History News Network has a shocking article on factual mistakes in John Keegan's Fields of Battle:The Wars for North America. Mr. Keegan is one of my favorite authors, and one of his great talents is an eye for the interesting little- known fact. Yet this book contains errors that would be obvious to anyone with a moderate knowledge of history-- it has Jefferson alive in the 1830's, General Johnston (who was killed in the battle) ordering a Confederate withdrawal from Shiloh, the Old Northwest including Tennessee, and the American Revolutionary War lasting from 1776 to 1781, and so forth. Either Keegan has fallen to pieces or he did not write (or read) most of the book.

[permalink, http://php.indiana.edu/~erasmuse/w/03.11.26a.htm ]

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