Download or read book Bridge Building in Wartime written by Wesley Brainerd and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book, containing the detailed recollections of a Union combat engineer, will add immeasurably to our understanding of the logistical complexities of the Civil War campaigns and introduce an important new point of view amid the array of available Civil War diaries and memoirs. Wesley Brainerd was a twenty-eight-year-old businessman living in Rome, New York, when the war erupted in 1861. Enlisting after the first Battle of Bull Run and eventually achieving the rank of colonel, he served as an officer in both regiments of the Volunteer Engineer Brigade of the Army of the Potomac, a unit that distinguished itself throughout the war by building bridges, fortifications, batteries, roads, and temporary shelters. After the war, Brainerd drew on his diaries to recount his experiences in a memoir originally written for his son. As appealing in style as it is informative, Brainerd's account is told with a strong sense of the war's importance and of the part his unit played in the larger scheme of things. Modest and truthful, Brainerd sought to relate the story of his service in a meaningful and straightforward way, ever mindful of the lessons he had learned and that he wanted to impart to his son. Now available with carefully researched annotations and an introduction, this unique document will fill and important gap in the literature of the Civil War.
Download or read book Houseboats of Sausalito written by Phil Frank and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2008 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The unique and colorful houseboat community has long been the centerpiece of life in Sausalito, and while these floating homes are well known, relatively few people know just how far back their history goes. Not a recent phenomenon, as so many assume, the houseboat community has a history stretching back to the 1880s and earlier. While houseboats once existed in nearly a dozen ports in and around San Francisco Bay--and indeed throughout the West Coast--the focus of this buoyant lifestyle is now the waters of Marin County, along the shoreline of Richardson's Bay. Over the years, a variety of forces--including the 1906 earthquake and fire, the building of bridges and the resulting decline of the ferryboat fleet, World War II, and legal pressures on waterfront property owners--helped to shape life on the water, Sausalito's houseboat community, and this fascinating tale.
Download or read book Washington Roebling s Civil War written by Diane Monroe Smith and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2019-07-01 with total page 461 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Washington Roebling is well known as the man who supervised construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. His path to overseeing that monumental task began during the Civil War. In addition to his brave, dramatic actions at Gettysburg, his Civil War service was remarkable: artilleryman, bridge builder, scout, balloonist, mapmaker, engineer, and staff officer. His story reveals much about Gettysburg but also about Civil War intelligence and engineering and the politics and infighting within the Army of the Potomac’s high command. Roebling’s service—leadership, engineering, decision-making, and managing personalities and politics—prepared him well for overseeing the Brooklyn Bridge.
Download or read book William Barksdale CSA written by John Douglas Ashton and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2021-03-05 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An aggressive and colorful personality, William Barksdale was no stranger to controversy. Orphaned at 13, he succeeded as lawyer, newspaper editor, Mexican War veteran, politician and Confederate commander. During eight years in the U.S. Congress, he was among the South's most ardent defenders of slavery and advocates for states' rights. His emotional speeches and altercations--including a brawl on the House floor--made headlines in the years preceding secession. His fiery temper prompted three near-duels, gaining him a reputation as a brawler and knife-fighter. Arrested for intoxication, Colonel Barksdale survived a military Court of Inquiry to become one of the most beloved commanders in the Army of Northern Virginia. His reputation soared with his defense against the Union river crossing and street-fighting at Fredericksburg, and his legendary charge at Gettysburg. This first full-length biography places his life and career in historical context.
Download or read book Field Armies and Fortifications in the Civil War written by Earl J. Hess and published by Univ of North Carolina Press. This book was released on 2006-03-08 with total page 451 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Earl J. Hess provides a narrative history of the use of fortifications--particularly trenches and other semi-permanent earthworks--used by Confederate and Union field armies at all major battle sites in the eastern theater of the Civil War. Hess moves beyond the technical aspects of construction to demonstrate the crucial role these earthworks played in the success or failure of field armies. A comprehensive study which draws on research and fieldwork from 300 battle sites, Field Armies and Fortifications in the Civil War is an indispensable reference for Civil War buffs and historians.
Download or read book Trench Warfare under Grant and Lee written by Earl J. Hess and published by Univ of North Carolina Press. This book was released on 2011-04-01 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Earl J.Hess's study of armies and fortifications turns to the 1864 Overland Campaign to cover battles from the Wilderness to Cold Harbor. Drawing on meticulous research in primary sources and careful examination of battlefields at the Wilderness, Spotsylvania, North Anna, Bermuda Hundred, and Cold Harbor, , Hess analyzes Union and Confederate movements and tactics and the new way Grant and Lee employed entrenchments in an evolving style of battle. Hess argues that Grant's relentless and pressing attacks kept the armies always within striking distance, compelling soldiers to dig in for protection.
