Louis Post-Dispatch. NEW YORK TIMES  BESTSELLERWINNER OF THE CHRISTOPHER AWARDEveryone wants to define the man who signed his name “A. Lincoln.” In his lifetime and ever since, friend and foe have taken it upon themselves to characterize Lincoln according to their own label or libel. In this magnificent book, Ronald C. White, Jr., offers a fresh and compelling definition of Lincoln as a man of integrity–what today’s commentators would call “authenticity”–whose moral compass holds the key to understanding his life. Through meticulous research of the newly completed Lincoln Legal Papers, as well as of recently discovered letters and photographs, White provides a portrait of Lincoln’s personal, political, and moral evolution. White shows us Lincoln as a man who would leave a trail of thoughts in his wake, jotting ideas on scraps of paper and filing them in his top hat or the bottom drawer of his desk; a country lawyer who asked questions in order to figure out his own thinking on an issue, as much as to argue the case; a hands-on commander in chief who, as soldiers and sailors watched in amazement, commandeered a boat and ordered an attack on Confederate shore batteries at the tip of the Virginia peninsula; a man who struggled with the immorality of slavery and as president acted publicly and privately to outlaw it forever; and finally, a president involved in a religious odyssey who wrote, for his own eyes only, a profound meditation on “the will of God” in the Civil War that would become the basis of his finest address. Most enlightening, the Abraham Lincoln who comes into focus in this stellar narrative is a person of intellectual curiosity, comfortable with ambiguity, unafraid to “think anew and act anew.” A transcendent, sweeping, passionately written biography that greatly expands our knowledge and understanding of its subject, A. Lincoln will engage a whole new generation of Americans. It is poised to shed a profound light on our greatest president just as America commemorates the bicentennial of his birth.

    "Befriended by a slave and the captain of a riverboat, a young man named Joseph Greene adventure on the southern rivers. He fell in love with Mary McAlexander, but the great Civil War would not only test their love, but the faith of the McAlexander, Chrisman, and Patterson families as each endured the war's death and destruction. Death road across the South in the guise of the southern home guard, taking the innocence without hesitation or regret. The sorrow the war left would last forever as each proud family lost their innocence.

    Re-creating the epic campaign that culminated at Vicksburg, Groom details the arduous struggle by the Union to gain control of the Mississippi River valley and to divide the Confederacy in two. He takes us back to 1861, when Lincoln chooses Ulysses S. Grant—seen at the time as a mediocre general with a drinking problem—to lead the Union army south from Illinois.We follow Grant and his troops as they fight one campaign after another, including the famous engagements at Forts Henry and Donelson and the bloodbath at Shiloh, until, after almost a year, they close in on Vicksburg. We witness Grant’s seven long months of battle against the determined Confederate army, and the many failed Union attempts to take Vicksburg, during which thousands of soldiers on both sides would be buried and, ultimately, the fate of the Confederacy would be sealed. As Groom recounts this landmark confrontation, he brings the participants to life. We see Grant in all his grim determination, the feistiness of William Tecumseh Sherman, and the pride and intransigence of Confederate leaders from Jefferson Davis and General Joseph E. Johnston to General John C. Pemberton, the Philadelphia-born Rebel who commanded at Vicksburg and took the blame for losing.A first-rate work of military history and an essential contribution to our understanding of the Civil War.

    Opposed to secession and a friend to Union and Confederate commanders alike, he did not want a war. After Union soldiers seized and murdered his sons, placing their decapitated heads on the gateposts of his estate, Hinson could remain indifferent no longer. He commissioned a special rifle for long-range accuracy, he took to the woods, and he set out for revenge. This remarkable biography presents the story of Jack Hinson, a lone Confederate sniper who, at the age of 57, waged a personal war on Grant's army and navy. The result of 15 years of scholarship, this meticulously researched and beautifully written work is the only account of Hinson's life ever recorded and involves an unbelievable cast of characters, including the Earp brothers, Jesse James, and Nathan Bedford Forrest.

    It is one of the most popular historical destinations in the United States. Most visitors tour the field by following the National Park Service's suggested auto tour. The standard tour, however, skips crucial monuments, markers, battle actions, town sites, hospital locations, and other hidden historical gems that should be experienced by everyone. These serious oversights are fully rectified in The Complete Gettysburg Guide, penned by noted Gettysburg historian J. David Petruzzi and illustrated with the lavish, full-color photography and maps (70) of Civil War cartographer Steven Stanley.Complete, detailed, and up-to-date, The Complete Gettysburg Guide: Walking and Driving Tours of the Battlefield, Town, Cemeteries, Field Hospital Sites, and other Topics of Historical Interest includes:- Detailed driving and walking tours of the entire battlefield (including obscure sites that even veteran visitors miss or never hear about);- A tour of every identified field hospital site for both armies;- Tours of the National Cemetery and the town's Evergreen Cemetery;- A tour of the town of Gettysburg, including sites of historical interest before and after the battle;- Outlying battlefields including the June 26, 1863 skirmish site, East Cavalry Field, South Cavalry Field, Hunterstown, Hanover, and Fairfield;- And a special tour of the various rock carvings on the battlefield, many of which were created by returning veterans and pre-date most of the monuments.Every student of Gettysburg, novice and expert alike, will want to learn from, enjoy, and treasure The Complete Gettysburg Guide. No visitor to Gettysburg will want to be without it.

    Origianl maps illustrate the battles of Shiloh, Vicksburg, The Widlerness, and the surrender at Appomattox. With 14 pages of photos.

