This book examines what the citizen soldiery of the mid-Atlantic states wore when they marched off to save the Union in 1861. An exhaustive search of thousands of newspapers has provided a myriad of reports and personal accounts from soldiers' letters, which offer a hitherto unpublished view of the stirring events during the first few months of the Civil War. Combined with fascinating detail from numerous diaries and regimental histories, this has helped reconstruct the appearance of the Union volunteers of Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. The book is enhanced by photographs of original items of uniforms from private collections, plus imagery of the day, which show with remarkable clarity the great variety of clothing and headgear worn. Sponsored by the Company of Military Historians, this is an essential reference for collectors, living historians, modelers, and curators, as well as anyone with a general interest in the Civil War.

This volume examines what the citizen soldiery of the New England states wore when they marched off to save the Union in 1861. An exhaustive search of thousands of newspapers yielded a myriad of reports and personal accounts from soldiers letters, which together offer a hitherto unpublished view of the stirring events during the first few months of the Civil War. Combined with fascinating detail from numerous diaries and regimental histories, the author is able to describe the appearance of the Union volunteers of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, and Maine. The narrative is enhanced by photographs of original uniform items from private collections, plus imagery of the day showing the great variety of clothing and headgear worn. Accepted by the Company of Military Historians, this is an essential reference for collectors, living historians, modelers, and curators, as well as anyone with a general interest in the Civil War.

During the 19th century, US forces confronted the Seminole people in a series of bitter wars over the fate of Florida. After the refusal of the Seminoles to move west to the Creek Reservation in Mississippi, the US government sent troops to bring Florida under federal control, marking the beginning of the Second Seminole War. On December 28, 1835, troops led by Major Francis Langhorne Dade were ambushed and massacred en route to Fort King. Two years of guerrilla warfare ensued, as the Seminoles evaded the US forces sent to defeat them. Ordered to hunt down the Seminoles, a US force led by Colonel Zachary Taylor incurred heavy losses at the battle of Lake Okeechobee (December 25, 1837), but the Seminoles were forced to withdraw. At the battle of the Loxahatchee River (January 24, 1838), forces led by Major General Thomas S. Jesup encountered a large group of Seminoles and met them with overwhelming numbers and greater firepower. Despite their stubborn efforts to resist the US military, the Seminoles were defeated and Florida became a state of the Union in 1845. This fully illustrated study assesses the forces fighting on both sides, casting light on the tactics, weaponry, and combat record of the Seminole warriors and their US opponents during the Second Seminole War.

This fully illustrated study investigates the uniforms and equipment of the US regular troops and volunteers from the territories fighting for the Union during the American Civil War. During the American Civil War, the United States Army, pitted against the forces of the fledgling Confederacy, fought to defend and preserve the Union during five long years of bitter conflict. This volume describes and illustrates the uniforms, insignia and personal equipment of the Union Army's regular infantry, artillery, cavalry, and engineers, plus specialists such as US Sharpshooters, Veteran Reserve Corps, Medical Corps, and Signal Corps. This volume also covers the troops fielded by the Territories that fought for the Union. Eight plates of original artwork showing officers and enlisted men of the Union Army are complemented by previously unpublished photographs of soldiers and items of uniform from some of the most comprehensive collections in the United States.

Featuring specially commissioned artwork and archive illustrations, this engrossing study describes the US Marine Corps’ early operations and illustrates its evolving uniforms and personal equipment. The US Marine Corps’ uniforms, personal equipment, insignia, and weaponry are all described and illustrated in this book, complemented by a succinct history of the Marines’ military record from their beginnings to the eve of the American Civil War, by which time the US Marine Corps had established itself as a small but vitally important part of the United States’ armed forces. Organized in 1775, the first American Marines distinguished themselves throughout the American Revolutionary War, and even raided mainland Britain before being disbanded in 1783. Reestablished in 1798, the US Marine Corps fought in the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812, both at sea and on land. The years after 1815 saw the Corps involved in a wide variety of conflicts, from the Seminole Wars to the Mexican–American War; Marines even reached China and Japan. As the prospect of civil war began to threaten the United States, a small battalion of Marines was responsible for the capture of abolitionist John Brown at Harper’s Ferry on October 18, 1859. The diverse operations and evolving appearance of the Marines are captured in this absorbing study from an acknowledged authority on US military costume.

Fully illustrated with specially commissioned artwork and mapping plus carefully chosen archive illustrations, many in color, this lively study investigates the Mexican soldiers and Texian volunteers who fought one another in three key battles during the Texas Revolution. Following unrest throughout Mexico, in 1835 a revolt began in Texas among the Anglophone and Tejano-speaking settlers, known as Texians. Having retreated after their defeat at Bexar in December 1835, Mexican troops were ordered to re-occupy Texas in early 1836. In this volume, US military history expert Ron Field explores in detail three key battles that ensued. From February 23, Mexican forces besieged the Texian forces at the Alamo at San Antonio de Bexar; in the subsequent battle on March 6, almost all of the Texian defenders were killed. On March 19, forces en route to join the main Texian army were surrounded by Mexican troops at Coleto Creek. Following their surrender, about 340 Texian prisoners were shot by Mexican soldiers in what became known as the Goliad Massacre. On April 21, a Texian force launched a surprise attack on a larger Mexican army near the San Jacinto River, the decisive Texian victory that resulted is the third battle to be investigated in this study. Featuring full-color artwork and maps and drawing upon the latest research, this book investigates the fighting men of both sides at the Alamo, Coleto Creek, and the San Jacinto River, casting light on the doctrine, tactics, weaponry, and combat record of the Texian and Mexican combatants who clashed in the first weeks of the emerging Republic of Texas.