Download or read book Tom Paine s Iron Bridge Building a United States written by Edward G. Gray and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2016-04-25 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The little-known story of the architectural project that lay at the heart of Tom Paine’s political blueprint for the United States. In a letter to his wife Abigail, John Adams judged the author of Common Sense as having “a better hand at pulling down than building.” Adams’s dismissive remark has helped shape the prevailing view of Tom Paine ever since. But, as Edward G. Gray shows in this fresh, illuminating work, Paine was a builder. He had a clear vision of success for his adopted country. It was embodied in an architectural project that he spent a decade planning: an iron bridge to span the Schuylkill River at Philadelphia. When Paine arrived in Philadelphia from England in 1774, the city was thriving as America’s largest port. But the seasonal dangers of the rivers dividing the region were becoming an obstacle to the city’s continued growth. Philadelphia needed a practical connection between the rich grain of Pennsylvania’s backcountry farms and its port on the Delaware. The iron bridge was Paine’s solution. The bridge was part of Paine’s answer to the central political challenge of the new nation: how to sustain a republic as large and as geographically fragmented as the United States. The iron construction was Paine’s brilliant response to the age-old challenge of bridge technology: how to build a structure strong enough to withstand the constant battering of water, ice, and wind. The convergence of political and technological design in Paine’s plan was Enlightenment genius. And Paine drew other giants of the period as patrons: Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and for a time his great ideological opponent, Edmund Burke. Paine’s dream ultimately was a casualty of the vicious political crosscurrents of revolution and the American penchant for bridges of cheap, plentiful wood. But his innovative iron design became the model for bridge construction in Britain as it led the world into the industrial revolution.
Download or read book Road to War written by Robert M. Senkewicz and published by University of Oklahoma Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 313 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pages:1 to 25 -- Pages:26 to 50 -- Pages:51 to 75 -- Pages:76 to 100 -- Pages:101 to 125 -- Pages:126 to 150 -- Pages:151 to 175 -- Pages:176 to 200 -- Pages:201 to 225 -- Pages:226 to 250 -- Pages:251 to 275 -- Pages:276 to 300 -- Pages:301 to 313
Download or read book The Origins of the Cold War in Europe written by David Reynolds and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 1994-01-01 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although the Cold War is over, the writing of its history has only just begun. This book presents an analysis of the origins of the Cold War in the decade after the Second World War, discussing the development of the United States and the Soviet Union as superpowers and the reactions of the Western European states to the growing Soviet-American rivalry. Drawing on recently opened archives from the former Soviet Union as well as on existing research largely unavailable in English, distinguished authorities from each of the countries discussed provide new insight into the Cold War and into the Europe that has been molded by it. The book begins with an overview of United States Cold War policy after the war and a pioneering post-communist examination of Russian involvement. The next chapters focus on the other two members of the wartime alliance, Britain and France, for which the Cold War was interwoven with concerns such as the maintenance of empire and the continued fear of Germany. The book then examines the vanquished countries of World War II, Italy and Germany, who--particularly in the case of divided Germany--were struggling to recover their international status and come to terms with their past. The last part of the book considers how the small states--Benelux and Scandinavia--forged new groupings in the search for security, even though conflicts of national interest still persisted between them. The authors not only show the impact of superpower policies on each country but also reveal the many ways in which West European states were active participants in Cold War politics, trying to draw the Americans into Europe and shaping the blocs that emerged. The book sheds light on the European Community (in many ways a response to uneasiness about Germany) and on NATO, whose purpose was once described as keeping "the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down."
Download or read book Players Plans Pawns written by Kevin Campbell and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2016-02-23 with total page 886 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thousands of inkwells have been emptied documenting the Campaign and Battle of Gettysburg. And while nearly all aspects of the campaign have been explored in one form or another, this work attempts to weave the tapestry of the campaign from the viewpoints, activities, and decisions of its participants. From men at the highest levels of command to those on the battle line, all would play a part in the drama which unfolded in Southern Pennsylvania. The persona, character, military bearing, and skill of those who fought the greatest battle ever to occur on the North American continent, would be forged not only during the war, but for some, many years prior to the conflict. This is the opening act of their story.