    Track individual regiments through their engagements at fifteen to twenty-minute intervals or explore each army in motion as brigades and divisions maneuver and deploy to face the enemy. The Maps of Chickamauga allows readers to fully grasp the action at any level of interest.Now available as an ebook short, The Maps of Chickamauga: The Tullahoma Campaign, June 22 July 1, 1863 plows new ground in the study of the campaign by breaking down the entire campaign in 7 detailed full page original maps. Situation maps reflect the posture of each army on an hourly basis, while tactical maps reveal the intricacies of regimental and battery movements.The Maps of Chickamauga: The Tullahoma Campaign, June 22 July 1, 1863 offers one action-section: - The Tullahoma CampaignThe text accompanying each map explains the action in succinct detail, supported by a host of primary sources. Eyewitness accounts vividly underscore the human aspect of the actions detailed in the maps as brigades and regiments collide. Meticulously researched and footnoted by David Powell with cartography by David Friedrichs, The Maps of Chickamauga relies on the participants own words to recreate the course of battle.The Maps of Chickamauga is an ideal companion for battlefield bushwhacking or simply armchair touring. Full color brings the movements to life, allowing readers to grasp the surging give and take of regimental combat in the woods and fields of North Georgia

    Union commander William Tecumseh Sherman’s relentless fight for the city secured the reelection of Abraham Lincoln, sealed the fate of the Southern Confederacy, and set a precedent for military campaigns that endures today. Its depiction in the novel and motion picture Gone with the Wind established the fight for Atlanta as an iconic episode in our nation’s most terrible war. In War Like the Thunderbolt: The Battle and Burning of Atlanta, award-winning author Russell S. Bonds takes the reader behind the lines and across the smoky battlefields of Peachtree Creek, Atlanta, Ezra Church, and Jonesboro, and into the lives of fascinating characters, both the famous and the forgotten, including the fiery and brilliant Sherman; General John Bell Hood, the Confederacy’s last hope to defend Atlanta; Benjamin Harrison, the diminutive young Indiana colonel who would rise to become President of the United States; Patrick Cleburne, the Irishmanturned- Southern officer; and ten-year-old diarist Carrie Berry, who bravely withstood and bore witness to the fall of the city. Here also is the dramatic story of the ordeal of Atlanta itself—the five-week artillery bombardment, the expulsion of its civilian population, and the infamous fire that followed. Based on new research in diaries, newspapers, previously unpublished letters, and other archival sources, War Like the Thunderbolt is a combination of captivating narrative and insightful military analysis—a stirring account of the battle and burning of the “Gate City of the South.”

    LEE CIVIL WAR ROUND TABLE OF CENTRAL NEW JERSEYWINNER, 2009, GETTYSBURG ROUND TABLE’S DISTINGUISHED BOOK AWARDWinner of The Bachelder-Coddington Literary Award, 2009, given by the Robert E. Lee Civil War Round Table of Central New Jersey.  Now available in paperback, 'Sickles at Gettysburg: The Controversial Civil War General Who Committed Murder, Abandoned Little Round Top, and Declared Himself the Hero of Gettysburg', by licensed battlefield guide James Hessler, is the most deeply-researched, full-length biography to appear on this remarkable American icon. And it is long overdue.No individual who fought at Gettysburg was more controversial, both personally and professionally, than Major General Daniel E. Sickles. By 1863, Sickles was notorious as a disgraced former Congressman who murdered his wife’s lover on the streets of Washington and used America’s first temporary insanity defense to escape justice. With his political career in ruins, Sickles used his connections with President Lincoln to obtain a prominent command in the Army of the Potomac’s Third Corps—despite having no military experience. At Gettysburg, he openly disobeyed orders in one of the most controversial decisions in military history.No single action dictated the battlefield strategies of George Meade and Robert E. Lee more than Sickles’ unauthorized advance to the Peach Orchard, and the mythic defense of Little Round Top might have occurred quite differently were it not for General Sickles. Fighting heroically, Sickles lost his leg on the field and thereafter worked to remove General Meade from command of the army. Sickles spent the remainder of his checkered life declaring himself the true hero of Gettysburg.Although he nearly lost the battle, Sickles was one of the earliest guardians of the battlefield when he returned to Congress, created Gettysburg National Military Park, and helped preserve the field for future generations. But Dan Sickles was never far from scandal. He was eventually removed from the New York Monument Commission and nearly went to jail for misappropriation of funds.Hessler’s critically acclaimed biography is a balanced and entertaining account of Sickles’ colorful life. Civil War enthusiasts who want to understand General Sickles’ scandalous life, Gettysburg’s battlefield strategies, the in-fighting within the Army of the Potomac, and the development of today’s National Park will find Sickles at Gettysburg a must-read.REVIEWS: “The few other Sickles biographies available will now take a back seat to Hessler’s powerful and evocative study of the man, the general, and the legacy of the Gettysburg battlefield that old Dan left America. I highly recommend this book.” J. David Petruzzi, co-author of Plenty of Blame to Go Around: Jeb Stuart’s Controversial Ride to Gettysburg (2006) and with Steve Stanley The Complete Gettysburg Guide (2009)“This book is a breath of fresh air—it is an objective, thorough, and readable examination of the controversial general. Hessler avoids getting bogged down in extreme reactions typically seen in others who write on this subject.” Sue Boardman, Licensed Battlefield Guide, GNMP; Leadership Program Coordinator, Gettysburg Foundation; and author of The Battle of Gettysburg Cyclorama: A History and GuideAbout the Author: James A. Hessler works in the financial services industry and is a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg National Military Park.

    Ten-year-old Jacob would give anything to show those Yankees that not all Confederates are ready to surrender.He gets his chance when he sees a real, live Yankee soldier walking down his street, on leave for Passover. But before Jacob can think of a way to be brave, the Yankee asks him for a piece of his matzoh. This true story about a Jewish Yankee soldier joining a Southern family’s Passover meal shows how common values can overcome even the most divisive differences. Gathered around the seder table, the group discusses what it means to be free--a subject as relevant today as it was during the War between the States and during the Exodus.

    For those who can't resist trying to see it all, the book contains complete information on and reviews of almost 450 historical sites across the United States related to the Civil War, including all 384 of the principal battlefields listed by the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission, as well as lodging and other travel information.The Complete Civil War Road Trip Guide will enable the historical traveler of any level to experience the Civil War like no other book has done.

