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Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > War & defence operations > Civil war
A guide to the conflicts for the Union
This book has a curious pedigree. During the U.S. Grant
administration, the Secretary of War instructed the Corps of Clerks
to compile a thorough and complete catalogue of all the engagements
of the late American Civil War-irrespective of their magnitude. The
work was duly completed, published in small edition and a copy was
presented by the Adjutant-General to the Secretary of War who, upon
receiving it, promptly checked its pages for a minor incident in
which he had been involved only to discover that it was notably
absent It was from this rather embarrassing foundation that this
book (oddly titled in its original edition 'When and Where We Met
Each Other on Shore or Afloat' ) was conceived and, after much
research, published. The task was a daunting one and the book
occupied its author, Theodore D. Strickler, for over a decade as he
examined official and other reliably authentic sources. Of course,
all the well known battles are recorded here, but also included are
the hundreds of minor affairs including scouting parties,
skirmishes and raids. Strickler had the advantage of living
witnesses to authenticate his findings and at the time of its
original publication the book claimed to be the most complete
compilation of its kind. The principal body of the text is in list
form and the Leonaur edition has faithfully reproduced this in its
original form for the sake of authenticity. All other text-which
includes a piece on unit insignia-has been newly typeset. By virtue
of its extreme thoroughness this book will be invaluable to all
serious students of the American Civil War.
Every Leonaur title is available in softcover and hardback with
dustjacket; our hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil
lettering on their spines and fabric head and tail bands.
This study introduces a new perspective on Lincoln and the Civil
War through an examination of his declaration of our national
values and the subsequent interpretation of those values by
families during the war. This volume is a completely new approach
to Civil War history. Historians rightly regard Abraham Lincoln as
a moral exemplar, a president who gave new life to the national
values that defined America. While some previous studies attest to
Lincoln's identification with family virtues, this is the first to
link Lincoln's personal biography with actual histories of families
at war. It analyzes the relationship that existed between Lincoln
and these families and assesses the moral struggles that validated
the families' decision for or against the conflict. Written to be
accessible to students and the general reader alike, the book
examines Lincoln's presidency as measured against the stories of
families, North and South, that struggled with his definition of
Union virtues. It looks at Lincoln's compelling case for democratic
values-among them, justice, patriotism, honor, and commitment-first
stated in his 1861 speech before Independence Hall. The work also
uses case studies to demonstrate how virtue, as practiced in
families, illuminated, contested, adapted, and even transformed his
concept, giving new meaning to the "virtues of war." Takes a new
approach to the study of the Civil War as it connects Lincoln to
families' assessment of their own and national virtues Provides a
unique viewpoint on Lincoln's virtues derived from his important
Independence Hall speech Shows how virtue helped to coalesce
families into one unified nation Is enlivened by short biographical
pieces in every chapter
Written in a clear and engaging narrative style, this book analyzes
the pivotal campaign in which Robert E. Lee drove the Union Army of
the Potomac under George B. McClellan away from the Confederate
capital of Richmond, VA, in the summer of 1862. The Seven Days'
Battles: The War Begins Anew examines how Lee's Confederate forces
squared off against McClellan's Union Army during this week-long
struggle, revealing how both sides committed many errors that could
have affected the outcome. Indeed, while Lee is often credited with
having brilliant battle plans, the author shows how the Confederate
commander mismanaged battles, employed too many complicated
maneuvers, and overestimated what was possible with the resources
he had available. For his part, McClellan of the Union Army failed
to commit his troops at key moments, accepted erroneous
intelligence, and hindered his campaign by refusing to respect the
authority of his civilian superiors. This book presents a synthetic
treatment that closely analyzes the military decisions that were
made and why they were made, analyzes the successes and failures of
the major commanders on both sides, and clearly explains the
outcomes of the battles. The work contains sufficient depth of
information to serve as a resource for undergraduate American
history students while providing enjoyable reading for Civil War
enthusiasts as well as general audiences.
Gettysburg is widely considered to be the turning point of the
Civil War and one of the most epic clashes of arms in all of
military history, from the legendary stand of Joshua Chamberlain to
the disastrous Pickett's Charge on the battle's third and final
day. In this installment in the Battle Briefings series, Thomas
Flagel provides an accessible and informative introduction to the
battle.