Download or read book A Campaign of Giants The Battle for Petersburg written by A. Wilson Greene and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2018-04-17 with total page 729 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Grinding, bloody, and ultimately decisive, the Petersburg Campaign was the Civil War's longest and among its most complex. Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee squared off for more than nine months in their struggle for Petersburg, the key to the Confederate capital at Richmond. Featuring some of the war's most notorious battles, the campaign played out against a backdrop of political drama and crucial fighting elsewhere, with massive costs for soldiers and civilians alike. After failing to bull his way into Petersburg, Grant concentrated on isolating the city from its communications with the rest of the surviving Confederacy, stretching Lee's defenses to the breaking point. When Lee's desperate breakout attempt failed in March 1865, Grant launched his final offensives that forced the Confederates to abandon the city on April 2, 1865. A week later, Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House. Here A. Wilson Greene opens his sweeping new three-volume history of the Petersburg Campaign, taking readers from Grant's crossing of the James in mid-June 1864 to the fateful Battle of the Crater on July 30. Full of fresh insights drawn from military, political, and social history, A Campaign of Giants is destined to be the definitive account of the campaign. With new perspectives on operational and tactical choices by commanders, the experiences of common soldiers and civilians, and the significant role of the United States Colored Troops in the fighting, this book offers essential reading for all those interested in the history of the Civil War.
Download or read book Niche Diplomacy written by Andrew F. Cooper and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-07-27 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An examination of the nature of middle power diplomacy in the post-Cold War era. As the rigid hierarchy of the bipolar era wanes, the potential ability of middle powers to open segmented niches opens up. This volume indicates the form and scope of this niche-building diplomatic activity from a bottom up perspective to provide an alternative to the dominant apex-dominated image in international relations.
Download or read book Upon the Fields of Battle written by Andrew S. Bledsoe and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2018-11-07 with total page 431 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: New developments in Civil War scholarship owe much to removal of artificial divides by historians seeking to explore the connections between the home front and the battlefield. Indeed, scholars taking a holistic view of the war have contributed to our understanding of the social complexities of emancipation—of freedom in a white republic—and the multifaceted experiences of both civilians and soldiers. Given these accomplishments, research focusing on military history prompts prominent and recurring debates among Civil War historians. Critics of traditional military history see it as old-fashioned, too technical, or irrelevant to the most important aspects of the war. Proponents of this area of study view these criticisms as a misreading of its nature and potential to illuminate the war. The collected essays in Upon the Fields of Battle bridge this intellectual divide, demonstrating how historians enrich Civil War studies by approaching the period through the specific but nonetheless expansive lens of military history. Drawing together contributions from Keith Altavilla, Robert L. Glaze, John J. Hennessy, Earl J. Hess, Brian Matthew Jordan, Kevin M. Levin, Brian D. McKnight, Jennifer M. Murray, and Kenneth W. Noe, editors Andrew S. Bledsoe and Andrew F. Lang present an innovative volume that deeply integrates and analyzes the ideas and practices of the military during the Civil War. Furthermore, by grounding this collection in both traditional and pioneering methodologies, the authors assess the impact of this field within the social, political, and cultural contexts of Civil War studies. Upon the Fields of Battle reconceives traditional approaches to subjects like battles and battlefields, practice and policy, command and culture, the environment, the home front, civilians and combatants, atrocity and memory, revealing a more balanced understanding of the military aspects of the Civil War’s evolving history.
Download or read book The Howling Storm written by Kenneth W. Noe and published by LSU Press. This book was released on 2020-10-07 with total page 687 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Finalist for the Lincoln Prize! Traditional histories of the Civil War describe the conflict as a war between North and South. Kenneth W. Noe suggests it should instead be understood as a war between the North, the South, and the weather. In The Howling Storm, Noe retells the history of the conflagration with a focus on the ways in which weather and climate shaped the outcomes of battles and campaigns. He further contends that events such as floods and droughts affecting the Confederate home front constricted soldiers’ food supply, lowered morale, and undercut the government’s efforts to boost nationalist sentiment. By contrast, the superior equipment and open supply lines enjoyed by Union soldiers enabled them to cope successfully with the South’s extreme conditions and, ultimately, secure victory in 1865. Climate conditions during the war proved unusual, as irregular phenomena such as El Niño, La Niña, and similar oscillations in the Atlantic Ocean disrupted weather patterns across southern states. Taking into account these meteorological events, Noe rethinks conventional explanations of battlefield victories and losses, compelling historians to reconsider long-held conclusions about the war. Unlike past studies that fault inflation, taxation, and logistical problems for the Confederate defeat, his work considers how soldiers and civilians dealt with floods and droughts that beset areas of the South in 1862, 1863, and 1864. In doing so, he addresses the foundational causes that forced Richmond to make difficult and sometimes disastrous decisions when prioritizing the feeding of the home front or the front lines. The Howling Storm stands as the first comprehensive examination of weather and climate during the Civil War. Its approach, coverage, and conclusions are certain to reshape the field of Civil War studies.
