Winner of the Civil War Round Table of New York's Fletcher Pratt Literary Award Winner of the Austin Civil War Round Table's Daniel M. & Marilyn W. Laney Book Prize Winner of an Army Historical Foundation Distinguished Writing Award "A superb account" (The Wall Street Journal) of the longest and most decisive military campaign of the Civil War in Vicksburg, Mississippi, which opened the Mississippi River, split the Confederacy, freed tens of thousands of slaves, and made Ulysses S. Grant the most important general of the war. Vicksburg, Mississippi, was the last stronghold of the Confederacy on the Mississippi River. It prevented the Union from using the river for shipping between the Union-controlled Midwest and New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico. The Union navy tried to take Vicksburg, which sat on a high bluff overlooking the river, but couldn't do it. It took Grant's army and Admiral David Porter's navy to successfully invade Mississippi and lay siege to Vicksburg, forcing the city to surrender. In this "elegant...enlightening...well-researched and well-told" (Publishers Weekly) work, Donald L. Miller tells the full story of this year-long campaign to win the city "with probing intelligence and irresistible passion" (Booklist). He brings to life all the drama, characters, and significance of Vicksburg, a historic moment that rivals any war story in history. In the course of the campaign, tens of thousands of slaves fled to the Union lines, where more than twenty thousand became soldiers, while others seized the plantations they had been forced to work on, destroying the economy of a large part of Mississippi and creating a social revolution. With Vicksburg "Miller has produced a model work that ties together military and social history" (Civil War Times). Vicksburg solidified Grant's reputation as the Union's most capable general. Today no general would ever be permitted to fail as often as Grant did, but ultimately he succeeded in what he himself called the most important battle of the war--the one that all but sealed the fate of the Confederacy.

This unique addition to Civil War literature examines the extensive influence Quaker belief and practice had on Lincoln's decisions relative to slavery, including his choice to emancipate the slaves. An important contribution to Lincoln scholarship, this thought-provoking work argues that Abraham Lincoln and the Religious Society of Friends faced a similar dilemma: how to achieve emancipation without extending the bloodshed and hardship of war. Organized chronologically so readers can see changes in Lincoln's thinking over time, the book explores the congruence of the 16th president's relationship with Quaker belief and his political and religious thought on three specific issues: emancipation, conscientious objection, and the relief and education of freedmen. Distinguishing between the reality of Lincoln's relationship with the Quakers and the mythology that has emerged over time, the book differs significantly from previous works in at least two ways. It shows how Lincoln skillfully navigated a relationship with one of the most vocal and politically active religious groups of the 19th century, and it documents the practical ways in which a shared belief in the "Doctrine of Necessity" affected the president's decisions. In addition to gaining new insights about Lincoln, readers will also come away from this book with a better understanding of Quaker positions on abolition and pacifism and a new appreciation for the Quaker contributions to the Union cause. Explains the critical role Quakers exercised in Lincoln's prosecution of the Civil War Reveals how Quakers employed their historic commitments to abolitionism and pacifism to convince Lincoln of the necessity of emancipation, freedmen's relief and education, and conscientious objection Highlights Lincoln's interactions and correspondence with individual British and American Quakers and Quaker groups Provides readers with important context necessary to understand one of the nation's most respected humanitarian groups Includes nearly two dozen period photographs that provide a fascinating glimpse into long-ago history Examines the Quakers' 150-year crusade against slavery, their efforts to improve the conditions of free blacks, and the religious beliefs that informed those activities

The Civil War obliterated America's past, along with many of the founders' visions of what America should be. Replacing those visions was the America that we have today. Any true understanding of America, both past and present, must include a specific understanding of this conflict.

This work, with a thought-provoking introduction exploring the true causes of the war, traces the entire story of the conflict in a concise monthly summary. In addition to all the major events that shaped the war, key facts that have disappeared from most mainstream texts are also included, such as:

Both Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis lost young sons during the war

The legendary Robert E. Lee faced intense southern criticism for military failures in the war's first year

U.S. forces battled the Sioux Indians during the war, leading to the largest mass execution in American history

A former Ohio congressman was banished to the South by Lincoln for opposing the war

Facts are explored and myths are exposed as the conflict is put in its proper chronological perspective. For anyone seeking a general resource guide to the seminal event in American history, this is required reading.

