Herdegen. More than a standard military account, Herdegen's latest puts flesh and faces on the men who sat around the campfires, marched through mud and snow and dust, fought to put down the rebellion, and recorded much of what they did and witnessed for posterity.The Iron Brigade is one of the most celebrated military organizations of the American Civil War. Although primarily known and studied because of its remarkable stand on the first bloody day at Gettysburg, its stellar service during the earliest days of the war and from the Wilderness to Appomattox has been routinely slighted. Herdegen has finally rectified this historical anomaly with his The Iron Brigade in Civil War and Memory. Composed originally of the 2nd, 6th, and 7th Wisconsin, 19th Indiana, and Battery B of the 4th U.S. Artillery, the brigade first attracted attention as the only all-Western organization serving in the Eastern Theater. The Regular Army's distinctive felt dress hat earned them the nickname "Black Hat Brigade." The Westerners took part in the fighting at Gainesville (Brawner's Farm), Second Bull Run, South Mountain (where General McClellan claimed he gave them their famous "Iron Brigade" moniker), and Antietam. Reinforced by the 24th Michigan, the Black Hats fought at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. But it was at Gettysburg on July 1 where the brigade immortalized a railroad cut and helped save the high ground west of town that proved decisive, but was nearly destroyed for its brave stand. Reorganizations, expired enlistments, and different duties split up the famous outfit, but some of the regiments fought on through the Wilderness to Petersburg and finally, Appomattox. Only when the war was ended did the Western boys finally go home.Herdegen's magnificent The Iron Brigade in Civil War and Memory, sure to be looked upon as his magnum opus, is based on decades of archival research and includes scores of previously unpublished letters, photos, journals, and other primary accounts. This well researched and written tour de force, which includes reunion and memorial coverage until the final expiration of the last surviving member, will be the last word on the Iron Brigade for the foreseeable future.When we were young, explained one Black Hat veteran many years after the war, we hardly realized that we "had fought on more fields of battle than the Old Guard of Napoleon, and have stood fire in far greater firmness." Here, at long last, is the full story of how young farm boys, shopkeepers, river men, and piney camp boys in a brigade forged with iron helped save the Union.About the Author:Award-winning journalist Lance J. Herdegen is the former director of the Institute of Civil War Studies at Carroll University. He previously worked as a reporter and editor for the United Press International (UPI) news service covering national politics and civil rights and presently works as historical consultant for the Civil War Museum of the Upper Middle West. Herdegen is the author of many articles and is regarded around the world as the authority on the Iron Brigade. His many book credits include Those Damned Black Hats!: The Iron Brigade in the Gettysburg Campaign; Four Years with the Iron Brigade: The Civil War Journal of William R. Ray, Seventh Wisconsin Volunteers; The Men Stood Like Iron: How the Iron Brigade Won its Name, and In the Bloody Railroad Cut at Gettysburg.Reviews:"Lance Herdegen's The Iron Brigade in Civil War and Memory is the first book-length treatment of this famous fighting unit from the first days of the war until the final drum roll at Appomattox. Herdegen is the leading authority on this legendary command. His compelling narrative, buttressed with solid research that utilizes many previously untapped sources, moves along with a pace akin to an action movie. It also examines the changing social face of the war as Native Americans and runaway slaves go into the ranks of the Black Hat Brigade. This is a book that had to be written. It has been by the only person who could do it." - Ted Alexander, Chief Historian, Antietam National Battlefield"Alan Nolan's The Iron Brigade has been the standard work on this famous unit for fifty years. Esteemed historian Lance Herdegen has now supplanted that work with this first comprehensive, scholarly treatment of the Iron Brigade. Herdegen, the recognized expert of this famous unit, builds upon an impressive foundation of fresh primary source material. This work brings the fighting men of the Iron Brigade to life as never before. Herdegen follows the brigade from its earliest inception to the surrender at Appomattox. Written in a flowing, narrative style that does not sacrifice detail, this important work is both a definitive history and a pleasure to read. The Iron Brigade in Civil War and Memory: The Black Hats from Bull Run to Appomattox and Thereafter is destined to be the standard for the next fifty years." - Robert I. Girardi, author and historian"Lance Herdegen is the preeminent living Civil War historian on "those damned black hats." His years of research and unparalleled knowledge of the Iron Brigade are clearly evident in this definitive study of an outstanding Union command. I recommend this book without reservation." - Jeffry D. Wert, author, A Glorious Army: Robert E. Lee's Triumph, 1862-1863

    Galloway (1837-1870) was a fiery young slave rebel, radical abolitionist, and Union spy who rose out of bondage to become one of the most significant and stirring black leaders in the South during the Civil War. Throughout his brief, mercurial life, Galloway fought against slavery and injustice. He risked his life behind enemy lines, recruited black soldiers for the North, and fought racism in the Union army's ranks. He also stood at the forefront of an African American political movement that flourished in the Union-occupied parts of North Carolina, even leading a historic delegation of black southerners to the White House to meet with President Lincoln and to demand the full rights of citizenship. He later became one of the first black men elected to the North Carolina legislature. Long hidden from history, Galloway's story reveals a war unfamiliar to most of us. As David Cecelski writes, Galloway's Civil War was a slave insurgency, a war of liberation that was the culmination of generations of perseverance and faith. This riveting portrait illuminates Galloway's life and deepens our insight into the Civil War and Reconstruction as experienced by African Americans in the South.