    Shea provides a colorful account of a grueling campaign that lasted five months and covered hundreds of miles of rugged Ozark terrain. In a fascinating analysis of the personal, geographical, and strategic elements that led to the fateful clash in northwest Arkansas, he describes a campaign notable for rapid marching, bold movements, hard fighting, and the most remarkable raid of the Civil War.

    This vivid portrayal of the early years of the war begins several months before the first shots were fired on Fort Sumter in April 1861. "The Philistines are upon us," twenty-year-old Josie writes in her diary, leaving no question about the alarm she feels whe

    From the Antebellum South to Fort Sumter, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and the fitful peace of Reconstruction, National Geographic's Atlas of the Civil War displays eye-opening maps--and a gripping, self-contained story--on every spread.Eighty-five rare period maps, many seen here for the first time, offer the cartographic history of a land at war with itself: from 19th-century campaign maps surveying whole regions and strategies to vintage battlefield charts used by Union and Confederate generals alike, along with commercial maps produced for a news-hungry public, and comprehensive Theater of War maps. In 35 innovative views created especially for this book, the key moments of major battles are pinpointed by National Geographic's award-winning cartographers using satellite data to render the terrain with astonishing detail.In addition, more than 320 documentary photographs, battlefield sketches, paintings, and artifacts bear eyewitness testimony to the war, history's first to be widely captured on film.

    From a very early age, Lincoln had a reputation for being a truly good and honest person, with an unconventional spirituality that set him apart from others. Everyone who knew him was also aware of his hatred toward slavery and all that it represented within his nation. Ron L. Andersen takes us on a journey through the life and times of Lincoln before and during the Civil War. We learn of Lincoln's relationship with God and how he came to believe that he was an instrument in the hands of God, called upon to end slavery and solidify a promised nation once and for all. Never before has there been more of an opportunity to see who Abraham Lincoln, the man, was and how he chose to live. It is as if we are seeing directly into his soul.

    John Bell Hood and his Army of Tennessee had dreams of capturing Nashville and marching on to the Ohio River, but a small Union force under Hood's old West Point roommate stood between him and the state capital. In a desperate attempt to smash John Schofield's line at Franklin, Hood threw most of his men against the Union works, centered on the house of a family named Carter, and lost 30 percent of his attacking force in one afternoon, crippling his army and setting it up for a knockout blow at Nashville two weeks later. With firsthand accounts, letters and diary entries from the Carter House Archives, local historian James R. Knight paints a vivid picture of this gruesome conflict.

    The Civil War was in its third spring, and Confederate Lt. Gen. Thomas Jonathan Jackson stood at the peak of his fame. He had arisen from obscurity to become Old Stonewall, adored across the South and feared and respected throughout the North. On the night of May 2, however, just hours after Jackson executed the most audacious maneuver of his career and delivered a crushing blow against an unsuspecting Union army at Chancellorsville, disaster struck.The Last Days of Stonewall Jackson recounts the events of that fateful night considered one of the most pivotal moments of the war and the tense vigil that ensued as Jackson struggled with a foe even he could not defeat. From Guinea Station, where Jackson crosses the river to rest under the shade of the trees, the story follows Jackson s funeral and burial, the strange story of his amputated arm, and the creation and restoration of the building where he died (now known as the Stonewall Jackson Shrine). This newly revised and expanded second edition features more than 50 pages of fresh material, including almost 200 illustrations, maps, and eye-catching photos.New appendices allow readers to walk in Jackson s prewar footsteps through his adopted hometown of Lexington, Virginia; consider the ways Jackson s memory has been preserved through monuments, memorials, and myths; and explore the misconceptions behind the Civil War s great What-If: What if Stonewall had survived his wounds? With the engaging prose of master storytellers, Chris Mackowski and Kristopher White make The Last Days of Stonewall Jackson a must-read for Civil War novices and buffs alike."REVIEWS "If you are a student of this period of American history, or someone wishing to learn more about this tragic period, then this book is definitely a must-read. This book comes highly recommended!"- Steven Hancock, Civil War Diary blog"This is a book to give and a book to own. While a fast and fun read, it is full of information and a learning experience."- Jim Durney, Suncoast Civil War Roundtable

    Gottfried's The Maps of First Bull Run: An Atlas of the First Bull Run (Manassas) Campaign, including the Battle of Ball's Bluff, June - October 1861 is the eagerly awaited companion volume to his bestselling The Maps of Gettysburg (2007, two editions, four printings), part of the ongoing Savas Beatie Atlas Series.The Maps of First Bull Run breaks down the entire operation (and related actions) into numerous map sets or "action-sections" enriched with more than fifty full-color original full-page maps. These cartographic originals bore down to the regimental and battery level and include the march to and from the battlefield and virtually every significant event in between. At least two--and as many as seventeen--maps accompany each "action-section." Keyed to each piece of cartography is a full facing page of detailed text describing the units, personalities, movements, and combat (including quotes from eyewitnesses) depicted on the accompanying map, all of which make the story of First Bull Run come alive.This original presentation makes it easy for readers to quickly locate a map and text on virtually any portion of the campaign. Readers will maneuver with Confederate and Union armies in the Shenandoah Valley, march with General McDowell's Federals to the plains of Manassas, and fight blow-by-blow through the battle up to its stunning climax on Henry House Hill and the final retreat from the battlefield all the way to Washington. The smaller but important Battle of Ball's Bluff is also covered in the same fashion, as is the skirmish at Lewinsville. Serious students will appreciate the extensive and authoritative endnotes, bibliography, and complete orders of battle. They will also want to bring the book along on their trips to the battlefields.Perfect for the easy chair or for walking hallowed ground, The Maps of First Bull Run is a seminal work that, like his earlier Gettysburg study, belongs on the bookshelf of every serious and casual student of the Civil War.About the Author: Bradley M. Gottfried, Ph.D., is the President of the College of Southern Maryland. An avid Civil War historian, Dr. Gottfried is the author of five books, including Brigades of Gettysburg: The Union and Confederate Brigades at the Battle of Gettysburg (2002) and The Maps of Gettysburg (2007). He is currently working with co-editor Theodore P. Savas on a Gettysburg Campaign encyclopedia.

