His ancestor, Turner Hall, Jr., a Black Confederate, served as a body servant for two Confederate soldiers and an orderly for Gen. Robert E. Lee. Turner Hall, Jr. was celebrated by Blacks and Whites in his community. Hall attended the last Civil War reunion at Gettysburg in 1938. He was interviewed by the national talk radio show, "We, The People". This is a personal journey of faith, heritage, race and family wrapped around the grace of God through the eyes and honest thoughts of a modern Black man. Arnold argues for African Americans to embrace Confederate heritage to capture the enriched Black history of the Civil War era. He bestows dignity and honor on his Confederate ancestor and challenges the traditional thoughts of modern African Americans. Arnold rests in his faith as the uniting force that reconciles our colorful past to our bright future.

    General William T. Sherman's battle-hardened army conducted a punitive campaign against the seat of the Rebellion, South Carolina, while General-in-Chief Ulysses S. Grant sought to break the months-long siege at Petersburg, defended by Robert E. Lee's starving Army of Northern Virginia. In Richmond, Confederate President Jefferson Davis struggled to hold together his unraveling nation while simultaneously sanctioning diplomatic overtures to bid for peace. Meanwhile, President Abraham Lincoln took steps to end slavery in the United States forever.Their Last Full Measure relates these thrilling events, which followed one on the heels of another, from the battles ending the Petersburg siege and forcing Lee's surrender at Appomattox to the destruction of South Carolina's capital, the assassination of Lincoln, and the intensive manhunt for his killer. The fast-paced narrative braids the disparate events into a compelling account that includes powerful armies; leaders civil and military, flawed and splendid; and ordinary people, black and white, struggling to survive in the war's wreckage.

    Goliath struggle in which the North waged “total war” over an underdog South. In The Myth of the Lost Cause, historian Edward Bonekemper deconstructs this multi-faceted myth, revealing the truth about the war that nearly tore the nation apart 150 years ago.

    Indeed, most histories mention it not at all. Mark A. Smith s and Wade Sokolosky s To Prepare for Sherman s Coming: The Battle of Wise s Forks, March 1865 erases this misconception and elevates this battle and its related operations to the historical status it deserves.By March 1865, the Confederacy was on its last legs. Its armies were depleted, food and resources were scarce, and morale was low. Gen. Robert E. Lee was barely holding on to his extended lines around Richmond and Petersburg, and Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman was operating with nearly complete freedom in North Carolina on his way north to form a junction with Union forces in Virginia. As the authors demonstrate, the fighting that is the subject of this book came about when Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant initiated a broad military operation to assist Sherman.The responsibility for ensuring a functioning railroad from New Bern to Goldsboro rested with Maj. Gen. Jacob D. Cox. On March 2, 1865, Cox ordered his hastily assembled Provisional Corps to march toward Goldsboro. In response to Cox s movement, Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston executed a bold but risky plan to divert troops away from Sherman by turning back Cox s advance. Under the command of the aggressive but controversial Gen. Braxton Bragg, the Confederates stood for four days and successfully halted Cox at Wise s Forks. This delay provided Johnston with the precious time he needed to concentrate his forces and fight the large and important Battle of Bentonville. To Prepare for Sherman s Coming is the result of years of careful research in a wide variety of archival sources, and relies upon official reports, diaries, newspapers, and letter collections, all tied to a keen understanding of the terrain. Sokolosky and Smith, both career army officers, have used their expertise in military affairs to produce what is not only a valuable book on Wise s Forks, but what surely must be the definitive study of one of the Civil War s overlooked yet significant battles. Outstanding original maps by George Skoch coupled with period photographs reinforce the quality of this account and the authors commitment to excellence.REVIEWS The March 8-10, 1865 Battle of Wise s Forks has been neglected by Civil War historians for too long even though it was one of the largest battles in North Carolina s history. Fought near Kinston, it was the Confederates first major attempt to defeat General Sherman s forces in the Tar Heel State. Authors Wade Sokolosky and Mark A. Smith have crafted a deeply researched and engagingly written study that at last places the Wise s Forks in its proper strategic and operational context. To Prepare for Sherman s Coming will remain the definitive work on the battle for many years to come. Mark L. Bradley, author of Last Stand in the Carolinas: The Battle of Bentonville The March 8-10, 1865 combat at Wise s Forks was one of the major engagements of Sherman s Carolinas Campaign, and until now, has been completely ignored. A Confederate victory there would have cut Sherman s main line of supply and directly impacted his ability to march across North Carolina. To Prepare for Sherman s Coming rectifies this glaring oversight in a detailed tactical study by retired career Army officers Wade Sokolosky and Mark Smith. For the first time, this small but important battle gets the attention and treatment it has long deserved. The clear and crisp writing, supplemented with original maps, photos, and wonderful research, means this book deserves a place on the bookshelf of any student of the Carolinas Campaign. Eric J. Wittenberg, award-winning Civil War historian and author of The Battle of Monroe s Crossroads and the Civil War s Final Campaign Civil War battle study advocates in general, and enthusiasts of the Carolinas Campaign in particular, will be more than pleased with Sokolosky s and Smith s new book on the battle of Wise s Forks. It is everything readers of this genre enjoy: good research, good writing, helpful original maps, and plentiful photos and illustrations. Now, finally, this small but important battle during the war s final full month in North Carolina gets the due it rightfully deserves. Chris Mackowski, Emerging Civil War Series editor and author of Chancellorsville s Forgotten Front and Grant s Last Battle: The Story Behind the Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant"

