Download or read book The Rebel Yell the Yankee Hurrah written by John W. Haley and published by Down East Books. This book was released on 2014-09-07 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On an "I will if you will" dare, John Haley enlisted in the 17th Maine Regiment in August 1862 "for three years, unless sooner discharged." ("Discharged, shot, or starved" would have been more accurate, Haley later wryly observed.) Though a reluctant soldier at first, he served steadfastly in the Army of the Potomac for nearly three years, participating in some of the most significant battles of the Civil War. John Haley was not the only soldier to record each day's events in his journal by firelight or by picket's lantern, for his was a literate generation. He was unusual in that he later painstakingly rewrote his battlefield notes, "reflecting at leisure" and adding fascinating political and personal commentary to produce the remarkable volume he calls Haley's Chronicles.

Download or read book Fears of a Setting Sun written by Dennis C. Rasmussen and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2021-03-02 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The surprising story of how George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson came to despair for the future of the nation they had created Americans seldom deify their Founding Fathers any longer, but they do still tend to venerate the Constitution and the republican government that the founders created. Strikingly, the founders themselves were far less confident in what they had wrought, particularly by the end of their lives. In fact, most of them—including George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson—came to deem America’s constitutional experiment an utter failure that was unlikely to last beyond their own generation. Fears of a Setting Sun is the first book to tell the fascinating and too-little-known story of the founders’ disillusionment. As Dennis Rasmussen shows, the founders’ pessimism had a variety of sources: Washington lost his faith in America’s political system above all because of the rise of partisanship, Hamilton because he felt that the federal government was too weak, Adams because he believed that the people lacked civic virtue, and Jefferson because of sectional divisions laid bare by the spread of slavery. The one major founder who retained his faith in America’s constitutional order to the end was James Madison, and the book also explores why he remained relatively optimistic when so many of his compatriots did not. As much as Americans today may worry about their country’s future, Rasmussen reveals, the founders faced even graver problems and harbored even deeper misgivings. A vividly written account of a chapter of American history that has received too little attention, Fears of a Setting Sun will change the way that you look at the American founding, the Constitution, and indeed the United States itself.

Download or read book The Rebel Yell written by Craig A. Warren and published by University of Alabama Press. This book was released on 2014-09-07 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first comprehensive history of the fabled Confederate battle cry from its origins and myths through its use in American popular culture No aspect of Civil War military lore has received less scholarly attention than the battle cry of the Southern soldier. In The Rebel Yell, Craig A. Warren brings together soldiers' memoirs, little-known articles, and recordings to create a fascinating and exhaustive exploration of the facts and myths about the “Southern screech.” Through close readings of numerous accounts, Warren demonstrates that the Rebel yell was not a single, unchanging call, but rather it varied from place to place, evolved over time, and expressed nuanced shades of emotion. A multifunctional act, the flexible Rebel yell was immediately recognizable to friends and foes but acquired new forms and purposes as the epic struggle wore on. A Confederate regiment might deliver the yell in harrowing unison to taunt Union troops across the empty spaces of a battlefield. At other times, individual soldiers would call out solo or in call-and-response fashion to communicate with or secure the perimeters of their camps. The Rebel yell could embody unity and valor, but could also become the voice of racism and hatred. Perhaps most surprising, The Rebel Yell reveals that from Reconstruction through the first half of the twentieth century, the Rebel yell—even more than the Confederate battle flag—served as the most prominent and potent symbol of white Southern defiance of Federal authority. With regard to the late-twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, Warren shows that the yell has served the needs of people the world over: soldiers and civilians, politicians and musicians, re-enactors and humorists, artists and businessmen. Warren dismantles popular assumptions about the Rebel yell as well as the notion that the yell was ever “lost to history.” Both scholarly and accessible, The Rebel Yell contributes to our knowledge of Civil War history and public memory. It shows the centrality of voice and sound to any reckoning of Southern culture.