    Hays's First Louisiana Brigade -- better known as the Louisiana Tigers -- have tended to focus on just one day of the Tigers' service -- their role in attacking East Cemetery Hill at Gettysburg on July 2, 1863 -- and have touched only lightly on the brigade's role at the Second Battle of Winchester, an important prelude to Gettysburg. In this commanding study, Scott L. Mingus, Sr., offers the first significant detailed exploration of the Louisiana Tigers during the entirety of the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign. Mingus begins by providing a sweeping history of the Louisiana Tigers; their predecessors, Wheat's Tigers; the organizational structure and leadership of the brigade in 1863; and the personnel that made up its ranks. Covering the Tigers' movements and battle actions in depth, he then turns to the brigade's march into the Shenandoah Valley and the Tigers' key role in defeating the Federal army at the Second Battle of Winchester. Combining soldiers' reminiscences with contemporary civilian accounts, Mingus breaks new ground by detailing the Tigers' march into Pennsylvania, their first trip to Gettysburg in the week before the battle, their two-day occupation of York, Pennsylvania -- the largest northern town to fall to the Confederate army -- and their march back to Gettysburg. He offers the first full-scale discussion of the Tigers' interaction with the local population during their invasion of Pennsylvania and includes detailed accounts of the citizens' reactions to the Tigers -- many not published since appearing in local newspapers over a century ago.Mingus explores the Tigers' actions on the first two days of the Battle of Gettysburg and meticulously recounts their famed assault on East Cemetery Hill, one of the pivotal moments of the battle. He closes with the Tigers' withdrawal from Gettysburg and their retreat into Virginia. Appendices include an order of battle for East Cemetery Hill, a recap of the weather during the entire Gettysburg Campaign, a day-by-day chronology of the Tigers' movements and campsites, and the text of the official reports from General Hays for Second Winchester and Gettysburg. Comprehensive and engaging, Mingus's exhaustive work constitutes the definitive account of General Hays's remarkable brigade during the critical summer of 1863.

    For two years, the Confederacy and the Union have battled over slavery and states' rights. Will you: Fight for the Union at the Battle of Gettysburg? OR Serve with Stonewall Jackson as a Confederate soldier at the Battle of Chancellorsville? OR Try to survive the siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi, as a civilian?

    Daniel Sutherland argues that irregular warfare took a large toll on the Confederate war effort by weakening support for state and national governments and diminishing the trust citizens had in their officials to protect them.

    The boy who helped raise and train him to race knew that Red Eye could have been a champion many times over. But war came, and Red Eye could not escape it. Like other horses, he suffered through the heat, the rain, and the snow; marched for hours over rough roads or struggled through muddy tracks; went without food and water; and worse. The boy, who had grown up and gone to war, too, found Red Eye wounded and scared but could not help him and had to leave him in the care of a young girl. She came to love Red Eye as the boy had. When danger threatened her family, she asked Red Eye to do the impossible and he gave her everything he had. No one who met Red Eye ever was the same. All of them came to love him. But more, his courage and strength changed them. Their lives were better for knowing him.

    Wilson, distinguished professor emeritus of history, University of South Carolina"A provocative book challenging the actions of one of America's most beloved presidents."-WMOT-FM 89.5, Middle Tennessee Public RadioIn this comprehensive volume, John Avery Emison sets the record straight on the legality of Southern secession. He laments the unnecessary loss of 620,000 lives, the burning of cities, and the mass devastation to the South wreaked between the years of 1861 and 1865 by the North. A close examination of the true causes of the Civil War reveals that the fight was not one for racial justice but rather a battle over the economic disparities between the North and the South. By illustrating how Abraham Lincoln's tyrannical presidency paved the way for today's "Leviathan" government, Emison brings his subject into the twenty-first century and puts forth his fear for the future.Contrary to contemporary assumptions, secession was-and still is-within the rights of all states. The concept of sovereignty grants such powers to the states, not to the federal government. Emison explains the list of violations Lincoln committed in an effort to prevent the South's peaceful exit from the Union. These atrocious actions include blockading ports, arresting innocent citizens, suspending habeas corpus, suppressing newspapers, and, most notably, ordering a gruesome war without consent from Congress.Against a historical backdrop, the author credits the events and political figures that contributed to Lincoln's election. He references significant Supreme Court doctrines and delves into the depths of the US Constitution. Emison's arguments are backed by the analyses of notable legal historians such as Kenneth Stampp and Carl Wittke.

    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

    Schoolteacher Lila Sutton finds her one true love when cavalryman Captain Jack Montgomery rides into Gettysburg. But receiving word of his death leads her to seek her own type of revenge. Imprisoned for a year, Jack returns to an uncertain future filled with turmoil and danger when all he wants is Lila.

    That is certainly the case with America's Civil War. After the fall of Richmond, Robert E. Lee and his Confederate troops were racing toward North Carolina for supplies and reinforcements. Ulysses S. Grant's Union troops were determined to stop them. Both sides were certain they would prevail, yet after fighting with all his heart and soul, Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House. What made him do that?Find out how geography, luck, perseverance, and compassionate diplomacy by Lee, Grant, and Abraham Lincoln combined to change the course of our nation's history.

