In the years leading up to the Civil War, one enduring friendship embodies the tensions of a nation. Orry Main from South Carolina and George Hazard from Pennsylvania forge a lasting bond while training at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Together they fight in the Mexican-American War, but their closeness is tested as their regional politics diverge. As the first rounds are fired at Fort Sumter, Orry and George find themselves on different sides of the coming struggle. In John Jakes’s unmatched style, North and South launches a trilogy that captures the fierce passions of a country at the precipice of disaster.In Love and War, the Main and Hazard families clash on and off the Civil War’s battlefields as they grapple with the violent realities of a divided nation. With the Confederate and Union armies furiously fighting, the once-steadfast bond between the Main and Hazard families continues to be tested. From opposite sides of the conflict, they face heartache and triumph on the frontlines as they fight for the future of the nation and their loved ones. With his impeccable research and unfailing devotion to the historical record, John Jakes offers his most enthralling and enduring tale yet.In Heaven and Hell, the battle between the Mains and Hazards—and Confederate and Union armies—comes to a brilliant end. The last days of the Civil War bring no peace for the Main and Hazard families. As the Mains’ South smolders in the ruins of defeat, the Hazards’ North pushes blindly for relentless industrial progress. Both the nation and the families’ long-standing bond hover on the brink of destruction. In the series’ epic conclusion, Jakes expertly blends personal conflict with historical events, crafting a haunting page-turner about America’s constant change and unyielding hope.

    It redefined how Reconstruction was viewed by historians and people everywhere in its chronicling of how Americans -- black and white -- responded to the unprecedented changes unleashed by the war and the end of slavery. This "smart book of enormous strengths" (Boston Globe) has since gone on to become the classic work on the wrenching post-Civil War period -- an era whose legacy reverberates still today in the United States.

    

    Nelson, c1960.

    It didn’t matter if the soldier wore blue or gray or was an officer or enlisted man, for bullets, shell fragments, bayonets, and swords made no class or sectional distinction. Almost 21,000 of the wounded were left behind by the two armies in and around the small town of 2,400 civilians. Most ended up being treated in makeshift medical facilities overwhelmed by the flood of injured. Many of these and their valiant efforts are covered in Greg Coco’s A Vast Sea of Misery: A History and Guide to the Union and Confederate Field Hospitals at Gettysburg, July 1-November 20, 1863.The battle to save the wounded was nearly as terrible as the battle that placed them in such a perilous position. Once the fighting ended, the maimed and suffering warriors could be found in churches, public buildings, private homes, farmhouses, barns, and outbuildings. Thousands more, unreachable or unable to be moved remained in the open, subject to the uncertain whims of the July elements. As one surgeon unhappily recalled, “No written nor expressed language could ever picture the field of Gettysburg! Blood! blood! And tattered flesh! Shattered bones and mangled forms almost without the semblance of human beings!”Based upon years of firsthand research, Coco’s A Vast Sea of Misery introduces readers to 160 of those frightful places called field hospitals. It is a sad journey you will never forget, and you won’t feel quite the same about Gettysburg once you finish reading.

    

    Lee's Army of Northern Virginia and Ulysses S. Grant's Army of the Potomac clashed in the Virginia countryside--first in the battle of the Wilderness, where the Federal army sustained greater losses than at Chancellorsville, and then further south in the vicinity of Spotsylvania Courthouse, where Grant sought to cut Lee's troops off from the Confederate capital of Richmond.This is the first book-length examination of the pivotal Spotsylvania campaign of 7-21 May. Drawing on extensive research in manuscript collections across the country and an exhaustive reading of the available literature, William Matter sets the strategic stage for the campaign before turning to a detailed description of tactical movements. He offers abundant fresh material on race from the Wilderness to Spotsylvania, the role of Federal and Confederate calvary, Emory Upton's brilliantly conceived Union assault on 10 May, and the bitter clash on 19 May at the Harris farm. Throughout the book, Matter assesses each side's successes, failures, and lost opportunities and sketches portraits of the principal commanders.The centerpiece of the narrative is a meticulous and dramatic treatment of the horrific encounter in the salient that formed the Confederate center on 12 May. There the campaign reached its crisis, as soldiers waged perhaps the longest and most desperate fight of the entire war for possession of the Bloody Angle--a fight so savage that trees were literally shot to pieces by musket fire. Matter's sure command of a mass of often-conflicting testimony enables him to present by far the clearest account to date of this immensely complex phase of the battle.Rigorously researched, effectively presented, and well supported by maps, this book is a model tactical study that accords long overdue attention to the Spotsylvania campaign. It will quickly take its place in the front rank of military studies of the Civil War.