    His work guides every Civil War historian and comprises the basis of the National Park Service's interpretive programs at Antietam. Indeed, even the basic layout of the National Park battlefield was based upon Carman's groundbreaking work. Carman had the advantage of not only participating in the battle as a colonel in the Union army, but knowing, corresponding, and conversing with hundreds of Northern and Southern soldiers from corps commanders all the way down to privates. Over the decades he amassed a vast collection of letters, maps, and personal memoirs from many key participants. He used this treasure trove of firsthand accounts to create his compelling narrative. No one has devoted more time and effort to understanding what happened at Antietam than did Ezra Carman-the campaign's first true historian.Unfortunately, Carman did not always note from where he obtained his information, making the authenticity and reliability of his work problematic. Editor Thomas G. Clemens, recognized internationally as one of the foremost historians of the Maryland Campaign, has spent more than two decades studying Antietam and editing and richly annotating Carman's exhaustively written manuscript. As Clemens discovered, Carman used his sources judiciously, and the stories he relates withstand scrutiny for accuracy and reliability.Carman's invaluable prose is augmented by his detailed maps of the dawn to nearly dusk fighting on September 17, which have never appeared in their original form in any book on the battle. Even more exciting are the newly discovered 19th century photographs authorized by Carman to document his work laying out the battlefield, a haunting visual record of how the battlefield appeared to Carman as he tried to unravel its mysteries.The result is The Maryland Campaign of September 1862: Antietam, the most comprehensive and detailed account of the battle ever produced. Jammed with firsthand accounts, personal anecdotes, detailed footnotes, maps, and photos, this long-awaited study will be read and appreciated as battle history at its finest. Indeed, we will never see such a study again.

    The film, which will hit theaters in December 2012, examines the most turbulent period of our sixteenth president's leadership: Lincoln's efforts to pass the Thirteenth Amendment in the House of Representatives against the backdrop of the Civil War. This unique making-of book will begin by presenting a popular historical narrative that focuses on the main storyline depicted in the film. It will also build on what is covered in the film, including more extensive information about the issues and events of the time while describing important related topics that could not be accommodated or fully explored in the script. The second part of the book will focus on the filmmakers and the craft they used to bring Lincoln's story to life. Its main theme will be the effort to create authenticity and to depict Lincoln as a living, working, feeling man struggling with the most dramatic and defining issues of American history. Accompanied by onset photography and development art, the text will employ relevant quotes from the filmmakers as well as exclusive behind-the-scenes details. A rich portrait of America's maturation, this book will be a necessary addition to the collections of history buffs and film buffs alike!

    R. Giddings. The men who enlisted in the Twenty-Ninth OVI were, according to its lore, handpicked to ensure each was as pure in his antislavery beliefs as its founder. Whether these soldiers would fight harder than other soldiers, and whether the people of their hometowns would remain devoted to the ideals of the regiment, were questions that could only be tested by the experiment of war.The Untried Life is the story of these men from their very first regimental formation in a county fairground to the devastation of Gettysburg and the march to Atlanta and back again, enduring disease and Confederate prisons. It brings to vivid life the comradeship and loneliness that pervaded their days on the march. Dozens of unforgettable characters emerge, animated by their own letters and diaries: Corporal Nathan Parmenter, whose modest upbringing belies the eloquence of his writings; Colonel Lewis Buckley, one of the Twenty-Ninth’s most charismatic officers; and Chaplain Lyman Ames, whose care of the sick and wounded challenged his spiritual beliefs.The Untried Life shows how the common soldier lived—his entertainments, methods of cooking, medical treatment, and struggle to maintain family connections—and separates the facts from the mythology created in the decades after the war.

    