    It was not always so. Larry Tagg's The Unpopular Mr. Lincoln is the first study of its kind to concentrate on what Lincoln's contemporaries actually thought of him during his lifetime. Be forewarned: your preconceived notions are about to be shattered.Torn by civil war, the era in which our sixteenth president lived and governed was the most rough-and-tumble in the history of American politics. The violence of the criticism aimed at Lincoln by the great men of his time on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line is simply startling. Indeed, the breadth and depth of the spectacular prejudice against him is often shocking for its cruelty, intensity, and unrelenting vigor. The plain truth is that Mr. Lincoln was deeply reviled by many who knew him personally, and by hundreds of thousands who only knew of him.Boisterous and venomous enough to be good entertainment, The Unpopular Mr. Lincoln rests upon a wide foundation of research that includes years of searching through contemporary newspapers. Tagg includes extensive treatment of the political context that begat Lincoln's predicament, riding with the president to Washington, and walking with him through the bleak years of war and up to and beyond assassination. Throughout, Tagg entertains with a lively writing style, outstanding storytelling verve, and an unconventional, against-the-grain perspective that is sure to delight readers of all stripes.Lincoln's humanity has been unintentionally trivialized by some historians and writers who have hidden away the real man in a patina of bronze. Once readers learn the truth of how others viewed him, they will better understand the man he was, and how history is better viewed through a long-distance lens than contemporaneously.The bicentennial of Lincoln's birth will be celebrated in 2009 and will be the biggest year ever for public interest in Abraham Lincoln. The Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission created and funded by Congress will "inform the public about the impact Abraham Lincoln had on the development of our nation." The year will also witness the release of Steven Spielberg's long-awaited movie on President Lincoln. Of all the Lincoln books slated for publication, The Unpopular Mr. Lincoln will be the "must-read" title for general readers and scholars alike.About the Author: Born in Lincoln, Illinois, Larry Tagg graduated from the University of Texas at Austin. A bass player/singer of world renown, Larry co-founded and enjoyed substantial commercial success with "Bourgeois Tagg" in the mid-1980s. He went on to play bass for Todd Rundgren, Heart, Hall and Oates, and other acts. He currently teaches high school English and drama in Sacramento, California. Larry is the author of the bestselling book The Generals of Gettysburg, a selection of the Military Book Club.

    This valuable stretch of land--called "the Breadbasket of the Confederacy" due to its rich soil and ample harvests--became the source of many conflicts between the Confederate and Union armies. Of the thirteen major battles fought here, none was more influential than the Battle of Cedar Creek. On October 19, 1864, General Philip Sheridan's Union troops finally gained control of the valley, which eliminated the Shenandoah as a supply source for Confederate forces in Virginia, ended the valley's role as a diversionary theater of war and stopped its use as an avenue of invasion into the North. Civil War historian Jonathan A. Noyalas explains the battle and how it aided Abraham Lincoln's reelection campaign and defined Sheridan's enduring legacy.

    Feelings of being haunted by a woman from the 19th century plague Jessica until she comes face-to-face in a Georgia bookstore with what she realizes is her past life of Fanny Chamberlain, wife of Civil War general and Maine governor, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain. Twenty years of dreams, visions, photographic evidence, eye-witness accounts and historical documentation culminate until Jessica can no longer deny the truth of who she was, despite her initial vehement refusal to accept it. As Jessica interweaves the events of her present life with her past, she pieces together the lessons, unresolved relationships and questions of self-acceptance to reach a higher understanding of herself, the power of love, the purpose of her life's journey and how to use her experiences to help others.

    Rarely told stories from the companies who supplied soldiers and sailors with food, clothing, weapons, and medicine recount tales of political intrigue, family and friends torn apart, and paths crossed with Abraham Lincoln. Not only do these accounts mirror the war itself, they also show that life during conflict can often be as intriguing and dangerous for a company of employees as it is a company of soldiers.

    Scott Mingus's Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Confederate Expedition to the Susquehanna River, June 1863 is the first in-depth study of these crucial summer days that not only shaped the course of the Gettysburg Campaign, but altered the course of our nation's history.In two powerful columns, Ewell's Corps swept toward the strategically important Susquehanna River and the Pennsylvania capital looming beyond. Fear coursed through the local populace while Washington and Harrisburg scrambled to meet the threat. One of Ewell's columns included a veteran division under Jubal Early, whose objectives included the capture and ransom of towns and the destruction of railroad bridges and the Hanover Junction rail yard. Early's most vital mission was the seizure of the Columbia Bridge, which spanned the Susquehanna River between Wrightsville and Columbia. To capture the longest covered bridge in the world would allow Early's Division to cross into prosperous Lancaster County and move against the capital in Harrisburg from its relatively undefended rear. Along the way, one of Early's brigades under John Gordon occupied Gettysburg and spilled the first blood there days before the bloodiest battle ever fought on American soil began on July 1.Flames Beyond Gettysburg vividly narrates both sides of Ewell's drama-filled expedition, including key Southern decisions, the response of the Pennsylvania militiamen and civilians who opposed the Confederates, and the burning of the Columbia Bridge. Mingus's study also features detailed driving tours of the various sites discussed in the book, including the Confederate route of march from Maryland; the June 26 skirmish at Gettysburg and the fight at the Witmer Farm; Lt. Col. Elijah V. White's cavalry raids on Point-of-Rocks and Hanover Junction; Gordon's triumphal march through York; the skirmish at Wrightsville; and the bridge burning.Based upon extensive primary source material and featuring original maps by cartographer Steven Stanley, the fast-paced and gracefully written Flames Beyond Gettysburg is a welcomed and important addition to the Gettysburg literature.About the Author: Scott L. Mingus, Sr. is a scientist and executive in the paper and printing industry. He maintains a popular blog on the Civil War history of his home of York County, PA, for the York Daily Record (www.yorkblog.com/cannonball), and is a sanctioned Civil War tour guide for the York County Heritage Trust. Scott is the author of five scenario books on wargaming and together with his wife Debi, publishes CHARGE!, the leading international magazine for Civil War miniature wargaming.

