Buff Facings and Gilt Buttons: Staff and Headquarters Operations in the Army of Northern Virginia, 1861-1865.

Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina, (1998). First Edition. Octavo, black cloth (hardcover), gilt letters, xv + 352 pp. Fine, in a Fine, mylar protected dust jacket. From dust jacket: In performing the myriad tasks associated with organizing, training, equipping, moving, and fighting large armies, military commanders require the assistance of staff officers. Operating in the name of the commander, staff officers perform vital planning and supervisory duties in specialized fumctional areas. They seldom receive much historical attention, since commanders necessarily take responsibility for both successes and failures. However, no modern army and few ancient armies have been successful without efficient behind-the-scenes staff work.