In a series of columns published in the African American newspaper The Christian Recorder, the young, charismatic preacher Henry McNeal Turner described his experience of the Civil War, first from the perspective of a civilian observer in Washington, D.C., and later, as one of the Union army's first black chaplains. In the halls of Congress, Turner witnessed the debates surrounding emancipation and black enlistment. As army chaplain, Turner dodged ""grape"" and cannon, comforted the sick and wounded, and settled disputes between white southerners and their former slaves. He was dismayed by the destruction left by Sherman's army in the Carolinas, but buoyed by the bravery displayed by black soldiers in battle. After the war ended, he helped establish churches and schools for the freedmen, who previously had been prohibited from attending either. Throughout his columns, Turner evinces his firm belief in the absolute equality of blacks with whites, and insists on civil rights for all black citizens. In vivid, detailed prose, laced with a combination of trenchant commentary and self-deprecating humor, Turner established himself as more than an observer: he became a distinctive and authoritative voice for the black community, and a leader in the African Methodist Episcopal church. After Reconstruction failed, Turner became disillusioned with the American dream and became a vocal advocate of black emigration to Africa, prefiguring black nationalists such as Marcus Garvey and Malcolm X. Here, however, we see Turner's youthful exuberance and optimism, and his open-eyed wonder at the momentous changes taking place in American society. Well-known in his day, Turner has been relegated to the fringes of African American history, in large part because neither his views nor the forms in which he expressed them were recognized by either the black or white elite. With an introduction by Jean Lee Cole and a foreword by Aaron Sheehan-Dean, Freedom's Witness: The Civil War Correspondence of Henry McNeal Turner restores this important figure to the historical and literary record.

This is one volume in a library of Confederate States history, in twelve volumes, written by distinguished men of the South, and edited by Gen. Clement A. Evans of Georgia. A generation after the Civil War, the Southern protagonists wanted to tell their story, and in 1899 these twelve volumes appeared under the imprint of the Confederate Publishing Company. The first and last volumes comprise such subjects as the justification of the Southern States in seceding from the Union and the honorable conduct of the war by the Confederate States government; the history of the actions and concessions of the South in the formation of the Union and its policy in securing the territorial dominion of the United States; the civil history of the Confederate States; Confederate naval history; the morale of the armies; the South since the war, and a connected outline of events from the beginning of the struggle to its close. The other ten volumes each treat a separate State with details concerning its peculiar story, its own devotion, its heroes, and its battlefields.

A French count's commentaries on America at the birth of the Civil War. While he has obviously examined different parts of the U.S. at length, his book is not really an account of his travels, and speaks of the country not in specifics but in broad strokes: The South, the West, the North. No list of places visited can be provided.

Sam Postlethwaite was a Confederate soldier buried in an unmarked grave in Rhode Island. Beginning with nothing more than a handful of dirt, author Les Rolston's innocent curiosity about this mysterious soldier's grave became a journey of thousands of miles that eventually led him to the soldier's family. The result is this factual account of Postlethwaite's odyssey and the author's determined efforts to learn his story. Other important facets of this affecting historical account are the experiences of Postlethwaite's fourteen-year-old brother, who found glory with Stonewall Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley; and a boy from a prominent Rhode Island family who was emotionally ruined by the Civil War. Both their families, embittered by war, were destined to merge through a Civil War romance and marriage. This book is a tribute to all of the people, Northerners and Southerners, who joined together to choose forgiveness and understanding over bitterness and hatred.

A major Civil War battle-and Lee's triumph
The Battle of Chancellorsville was one of the principal engagements of the American Civil War. It was fought between Hooker's Army of the Potomac and Lee's Army of Northern Virginia which was half the size of the enemy. Battle was joined in Spotsylvania County, Virginia on April 30th 1863 and it raged until May 6th. Irrespective of the eventual outcome of the war, Chancellorsville has remained a text book battle for military historians. Lee, always renowned for command capability, here showed military nerve and audacity by dividing his army in the face of a vastly numerically superior enemy. Further, he demonstrated the maxim of 'know your opponent' for he clearly had the measure of the timid prevaricating Hooker. The outcome was an overwhelming Confederate victory and won the accolade, 'Lee's Perfect Battle'. The edge was taken off the success by the death of 'Stonewall' Jackson-a military genius both Lee and the Confederate cause could ill afford to lose. Dodge's history, written from a Union perspective, provides interesting mitigating circumstances concerning Federal actions and personalities-usually absent from later histories-for the student of the period to evaluate.

On a November afternoon in 1864, the weary Gen. John Bell Hood surveyed the army waiting to attack the Federals at Franklin, Tennessee. He gave the signal almost at dusk, and the Confederates rushed forward to utter devastation. This book describes the events and causes of the five-hour battle in gripping detail, particularly focusing on the reasons for such slaughter at a time when the outcome of the war had already been decided.
The genesis of the senseless tragedy, according to McDonough and Connelly, lay in the appointment of Hood to command the Army of Tennessee. It was his decision to throw a total force of some 20,000 men into an ill-advised frontal assault against the Union troops. The Confederates made their approach, without substantial artillery support, on a level of some two miles. Why did Hood select such a catastrophic strategy? The authors analyze his reasoning in full. Their vivid and moving narrative, with statements from eyewitnesses to the battle, make compelling reading for all Civil War buffs and historians.
James Lee McDonough is Justin Potter Professor of History at David-Lipscomb College and is the author of Shiloh and Stones River.
Thomas L. Connelly, professor of history at the university of South Carolina, is the author of Army of the Heartland, The Marble Man, and Autumn of Glory, a two-volume history of the Army of Tennessee.