    Scott Mingus’s Flames Beyond Gettysburg: The Confederate Expedition to the Susquehanna River, June 1863 is the first in-depth study of these crucial summer days that not only shaped the course of the Gettysburg Campaign, but altered the course of our nation’s history.In two powerful columns, Ewell’s Corps swept toward the strategically important Susquehanna River and the Pennsylvania capital looming beyond. Fear coursed through the local populace while Washington and Harrisburg scrambled to meet the threat. One of Ewell’s columns included a veteran division under Jubal Early, whose objectives included the capture and ransom of towns and the destruction of railroad bridges and the Hanover Junction rail yard. Early’s most vital mission was the seizure of the Columbia Bridge, which spanned the Susquehanna River between Wrightsville and Columbia. To capture the longest covered bridge in the world would allow Early’s Division to cross into prosperous Lancaster County and move against the capital in Harrisburg from its relatively undefended rear. Along the way, one of Early’s brigades under John Gordon occupied Gettysburg and spilled the first blood there days before the bloodiest battle ever fought on American soil began on July 1.Flames Beyond Gettysburg vividly narrates both sides of Ewell’s drama-filled expedition, including key Southern decisions, the response of the Pennsylvania militiamen and civilians who opposed the Confederates, and the burning of the Columbia Bridge. Mingus’s study also features detailed driving tours of the various sites discussed in the book, including the Confederate route of march from Maryland; the June 26 skirmish at Gettysburg and the fight at the Witmer Farm; Lt. Col. Elijah V. White’s cavalry raids on Point-of-Rocks and Hanover Junction; Gordon’s triumphal march through York; the skirmish at Wrightsville; and the bridge burning.Based upon extensive primary source material and featuring original maps by cartographer Steven Stanley, the fast-paced and gracefully written Flames Beyond Gettysburg is a welcomed and important addition to the Gettysburg literature.About the Author: Scott L. Mingus, Sr. is a scientist and executive in the paper and printing industry. He maintains a popular blog on the Civil War history of his home of York County, PA, for the York Daily Record (www.yorkblog.com/cannonball), and is a sanctioned Civil War tour guide for the York County Heritage Trust. Scott is the author of five scenario books on wargaming and together with his wife Debi, publishes CHARGE!, the leading international magazine for Civil War miniature wargaming.

    Hess's trilogy of works on the fortifications of the Civil War, recounts the strategic and tactical operations around Petersburg during the last ten months of the Civil War. Hess covers all aspects of the Petersburg campaign, from important engagements that punctuated the long months of siege to mining and countermining operations, the fashioning of wire entanglements and the laying of torpedo fields to impede attacks, and the construction of underground shelters to protect the men manning the works. In the Trenches at Petersburg humanizes the experience of the soldiers working in the fortifications and reveals the human cost of trench warfare in the waning days of the struggle.

    Lincoln historian Orville Vernon Burton has culled the thousands of pages of the complete works of Lincoln for the most compelling and revealing pieces. Many are presented unabridged, including Lincoln's speech at Cooper Union in February 1860; his August 1862 letter to Horace Greeley; the Gettysburg Address; and his second inaugural address. Others have been skillfully edited down to reveal the essence of Lincoln's beliefs and aspirations, including two of his decisive debates with Stephen A. Douglas, the Emancipation Proclamation, and his first inaugural address. From his earliest writings as a loquacious twenty-three-year-old in New Salem to his last public address from the White House balcony, these original documents give life to Lincoln's deeply rooted beliefs: his unflagging dedication to a united America, his reverence for the rule of law, his feelings on slavery and each human being's inalienable natural rights, his boundless commitment to mankind's innate intelligence and morality. What emerges is a portrait of a stunning American and a compelling historical icon, one who represents the highest ideals we have for our country and for ourselves. This collection is quite simply "The Essential Lincoln."

    Lee, the Confederacy's greatest commander, has long fascinated students of the American Civil War. In assessing Lee and his military career, historians have faced the great challenge of explaining how a man who achieved extraordinary battlefield success in 1862-1863 ended up surrendering his army and accepting the defeat of his cause in 1865. How, in just under two years, could Lee, the Army of Northern Virginia, and the Confederacy have gone from soaring triumph at Chancellorsville to total defeat at Appomattox Court House? In this reexamination of the last two years of Lee's storied military career, Ethan S. Rafuse offers a clear, informative, and insightful account of Lee's ultimately unsuccessful struggle to defend the Confederacy against a relentless and determined foe. Robert E. Lee and the Fall of the Confederacy describes the great campaigns that shaped the course of this crucial period in American history, the challenges Lee faced in each battle, and the dramatic events that determined the war's outcome. In addition to providing readable and richly detailed narratives of such campaigns as Gettysburg, Bristoe Station, Spotsylvania, and Appomattox, Rafuse offers compelling analysis of Lee's performance as a commander and of the strategic and operational contexts that influenced the course of the war. He superbly describes and explains the factors that shaped Union and Confederate strategy, how both sides approached the war in Virginia from an operational standpoint, differences in the two sides' respective military capabilities, and how these forces shaped the course and outcome of events on the battlefield. Rich in insights and analysis, this book provides a full, balanced, and cogent account of how even the best efforts of one of history's great commanders could not prevent the total defeat of his army and its cause. It will appeal to anyone with an interest in the career of Robert E. Lee and the military history of the Civil War.

    Offering evidence of Dahlgren’s ties to Abraham Lincoln, this extensively researched record addresses the theory that Lincoln authorized the kidnapping and assassination of the entire Confederate cabinet, including President Jefferson Davis. Looking at the notorious Dahlgren Affair within the context of Dahlgren’s entire life, this examination provides insight into a unique individual’s past as well as an unclear incidence in American history.

    To Forrest, a trick was often better than a regiment of soldiers for if he could accomplish his purpose without spending the lives of his countrymen, so much the better. He was not military trained and therefore not aware that his tactics were unusual. Never mind that they were generally successful in remarkable ways. Born in poverty and raised in rural circumstances, he became a wealthy southern gentleman. In the Civil War, he gave his fortune in pursuit of victory and he raised three regiments of cavalry trying to save the Confederacy and his way of life.

