A fast-paced, compulsively readable one-volume narrative of the American Civil War, by the author of the acclaimed saga of World War II, "Delivered from Evil."

    THis series was originally conceived in 1883 by the editors of Century Company, who set out to provide an accurate, unbiased account of the war. It was authored by the commanders and their subordinates from both the Confederate and Union forces who actually fought, planned or were eyewitnesses to the events they describe therein. Volume 1 begins with a view of Washington on the eve of the war, gives an account of the fall of Fort Sumter, the preperations for war in the North and South, and the formation of the Confederacy.

    THis series was originally conceived in 1883 by the editors of Century Company, who set out to provide an accurate, unbiased account of the war. It was authored by the commanders and their subordinates from both the Confederate and Union forces who actually fought, planned or were eyewitnesses to the events they describe therein. Volume 2 opens with the siege and capture of Fort Pulaski, the capture of New Orleans, and a summary of operations in the far southwest. It covers the Peninsular Campaign, the battles of Yorktown, Williamsburg, Manassas, and Seven Pines.

    New Hardcover with dust jacket

    At Cedar Mountain on August 9, 1862, Stonewall Jackson exercised independent command of a campaign for the last time. Robert Krick untangles the myriad original accounts by participants on both sides of the battle to offer an illuminating portrait of the Confederate general commanding his troops under the extraordinary pressures of combat. From diaries, reminiscences, letters, and newspaper articles, Krick reconstructs a vivid and detailed account of the confrontation at Cedar Mountain and Jackson's victory there.

    Certainly it included a fascinating cast of characters and more than its share of enduring poignancy. Especially moving were the deaths of two of the best and the brightest on both sides, Stephen Dodsen Ramseur of North Carolina, a Major General at 27, and the brilliant and revered 29-year-old Charles Russell Lowell of Massachusetts.Among others who met on that field were the two rival commanders, tiny Phil Sheridan and blasphemous Jubal Early; George Armstrong Custer; John Gordon; George Crook; Tom Rosser; two future presidents, Rutherford B. Hayes and William McKinley; and many more. In thoroughly exploring their lives and prior experiences in the war the narrative includes descriptions of 1st and 2nd Manassas, Seven Pines, Gaines's Mill, Antietam (Sharpsburg), Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Brandy Station, and Gettysburg.No more dramatic battle could be imagined than what occurred that October day at Cedar Creek. It began with a pre-dawn assault by the Confederates that drove the Federal left wing back, followed by Sheridan's famous 14-mile ride on his legendary horse, Rienzi, to rally his retreating army, and ended in growing darkness as the victorious Federals drove the Confederates from the field.The book closes with an account of the subsequent fates of the main figures of Cedar Creek, which included for some participation in the surrender of Appomattox barely six months later, and ranged from fighting Indians in the West to politics and building railroads. none of them, the author points out, ever forgot Cedar Creek or ceased to write or talk about it, whether with generosity or bitterness toward former comrades and foes.

    The regiment, the 57th Massachusettes Veteran Volunteers, was destined for hell in that final glamorless year. There is considerable evidence that the 57th suffered the highest percentage of killed and mortally wounded of any Union regiment in the war. 85 photographs; 11 maps.

    Neither ponderous nor hagiographic, the work presents characters and events that have been previously neglected and offers candid assessments of officers, men, and material. Originally published in 1990, when it was a Military History Book Club selection, the work is considered a must for Civil War buffs. It is an authoritative and gripping story of the battles waged.The author provides a rare look at the war fought by primitive northern gunboats drifting through Louisiana's muddy bayous, Yankee merchantmen captured by rebel privateers at sea, and Union ironclads subduing hotly defended Southern forts. Nor does William Fowler neglect the subtler sparrings behind the scenes: War Secretary Stanton and Navy Secretary Welles competing for Lincoln's favor and Welles's fierce duel of strategies with his Confederate counterpart, Stephen Mallory. Finally, the author describes the astonishing transformation of the Navy itself from a ragtag fleet of aging steamers and paddleboats to one of the most powerful waterborne forces in the world.