America’s Buried History

Landmines in the Civil War

De: Kenneth R. Rutherford

Narrado por: John Harrison Gass

Despite all that has been published on the American Civil War, one aspect that has never received the in-depth attention it deserves is the widespread use of landmines across the Confederacy. These “infernal devices” dealt death and injury in nearly every Confederate state and influenced the course of the war. Kenneth R. Rutherford rectifies this oversight with America’s Buried History: Landmines in the Civil War, the first book devoted to a comprehensive analysis and history of the fascinating and important topic.

Modern landmines were used for the first time in history on a widespread basis during the Civil War when the Confederacy, in desperate need of an innovative technology to overcome significant deficits in materiel and manpower, employed them. The first American to die from a victim-activated landmine was on the Virginia Peninsula in early 1862 during the siege of Yorktown. Their use set off explosive debates inside the Confederate government and within the ranks of the army over the ethics of using “weapons that wait.” As Confederate fortunes dimmed, leveraging low-cost weapons like landmines became acceptable and even desirable.

The controversial weapon was the brainchild of Confederate General Gabriel J. Rains (who had experimented with explosive booby traps in Florida two decades earlier during the Seminole Wars, and other Confederates soldiers developed a sundry of landmine varieties, including command-controlled and victim-activated. The devices saw extensive use in Virginia, at Port Hudson in Louisiana, in Georgia, the Trans-Mississippi Theater, during the closing weeks of the war in the Carolinas, and in harbors and rivers in multiple states. Debates over the ethics of using mine warfare did not end in 1865, and are still being waged to this day.

Dr. Rutherford, who is known worldwide for his work in the landmine discipline, and who himself lost his legs to a mine in Africa, relies on a host of primary and secondary research to demonstrate how and why the mines were built, how and where they were deployed, the effects of their use, and the reactions of those who suffered from their deadly blasts. America’s Buried History is an important contribution to the literature on one of the most fundamental, contentious, and significant modern conventional weapons. According to some estimates, by the early 1990s landmines were responsible for more than 26,000 deaths each year worldwide.

Landmines, argues Dr. Rutherford, transitioned from “tools of cowards” and “offenses against democracy and civilized warfare” to an accepted form of warfare until the early 1990s. The genesis of this acceptance began during the American Civil War.

©2020 Savas Beatie (P)2020 Savas Beatie

Pleasure to listen to

Wonderfully written. Enjoyed it from beginning to end. A topic I didn't know too much about so I learned a lot.

Fascinating history of land mines in civil war

I love history especially that of the various
Wars throughout the world. The civil war has always been truly amazing to learn about. This particular book focuses exclusively on land mines and sea mines (also used in rivers), their development, use, evolution, the minds behind them and of course the controversy and outrage their use caused. Absolutely a must for fans of history, civil war, weapons, etc. loved it.
I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator or publisher

The beginning

american-civil-war, explosive-devices, military-history

A victim of a landmine while in Somalia as a humanitarian relief officer, Rutherford was motivated to present the early development and use of land mines, also known as "infernal machines" and much later as Improvised Explosive Devices.
There was some irregular use of land mines in The Crimean War (October 1853 to February 1856) and sea mines were being developed by several other countries as well. The major beginning of the use of landmines was documented during the American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 9, 1865) as initiated by the Confederate Army. What follows is a detailed account of the further development and use of landmines during various Confederate military campaigns. (Great for military studies but too much like memories for this nurse who needs no help in picturing the carnage and wounds.)
John Harrison Gass has a personalized delivery in his excellent narration which adds to the tone of the book.
I was given this free review copy audio book at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
Together with Jerry White the author co-founded Landmine Survivors Network in 1995 which later became Survivor Corps. He and White accompanied Princess Diana on her last humanitarian mission to visit landmine survivors in Bosnia-Herzegovina in August 1997, only three weeks before her death. Rutherford was a prominent leader in the International Campaign to Ban Landmines which won the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize.

Amazing Untold Story

At a time when IED’s are the primary killers of both soldiers and civilians in modern conflict settings, Rutherford paints a remarkable picture of how these murderous devices were used in the most deadly war in US history.