    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

    Behind enemy lines, he expects the danger of Confederate skirmishers and swamps. Instead, he finds himself bewitched by a beautiful woman, igniting his passion beyond anything he's ever known. But he soon learns her coy games are only a distraction, as she secretly devises a deadly trap for his capture. Elizabeth DuBay is determined to teach that Yankee a thing or two. Denying her attraction to the Union officer, she devises a sure-fire plan to foil his mission. But the moment Elizabeth surrenders to her burning desire for one unforgettable night of love, her life changes forever. As her well-set trap closes in on Brandt Michaels, Elizabeth must risk everything for his escape. From their perilous journey through war-ravaged countryside springs a passion too strong for the war to destroy...and too consuming for the lovers to deny....

    The third-ranking officer in Virginia's forces behind Robert E. Lee and Joseph E. Johnston, Magruder left no diary, no completed memoirs, no will, not even a family Bible. There are no genealogical records and very few surviving personal papers. Unsurprisingly, then, much existing literature about Magruder contains incorrect information. In John Bankhead Magruder, an exhaustive biography that reflects more than thirty years of painstaking archival research, Thomas M. Settles remedies the many factual inaccuracies surrounding this enigmatic man and his military career.Settles traces Magruder's family back to its seventeenth-century British American origins, describes his educational endeavors at the University of Virginia and West Point, and details his early military career and his leading role as an artillerist in the war with Mexico. Tall, handsome, and flamboyant, Magruder earned the nickname Prince John from his army friends and was known for his impeccable manners and social brilliance. When Virginia seceded in April of 1861, Prince John resigned his commission in the U.S. Army and offered his services to the Confederacy. Magruder won the opening battle of the Civil War at Big Bethel. Later, in spite of severe shortages of weapons and supplies and a lack of support from Jefferson Davis, Judah P. Benjamin, Samuel Cooper, and Joseph E. Johnston, Prince John, with just 13,600 men, held his position on the Peninsula for a month against George B. McClellan's 105,000-man Federal army. This successful stand, at a time when Richmond was exceedingly vulnerable, provided, according to Settles, John Magruder's greatest contribution to the Confederacy.Following the Seven Days' battles, however, his commanders harshly criticized Magruder for being too slow at Savage Station, then too rash at Malvern Hill and they transferred him to command the District of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. In Texas, he skillfully recaptured the port of Galveston in early 1863 and held it for the Confederacy until the end of the war. After the war, he joined the Confederate exodus to Mexico but eventually returned to the United States, living in New York City and New Orleans before settling in Houston, where he died on February 18, 1871.John Bankhead Magruder offers fresh insight into many aspects of the general's life and legacy, including his alleged excesses, his family relationships, and the period between Magruder's death and his memorialization into the canon of Lost Cause mythology. With engaging prose and impressive research, Settles brings this vibrant Civil War figure to life.

    Imagining themselves as nation builders, they understood the importance of a plan for the economic structure of the Confederacy. The traditional view assumes that Confederate slave-based agrarianism went hand in hand with a natural hostility toward industry and commerce. Turning conventional wisdom on its head, John Majewski's analysis finds that secessionists strongly believed in industrial development and state-led modernization. They blamed the South's lack of development on Union policies of discriminatory taxes on southern commerce and unfair subsidies for northern industry. Majewski argues that Confederates' opposition to a strong central government was politically tied to their struggle against northern legislative dominance. Once the Confederacy was formed, those who had advocated states' rights in the national legislature in order to defend against northern political dominance quickly came to support centralized power and a strong executive for war making and nation building.

    It critiques misleading sources that either exalt Brown's "heroism" and noble purpose or condemn his "monomania" and "lawlessness". McGlone explains the sources of his obsession with slavery and his notorious crime at Pottawatomie Creek in "Bleeding Kansas" as well as how the Harpers Ferry raid figured into Brown's larger vision and why he was captured in the federal armory there. John Brown's War Against Slavery chronicles how this aged American apostle of violence in behalf of the "downtrodden," this abolitionist "fanatic" and "terroriser," ultimately rescued his cause by going to the gallows with resolution and outward calm. By embracing martyrdom, John Brown helped to spread panic in the South and persuaded northern sympathizers that failure can be noble and political violence "righteous."

    Confederate cavalrymen engaged in hit-and-run tactics; autonomous partisan rangers preyed on Federal railroads, telegraph lines, and supply wagons; and civilian bushwhackers waylaid Union pickets. Together, all of these actions persuaded the Union to wage an increasingly punitive war.Clay Mountcastle presents a new look at the complex nature of guerrilla warfare in the Civil War and the Union Army's calculated response to it. He examines guerrilla attacks and Federal responses in a number of operational theaters to show how the problem grew throughout the South and ultimately convinced the Union to adopt retaliatory measures that challenged the sensibilities of even the most hardened soldiers.In revealing the impact that Confederate guerrilla activity had on the Union's prosecution of the war, Mountcastle reveals how the character of the war was shaped every bit as much by the troops on the ground as by their Union leaders. He draws on primary sources that vividly convey their reaction to the guerrilla problem and their justification for punitive action-with guerrillas described by one angry soldier as thieves and murderers by occupation, rebels by pretense, soldiers only in name, and cowards by nature. Showing how much of the impetus for retaliation originated from the bottom up, starting in the western theater in 1861, he describes how it became the most influential factor in convincing Union generals, especially Grant and Sherman, that the war needed to be extended to include civilians and their property. The result was a level of destructiveness that has been downplayed by other scholars-despite the evidence of executions and incidents of entire towns being burned to the ground.By 1864, punitive action had evolved into such a powerful and decisive force that it produced what has been called a warfare of frightfulness. And although guerrilla activity deviled the Union until the end, the Union's response ultimately proved a significant factor in persuading leaders like General Lee to call a halt to such actions and, ultimately, to surrender. Mountcastle's book offers the most revealing look yet at this incompletely understood dimension of the Civil War and also raises provocative questions about the relationship between guerrilla and conventional warfare in any conflict.

