In Lieu of a Draft: A History of the 153rd Pennsylvania Volunteer Regiment documents the daily chores of camp life and the long hours spent waiting to engage the enemy, Historian James I. Robertson, Jr. has noted that soldiers spent "more time in camp than on marches and in battle combined." This book presents the uncensored story and explores the deep political divisions within the regiment. William R. Kiefer, the regiment's historian, admitted that many incidents recorded in diaries had to be omitted, because they dealt with "certain personal matters," offensive to some of the survivors, but which admittedly "would otherwise have added relish to the stories." Kiefer also had to exclude material he felt was "heavily tainted with odium cast upon certain officers" and "written in such partisan style" that the reader would find it unacceptable. The battles of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg are retold through the eyes of the 153rd volunteers as only they could have seen and experienced them. Every effort has been made to present this story as a chronological narrative of their service.

Historians are only beginning to address the religious as a facet of the Civil War. Because neither war department had an office governing military chaplains, almost 4,000 of them were nearly lost to future study. After many years of research, their names, assignments, and denominational affiliations were listed in Faith in the Fight. In an organization created to destroy the enemy, chaplains ate, drank, and slept dissonance. Older than most soldiers and looking at battle with very different eyes, chaplains had their beliefs brutally tested at the same time they instilled faith that sustained men through adversities and tragedies. The Spirit Divided is a collection of letters, reports, and recollections in which army chaplains describe their motives and methods, their failures and achievements. Some threw away their somber black uniforms and became dashing staff officers who rode over battlefields to deliver orders, even capture enemy soldiers. Scorning these "chaplains militant," others were, in the words of a battlefield journalist, "bearers of the cup of cold water and the word of good cheer--the strong regiment may be the colonel's, but the wounded brigade is the chaplain's." Chaplains wondered whose side God was on, and if their ministries might be in vain. They saw, on both sides, God's Spirit at work. Was the Spirit divided, was God punishing both North and South for their sins, or was there some other explanation for this seemingly endless war? The reflections of these men of the cloth, who were underfed, underpaid, and largely unappreciated, have much to teach modern readers. They had to find, above all, the faith and perseverance to sustain the spirit of their people during the greatest war ever fought on this continent.

Based largely on Civil War veterans' own words, this book documents how many of these men survived the extraordinary horrors and hardships of war with surprising resilience and went on to become productive members of their communities in their post-war lives. Nothing transforms "dry, boring history" into fascinating and engaging stories like learning about long-ago events through the words of those who lived them. What was it like to witness-and participate in-the horrors of a war that lasted four years and claimed over half a million lives, and then emerge as a survivor into a drastically changed world? Veterans North and South: The Transition from Soldier to Civilian after the American Civil War takes readers back to this unimaginable time through the words of Civil War soldiers who fought on both sides, illuminating their profound, life-changing experiences during the war and in the postbellum period. The book covers the period from the surrender of the armies of the Confederacy to the return of the veterans to their homes. It follows them through their readjustment to civilian life and to family life while addressing their ability-and in some cases, inability-to become productive members of society. By surveying Civil War veterans' individual stories, readers will gain an in-depth understanding of these soldiers' sacrifices and comprehend how these discrete experiences coalesced to form America's memory of this war as a nation. Documents how Civil War veterans' combat experience changed them in ways that allowed them to become productive members of their communities and leaders in their sections-a largely overlooked "benefit" to the war Identifies overarching trends among veterans' experiences while also underscoring how varied Civil War soldiers' experiences were, depending on which side they fought for, where they fought, and their socioeconomic status

Every leader needs a trusted confidant. For Nathan Bedford Forrest, one the Civil War's greatest military minds, that man was David Campbell Kelley. Kelley began adulthood in the clergy, serving for two years as a missionary in China, and returning home just a year before the Civil War. He then raised a company of cavalry from his family's large congregation, which became a part of Forrest's original regiment. Kelley quickly became Forrest's second-in-command, assisting in some of his most daring engagements, offering support in key decisions, and serving as his unofficial chaplain. Following the war, Kelley returned to preaching, helped establish Vanderbilt University, and launched a campaign for governor of Tennessee. Now, for the first time, author Michael R. Bradley brings Kelley's dynamic life to the fore.

The war and views of a foot soldier in gray
The author of this book has written of his experiences of the American Civil War from the perspective of an ordinary private soldier of the North Carolina Infantry. Modern readers should allow for the fact that James Carson was very much a man of his time and place. His support for the Confederacy and the Southern way of life of the mid-nineteenth century is evident within these pages and include an ardent belief in the slave system. Nevertheless, this book is invaluable for those interested in a Confederate view of life on the sharp end of the infantryman's war including scenes of the march, camp life and the battlefield particularly at Petersburg. Available in soft cover and hard cover for collectors.