ELLA CORRIGAN'S despair at being jilted pales in light of what
follows after she makes the hasty decision to marry a man she has
long avoided. Unaware that a friend's secret act of jealousy is
responsible for her bitter heartache, she enters an existence never
imagined during sweeter days as Mistress of her father's Savannah
River plantation - where a mystery is building around the family's
phenomenal natural spring, Corrigans' Pool. . . . The South is
embroiled in a bloody Civil War by the time Ella discovers that
Corrigans' Pool, on her family's property, is much more than the
exquisite pond she had thought it to be all her life, but by the
time she learns its dangerous secret, she is trapped by a secret of
her own, blackmailed, and powerless against one man's unspeakable
evil. Haunted by the threat of scandal, she struggles against the
horrors of her new existence, an existence she must keep private
even from the very people who could help her. Her life comes full
circle when the past she has long blamed for her wretchedness steps
unexpectedly out of the darkness to face her . . . FIVE STAR
FOREWORD CLARION REVIEW (EXCERPT): Ryan's storytelling ability and
masterful use of setting, dialogue, and characterization, adds up
to an exquisite piece of historical fiction. Corrigans' Pool
manages to blend romance, mystery, humor, and tragedy with flawless
precision. The romance is moving but subtle, the mystery is
suspenseful, and the story flows smoothly to a dramatic and
satisfying conclusion. Readers are sure to be enthralled with this
exceptional novel. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
Focusing on a little-known yet critical aspect of the American
Civil War, this must-read history illustrates how guerrilla warfare
shaped the course of the war and, to a surprisingly large extent,
determined its outcome. The Civil War is generally regarded as a
contest of pitched battles waged by large armies on battlefields
such as Gettysburg. However, as American Civil War Guerrillas:
Changing the Rules of Warfare makes clear, that is far from the
whole story. Both the Union and Confederate armies waged extensive
guerrilla campaigns-against each other and against civilian
noncombatants. Exposing an aspect of the War Between the States
many readers will find unfamiliar, this book demonstrates how the
unbridled and unexpectedly brutal nature of guerrilla fighting
profoundly affected the tactics and strategies of the larger,
conventional war. The reasons for the rise and popularity of
guerrilla warfare, particularly in the South and lower Midwest, are
examined, as is the way each side dealt with its consequences.
Guerrilla warfare's impact on the outcome of the conflict is
analyzed as well. Finally, the role of memory in shaping history is
touched on in an epilogue that explores how veteran Civil War
guerrillas recalled their role in the war. An epilogue that shares
the recollections of Civil War guerrillas, showing how the memory
of historical events may be shaped by the passage of time A dozen
black and white illustrations provide glimpses into history
JIM BRIDGER- MOUNTAIN MAN: A BIOGRAPHY by STANLEY VESTAL. Contents
include: PREFACE ix PART 1 TRAPPER I ENTERPRISING YOUNG MAN 1 II.
SET POLES FOR THE MOUNTAINS 8 HI. HIVERNAN 21 IV. THE MISSOURI
LEGION 28 V. HUGH GLASS AND THE GRIZZLY 40 PART 3 BOOSHWAY VI.
BLANKET CHIEF 57 VIL THE BATTLE OF PIERRE S HOLE 69 VHI. SHOT IN
THE BACK 86 IX. DEVIL TAKE THE HINDMOST 95 X. ARROW BUTCHERED OUT
105 XL OLD GABE TO THE RESCUE 112 XII. INJUN SCRAPES 119 XIII. THE
LAST RENDEZVOUS 132 vii mil CONTENTS PART 3 TRADER XTV. FORT
BRIDGER 142 XV. MILK RIVER . 154 XVI. THE OVERLAND TRAIL 162 XVH.
THE TREATY AT LARAMIE 168 XVm. THE SAINTS RAID FORT BRIDGER 182
PART 4, GUIDE XIX. SIR GEORGE GORE 192 XX. THE MARCH SOUTH 199 XXI.
TALL TALES 206 PART 5 CHIEF OF SCOUTS XXII. THE POWDER RIVER
EXPEDITION 220 XXHI. RED CLOUD S DEFIANCE 241 XXIV. THE CHEYENNES
WARNING 249 XXV. BLOODY JUNKET 258 XXVI. FORT PHIL KEARNEY 268
XXVEL AMBUSH 278 XXVttL MASSACRE 284 XXIX. THE END OF THE TRAIL 295
APPENDIX 301 INDEX PREFACE EVER since tlie days when, as a boy, I
raced Indian ponies and swam in a Western river with the Cheyenne
lads, I have felt the lack of a satisfying portrait of Jim Bridger.
