Best of
Civil-War

1994

Stars in Their Courses: The Gettysburg Campaign, June-July 1863


Shelby Foote - 1994
    Historian/novelist Foote's masterly work has been culled from his critically acclaimed three-volume narrative of the Civil War.

The Battle of the Wilderness May 5-6, 1864


Gordon C. Rhea - 1994
    Grant and Robert E. Lee. Gordon C. Rhea, in his exhaustive study The Battle of the Wilderness, provides the consummate recounting of that conflict of May 5 and 6, 1864, which ended with high casualties on both sides but no clear victor.Whereas previous studies have stood solely on published documents—mainly the Official Records and regimental histories—The Battle of the Wilderness not only takes a fresh look at those sources but also examines an extensive body of unpublished material, much of which has never before been brought to bear on the subject. These diaries, memoirs, letters, and reports shed new light on several aspects of the campaign, compelling Rhea to offer a critical new perspective on the overall development of the battle.For example, it has long been thought that Lee through his superior skill as general lured Grant into the Wilderness. But as Rhea makes clear, although Lee indeed hoped that Grant would become ensnared in the Wilderness, he failed to take the steps necessary to delay Grant's progress and even left his own army in a position of peril. It was only because of miscalculations by the Federal high command that Grant stopped in the Wilderness rather than continuing on to a location more favorable to Union forces.Through The Battle of the Wilderness Rhea gives close attention to the hierarchy of each army. On the Confederate side, he scrutinizes the evolving relationship between Lee and his corps commanders. On the Federal side, he reviews the several tiers of command, including the tense alliance between Grant and George G. Meade, head of the Union Army of the Potomac.Rhea presents a balanced analysis of events and people, command structures and strategies, while gracefully infusing excitement and immediacy into a subject for which he obviously feels great enthusiasm. Both the general reader and the specialist will find this important contribution to Civil War scholarship rewarding.

The Battles for Spotsylvania Court House and the Road to Yellow Tavern, May 7-12, 1864


Gordon C. Rhea - 1994
    Rhea's peerless five-book series on the Civil War's 1864 Overland Campaign abounds with Rhea's signature detail, innovative analysis, and riveting prose. Here Rhea examines the maneuvers and battles from May 7, 1864, when Grant left the Wilderness, through May 12, when his attempt to break Lee's line by frontal assault reached a chilling climax at what is now called the Bloody Angle. Drawing exhaustively upon previously untapped materials, Rhea challenges conventional wisdom about this violent clash of titans to construct the ultimate account of Grant and Lee at Spotsylvania.

The Class of 1846: From West Point to Appomattox: Stonewall Jackson, George McClellan, and Their Brothers


John C. Waugh - 1994
    The names are legendary: Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, George B. McClellan, Ambrose Powell Hill, Darius Nash Couch, George Edward Pickett, Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox, and George Stoneman. The class fought in three wars, produced twenty generals, and left the nation a lasting legacy of bravery, brilliance, and bloodshed.This fascinating, remarkably intimate chronicle traces the lives of these unforgettable men--their training, their personalities, and the events in which they made their names and met their fates. Drawing on letters, diaries, and personal accounts, John C. Waugh has written a collective biography of masterful proportions, as vivid and engrossing as fiction in its re-creation of these brilliant figures and their pivotal roles in American history.

Freedom's Banner


Teresa Crane - 1994
    Slavery is outlawed. A valiant victory - but it’s all too easy to forget that in the rest of the world the inhuman practice is still a part of everyday life. A thought that the usually clear-thinking Mattie Henderson chooses to suppress when she finds herself unexpectedly married and on her way to South Carolina with her new husband.Mattie realises too late that she is heading towards a country where a bitter civil war is about to break out - brother against brother, father against son. And the innocent, as always, will suffer with the guilty.A generation later and the battle is still not won: the grim slave trade still flourishes. This time it is Mattie's estranged and headstrong son Harry who, against the backdrop of the glorious River Nile finds himself caught up in the murderous machinations of the slavers. From the American civil war to the slave trade in Egypt, Freedom’s Banner is the perfect generational saga of love, family and redemption for fans of Josephine Cox, Lily Graham and Natasha Lester.

Word of Honor


T. Elizabeth Renich - 1994
    The powers of loyalty and survival draw Salina Hastings into the service of a network of civilian spies organized by her father, a Confederate captain and spy. With distinctive historical accuracy based on years of research both on and off site, skilled storyteller T. Elizabeth Renich brings to life the Civil War and a Confederate family's determined struggle for survival in the midst of this magnificent explosion of history. Set against crucial battles and raids and intriguing lesser- known aspects of the War between the States, the Shadowcreek Chronicles are relentless in their passion for history and story.

Through Blood and Fire at Gettysburg: General Joshua L. Chamberlain and the 20th Maine


Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain - 1994
    In "Through Blood and Fire" you'll learn why Chamberlain, a college professor, joined the war and how he triumphed through it. Chamberlain was a highly motivated man, and you'll come to understand what drove him as you read the letters he wrote during the long days at the battlefront.

Three Great Novels of the Civil War


Marc Jaffe - 1994
    Includes The Killer Angels, Stephen Crane's classic The Red Badge of Courage, and Andersonville.

A Government of Our Own: The Making of the Confederacy


William C. Davis - 1994
    Recounts the formation of the Confederacy, looks at the political forces that shaped it, and discusses the impact of slavery.