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 One covers: the Lincoln lineage from the late 18th century Lincoln's boyhood in Kentucky and Indiana his experience in the legislature and his early law practice Lincoln's early opposition to slavery "The Shields Duel" the campaign for Congress "civil war" in Kansas 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).

This extensive two-way exchange of letters between Rufus Robbins and members of his family provides a highly personalized view of the life of a Union soldier, as well as life on the home front in South Abington, Massachusetts, an important source of war materiel. Enlisting in the Seventh Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment at the seasoned age of 31, Rufus carefully crafts letters that are articulate, graphic, and often witty and that contribute much to our understanding of the daily course of the war. Notes from home reflect the Robbins family's ever-present worry and concern for Rufus' well-being. His brothers detail their involvement in the sewing of army boots, an activity for which South Abington held a large contract.

As a confirmed Universalist, Rufus struggled to live a life of faith in the midst of war. His letters demonstrate the depth of his character, showing both maturity and confidence. However, as the war continued, one sees his belief in the righteousness of the Union cause, his confidence in God, and his sometimes naive simplicity replaced with a more realistic form of idealism. In this collection, those interested in military affairs can learn about the economic workings of the camps, the recreational outlets for the soldiers, and the grim realities of the Peninsula Campaign, while scholars focussing on civilian life will gain a greater understanding of the impact of the war on the families and friends left behind.

In 1859, a thirteen-year-old-girl began a diary, detailing the emotions and events of everyday life. Daily life in her small hometown of Cleveland, Tennessee was not destined to remain quiet and routine, however. When the Civil War began, the diary entries provide a firsthand account of the sorrows inflicted when the Civil War tore families apart in the border South. Myra, a staunch Confederate, gave a vivid account of the war, how it divided her community and left misery in its wake. Her diary became a bosom friend to whom she could confide her pain and grief. While she never knew the historical importance of her diary, her descendants did, and preserved this precious legacy.

Like the famous diary of Anne Frank, Myra Inman's diary begins with ordinary events and proceeds to tell the story of a child's view of the horrors of war. This book offers a unique perspective on the Civil War -- that of a child in the borderlands, where families were torn apart by differing loyalties.

This true and exciting story collection concerns a little known area of south Georgia, in Telfair County. The town of Milan (locally pronounced My-lan) and the countryside present a series of family dramas dating back to the early 1800's. Addie Garrison Briggs, the author, introduces her family saga in her own words: "Contrary to what one often reads in local histories and genealogies, our ancestors were not all saints. Neither were they all war heroes and most of them were far more likely to struggle along on a small farm than to own a large plantation. In short, one might say that our forebears failed to live up to our expectations. The trouble with these ancestors was that they were real people. Sometimes they were good, sometimes bad; sometimes they were wise, and sometimes foolish. Perhaps they were a bit like us, with one major difference. There seems to have been more of a spirited quality to their lives. Whatever a man's actions, whether funny, tragic, or decidedly wicked, he did it with a definite dash. Therefore, while their lives may embarrass us, they will at the same time unquestionably intrigue us."

This is one volume in a library of Confederate States history, in twelve volumes, written by distinguished men of the South, and edited by Gen. Clement A. Evans of Georgia. A generation after the Civil War, the Southern protagonists wanted to tell their story, and in 1899 these twelve volumes appeared under the imprint of the Confederate Publishing Company. The first and last volumes comprise such subjects as the justification of the Southern States in seceding from the Union and the honorable conduct of the war by the Confederate States government; the history of the actions and concessions of the South in the formation of the Union and its policy in securing the territorial dominion of the United States; the civil history of the Confederate States; Confederate naval history; the morale of the armies; the South since the war, and a connected outline of events from the beginning of the struggle to its close. The other ten volumes each treat a separate State with details concerning its peculiar story, its own devotion, its heroes, and its battlefields. Volume 9 is Kentucky and Missouri.

Grant and Lee: Victorious American and Vanquished Virginian is a comprehensive, multi-theater, war-long comparison of the commanding general skills of Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee. Unlike most analyses, Bonekemper clarifies the impact both generals had on the outcome of the Civil War - namely, the assistance that Lee provided to Grant by Lee's excessive casualties in Virginia, the consequent drain of Confederate resources from Grant's battlefronts, and Lee's refusal and delay of reinforcements to the combat areas where Grant was operating. The reader will be left astounded by the level of aggression both generals employed to secure victory for their respective causes, demonstrating that Grant was a national general whose tactics were consistent with achieving Union victory, whereas Lee's own priorities constantly undermined the Confederacy's chances of winning the war. Building on the detailed accounts of both generals' major campaigns and battles, this book provides a detailed comparison of the primary military and personal traits of the two generals. That analysis supports the preface discussion and the chapter-by-chapter conclusions that Grant did what the North needed to do to win the war: be aggressive, eliminate enemy armies, and do so with minimal casualties (154,000), while Lee was too offensive for the undermanned Confederacy, suffered intolerable casualties (209,000), and allowed his obsession with the Commonwealth of Virginia to obscure the broader interests of the Confederacy. In addition, readers will find interest in the 18 clean-cut and lucid battle maps as well as a comprehensive set of appendices that describes the casualties incurred by each army, battle by battle.