The Civil Rights Act of 1875, enacted March 1, 1875, banned racial discrimination in public accommodations - hotels, public conveyances and places of public amusement. In 1883 the U.S. Supreme Court declared the law unconstitutional, ushering in generations of segregation until 1964. This first full-length study of the Act covers the years of debates in Congress and some forty state studies of the midterm elections of 1874 in which many supporting Republicans lost their seats. They returned to pass the Act in the short session of Congress. This book utilizes an army of primary sources from unpublished manuscripts, rare newspaper accounts, memoir materials and official documents to demonstrate that Republicans were motivated primarily by an ideology that civil equality would produce social order in the defeated southern states.

The Civil War and the men and women who lived during that time continue to interest, preoccupy, and bemuse a wide and various population. This volume provides information on 872 men and women of the Union, covering those who influenced the course of public policy, opinion, and events. Coverage of political leaders, such as congressmen and cabinet officers, is comprehensive, while others, such as editors, photographers, and abolitionists, are covered selectively. Military leaders are included for specific contributions to the Union. Each profile provides biographical information about the person, stressing the war years and offering an assessment of the individual's place in the Union. Each entry concludes with bibliographic sources. Taken together, the profiles illumine those mystic chords of memory that continue to tie us yet to the Civil War generation.

This book explores the continuous British fascination with the American Civil War from the 1870s to the present. Analysing the War's place in British political discourse, military writing, intellectual life and popular culture, it traces the sources of Britons' appeal to the American conflict and their use of its representations at home and abroad.

This study describes the creation of the Primitive Baptist movement and discusses the main outlines of their thought. It also weaves the story of the Primitive Baptists with other developments in American Christianity in the Early Republic.

Gettysburg is a snapshot of three of the most important days in US history. Filled with informative timelines and fact sheets, details on the commanders, weapon technology, and so much more, this handsome volume also captures several human stories, from the 11-year-old sergeant, John L. Clem, who killed a Confederate soldier to John Burns, the only civilian to fight in the battle and many others. Gettysburg also provides a remarkable look at the historic Reconciliation Reunion, Gettysburg today and the preservation efforts, and tons of other interesting details that American history buffs will love.

The sixteen essays in this volume, all previously unpublished, address the little considered question of the role played by religion in the American Civil War. The authors show that religion, understood in its broadest context as a culture and community of faith, was found wherever the war was found. Comprising essays by such scholars as Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, Drew Gilpin Faust, Mark Noll, Reid Mitchell, Harry Stout, and Bertram Wyatt-Brown, and featuring an afterword by James McPherson, this collection marks the first step towards uncovering this crucial yet neglected aspect of American history.

This isn't an ordinary Civil War tale. It is the all-true but little-known story of Adam "Stovepipe" Johnson-Kentucky legend, Texas hero, and Confederate cavalry officer-who boldly led the first Confederate raid across the Mason-Dixon Line to capture the thriving river-port community of Newburgh, Indiana, during the American Civil War. Not a shot was fired.

With the politically divided landscape of Civil War Kentucky and the steamboat economy of the Ohio River as its backdrop, this is the historically accurate account of surprise nocturnal strikes, opportunistic military occupations, and a swashbuckling Rebel icon's daring daylight invasion into the Northern homeland that sealed the fate of western Kentucky for the remainder of the war.

Vivid, thorough, and painstakingly researched, "Thunder from a Clear Sky" documents five critical weeks of 1862 Civil War history and shares the untold tale of one man's immeasurable impact on a nation at war.