The intervening years permitted much research, but somehow the
books about Bridger never seemed to do him justice. In his own time
he was a legend, and since his death historians have been content
for the most part merely to pile up facts around these retold
incidents. There has been no adequate biog raphy to bring the man
to life. quot Few men have beenjso misrepresented. On the one hand,
he was represented in fiction and on the screen as a drunken,
loutish polygamist and liar, in a carica ture so monstrous that his
outraged relatives brought suit to recover damages. The court ruled
that no one could confuse this caricature with the real Jim
Bridger, and denied the suit. On the other hand, Jim Bridger s real
achievements have been ignored or neglected by writers, who have
tried to rep resent him as an Injun fighter with aE the dash and
daring of Kit Carson, as a wag with all the wit and love of fun of
Joe Meek, or as a crusty, ignorant hillbilly, unable to hold his
own in the society of civilized men...
From the initial enlistment and recruitment of men for the opposing
armies, through their demobilization during the spring, summer, and
fall of 1865, Paul A. Cimbala always places the solider at the
center of the story. This book shows how the men who signed up with
the Union and the Confederacy fought their way through the bloody
U.S. fields, how they adjusted to peace (often badly wounded and
scarred), and how they remembered their experiences. How did they
cope with wounds and disease in the 1860s? What was the role of
black soldiers on both the Union and Confederate sides? In wartime
politics, why and how did soldiers continue to participate in the
electoral process and what did they think about their politicians?
Relying on his primary research on such topics as invalid soldiers
and postwar experiences, Cimbala presents a vivid picture of the
Civil War soldier's life. Highlights include: Motivations for men
to enlist, and why blacks and other ethnic groups joined up; the
mental and physical consequences to soldier survivors; drug and
alcohol addiction in the Civil War; women's contributions on both
sides of the war; daily life in the camp, letter writing crazes to
newspapers, camp followers and sex; prisoners' and guards' lives;
the Freedmen's Bureau; veterans, including black veterans; and
organizations, including the Ku Klux Klan. The book also includes a
timeline to put dates and events in better perspective; a
comprehensive, topically arranged bibliography of primary and
secondary sources; and a comprehensive index.
Not much has been written about the Italian immigrant experience
prior to 1880. This book, through careful analysis of primary and
archival sources, brings to life the Civil War-time trials and
tribulations of several notable Italian Americans--Bancroft
Gherardi, Luigi Palma di Cesnola, Francis B. Spinola, Decimus et
Ultimus Barziza, and Edward Ferrero, among others. Though their
numbers were few, Italian Americans played central roles in the
bloodiest war in our country's history. Included in this book are
samples of John Garibaldi's wartime correspondence to his wife,
lists of Italian Americans who served as officers and
noncommissioned sailors in the Union Navy, and first-hand
correspondence of William Howell Reed (Virginia hospitals overseer
under President Grant) and the brother of a young Italian who died
in the hospital during the war. Sons of Garibaldi in Blue and Gray
fills a critical gap in studies of Italian American life in the
United States in the late 1800s.
A great deal has been written about the military career of
Comfederate General Earl Van Dorn, but his death at the hands of
infuriated Dr. George B. Peters hinted spying and espionage. A baby
a short time later by Jessie McKissack Peters, the young wife of a
much older physician and state senator husband who had been absent
for a year, came into question. The fascinating families left to
cope with the situations include servants who were taught trades
that allowed them to erebuild the area. Descendants became the
first blacks to receive architectural licenses.
The Civil War resulted from the insistence of Southern "firebrands"
that the 1820 restrictions on where slavery could be practiced in
the Western territories of the USA be removed. And the dogged
determination of some Northerners to restrict the brutal treatment
of blacks and finally put slavery on the road to extinction. In the
1850's big shoes dropped one after another in staccato fashion to
dash such hopes. The final straws were the Dred Scott Decision in
1857 saying blacks weren't even people and Congress had no power to
restrict slavery anywhere And Civil War was going on in "bleeding
Kansas" between adherents of the two stances. John Brown was
radicalized there by the sacking of Abolitionist stronghold
Lawrence. He and his sons killed some Jayhawkers (slavery
adherents) from Missouri. Then Brown, his sons, and a few others,
lit a fuse in Oct 1859 by a hare brained scheme to seize the
Federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry to arm slaves and precipitate
action to free them. So when Lincoln was elected in 1860-the South
bolted As they had threatened for 15 years. America was almost
destroyed. Until July 4, 1863 when two Union victories insured:
"that these honored dead (800,000) shall not have died in vain"
Abraham Lincoln Gettysburg, Pa Nov. 1863.