    Whether revealing the lost graves of Southern sons, unveiling the history of the only national cemetery to inter Confederate soldiers alongside the Union fallen during wartime or recording the simple obelisks that reach for heaven throughout the Palmetto State, this volume is a story of remembrance and of mourning. Kristina Dunn Johnson, curator of history with the South Carolina Confederate Relic Room and Military Museum, shares with us the powerful stories of memory and acceptance that are the legacy of the Confederacy, as varied as those who lie beneath the Southern soil.

    She struggled to manage slaves, maintain contact with her neighbors, and keep up her morale after her region was abandoned by the Confederate government soon after the beginning of hostilities.More than just an elegantly written account of her own day-to-day experiences in the Civil War, Ida’s journal opens a window into the Southern culture of the time.Stevan F. Meserve has written extensively for several Civil War publications and is the author of The Civil War in Loudoun County, Virginia: A History of Hard Times.Anne Mackall Sasscer  grew up on Selby, a family farm near The Plains, Virginia, the home of Ida Powell Dulany’s youngest daughter.Mary LeJeune Mackall spent her early years at Blenheim, a pre-Revolutionary farm near Charlottesville, which inspired her lifelong interest in Virginia history.

    Bookseller Samuel Pearce Richards (1824-1910) kept a diary for sixty-seven years. This volume excerpts the diary from October 1860, just before the presidential election of Abraham Lincoln, through August 1865, when the Richards family returned to Atlanta after being forced out by Sherman's troops and spending a period of exile in New York City. The Richardses were among the last Confederate loyalists to leave Atlanta. Sam's recollections of the Union bombardment, the evacuation of the city, the looting of his store, and the influx of Yankee forces are riveting.Sam was a Unionist until 1860, when his sentiments shifted in favor of the Confederacy. However, as he wrote in early 1862, he had "no ambition to acquire military renown and glory." Likewise, Sam chafed at financial setbacks caused by the war and at Confederate policies that seemed to limit his freedom. Such conflicted attitudes come through even as Sam writes about civic celebrations, benefit concerts, and the chaotic optimism of life in a strategically critical rebel stronghold. He also reflects with soberness on hospitals filled with wounded soldiers, the threat of epidemics, inflation, and food shortages. A man of deep faith who liked to attend churches all over town, Sam often commments on Atlanta's religious life and grounds his defense of slavery and secession in the Bible. Sam owned and rented slaves, and his diary is a window into race relations at a time when the end of slavery was no longer unthinkable.Perhaps most important, the diary conveys the tenor of Sam's family life. Both Sam and his wife, Sallie, came from families divided politically and geographically by war. They feared for their children's health and mourned for relatives wounded and killed in battle. The figures in Sam Richards's Civil War Diary emerge as real people; the intimate experience of the Civil War home front is conveyed with great power.

    E. B. DuBois in one collection with active table of contents:The Conservation of RacesDarkwater, Voices From Within The VeilThe NegroThe Negro ProblemThe Quest of the Silver FleeceThe Souls of Black FolkThe Suppression of the African Slave Trade to the United States

    While on one of his clandestine missions as his alter ego, the Black Rider to set slaves on their path to freedom, his wife and good friend are killed. Thus, begins his search to find their killer. Believing Ricard Duplantier, heir to Crescent Wood Plantation, is responsible for the murders, Jared’s vengeful quest eventually leads him to the beautiful Nicollette Duplantier–Ricard’s sister. She awakens feelings and desires he thought he buried with his wife.Nicollette detests Americans. She considers them vile and barbaric. Thinking Jared both, she can't fathom why the handsome stranger invades her thoughts regularly. She's on a mission to see the Black Rider swing from the tallest tree and to get Ricard, her beloved brother, back home.What Nicki doesn't know is that Jared will go to any length to avenge his beloved wife's death, including kidnapping. What neither knows is that Nicollette will open Jared's heart to love and passion again and their time spent together will be as sensuous as the atmosphere of exotic New Orleans.

    He arrived in the New World without fanfare, with neither resources nor knowledge of the English language. Over the course of many difficult years, he rose from the depths of poverty to become a leading citizen in the large ethnic community of Washington, D.C. Krzyzanowski was not a 'great man' in the sense of someone who shaped and defined policies that altered the course of human events; rather, he was an idealist who possessed the determination and courage of his convictions to risk all that he had in pursuit of the goals he valued.

    Perhaps no topic is more heated, and the sources more tendentious, than that of Civil War prisons and the treatment of prisoners of war (POWs). Partisans of each side, then and now, have vilified the other for maltreatment of their POWs, while seeking to excuse their own distressing record of prisoner of war camp mismanagement, brutality, and incompetence. It is only recently that historians have turned their attention to this contentious topic in an attempt to sort the wheat of truth from the chaff of partisan rancor. Roger Pickenpaugh has previously studied a Union prison camp in careful detail (Camp Chase) and now turns his attention to the Union record in its entirety, to investigate variations between camps and overall prison policy and to determine as nearly as possible what actually happened in the admittedly over-crowded, under-supplied, and poorly-administered camps. He also attempts to determine what conditions resulted from conscious government policy or were the product of local officials and situations.

    Grant was the most famous person in America, considered by most citizens to be equal in stature to George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Yet today his monuments are rarely visited, his military reputation is overshadowed by that of Robert E. Lee, and his presidency is permanently mired at the bottom of historical rankings. In U. S. Grant, Joan Waugh investigates Grant's place in public memory and the reasons behind the rise and fall of his renown, while simultaneously underscoring the fluctuating memory of the Civil War itself.

    Also includes a visual spread that shows the strengths and capacities of the opposing forces at the start of the battle- Back matter that includes a visual timeline of the battle's aftermath and subsequent events in the war- Excerpts from primary source materials including letters, diaries, newspaper clippings, and military reports are woven into the narrative and also included in sidebars- Back matter includes a glossary, resources section, and index