Download or read book Rebel Yell written by S. C. Gwynne and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-09-30 with total page 704 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, the epic New York Times bestselling account of how Civil War general Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson became a great and tragic national hero. Stonewall Jackson has long been a figure of legend and romance. As much as any person in the Confederate pantheon—even Robert E. Lee—he embodies the romantic Southern notion of the virtuous lost cause. Jackson is also considered, without argument, one of our country’s greatest military figures. In April 1862, however, he was merely another Confederate general in an army fighting what seemed to be a losing cause. But by June he had engineered perhaps the greatest military campaign in American history and was one of the most famous men in the Western world. Jackson’s strategic innovations shattered the conventional wisdom of how war was waged; he was so far ahead of his time that his techniques would be studied generations into the future. In his “magnificent Rebel Yell…S.C. Gwynne brings Jackson ferociously to life” (New York Newsday) in a swiftly vivid narrative that is rich with battle lore, biographical detail, and intense conflict among historical figures. Gwynne delves deep into Jackson’s private life and traces Jackson’s brilliant twenty-four-month career in the Civil War, the period that encompasses his rise from obscurity to fame and legend; his stunning effect on the course of the war itself; and his tragic death, which caused both North and South to grieve the loss of a remarkable American hero.

Download or read book For Cause and Comrades written by James M. McPherson and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 1997-04-03 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: General John A. Wickham, commander of the famous 101st Airborne Division in the 1970s and subsequently Army Chief of Staff, once visited Antietam battlefield. Gazing at Bloody Lane where, in 1862, several Union assaults were brutally repulsed before they finally broke through, he marveled, "You couldn't get American soldiers today to make an attack like that." Why did those men risk certain death, over and over again, through countless bloody battles and four long, awful years ? Why did the conventional wisdom -- that soldiers become increasingly cynical and disillusioned as war progresses -- not hold true in the Civil War? It is to this question--why did they fight--that James McPherson, America's preeminent Civil War historian, now turns his attention. He shows that, contrary to what many scholars believe, the soldiers of the Civil War remained powerfully convinced of the ideals for which they fought throughout the conflict. Motivated by duty and honor, and often by religious faith, these men wrote frequently of their firm belief in the cause for which they fought: the principles of liberty, freedom, justice, and patriotism. Soldiers on both sides harkened back to the Founding Fathers, and the ideals of the American Revolution. They fought to defend their country, either the Union--"the best Government ever made"--or the Confederate states, where their very homes and families were under siege. And they fought to defend their honor and manhood. "I should not lik to go home with the name of a couhard," one Massachusetts private wrote, and another private from Ohio said, "My wife would sooner hear of my death than my disgrace." Even after three years of bloody battles, more than half of the Union soldiers reenlisted voluntarily. "While duty calls me here and my country demands my services I should be willing to make the sacrifice," one man wrote to his protesting parents. And another soldier said simply, "I still love my country." McPherson draws on more than 25,000 letters and nearly 250 private diaries from men on both sides. Civil War soldiers were among the most literate soldiers in history, and most of them wrote home frequently, as it was the only way for them to keep in touch with homes that many of them had left for the first time in their lives. Significantly, their letters were also uncensored by military authorities, and are uniquely frank in their criticism and detailed in their reports of marches and battles, relations between officers and men, political debates, and morale. For Cause and Comrades lets these soldiers tell their own stories in their own words to create an account that is both deeply moving and far truer than most books on war. Battle Cry of Freedom, McPherson's Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the Civil War, was a national bestseller that Hugh Brogan, in The New York Times, called "history writing of the highest order." For Cause and Comrades deserves similar accolades, as McPherson's masterful prose and the soldiers' own words combine to create both an important book on an often-overlooked aspect of our bloody Civil War, and a powerfully moving account of the men who fought it.

Download or read book A Yankee Private s Civil War written by Robert Hale Strong and published by Courier Corporation. This book was released on 2013-05-22 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Upon joining the Union army at the age of 19, Robert Hale Strong experienced the intensity of battle and horrors of war, which he vividly recaptures in this moving memoir. Strong recounts true tales of punishment, revenge, devotion, and quiet heroism as well as the survival methods of the average soldier.