On April 16, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln issued a blockade of
the Confederate coastline. The largely agrarian South did not have
the industrial base to succeed in a protracted conflict. What it
did have - and what England and other foreign countries wanted -
was cotton and tobacco. Industrious men soon began to connect the
dots between Confederate and British needs. As the blockade grew,
the blockade runners became quite ingenious in finding ways around
the barriers. Boats worked their way back and forth from the
Confederacy to Nassau and England, and everyone from scoundrels to
naval officers wanted a piece of the action. Poor men became rich
in a single transaction, and dances and drinking - from the posh
Royal Victoria hotel to the boarding houses lining the harbor -
were the order of the day. British, United States, and Confederate
sailors intermingled in the streets, eyeing each other warily as
boats snuck in and out of Nassau. But it was all to come crashing
down as the blockade finally tightened and the final Confederate
ports were captured. The story of this great carnival has been
mentioned in a variety of sources but never examined in detail.
Breaking the Blockade: The Bahamas during the Civil War focuses on
the political dynamics and tensions that existed between the United
States Consular Service, the governor of the Bahamas, and the
representatives of the southern and English firms making a large
profit off the blockade. Filled with intrigue, drama, and colorful
characters, this is an important Civil War story that has not yet
been told.
In 1861, Americans thought that the war looming on their horizon
would be brief. None foresaw that they were embarking on our
nation's worst calamity, a four-year bloodbath that cost the lives
of more than half a million people. But as eminent Civil War
historian Emory Thomas points out in this stimulating and
provocative book, once the dogs of war are unleashed, it is almost
impossible to rein them in. In The Dogs of War, Thomas highlights
the delusions that dominated each side's thinking. Lincoln believed
that most Southerners loved the Union, and would be dragged
unwillingly into secession by the planter class. Jefferson Davis
could not quite believe that Northern resolve would survive the
first battle. Once the Yankees witnessed Southern determination, he
hoped, they would acknowledge Confederate independence. These two
leaders, in turn, reflected widely held myths. Thomas weaves his
exploration of these misconceptions into a tense narrative of the
months leading up to the war, from the "Great Secession Winter" to
a fast-paced account of the Fort Sumter crisis in 1861. Emory M.
Thomas's books demonstrate a breathtaking range of major Civil War
scholarship, from The Confederacy as a Revolutionary Experience and
the landmark The Confederate Nation, to definitive biographies of
Robert E. Lee and J.E.B. Stuart. In The Dogs of War, he draws upon
his lifetime of study to offer a new perspective on the outbreak of
our national Iliad.
Cavalryman, Infantryman and Prisoner of War
This personable first hand account of the American Civil War was
written by William Tyler of the 9th Illinois Cavalry of the Union
Army. It is an eye-witness narrative where the good nature of the
author shines through the text and, as a consequence, as well as
being a first rate source work of the horse soldiers in blue it is
also a story full of humour, adventure and anecdote. The first part
of the narrative deals with the business of war from the
perspective of a trooper in the Union Cavalry, but Tyler's role was
soon to change due to his singular success in the carrying of an
important dispatch. As often happens, especially in military life,
having demonstrated some talent Tyler became the 'expert on hand'
and was given further dispatches to carry through perilous, enemy
occupied country on a regular basis. He gives the impression that
he relished the independence of action and the adventures that came
his way. Discharged after a wound, Tyler re-enlisted, not to return
to his old unit but in the 95th Illinois Infantry because he wished
to be close to his brother who had joined that regiment. In a
battle near Guntown, Mississippi, against Forrest's Confederates,
Tyler was captured and sent to the notorious Andersonville prisoner
of war jail. In the final part of his book he describes the
appalling conditions and brutality suffered by the Union men in
Andersonville which makes for revealing if harrowing reading.
Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each
title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket; our
hardbacks are cloth bound and feature gold foil lettering on their
spines and fabric head and tail bands.
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