In early July 1864, a quickly patched together force of outnumbered Union soldiers under the command....

    Few people objected. After all, a third of the American people are descended from Confederate soldiers and Congress has officially and legally declared Confederates to be “American veterans.” That time has passed. There is an epidemic of hate and fear sweeping the land; a wave of hostility and intolerance that shows no sign of slowing or stopping; its fury is directed at Southern symbols—flags, monuments, and other displays—in fact everything Southern now appears to be a target. Paul C. Graham has courageously examined this case of mass hysteria; a condition he has aptly dubbed “Confederaphobia.” “It’s one thing,” writes Graham, “to acknowledge that the meaning of symbols is one of perspective. It’s quite another thing to have the meaning dictated by ideologues who are not participants in the cultural tradition . . . . Southern symbols mean to the Southerner exactly what they say that they do . . .speak for those people for whom Southern identity is a living reality.” Southern people are growing weary of the ongoing demonization; of being bullied and harassed; and have begun to realize that Confederaphobia is not a matter of monuments, but a campaign to expunge their identity. If you are a self-identified Southerner, you are a potential target! It’s not too late to inoculate yourself from the dangerous effects of this disease, but this is only possible if you recognize the problem. The problem is not Confederate flags, monuments, markers, belt-buckles, stickers, do-dads, knick-knacks, what-nots, or Dukes of Hazzard re-runs—the problem is Confederaphobia!

    Their reminiscences provide a fascinating and harrowing account of the battle as they fought the Army of the Potomac. This book collates their writings alongside speeches that were given in the decades after the battle, during the annual reunions of Hood's Brigade Association and the dedication of the Hood's Brigade Monument at the state capital in Austin, Texas. These accounts describe their actions at the East Woods, Dunker's Church and Miller's Cornfield, and other areas during the battle. For the first time ever, their experiences are compiled in Texans at Antietam: A Terrible Clash of Arms, 16-17 September 1862.

    Each battlefield features extensive photos of the key sites and monuments, as well as beautiful landscapes and historic archival photography. The essays enable the reader to understand each battlefield from a strategic perspective--its topography, geography, and military value--the battle's seminal moments, and its historical significance, and guide the reader on how best to tour the grounds on foot.With maps, rarely seen archival photos, and stunning contemporary photography, this photo- and information-packed book is an inspirational bucket list for Civil War and history buffs, as well as those who wish to walk in the literal boot steps of American history.

    A brigade of Union troops, commanded by Colonel George Crook, had occupied the heavily Confederate leaning town less than two weeks earlier. Now, Lewisburg felt the fury of a battle waged in her streets. Bullets flew in every direction. Cannon balls whistled overhead and occasionally struck the homes and other buildings of the town. Confederate soldiers, some of whom grew up in Lewisburg, fought and died in their hometown.A few hours later, 240 Confederates were killed, wounded, or taken prisoner. The victorious Union troops suffered the loss of 93 men killed, wounded, and captured. Confederate Brigadier General Henry Heth, with a superior force, now found himself forced to retreat in complete disarray. Colonel George Crook would soon be promoted to brigadier general, largely because of his conduct at Lewisburg.This carefully researched book by historian and author Richard L. Armstrong contains 248 pages, 34 images, and 13 maps (including a detailed map of the town the day after the battle by Captain Hiram F. Devol of the 36th Ohio Infantry). The cover features the beautiful painting of Lewisburg in the 1850s by renowned landscape artist Edward Beyer.Lewisburg, now a part of the state of West Virginia, is the county seat of Greenbrier County, and is named for Revolutionary War period General Andrew Lewis. A previous winner of the "Coolest Small Towns in America" award, the town offers many quaint shops, restaurants, galleries, and other attractions. Walking tour brochures, including one focused on the Battle of Lewisburg, are available at the Greenbrier Valley Visitors Center, located downtown on the corner of Washington and Court Streets.

    Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. The 5th Texas established an exceptional combat record in an army known for its fighting capabilities. The regiment took part in 38 engagements, including nearly every significant battle in the Eastern Theater, as well as the Chickamauga, Chattanooga, and Knoxville campaigns in the Western Theater. “The Bloody Fifth” offers the first full-length study documenting this fabled regimental command.The first volume, Secession through the Suffolk Campaign, followed the regiment from its inception through the successful foraging campaign in southeastern Virginia in April 1863. Gettysburg to Appomattox continues the regiment’s rich history from its march north into Pennsylvania and the battle of Gettysburg, its transfer west to Georgia and participation in the bloody battle of Chickamauga, operations in East Tennessee, and the regiment’s return to Virginia for the overland battles (Wilderness to Cold Harbor), Petersburg campaign, and the march to Appomattox Court House. The narrative ends by following many of the regiment’s soldiers on their long journey home.Schmutz’s definitive study is based upon years of archival and battlefield research that uncovered hundreds of primary sources, many never before used. The result is a lively account of not only the regiment’s marches and battles but a personal look into the lives of these Texans as they struggled to survive a vicious war more than 1,000 miles from home.“The Bloody Fifth”—The 5th Texas Infantry Regiment, Hood’s Texas Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia, with photos, original maps, explanatory footnotes, and important and useful appendices, is a significant contribution to the history of Texas and the American Civil War.