    Lee is well known as a major figure in the Civil War. However, by removing Lee from the delimiting frame of the Civil War and placing him in the context of the Republic's total history, Dowdey shows the "eternal relevance" of this tragic figure to the American heritage. With access to hundreds of personal letters, Dowdey brings fresh insights into Lee's background and personal relationships and examines the factors which made Lee that rare specimen, “a complete person.” In tracing Lee's reluctant involvement in the sectional conflict, Dowdey shows that he was essentially a peacemaker, very advanced in his disbelief in war as a resolution.Lee had never led troops in combat until suddenly given command of a demoralized, hodgepodge force under siege from McClellan in front of Richmond. In a detailed study of Lee's growth in the mastery of the techniques of war, he shows his early mistakes, the nature of his seemingly intuitive powers, the limitations imposed by his personal character and physical decline, and the effect of this character on the men with whom he created a legendary army. It was after the fighting was over that Dowdey believes Lee made his most significant and neglected achievement. As a symbol of the defeated people, he rose above all hostilities and, in the wreckage of his own fortunes, advocated rebuilding a New South, for which he set the example with his progressive program in education. The essence of Lee's tragedy was the futility of his efforts toward the harmonious restoration of the Republic with the dissensions of the past forgotten.Skyhorse Publishing, along with our Arcade, Good Books, Sports Publishing, and Yucca imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. Our list includes biographies on well-known historical figures like Benjamin Franklin, Nelson Mandela, and Alexander Graham Bell, as well as villains from history, such as Heinrich Himmler, John Wayne Gacy, and O. J. Simpson. We have also published survivor stories of World War II, memoirs about overcoming adversity, first-hand tales of adventure, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

    Confederate forces under John Bell Hood desperately fought to stop William T. Sherman's advancing armies as they tried to cut the last Confederate supply line into the city. Confederates under General Stephen D. Lee nearly overwhelmed the Union right flank, but Federals under General Oliver O. Howard decisively repelled every attack. After five hours of struggle, 5,000 Confederates lay dead and wounded, while only 632 Federals were lost. The result was another major step in Sherman's long effort to take Atlanta.Hess's compelling study is the first book-length account of the fighting at Ezra Church. Detailing Lee's tactical missteps and Howard's vigilant leadership, he challenges many common misconceptions about the battle. Richly narrated and drawn from an array of unpublished manuscripts and firsthand accounts, Hess's work sheds new light on the complexities and significance of this important engagement, both on and off the battlefield.

    Nor has any president expressed himself with such eloquence on issues of great moment. Lincoln's writings reveal the depth of his thought and feeling and the sincerity of his convictions as he weighed the cost of freedom and preserving the Union. Now for the first time an annotated edition of Lincoln's essential writings examines the extraordinary man who produced them and explains the context in which they were composed.The Annotated Lincoln spans three decades of Lincoln's career, from his initial political campaign for state assemblyman in 1832 to his final public address on Reconstruction, delivered three days before his assassination on April 15, 1865. Included here are selections from his personal and political letters, poetry, speeches, and presidential messages and proclamations. In their generous annotations, Harold Holzer and Thomas Horrocks explore Lincoln's thoughts on slavery, emancipation, racial equality, the legality of secession, civil liberties in wartime, and the meaning of the terrible suffering caused by the Civil War. And they bring Lincoln's writings into the ambit of Lincoln scholarship, to offer a broader appreciation of his thoughts, words, and career.Numerous illustrations throughout animate historical events and actors. Teachers, students, and especially Lincoln enthusiasts will treasure this elegant volume and keep it close at hand for reference and enjoyment.

    Covering the Appalachian region in the east to the Pennyroyal in the west, the essays highlight women whose aspirations, innovations, activism, and creativity illustrate Kentucky’s role in political and social reform, education, health care, the arts, and cultural development. The collection features women with well-known names as well as those whose lives and work deserve greater attention. Shawnee chief Nonhelema Hokolesqua, western Kentucky slave Matilda Lewis Threlkeld, the sisters Emilie Todd Helm and Mary Todd Lincoln, reformers Madeline Mc- Dowell Breckinridge and Laura Clay, activists Anne McCarty Braden and Elizabeth Fouse, politicians Georgia Davis Powers and Martha Layne Collins, sculptor Enid Yandell, writer Harriette Simpson Arnow, and entrepreneur Nancy Newsom Mahaffey are covered in Kentucky Women, representing a broad cross section of those who forged Kentucky’s relationship with the American South and the nation at large. With essays on frontier life, gender inequality in marriage and divorce, medical advances, family strife, racial challenges and triumphs, widowhood, agrarian culture, urban experiences, educational theory and fieldwork, visual art, literature, and fame, the contributors have shaped a history of Kentucky that is both grounded and groundbreaking.Contributors: Lindsey Apple on Madeline McDowell Breckinridge; Martha Billips on Harriette Simpson Arnow; James Duane Bolin on Linda Neville; Sarah Case on Katherine Pettit and May Stone; Juilee Decker on Enid Yandell; Carolyn R. Dupont on Georgia Montgomery Davis Powers; Angela Esco Elder on Emilie Todd Helm and Mary Todd Lincoln; Catherine Fosl on Anne Pogue McGinty and Anne McCarty Braden; Craig Thompson Friend on Nonhelema Hokolesqua, Jemima Boone Callaway, and Matilda Lewis Threlkeld; Melanie Beals Goan on Mary Breckinridge; John Paul Hill on Martha Layne Collins; Anya Jabour on Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge; William Kuby on Mary Jane Warfield Clay; Karen Cotton McDaniel on Elizabeth “Lizzie” Fouse; Melissa A. McEuen on Nancy Newsom Mahaffey; Mary Jane Smith on Laura Clay; Andrea S. Watkins on Josie Underwood and Frances Dallam Peter.