    Both scholars and general readers should welcome it. The scholarship is sound, the research, superb, the writing, excellent.” —Steven E. Woodworth, author of Decision in the Heartland: The Civil War in the WestIn the fall and winter of 1863, Union General Ambrose Burnside and Confederate General James Longstreet vied for control of the city of Knoxville and with it the railroad that linked the Confederacy east and west. The generals and their men competed, too, for the hearts and minds of the people of East Tennessee. Often overshadowed by the fighting at Chickamauga and Chattanooga, this important campaign has never received a full scholarly treatment. In this landmark book, award-winning historian Earl J. Hess fills a gap in Civil War scholarship—a timely contribution that coincides with and commemorates the sesquicentennial of the Civil War     The East Tennessee campaign was an important part of the war in the West. It brought the conflict to Knoxville in a devastating way, forcing the Union defenders to endure two weeks of siege in worsening winter conditions. The besieging Confederates suffered equally from supply shortages, while the civilian population was caught in the middle and the town itself suffered widespread destruction. The campaign culminated in the famed attack on Fort Sanders early on the morning of November 29, 1863. The bloody repulse of Longstreet’s veterans that morning contributed significantly to the unraveling of Confederate hopes in the Western theater of operations.     Hess’s compelling account is filled with numerous maps and images that enhance the reader’s understanding of this vital campaign that tested the heart of East Tennessee. The author’s narrative and analysis will appeal to a broad audience, including general readers, seasoned scholars, and new students of Tennessee and Civil War history. The Knoxville Campaign will thoroughly reorient our view of the war as it played out in the mountains and valleys of East Tennessee.EARL J. HESS is Stewart W. McClelland Distinguished Professor in Humanities and an associate professor of history at Lincoln Memorial University. He is the author of nearly twenty books, including The Civil War in the West—Victory and Defeat from the Appalachians to the Mississippi and Lincoln Memorial University and the Shaping of Appalachia.

    Stories reveal widely different interpretations, and it is impossible to write a definitive version of her life that will suit everyone. The thirteen engaging essays in this collection introduce Mary LincolnOCOs complex nature and show how she is viewed today. The authorsOCO explanations of her personal and private image stem from a variety of backgrounds, and through these lensesOCohistory, theater, graphic arts, and psychiatryOCothey present their latest research and assessments. Here they reveal the effects of familial culture and society on her life and give a broader assessment of Mary Lincoln as a woman, wife, and mother. Topics include MaryOCOs childhood in Kentucky, the early years of her marriage to Abraham, MaryOCOs love of travel and fashion, the presidential coupleOCOs political partnership, and MaryOCOs relationship with her son Robert. The fascinating epilogue meditates on Mary LincolnOCOs universal appeal and her enigmatic personality, showcasing the dramatic differences in interpretations. With gripping prose and in-depth documentation, a this anthology will capture the imagination of all readers.

    Not only did thousands of men die on battlefields and millions of slaves become free; cultural institutions reshaped themselves in the context of the war and its aftermath. The first book to examine the Civil War’s immediate and long-term impact on higher education, "Reconstructing the Campus" begins by tracing college communities’ responses to the secession crisis and the outbreak of war. Students made supplies for the armies or left campus to fight. Professors joined the war effort or struggled to keep colleges open. The Union and Confederacy even took over some campuses for military use. Then moving beyond 1865, the book explores the war’s long-term effects on colleges. Michael David Cohen argues that the Civil War and the political and social conditions the war created prompted major reforms, including the forming of a new federal role in education. Reminded by the war of the importance of a well-trained military, Congress began providing resources to colleges that offered military courses and other practical curricula. Congress also, as part of a general expansion of the federal bureaucracy that accompanied the war, created the Department of Education to collect and publish data on education. For the first time, the U.S. government both influenced curricula and monitored institutions. The war posed special challenges to Southern colleges. Often bereft of students and sometimes physically damaged, they needed to rebuild. Some took the opportunity to redesign themselves into the first Southern universities. They also admitted new types of students, including the poor, women, and, sometimes, formerly enslaved blacks. Thus, while the Civil War did great harm, it also stimulated growth, helping, especially in the South, to create our modern system of higher education.

    An entire generation of Americans had eagerly awaited his memoirs and it has remained so popular that it has never gone out of print. Historians then and now have made extensive use of Grant's recollections, which have shaped how we understand and evaluate not only the Union army's triumphs and failures, but many of the war's key participants. The Memoirs of Ulysses Simpson Grant may be a superbly written book, Frank P. Varney persuasively argues in General Grant and the Rewriting of History, but is so riddled with flaws as to be unreliable.Juxtaposing primary source documents (some of them published here for the first time) against Grant's own pen and other sources, Professor Varney sheds new light on what really happened on some of the Civil War's most important battlefields. He does so by focusing much of his work on Grant's treatment of Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans, a capable army commander whose reputation Grant (and others working with him) conspired to destroy. Grant's memoirs contain not only misstatements but outright inventions to manipulate the historical record. But Grant's injustices go much deeper. He submitted decidedly biased reports, falsified official documents, and even perjured himself before an army court of inquiry. There is also strong evidence that his often-discussed drinking problem affected the outcome of at least one battle.General Grant was an outstanding soldier and, so we have long believed, a good man. History's wholesale acceptance of his version of events has distorted our assessment of Rosecrans and other officers, and even of the Civil War itself. Grant intentionally tried to control how future generations would remember the Civil War, and in large measure he succeeded. The first of two volumes on this subject, General Grant and the Rewriting of History aptly demonstrates, however, that blindly accepting historical "truths" without vigorous challenge is a perilous path to understanding real history.