    And now comes a book that reminds us of the glory of being Southern! Just when you thought the liberal press had succeeded in grinding us into the ground with their barrage of derogatory patter, a glimmer of hope emerges, and Southerners are once again discovering that being Southern is a good thing after all-just like it used to be!If you are proud of your Southern heritage, you'll rejoice in Southern by the Grace of God. Many of us are proud to be Southern, but we don't know just why. Since Southern history has been purged from the textbooks that children study today, our youth have little conception of a heritage. Even some of us that are older are not well grounded in it either. The author has gathered together the elements of our heritage and gives us a short course in our splendid legacy. It could be called a "handbook for Southerners." The entire South is reflected in this work, from Oklahoma to Virginia, from Texas to Florida. There is no other book like it on the market today . Some features you'll find: * Biographical Sketches and Photos of Seven Confederate Heroes * A Section on Southern Folklore * 200 Old Photographs from 1853 through 1919 * A Humorous Southern Dictionary for Helping Yankees Better Understand Us * A Chapter about the War Between the States * A Genealogical Bonanza * The Real Story of Reconstruction * A Look at Why Southerners Are Special * Recommended Reading List

    And now, for the first time, a comprehensive study that describes the tremendous maritime trade that flowed into Southern harbors from Texas to Virginia is available with the publication of Lifeline of the Confederacy: Blockade Running During the Civil War. Highlighted with numerous maps, illustrations, and a listing of more than 300 blockade runners, this book analyzes the impact of blockade running on the Southern war effort. The work tells the vivid story of the revolutionary vessels and the unknown individuals who made up the supply system that came to be called the Lifeline of the Confederacy.

    Believing beyond any doubt that Confederate forces were greater than his and that enemies at his back conspired to defeat him, he equally believed that he was God's chosen instrument to save the Union.Drawing entirely on primary sources, Stephen Sears has given u the first full picture of the contradictory McClellan, a man possessed by demons and delusions.

    Here is the ideal reference for Civil War scholars, students, political historians and enthusiasts who want to know the real people who fought at Bull Run and Gettysburg, as well as the civilians behind the lines who contributed to their efforts. The cast of characters is as large and varied as the United States itself.Arranged in an A-Z format, WHO WAS WHO IN THE CIVIL WAR covers:- Major military leaders - all 583 Union and 425 Confederate officers who attained one of the ranks of general.- Lesser-ranking officers, soldiers, seamen, scouts and spies who particularly distinguished themselves in action.- Major political leaders - presidents, presidential candidates, senators, congressmen and governors.- Political activists - Secessionists, Abolitionists, Southern Unionists and Copperheads.- Important civilian noncombatants - engineers, journalists, photographers, artists-correspondents, surgeons and nurses.Complementing the authoritative text are nearly 250 illustrations, many of them historic photographs from such famous battlefield photographers as Mathew Brady.

    On the side of the Union, it is a struggle for maintaining in the world, that form, and substance of government, whose leading object is, to elevate the condition of men. . . . to afford all, an unfettered start, and a fair chance, in the race of life."-Abraham Lincoln Chosen by Civil War magazine as one of the 200 best books on the war, Phillip Paludan's acclaimed work was the first book since 1910 to describe in a single volume the multifaceted impacts of this tragic conflict on Northern society. Weaving together insights from literature, law, politics, economics, diplomacy, and religion, Paludan shows how the North redefined itself as a modern nation through two monumental and inextricably linked events-the Civil War and the Industrial Revolution. More than that, he brings this story to life through the lives and writings of the individuals, great and small, who experienced and influenced the events he describes.

    A passion triumphant. The Civil War. An epic battle that pitted brother against brother, father against son, lover against lover. It all started out so innocently. Bevin Cameron and Reeve Walker had been roommates at the university in Cambridge and had forged a strong friendship. At Harvard they had been just two students who had been able to put the conflict brewing between the North and South aside. Then, deciding to play “Cupid” between his stepsister and best friend, Bevin invited Reeve to spend the summer on his father’s plantation near Richmond, Virginia little realizing the havoc that would be unleashed. Though Reeve was greeted with Southern hospitality, there was an undercurrent of tension as the Camerons waited to see if their state would be pulled into the quickly blossoming war. Reeve was viewed with suspicion that turned to hostility by some, but he found a kindred spirit in Allegra. When Virginia voted to secede from the Union to join with the Confederate States Reeve realized that the south was no place for a Northerner. Allegra found that she and her lover were suddenly in two different countries, two different worlds, as their lands prepared for war. Reeve Walker was a Yankee; Allegra was the daughter of one of the richest plantation owners in Virginia. To those around them that made them enemies. But Allegra knew what was in her heart. She gave up everything to marry Reeve—but that was only the beginning. Driven by her love, she risked prison to see him, disguised herself as a soldier to save him, nursed the wounded and dying in the infamous Libby Prison just to be close to him, and when everyone said he was dead, never stopped loving him. For theirs was a passion forged in the captivating flames of love and desire.