"A fascinating account of how a skilled former Indian fighter gathered a few Kentucky rebels and 'woke up' the slumbering Indiana Home Guard."
-"Evansville Courier & Press Book Reviews"

"An important and, until now, largely neglected story about the American Civil War... "Thunder from a Clear Sky" stands as a fresh and important contribution in a field long studied."-Professor Randy K. Mills, Ph.D., Oakland City University, author of "Jonathan Jennings: Indiana's First Governor "

A compelling exploration of what real life was like for residents of Civil War-era Atlanta In 1845, Atlanta was the last stop at the end of a railroad line, the home of just twelve families and three general stores. By the 1860s, it was a thriving Confederate city, second only to Richmond in importance. A Changing Wind is the first history to explore the experiences of Atlanta's civilians during the young city's rapid growth, the devastation of the Civil War, and the Reconstruction era when Atlanta emerged as a "New South" city. A Changing Wind vividly brings to life the stories of Atlanta's diverse citizens-white and black, free and enslaved, well-to-do and everyday people. A rich and compelling account of residents' changing loyalties to the Union and the Confederacy, the book highlights the unequal economic and social impacts of the war, General Sherman's siege, and the stunning rebirth of the city in postwar years. The final chapter of the book focuses on Atlanta's historical memory of the Civil War and how racial divisions have led to separate commemorations of the war's meaning.

This set was written by distinguished men of the South, producing a work which truly portrays the times and issues of the Confederacy. It was edited by Gen. Clement A. Evans of Georgia. Two volumes--the first and the last--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. There are also individual volumes for each state: Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia,Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky Missouri, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas & Florida. An additional volume covers the Confederate Navy.

Who were the greatest commanders of the American Civil War, and what made them so? In The Great Commanders of the American Civil War, the best military leaders of both sides are pitted against each other and their strengths and weaknesses examined - Robert E. Lee versus George Meade at Gettysburg, Ulysses S. Grant versus Albert Sidney Johnston at Shiloh, William Tecumseh Sherman versus John Bell Hood in the March to the Sea, along with eight other pairs. The book also explores a decisive battle between each pair of adversaries, highlighting the decisions made and why the battle was won. Each featured battle includes a contextual introduction, a description of the action, and an analysis of the aftermath. A specially commissioned colour map illustrating the dispositions and movement of forces brings the subject to life and helps the reader grasp the course of each battle. Featuring full-colour illustrations, paintings and photographs alongside the battle maps, The Great Commanders of the American Civil War is a fascinating comparison of the greatest Confederate and Union military leaders.

In hopes of impeding a young United States, the British supplied the Confederacy with arms and equipment. This book - along with Volume I - will be the definitive reference on British arms and accoutrements in Confederate service, containing full and detailed histories of newly discovered imported arms and equipment, plus lost historical details of the companies and individuals that manufactured them, including: Robert Mole & Co, Eley Bros, Francis Preston, and Arthur Warner. There are brand new sections and photographs of knapsacks, waist belts - plus all the different types of snake buckles - cap pouches, 50 round pouches, ball bags, frogs, oil bottles, sabre bayonets for the P53 Enfield, bayonet scabbards, down to snap caps and tompions. It has brand new unpublished histories on gun makers like C.W. James, Hackett, Pryse and Redman, R & W Aston, R.T. Pritchett, King & Phillips, and London Armoury Co.

"The Blue, the Gray, and the Green" is one of only a handful of books to apply an environmental history approach to the Civil War. This book explores how nature--disease, climate, flora and fauna, and other factors--affected the war and also how the war shaped Americans' perceptions, understanding, and use of nature. The contributors use a wide range of approaches that serve as a valuable template for future environmental histories of the conflict.
In his introduction, Brian Allen Drake describes the sparse body of environmental history literature related to the Civil War and lays out a blueprint for the theoretical basis of each essay. Kenneth W. Noe emphasizes climate and its effects on agricultural output and the battlefield; Timothy Silver explores the role of disease among troops and animals; Megan Kate Nelson examines aridity and Union defeat in 1861 New Mexico; Kathryn Shively Meier investigates soldiers' responses to disease in the Peninsula Campaign; Aaron Sachs, John C. Inscoe, and Lisa M. Brady examine philosophical and ideological perspectives on nature before, during, and after the war; Drew Swanson discusses the war's role in production and landscape change in piedmont tobacco country; Mart A. Stewart muses on the importance of environmental knowledge and experience for soldiers, civilians, and slaves; Timothy Johnson elucidates the ecological underpinnings of debt peonage during Reconstruction; finally, Paul S. Sutter speculates on the future of Civil War environmental studies. "The Blue, the Gray, and the Green" provides a provocative environmental commentary that enriches our understanding of the Civil War.