African-American soldiers played a decisive role in the US Army on the western frontier during the Plains Wars. First authorised by Congress in July 1866, they were organised into two cavalry and four infantry regiments, which were commanded by white officers. All were quickly nicknamed the 'Buffalo Soldiers' by their Cheyenne and Comanche enemies. These brave soldiers fought many native tribes over the years, including the warriors of Sitting Bull and Geronimo. This book tells the story of these buffalo soldiers who, until the early 1890s, constituted 20 per cent of all active forces on duty in the American West.

This volume details the crucial chapter in the history of the Indian Wars. The Seminole of Florida were one of the largest tribes of Native Americans living in peace with settlers. They traded with the Americans, the English and the Spanish, lived in cabins, planted crops and raised cattle. However, by 1815, frontier Americans had grown increasingly envious of their relative wealth and land, and resentful of their harboring of former slaves. They entered into three successive wars with the Seminole tribes, the second, seven-year-long war proving extremely costly in terms of money and manpower as the Seminole emerged as a stubborn and effective fighting force, especially in forest and swamp conditions. Ultimately, however, the sheer weight of the opposing forces overwhelmed them, and only a few dogged resistors clung to the idea of freedom until the third war led to the surrender of the chief. This book reveals the dramatic stories behind the three fierce Seminole wars, fought over a period of 41 years. Illustrated with careful reconstructions of the colorful and varied clothing and uniforms worn by both sides, the author discusses the organization and history of a tribe that fought to the bitter end, albeit unsuccessfully, in the pursuit of freedom.

Civil Rights in America is one of the theme books in the Cambridge Perspectives in History series.Ron Field provides a comprehensive survey of the history of civil rights in America. Topics include: an examination of the concept of civil rights and its relation to the Constitution. The activities and impact of the Klu Klux Klan; labour relations; the development of the Civil Rights Movement; and the contemporary experience of African Americans and other minority groups. The book is illustrated and includes primary sources.

During the intense, sprawling conflict that was the American Civil War, both Union and Confederate forces fielded substantial numbers of cavalry, which carried out the crucial tasks of reconnaissance, raiding, and conveying messages. The perception was that cavalry's effectiveness on the battlefield would be drastically reduced in this age of improved infantry firearms. This title, however, demonstrates how cavalry's lethal combination of mobility and dismounted firepower meant it was still very much a force to be reckoned with in battle, and charts the swing in the qualitative difference of the cavalry forces fielded by the two sides as the war progressed. In this book, three fierce cavalry actions of the American Civil War are assessed, including the battles of Second Bull Run/Manassas (1862), Buckland Mills (1863) and Tom's Brook (1864).

In 1864 Petersburg, Virginia became the setting for one of the last great campaigns of the United States Civil War and the longest siege in American History. After his failure to capture Richmond in the Spring, General Ulysses S. Grant decided to strangle the life out of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia by surrounding the city of Petersburg and cutting off General Robert E. Lee's supply lines.
The ensuing siege would carry on for nearly ten months, involve 160,000 soldiers, and see a number of pitched battles including the Battle of the Crater, Reams Station, Hatcher's Run, and White Oak Road. But around these battles were long days of living in trenches, enduring poor diet and winter weather, and suffering constant artillery bombardment. In April of 1865, Grant ordered a sweeping offensive against the beleaguered Confederates, which broke Lee's right flank and forced him to retreat to Appomattox Court House, where he surrendered a week later.
Written by an expert on the American Civil War, this book examines the last clash between the armies of U.S. Grant and Robert E. Lee.

This long-awaited book fills a gap in knowledge of the uniform clothing, headgear, equipage, and weapons of the United States Navy during the Civil War period. Based on original accounts from official documents, newspapers, diaries, letters, and other primary sources, the well-written text is accompanied by a wealth of period images of navy personnel, many of which are identified and published for the first time. Numerous photographs of surviving articles of clothing and artefacts throw further light on life in a blockading fleet or on the High Seas from 1852 through 1865. With great clarity the author explains the various changes to officers' uniforms and for the first time provides a detailed analysis of the clothing worn by ratings and enlisted men. A much needed book in a long overlooked subject, Bluejackets is an essential reference work for collectors, living historians, modellers, and curators, as well as anyone with a general interest in the Civil War at sea.

The Cambridge History Programme is an investigative course which: provides a coherent and progressive programme of History is directly accessible to all pupils offers the teacher practical guidance on assessment Each book features: enquiry-based units which pose key historical questions a careful balance of explanation and investigation overview and review sections to introduce and consolidate themes and concepts a wide range of primary sources, explanatory, diagrams, and maps activities ranging in difficulty which enable pupils to meet the History Attainment Target Each book provides teachers with all the material they require to develop fully their pupils' historical knowledge, skills and understanding. The programme builds on and encourages good classroom practice to provide a broad, balanced and enjoyable History course.