    Through the close reading of diverse sources ranging from government documents to personal accounts, Richard J. M. Blackett traces the decisions of slaves to escape, the actions of those who assisted them, the many ways black communities responded to the capture of fugitive slaves, and how local laws either buttressed or undermined enforcement of the federal law. Every effort to enforce the law in northern communities produced levels of subversion that generated national debate so much so that, on the eve of secession, many in the South, looking back on the decade, could argue that the law had been effectively subverted by those individuals and states who assisted fleeing slaves.

    The Federals were surviving by the narrowest of margins, thanks only to a trickle of supplies painstakingly hauled over the sketchiest of mountain roads. Soon even those quarter-rations would not suffice. Disaster was in the offing.Yet those Confederates, once jubilant at having routed the Federals at Chickamauga and driven them back into the apparent trap of Chattanooga's trenches, found their own circumstances increasingly difficult to bear. In the immediate aftermath of their victory, the South rejoiced; the Confederacy's own disasters of the previous summer--Vicksburg and Gettysburg--were seemingly reversed. Then came stalemate in front of those same trenches. The Confederates held the high ground, Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, but they could not completely seal off Chattanooga from the north.The Union responded. Reinforcements were on the way. A new man arrived to take command: Ulysses S. Grant. Confederate General Braxton Bragg, unwilling to launch a frontal attack on Chattanooga's defenses, sought victory elsewhere, diverting troops to East Tennessee.Battle above the Clouds by David Powell recounts the first half of the campaign to lift the siege of Chattanooga, including the opening of the "cracker line," the unusual night battle of Wauhatchie, and one of the most dramatic battles of the entire war: Lookout Mountain.

    Stunning Union victories and thinning army ranks forced Davis to decide whether independence or slavery was most important. In November, Davis called on Congress to reconsider the role of the slave in the Southern war effort.

    Michael D. Robinson expands the scope of this crisis to show how the fate of the Border South, and with it the Union, desperately hung in the balance during the fateful months surrounding the clash at Fort Sumter. During this period, Border South politicians revealed the region's deep commitment to slavery, disputed whether or not to leave the Union, and schemed to win enough support to carry the day. Although these border states contained fewer enslaved people than the eleven states that seceded, white border southerners chose to remain in the Union because they felt it best protected their peculiar institution. Robinson reveals anew how the decision for Union was fraught with anguish and uncertainty, dividing families and producing years of bitter internecine violence. Letters, diaries, newspapers, and quantitative evidence illuminate how, in the absence of a compromise settlement, proslavery Unionists managed to defeat secession in the Border South.

    However, there were still Confederate armies in the field. Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, commander of the Union armies operating in North Carolina, still faced a 31,000 man Confederate army commanded by Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. In addition, another 60,000 Confederate soldiers remained under arms east of the Mississippi River. Johnston’s army inflicted heavy losses on Sherman’s forces at the Battle of Bentonville in March 1865, but was nearly captured when its escape route was nearly blocked by Sherman’s much larger army. Instead of pursuing Johnston, whose troops escaped to Smithfield, North Carolina, Sherman instead marched to Goldsboro, where his army was reinforced and spent two weeks resting and refitting. Unlike Lee’s army, which was surrounded at Appomattox and compelled to surrender, Johnston’s army was not surrounded and had a substantial head start on Sherman, who would face hard marches and possibly another bloody battle before he could compel Johnston to surrender. When Sherman learned that the Army of the Potomac had captured Richmond and caused Lee’s army to flee toward Danville, on the Virginia/North Carolina state line, he set his army in motion. By the time it reached Smithfield on April 12, Johnston had fallen back to Raleigh. Sherman pursued, prompting Johnston to evacuate Raleigh. But then word arrived of Lee’s surrender—an event that changed everything. Johnston, realizing that there was no further reason to flee in an attempt to link up with Lee’s army, asked Sherman to meet with him to discuss terms of surrender. Then came word of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, an event that prompted Johnston to say that with the death of the President of the United States, the South had lost its best friend. This set the stage for the dramatic events that occurred at James Bennett’s farm in modern-day Durham. In three remarkable meetings, Sherman and Johnston tried to not only set the terms for the surrender of the 91,000 Confederate troops east of the Mississippi River, but to make peace, once and for all. The new administration of President Andrew Johnson, eager for vengeance for the assassination of Lincoln, rejected the terms negotiated by Sherman and Johnston, excoriated Sherman in the press, and forced him to threaten Johnston with the renewal of hostilities if he did not surrender upon the same terms offered to Lee at Appomattox. Johnston wisely accepted those terms, leading to the surrender of his command and those other Confederates east of the Mississippi. This is the story of those events, told in detail, and often in the words of the participants themselves. Author Eric J. Wittenberg has masterfully told this compelling story. Numerous photographs and maps accompany the narrative describing the end of the great American tragedy of the Civil War.