Provided below is Amanda Warren’s Review of the book.
Firepower by Phil Leigh is one of those books that you will not be able to put down. This novel of the Civil War involves fascinating characters, harrowing treks through enemy lines, and desperate attempts to prolong—or circumvent—bureaucratic obstruction, depending on your side. It all centers on an innovative rifle with a potent potential: to change dramatically the course of the war.
The book’s premise involves Washington’s inexplicable delay in arming Federal troops with the Spencer repeating rifle. This breakthrough weapon was invented before the war but could not go into mass production until the government placed a volume order. The suspicious delays for such orders meant that it would be mid-1863 before repeaters first came into use on the battlefield. An enthralling plot unfolds, exposing what happened behind the scenes during this time lapse. The story delves into the secretive world of Confederate undercover operations, as well as the commercial and political scheming for which the North was notorious.
Right away I regretted not having read a book that sits on my shelf, a biography of Roswell Ripley, as he quickly assumes a central role—but true to Phil Leigh’s multifaceted grasp of the complex Civil War drama, the book moves along many layers of matrices and men: from Richmond hospitals to Washington spies and safe houses to Boston financiers, from a young, idealistic inventor all the way up to President Lincoln himself.
Although the Yankees in this tale hold in their hands superior firepower, Southerners are armed with an equally explosive secret that tantalizes throughout, finally coming to light near the end of the book. The reader living in an era which knows no shame, is struck by what a powerful force it could be in the 19th century.
The author offers a helpful historical note in the end, informing the reader specifically of the few elements of the story that are fictional, as well as the various characters’ outcomes.
One way I measure the value of a book is by how much it inspires me to learn more, and this one satisfies fully. I want to expand my knowledge of the Confederate secret service. And because Firepower actually renders a rifle’s mechanism interesting, I now need to know more about Civil War weaponry: a gun, after all, was the soldier’s constant companion. And then there is that Roswell Ripley biography beckoning anew, tinged with a hint of compelling intrigue.
Civil War Chat 