    

    

    Though the skirmishes in the Piedmont were more strategic than tactical, they were important to the health of the Southern cause. As long as the railways of North Carolina were operating freely and the state's farms were producing to capacity, Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia could move, eat, fight, and replenish itself. North Carolina's relations with the Confederate government of Jefferson Davis were complex, touchy, and often antagonistic, for the state had been reluctant to secede and there was strong Unionist sentiment throughout the state. President Davis never particularly trusted North Carolina, a fact that blinded him to the state's strategic value. Paradoxically, no state contributed more to the Confederate cause in terms of manpower and resources than did North Carolina. Along with discussion of the political climate, the book presents accounts of the Salisbury prison, Sherman's march through the Carolinas, confrontations at Bentonville, Raleigh, and Greensboro, and Joe Johnston's surrender at Bennett's Farm.William R. (Bill) Trotter is an essayist, book reviewer, and author of The Civil War in North Carolina and A Frozen Hell, among other books, as well as several short stories and novellas, and has twice been nominated for the Bram Stoker Award. He wrote a monthly column called The Desktop General for PC Gamer magazine until 2004. He was the first recipient of the North Carolina English Teachers' Association Lifetime Achievement Award. He lives in Greensboro, NC.

    Horace Greeley, while running for President, denounced them as fellows who crawled down South in the track of our armies, generally at a very safe distancein the rear. The South, in turn, hotly condemned them as the larvae of the North, vulturous adventurers, and vile, oily, odious. Richard Nelson Current's eye-opening study challenges this prevailing image of the men from the North who came to be known as carpetbaggers. Weaving together biographies of ten of these men, Current--the eminent Civil War historian--offers a provocative revisionist history of theReconstruction and what historians have long considered its most disgraceful episode. Set within the larger context of congressional politics and the history of individual Southern states, the volume reveals a group of mostly highly-educated men, almost all of whom had served with distinction inthe Union Army (three were generals), and several of whom brought their own money down South to help rebuild a war-torn land. Current's vividly-told narrative captures the passions of this tumultuous period as he documents the careers and private lives of these ten prominent men. Moreover, he provides a major reinterpretation of the entire Reconstruction era and the effort to establish a biracial democraticgovernment in the South. This brilliant collective biography will force us to rethink our views of this controversial epoch in American history.

    

    Winner of the Tennessee History Book Award and named by Choice magazine as an Outstanding Academic Book, it examines the Civil War in Middle Tennessee in light of conflict between African Americans and whites, the decline of institutions (churches, schools, courts), and economic disruption. Ash provides a rich description of how a prosperous section of Tennessee descended into devastating internal warfare that in some respects continued for years after the war." For the new edition, Ash has written a preface that takes into account the advance of Civil War historiography since the book's original appearance. This preface cites subsequent studies focusing not only on race and class but also on women and gender relations, the significance of partisan politics in shaping the course of secession in Tennessee and other upper South states, the economic forces at work, the influence of republican ideology, and the investigation of the degree to which slaves were active agents in their own emancipation. Book jacket.

    Both revealed the problems of mounting a serious attack at night and provided the first examples of the now-familiar trench warfare. Fredericksburg featured street fighting and river crossings under fire. Chancellorsville was marked by Stonewall Jackson's death and the rare instance of mounted cavalry attacking infantry. In addition, the latter battle also demonstrated in striking fashion the profound influence of the commander on the battle. The Union committed more soldiers, supplies, money, and better equipment than did the Confederacy, and yet Lee won.Eyewitness accounts by battle participants make these guides an invaluable resource for travelers and nontravelers who want a greater understanding of five of the most devastating yet influential years in our nation's history. Explicit directions to points of interest and maps--illustrating the action and showing the detail of troop position, roads, rivers, elevations, and tree lines as they were 130 years ago--help bring the battles to life. In the field, these guides can be used to recreate each battle's setting and proportions, giving the reader a sense of the tension and fear each soldier must have felt as he faced his enemy.

    The Ninth Ohio—composed of Ohio Germans mostly from Cincinnati—saw action at Rich Mountain and Carnifex Ferry in West Virginia, Shiloh, Corinth, Perryville, Hoover’s Gap, Nashville, Chattanooga, and Chickamauga.The Ninth began the War amid misgivings (Would a German-speaking regiment in the Union Army cause chaos?) and ended its active service among the honored units. It continued as an active German-speaking veterans’ organization. Constantin Grebner published this significant history, in German, in 1897 and noted that it “is intended as neither a history of the war nor a definitive account of battles. Rather, it is restricted to a straight­forward, veracious report of what happened to The Ninth, and to recounting as accurately as possible The Ninth’s experiences as a wartime regiment.” Frederic Trautmann’s English translation is faithful to Grebner’s original text, preserving its integrity while maintaining its energy, precision, and grace.

    As a result, his volume presents the views of all parties to the sectional conflict and offers a vivid portrait of the interaction between them.--American Historical Review "Refocuses our attention on an important but surprisingly neglected group--the Unionists of the upper South during the secession crisis, who have been too readily ignored by other historians.--Journal of Southern History