Deepwater


Pamela Jekel - 1994
    New York Times bestselling author Jekel delivers the second spectacular novel in her trio of southern sagas--the stunning story of a family that carves a sensuous and compelling life out of the untamed wilderness of the Carolinas, from the first settlement on Roanoke Island through the Civil War.

Sherman, Fighting Prophet


Lloyd B. Lewis - 1994
    The Union general who is remembered for his devastating march through Georgia during the Civil War is presented in all his passionate humanity by Lloyd Lewis.

The Matthew Brady's Illustrated History of the Civil War


Matthew Brady - 1994
    An official photographer of the Civil War presents more than seven hundred extraordinary photographs, accompanied by a lively text that recounts the history of the war, its causes, battles, personalities, and effects.

The Crisis of the American Republic: A History of the Civil War and Reconstruction Era


Allen C. Guelzo - 1994
    PrefaceAcknowledgmentsPrologueA Nation Announcing ItselfThe Disillusion of CompromiseFrom Debate to Civil WarSullen Hymns of DefeatElusive VictoriesThe Soldier's TaleThe Manufacture of WarUear That TrembledWorld Turned Upside DownStalemate & TriumphA Dim Shore AheadEpilogueIndexPhotographs

The Civil War Times Illustrated Photographic History of the Civil War, Volume I: Fort Sumter to Gettysburg


William C. Davis - 1994
    Written and compiled by the nation's leading authorities, with nearly 2,000 photographs in each volume (many published only in these collections).

African Americans: Voices of Triumph : Leadership


John L. Papanek - 1994
    Hundreds of dramatic images and an authoritative text chronicle the significant accomplishments of African Americans in the fields of science and invention, business, religion, education, and politics.

With a Flash of His Sword: The Writings of Major Holman S. Melcher, 20th Maine Infantry


Holman S. Melcher - 1994
    

Douglas Reeman Omnibus: The Iron Pirate / In Danger's Hour / Killing Ground


Douglas Reeman - 1994
    

Gate of Hell: Campaign for Charleston Harbor, 1863


Stephen R. Wise - 1994
    Wise vividly re-creates the campaign in Gate of Hell, and his retelling of the battle pits not only black against white and North against South but also army against navy. Wise contends that the significance of the campaign extends beyond its outcome, arguing that an understanding of the strategy used at Charleston is vital to understanding the very nature of the Civil War. Lasting almost two months and resulting in thousands of casualties, the campaign began as a joint army-navy operation. Wise continues to follow the campaign through the capture of Battery Wagner and near-demolition of Fort Sumter to its final days, when the Confederates prevented Union forces from entering the port city. Wise describes the campaign as a major testing ground for African-American troops and attributes Lincoln's expansion of African-American recruitment to the admirable performance of the 54th Massachusetts. Wise ultimately concludes that the skill, and in some cases foolish theatrics, of the campaign's leaders determined the course of the campaign.

Jersey Blue: Civil War Politics in New Jersey, 1854–1865


William Gillette - 1994
    William Gillette argues that there is little evidence supporting the idea that New Jersey's residents were pro-southern before the war, or even antiwar during it, although attitudes toward the abolition of slavery were more ambivalent. The perspectives Gillette offers in Jersey Blue, from the recruiting ground, the battlefield, and the home front, cast new light on New Jersey's wartime activities, state identity, and our understanding of the interrelationships between New Jersey's national, regional, and state developments.Gillette takes a broader view of the politics of the Civil War as he touches on the economy, geography, demography, immigration, nativism, conscription, and law. The result is a pioneering history of New Jersey that deepens our understanding of the Civil War.

With Grant and Meade from the Wilderness to Appomattox


Theodore Lyman - 1994
    Scholar and Boston Brahmin, Lyman volunteered for service following the battle at Gettysburg. From September 1863 to the end of the war, he wrote letters almost daily to his wife. Colonel Lyman’s early letters describe life in winter quarters. Those written after General Grant assumes command chronicle the Army of the Potomac’s long-awaited move against the Army of Northern Virginia. Lyman covered the field, delivering messages. As a general’s aide, he was privy to headquarters planning, gossip, and politics. No one escaped his discerning eye—neither "the flaxen Custer" nor Abraham Lincoln, who struck him as "a highly intellectual and benevolent Satyr." After capably serving General Meade ("Old Peppery"), Lyman accompanied him to Appomattox Court House and there observed the dignified, defeated General Lee.

From Ball's Bluff to Gettysburg... and Beyond: The Civil War Letters of Private Roland E. Bowen, 15th Massachusetts Infantry 1861-1864


Gregory A. Coco - 1994
    The 64 letters compiled here document his various experiences and journeys and provide an excellent portrayal of the life of a Civil War soldier.

Freedom, Part 2: A Novel of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War


William Safire - 1994
    

The Pattons: A Personal History of an American Family


Robert H. Patton - 1994
    Patton. Washington Post critic Jonathan Yardley called it “one of the best books of the year.”

The Civil War Times Illustrated Photographic History of the Civil War, Volume II: Vicksburg to Appomattox


William C. Davis - 1994
    Written and compiled by the nation's leading authorities, with nearly 2,000 photographs in each volume (many published only in these collections).

Nowhere to Run: The Wilderness, May 4th and 5th, 1864


John Michael Priest - 1994
    Within thirty-six hours after the Army of the Potomac began its attempt to flank the Army of Northern Virginia and attack Richmond, the armies became locked in combat. In two days of bloody fighting by disconnected and often confused but heroic forces, Lee fought Grant to a tactical draw at a cost of approximately 18,000 Union and an estimated 8,000 Confederate casualties.