|
Books > History > American history > 1800 to 1900
The 38th Virginia Infantry was organized in May and June of 1861,
in the southern Virginia counties of Pittsylvania, Halifax, and
Mecklenburg. Seven of the ten Companies were recruited in
Pittsylvania, thus it was called the Pittsylvania Regiment. Less
than a year prior, census takers unknowingly finished recording for
posterity the men who would go to war. An in depth study shows
seven Virginia counties and six North Carolina counties bordering
the recruitment area of Pittsylvania, Halifax, and Mecklenburg
would contribute men to the 38th Virginia. The 38th Virginia
Infantry was in the field of battle from Yorktown in April of 1862,
to Appomattox on April 9, 1865. The largest losses suffered were at
battles of 7 Pines, Malvern Hill, Gettysburg, Chester Station, and
the 2nd Battle of Drewry's Bluff. Herein is detail on the orders of
battles, the prison camps endured, and the names of parents and
wives of the soldiers, with focus on the census of 1860.
The name Andersonville, from the American Civil War to the present,
has come to be synonymous with "American death camp." Its horrors
have been portrayed in its histories, art, television, and movies.
The trial of its most famous figure, Captain Henry Wirz, still
raises questions about American justice. This work unlocks the
secret history of America's deadliest prison camp in ways that will
spur debate for many years to come. However, more than a story of a
notorious place of death, this work sets out to uncover unknown
aspects of life among Americans immediately before and during the
Civil War. Persons who found themselves connected with this prison
tell the story of a new country in a period of rapid change. They
include, among others, the mysterious figure known as Limber Jim,
mercenary D. W. Vowles, sea captain Herbert Hunt, lawyer O. S.
Baker, and even general William Tecumseh Sherman. This work
uncovers the lost history of the prison itself, the least
understood element of this massive human tragedy in Civil War
Georgia. While a work of deep introspection and high adventure, it
also corrects myths, misunderstandings, and major mistakes that
have appeared in print and popular history.
In September 1868, the remains of Jacob and Nancy Jane Young were
found lying near the banks of Indiana's White River. It was a
gruesome scene. Part of Jacob's face had been blown off, apparently
by the shotgun that lay a few feet away. Spiders and black beetles
crawled over his wound. Smoke rose from his wife's smoldering body,
which was so badly burned that her intestines were exposed, the
flesh on her thighs gone, and the bones partially reduced to
powder. Suspicion for both deaths turned to Nancy Clem, a housewife
who was also one of Mr. Young's former business partners. In The
Notorious Mrs. Clem, Wendy Gamber chronicles the life and times of
this charming and persuasive Gilded Age confidence woman, who
became famous not only as an accused murderess but also as an
itinerant peddler of patent medicine and the supposed originator of
the Ponzi scheme. Clem's story is a shocking tale of friendship and
betrayal, crime and punishment, courtroom drama and partisan
politicking, get-rich-quick schemes and shady business deals. It
also raises fascinating questions about women's place in an
evolving urban economy. As they argued over Clem's guilt or
innocence, lawyers, jurors, and ordinary citizens pondered
competing ideas about gender, money, and marriage. Was Clem on
trial because she allegedly murdered her business partner? Or was
she on trial because she engaged in business? Along the way, Gamber
introduces a host of equally compelling characters, from
prosecuting attorney and future U.S. president Benjamin Harrison to
folksy defense lawyer John Hanna, daring detective Peter Wilkins,
pioneering "lady news writer" Laura Ream, and female-remedy
manufacturer Michael Slavin. Based on extensive sources, including
newspapers, trial documents, and local histories, this gripping
account of a seemingly typical woman who achieved extraordinary
notoriety will appeal to true crime lovers and historians alike.
This Civil War enthusiast's sourcebook organizes the crucial
details of the war in an inventive format designed to enhance the
reader's knowledge base and big-picture understanding of key events
and outcomes. The war's causes, political and economic issues,
important personalities, campaigns and battles are examined. Nearly
200 reader challenges stimulate review of critical moments, with
suggested reading for further exploration. Photographs and maps
have been carefully selected to supplement the topic being
explored.