Download or read book The History of the Rebel Yell written by Terryl W. Elliott and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2013-02-04 with total page 115 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Elliott's book is great!" -S. Waite Rawls III, president and CEO, Museum of the Confederacy, Richmond, Virginia ". . . a well-written book that should appeal to all history and Civil War buffs." -Frank Haight, Independence (MO) Examiner The South's renowned Rebel Yell and its unique, demoralizing effects have been documented throughout history. Whether as a planned part of a battle strategy or as an instinctual expression of adrenaline, the yell motivated the rebel soldiers and unnerved the enemy. In this definitive work, the mighty hollers of these warriors as they met their foes in battle are detailed as are their origins and nature. This work sets out to recapture the yell, which has been largely lost to time, and bring it back to life at full volume. The text suggests a substantial theory of the origins of the yell in Scotch-Irish history and analyzes its many variations and historical descriptions. Also assessed in these chapters are the few recorded versions of the Rebel Yell. This work includes historic stories and poems featuring the yell before concluding with a list of references.

Download or read book Yank and Rebel Rangers written by Robert W. Black and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2019-01-30 with total page 445 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Civil War history reveals the tactics and covert operations of both Union and Confederate rangers, guerilla forces, and volunteer units. The major battles of the American Civil War are well recorded. But while much has been written about the action at Shiloh and Gettysburg, far less is known about the cover operations and irregular warfare that were equally consequential. Both the Union and Confederate armies employed small forces of highly trained soldiers for special operations behind enemy lines. In Yank and Rebel Rangers, historian Robert W. Black tells this untold story of the war between the states. Skilled in infiltration, often crossing enemy lines in disguise, these warriors went deep into enemy territory, captured important personnel, disrupted lines of communication, and sowed confusion and fear. Often wearing the uniform of the enemy, they faced execution as spies if captured. Despite these risks, and in part because of them, these warriors fought and died as American rangers.

Download or read book An Examination of the Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible written by John Wesley Haley and published by . This book was released on 1875 with total page 520 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Attack and Die written by Grady McWhiney and published by University of Alabama Press. This book was released on 1984-07-30 with total page 231 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Selection of the History Book Club. "A controversial book that answers why the Confederates suffered such staggering human losses". -- History Book Club Review

Download or read book Gracie s Alabama Volunteers written by John Michael Burton and published by Pelican Publishing. This book was released on 2003-07-31 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using authentic letters, the author chronicles the experiences of the men who fought in the 59th Alabama Volunteer Regiment throughout the Civil War. The 59th Alabama Volunteer Regiment originated in the spring of 1862 as Hilliard’s Alabama Legion. Its volunteers ranged from sixteen to sixty years old; many were illiterate; very few owned slaves. After the harrowing battle at Chickamauga, the legion was reformed under the dynamic, New York-born Brig. Gen. Archibald Gracie Gracie led them during the battle of Beans Station and throughout the harsh sojourn in Tennessee. Though he survived the battle of Richmond, Gracie was killed while his regiment was entrenched at Petersburg. His surviving men finished the war with the Army of Northern Virginia. The author’s great-great-grandfather, William Tate Burton, volunteered at the age of twenty-nine and was with Gracie’s regiment for the entire war. When injuries kept him from active combat, he served the regiment in the demanding and dangerous role of teamster, or mule skinner, driving the heavy wagons filled with crucial artillery and other supplies. Gracie’s Alabama Volunteers includes vintage photographs, excerpts from soldiers’ letters, and complete muster rolls for the regiment. Praise for Gracie’s Alabama Volunteers “It is a well written, well researched, and a very informative regimental history.” —Lake Charles American Press