Download or read book The Historian s Red Badge of Courage written by Paul A. Cimbala and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2020-07-08 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For someone who did not actually fight in the American Civil War, Stephen Crane was extraordinarily accurate in his description of the psychological tension experienced by a youthful soldier grappling with his desire to act heroically, his fears, and redemption. Stephen Crane's novel The Red Badge of Courage provides an extraordinary take on the battlefield experiences of a young soldier coming of age under extreme circumstances. His writing took place a generation after the war's conclusion, at a time when the entire nation was coming to grips with the meaning of the Civil War. It was during this time in the late 19th century that the battle over the memory of the war was taking place. This new, annotated edition of the novel is designed to guide readers through references made through Crane's characters and how they reflect Civil War military experiences—specifically how "the youth's" experiences reflect the reality of the multi-day battle of Chancellorsville, which took place in Virginia beginning on May 1, 1863, and concluded on May 4 of the same year. The annotated text is preceded by introductory essays on Crane and on the Civil War. Crane's short story "The Veteran" is also included to allow readers to better understand the post-war lives of Civil War soldiers.
Download or read book Railway Age written by and published by . This book was released on 1944 with total page 824 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Richmond Redeemed written by Richard Sommers and published by Savas Beatie. This book was released on 2014-10-19 with total page 697 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Richmond Redeemed pioneered study of Civil War Petersburg. The original (and long out of print) award-winning 1981 edition conveyed an epic narrative of crucial military operations in early autumn 1864 that had gone unrecognized for more than 100 years. Readers will rejoice that Richard J. SommersÕs masterpiece, in a revised Sesquicentennial edition, is once again available. This monumental study focuses on GrantÕs Fifth Offensive (September 29 Ð October 2, 1864), primarily the Battles of ChaffinÕs Bluff (Fort Harrison) and Poplar Spring Church (PeeblesÕ Farm). The Union attack north of the James River at ChaffinÕs Bluff broke through RichmondÕs defenses and gave Federals their greatest opportunity to capture the Confederate capital. The corresponding fighting outside Petersburg at Poplar Spring Church so threatened Southern supply lines that General Lee considered abandoning his Petersburg rail center six months before actually doing so. Yet hard fighting and skillful generalship saved both cities. This book provides thrilling narrative of opportunities gained and lost, of courageous attack and desperate defense, of incredible bravery by Union and Confederate soldiers from 28 states, Maine to Texas. Fierce fighting by four Black brigades earned their soldiers thirteen Medals of Honor and marked ChaffinÕs Bluff as the biggest, bloodiest battle for Blacks in the whole Civil War. In addition to his focused tactical lens, Dr. Sommers offers rich analysis of the generalship of Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee, and their senior subordinates, Benjamin Butler, George G. Meade, Richard S. Ewell, and A. P. Hill. The richly layered prose of Richmond Redeemed, undergirded by thousands of manuscript and printed primary accounts from more than 100 archives, has been enhanced for this Sesquicentennial Edition with new research, new writing, and most of all new thinking. Teaching future strategic leaders of American and allied armed forces in the Army War College, conversing with fellow Civil War scholars, addressing Civil War audiences across the nation, and reflecting on prior assessments over the last 33 years have stimulated in the author new perspectives and new insights. He has interwoven them throughout the book. His new analysis brings new dimensions to this new edition. Dr. Sommers was widely praised for his achievement. In addition to being a selection of the History Book Club, the National Historical Society awarded him the Bell Wiley Prize as the best Civil War book for 1981-82. Reviewers hailed it as Òa book that still towers among Civil War campaign studiesÓ and Òa model tactical study [that] takes on deeper meaning . . . without sacrificing the human drama and horror of combat.Ó Complete with maps, photos, a full bibliography, and index, Richmond Redeemed is modeled for a new generation of readers, enthusiasts, and Civil War buffs and scholars, all of whom will welcome and benefit from exploring how, 150 years ago, Richmond was redeemed.