A Union Army regiment at war
This concise account of a regiment of volunteers from the state of
Illinois enables the reader to follow its progress through its
service during the war between the states. Marching towards
Nashville, the 86th took part in the Battle of Chickamauga followed
by Mission Ridge, Knoxville, the Atlanta Campaign, Averysboro,
Bentonville and the capture of Johnston's Army to war's end.
Available in soft cover and hard cover with dust jacket. Another
essential unit history for students of the American Civil War.
Michael Gorra asks provocative questions in this historic portrait
of William Faulkner and his world. He explores whether William
Faulkner should still be read in this new century and asks what his
works tell us about the legacy of slavery and the American Civil
War, the central quarrel in America's history. Born in 1897 in
Mississippi, Faulkner wrote such iconic novels as Absalom, Absalom!
and The Sound and the Fury, creating in Yoknapatawpha County the
richest gallery of characters in American fiction, his achievements
culminating in the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature. But given his
works' echo of "Lost Cause" romanticism, his depiction of black
characters and black speech, and his rendering of race relations in
a largely unreconstructed South, Faulkner demands a sobering
reevaluation. Interweaving biography, absorbing literary criticism
and rich travelogue, The Saddest Words recontextualises Faulkner,
revealing a civil war within him, while examining the most plangent
cultural issues facing American literature today.
Tempest Over Texas: The Fall and Winter Campaigns, 1863-1864 is the
fourth installment in Dr. Donald S. Frazier's award-winning
Louisiana Quadrille series. Picking up the story of the Civil War
in Louisiana and Texas after the fall of Port Hudson and Vicksburg,
Tempest Over Texas describes Confederate confusion on how to carry
on in the Trans-Mississippi given the new strategic realities.
Likewise, Federal forces gathered from Memphis to New Orleans were
in search of a new mission. International intrigues and disasters
on distant battlefields would all conspire to confuse and perplex
war-planners. One thing remained, however. The Stars and Stripes
needed to fly once again in Texas, and as soon as possible.
The US Cavalry and Indian tribes at war
The author of this book was a young officer in the Union Army-a
cavalryman of the 7th Iowa Cavalry-when in 1863, after the Battle
of Gettysburg, he was ordered to the Western frontier to assist in
dealing with potential uprisings by the Indian tribes in Omaha.
Fortunately for posterity he decided to keep a daily journal and
this together with reference to the lengthy correspondence he sent
to his family concerning his activities has enabled the author to
leave us a substantial, highly detailed and well written account of
army life on the frontier and Indian warfare from the perspective
of the horse soldier. This is an interesting and engaging book
about a 'war within a war' against a formidable, elusive, fierce
and resolute enemy. The scenes in which Indian forces literally
surround the writer's beleaguered garrison are especially riveting.
Combining meticulous research with a unique perspective, Seven Days
Before Richmond examines the 1862 Peninsula Campaign of Union
General George McClellan and the profound effects it had on the
lives of McClellan and Confederate General Robert E. Lee, as well
as its lasting impact on the war itself.
Rudolph Schroeder's twenty-five year military career and combat
experience bring added depth to his analysis of the Peninsula
Campaign, offering new insight and revelation to the subject of
Civil War battle history. Schroeder analyzes this crucial campaign
from its genesis to its lasting consequences on both sides.
Featuring a detailed bibliography and a glossary of terms, this
work contains the most complete Order of Battle of the Peninsula
Campaign ever compiled, and it also includes the identification of
commanders down to the regiment level. In addition, this
groundbreaking volume includes several highly-detailed maps that
trace the Peninsula Campaign and recreate this pivotal moment in
the Civil War.
Impeccably detailed and masterfully told, Seven Days Before
Richmond is an essential addition to Civil War scholarship.
Schroeder artfully enables us to glimpse the innermost thoughts and
motivations of the combatants and makes history truly come
alive.
|
|