckling to it.  Eggleston does exaggerate the fighting for his boyish audience (it actually lasted only five minutes), but he does not blatantly tamper with history.  He is much more constrained than a movie would be. 

       The second story tells the tale of the night assault by Jackson on the British camp.  Eggleston refers to Jackson's army as a "posse comitatus of ragamuffins".  Possibly the only time that awesome phrase has ever been used in literature.  His description of the chaos of the attack is outstanding.  I have never read anything better that points out why generals are reluctant to roll the dice on night actions.  This passage, more than the main battle of January 8, confirms what a bad-ass Jackson was.  Eggleston makes the pitched battle in pitched dark exhilirating.  Since most readers will not know the outcome, there is quite a bit of suspense.  I loved the description of how units would identify themselves and then wade in if it turned out they were on opposite sides.  Needless to say there was a friendly fire issue.

      Eggleston closes the story with an aftermath that outlines the importance of the tactical defeat for the Americans.  He only briefly touches on the main battle, but manages to destroy that old chestnut that the Americans used cotton bales as part of their barricades.  You the man, Eggleston!

       At first I was a little upset that the story was nonfiction.  I assumed all the stories would be fictional.  I read enough nonfiction already.  However, because of the nature of Eggleston's style and the audience he was writing for, the story reads like fiction.  Since I have a bit of the fourteen year old boy in me, I really enjoyed it.  It has a certain verve to it.  More importantly, Eggleston is quite complimentary of the British.  He is not just stoking the flames of patriotism.  He credits bravery when he sees it.  Not only is the story entertaining, but it does a better job on the history of the battles than I found in several encyclopedia entries.

GRADE =  A

Next up:  The Boy Commander of the Camisards