Download or read book History of the Ninth Virginia Cavalry in the War Between the States written by Richard Lee Turberville Beale and published by . This book was released on 1899 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Rebel Guerrillas written by Paul Williams and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2018-10-29 with total page 222 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the hills and valleys of the eastern Confederate states to the sun-drenched plains of Missouri and "Bleeding Kansas," a vicious, clandestine war was fought behind the big-battle clashes of the American Civil War. In the east, John Singleton Mosby became renowned for the daring hit-and-run tactics of his rebel horsemen. Here a relatively civilized war was fought; women and children usually left with a roof over their heads. But along the Kansas-Missouri border it was a far more brutal clash; no quarter given. William Clarke Quantrill and William "Bloody Bill" Anderson became notorious for their savagery.

Download or read book Slocum 306 Slocum and the Rebel Yell written by Jake Logan and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2004-07-27 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Slocum’s looking to catch some thieves Reb-handed… Gunsmoke from the War Between the States has long since cleared, but out in Oklahoma Territory, things are just getting started. Or so it seems to John Slocum, who just arrived for a wedding. Slocum is to be his friend’s best man, but when some armed rebels storm the rehearsal, he might just be the best man for this job, too… Turns out that a handful of Rebs—still sore about losing—have been building an arsenal of stolen ammo fit for another Gettysburg. And their one fail-proof weapon against Slocum is a certain lady-general too luscious for her own good. But, reckons the gunslinger, thwarting these thieves would make a right fine wedding present…

Download or read book Commanding the Storm written by John Richard Stephens and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2012-11-20 with total page 349 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Beauregard and Custer to Lee and Sherman, twelve commanders from each side vividly describe what they and their men experienced at twelve of the war’s most legendary battles from Fort Sumter to Appomattox Court House in accounts gathered from letters, memoirs, reports, and testimonies. They relate noted incidents and personal triumphs and tragedies while covering strategies and explaining battlefield decisions. Trench warfare at Petersburg and Sherman’s scorched earth policy in Georgia foreshadowed the world wars to come, and technological advancements—such as armored steamships, landmines, and machine guns—literally changed the landscape of war. Submarines and a time bomb even came into play. Informative biographies and headnotes for each battle give parallel statistics at a glance and establish context; sidebars cover notable tactics and technologies, including espionage, aerial reconnaissance, and guerilla warfare; and a concise roll-call outline each commander's life in full after the war. Here, from the men who conducted and controlled it, is an invaluable sourcebook of what happened in the War Between the States and why.

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 742 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 Hymns of the Republic written by S. C. Gwynne and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2019-10-29 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of Empire of the Summer Moon and Rebel Yell comes “a masterwork of history” (Lawrence Wright, author of God Save Texas), the spellbinding, epic account of the last year of the Civil War. The fourth and final year of the Civil War offers one of the most compelling narratives and one of history’s great turning points. Now, Pulitzer Prize finalist S.C. Gwynne breathes new life into the epic battle between Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant; the advent of 180,000 black soldiers in the Union army; William Tecumseh Sherman’s March to the Sea; the rise of Clara Barton; the election of 1864 (which Lincoln nearly lost); the wild and violent guerrilla war in Missouri; and the dramatic final events of the war, including Lee’s surrender at Appomattox and the murder of Abraham Lincoln. “A must-read for Civil War enthusiasts” (Publishers Weekly), Hymns of the Republic offers many surprising angles and insights. Robert E. Lee, known as a great general and Southern hero, is presented here as a man dealing with frustration, failure, and loss. Ulysses S. Grant is known for his prowess as a field commander, but in the final year of the war he largely fails at that. His most amazing accomplishments actually began the moment he stopped fighting. William Tecumseh Sherman, Gwynne argues, was a lousy general, but probably the single most brilliant man in the war. We also meet a different Clara Barton, one of the greatest and most compelling characters, who redefined the idea of medical care in wartime. And proper attention is paid to the role played by large numbers of black union soldiers—most of them former slaves. Popular history at its best, Hymns of the Republic reveals the creation that arose from destruction in this “engrossing…riveting” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) read.