The Civil War was trying, bloody, and hard-fought combat for both sides. What was it, then, that sustained soldiers low on supplies and morale? For the Army of Tennessee, it was religion. Onward Southern Soldiers: Religion and the Army of Tennessee in the Civil War explores the significant impact of religion on every rank, from generals to chaplains to common soldiers. It took faith to endure overwhelming hardship. Religion unified troops, informing both why and how they fought, and providing the rationale for enduring great hardship for the Confederate cause. Using primary source material such as diaries, letters, journals and sermons of the Army of Tennessee, Traci Nichols-Belt, along with Gordon T. Belt, present the first-ever history of the vital role of the Army's religious practices.

Considered one of the best treatments of the presidency of Abraham Lincoln of its time, this portrait of the man and his administration of the United States at the moment of its greatest upheaval is both intimate and scholarly. Written by two private secretaries to the president and first published in 1890, this astonishingly in-depth work is still praised today for its clear, easy-to-read style and vitality. This new replica edition features all the original illustrations. Volume Nine covers: Sherman's campaign to the Chattahoochee the Cleveland convention the Wade-Davis manifesto the last days of the rebel navy Horace Greeley's peace mission Atlanta Sheridan in the Shenandoah Cedar Creek Lincoln reelected and much more. American journalist and statesman JOHN MILTON HAY (1838-1905) was only 22 when he became a private secretary to Lincoln. A former member of the Providence literary circle when he attended Brown University in the late 1850s, he may have been the real author of Lincoln's famous "Letter to Mrs. Bixby." After Lincoln's death, Hay later served as editor of the *New York Tribune* and as U.S. ambassador to the United Kingdom under President William McKinley. American author JOHN GEORGE NICOLAY (1832-1901) was born in Germany and emigrated to the U.S. as a child. Before serving as Lincoln's private secretary, he worked as a newspaper editor and later as assistant to the secretary of state of Illinois. He also wrote *Campaigns of the Civil War* (1881).

In the Ranks comprises of personal, eyewitness accounts of the American Civil War: the state of the battles; the realities of the technology and equipment; encampments and skirmishes of that conflict. A collection of stunning first-hand recollections of the conflict, we hear various unabashed and frank summaries of the battles and campaigns of that conflict. The chaos and randomness of war, and how many of the events happened essentially through fortune or accident rather than sound and careful planning, is a recurring theme throughout the text. Comprised of veterans' recollections, often the descriptions are bloody and violent - it is clear that the ordinary soldier was subject to terrifying sights. An underappreciated classic of the U.S. Civil War era, In the Ranks is neither an edifying or glory-filled read. Rather it is a frank, realistic and forthrightly violent recounting of day-to-day fighting.

The Dakota Conflict, or Great Sioux Uprising as it was called, occurred 150 years ago in 1862 and became identified as part of the American Civil War. The Dakota Conflict caused the greatest loss of civilian life in an Indian war in U.S. history, and resulted in the largest mass execution in U.S. history. The author is a direct descendant of settlers living in Blue Earth County, Minnesota, who witnessed htis dark chapter in American history. We commemorate all victims of the Sioux Uprising, we forgive the crimes of our ancestors, and we support efforts at reconciliation between the white and Indian cultures. This hardcover book, Blood on the Prairie A Novel of the Sioux Uprising Sesquicentennial Edition, is a collector edition intended for personal and community libraries.

The Native Peoples of the United States could only take so much from the world. "Blood on the Prairie" is a novel set amongst this theater of the American Civil War, where the Sioux Nation rebelled against Minnesota and led to some of the bloodiest conflicts of the period. Author Steven Ulmen draws on his own personal history to tell the story of the conflict. "Blood on the Prairie" is a strong pick for fans of historical fiction, recommended. Burroughs Bookshelf, MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW, September 2012

This edited collection of Civil War correspondence between Col. Thomas Cahill and his wife, Margaret, offers a rare glimpse into the symbiotic relationship between soldiers and their home communities. In the only substantial extant collection of letters from an Irish American woman on the northern home front, Margaret's pivotal role as a go-between in the financial affairs of men in the regiment and their wives is made evident, as is the broader interplay between the community of New Haven, Connecticut, and the regiment. The couple's correspondence was nearly constant in their four years apart. There is an inherent intimacy in the way that daily life during the Civil War is documented and in particular in the gradual revelation of the emotional toll taken by a long-distance relationship. Because the volume includes letters from both Cahill and his wife, the interplay between the regiment and the home front is traced in a way most collections are not able to achieve. This lively correspondence provides a great introduction to primary source reading for students of the Civil War home front. These teaching opportunities will supplemented by a companion website that features more correspondence, maps, and additional learning materials.