Download or read book The Sweetness of Life written by Eugene D. Genovese and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-10-05 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: American slaveholders used the wealth and leisure that slave labor provided to cultivate lives of gentility and refinement. This study provides a vivid portrait of slaveholders at home and at play as they built a tragic world of both 'sweetness' and slavery.
Download or read book Inglorious Passages written by Brian Steel Wills and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2017-11-30 with total page 416 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers who died in the Civil War, two-thirds, by some estimates, were felled by disease; untold others were lost to accidents, murder, suicide, sunstroke, and drowning. Meanwhile thousands of civilians in both the north and south perished—in factories, while caught up in battles near their homes, and in other circumstances associated with wartime production and supply. These “inglorious passages,” no less than the deaths of soldiers in combat, devastated the armies in the field and families and communities at home. Inglorious Passages for the first time gives these noncombat deaths due consideration. In letters, diaries, obituaries, and other accounts, eminent Civil War historian Brian Steel Wills finds the powerful and poignant stories of fatal accidents and encounters and collateral civilian deaths that occurred in the factories and fields of the Union and the Confederacy from 1861 to 1865. Wills retrieves these stories from obscurity and the cold calculations of statistics to reveal the grave toll these losses exacted on soldiers and civilians, families and society. In its intimate details and its broad scope, his book demonstrates that for those who served and those who supported them, noncombat fatalities were as significant as battle deaths in impressing the full force of the American Civil War on the people called upon to live through it. With the publication of Inglorious Passages, those who paid the supreme sacrifice, regardless of situation or circumstance, will at last be included in the final tabulation of the nation’s bloodiest conflict.
Download or read book Friendly Enemies written by Lauren K. Thompson and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2020-08 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the American Civil War, Union and Confederate soldiers commonly fraternized, despite strict prohibitions from the high command. When soldiers found themselves surrounded by privation, disease, and death, many risked their standing in the army, and ultimately their lives, for a warm cup of coffee or pinch of tobacco during a sleepless shift on picket duty, to receive a newspaper from a “Yank” or “Johnny,” or to stop the relentless picket fire while in the trenches. In Friendly Enemies Lauren K. Thompson analyzes the relations and fraternization of American soldiers on opposing sides of the battlefield and argues that these interactions represented common soldiers’ efforts to fight the war on their own terms. Her study reveals that despite different commanders, terrain, and outcomes on the battlefield, a common thread emerges: soldiers constructed a space to lessen hostilities and make their daily lives more manageable. Fraternization allowed men to escape their situation briefly and did not carry the stigma of cowardice. Because the fraternization was exclusively between white soldiers, it became the prototype for sectional reunion after the war—a model that avoided debates over causation, honored soldiers’ shared sacrifice, and promoted white male supremacy. Friendly Enemies demonstrates how relations between opposing sides were an unprecedented yet highly significant consequence of mid-nineteenth-century civil warfare.
Download or read book Reading the Man written by Elizabeth Brown Pryor and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2007 with total page 700 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Offers insight into the lesser-known complexities of the general's personality, in a biography based on his unpublished personal correspondence and covering such topics as his early years, relationships with family and slaves, and thoughts on military str
Download or read book The Soldier s Words written by Kenn Woods and published by Page Publishing Inc. This book was released on 2015-06-17 with total page 1612 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since I began Civil War re-enacting in 1988, there have been two schools of thought regarding the uniform of the Confederate soldiers. One is that the Rebels were never ragged, that was just a romantic myth started after the war. The other school of thought is that the Rebels were always ragged and wore whatever they could get their hands on. I decided that the best way to discover the truth is by investigating, what the soldiers themselves said regarding their clothing through letters, diaries and memoirs. This book uses the soldiers own words regarding Confederate uniforms and includes many surprising anecdotes and some "firsts" regarding incidents of the Civil War.
Download or read book Virginia at War 1861 written by William C. Davis and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2005-11-11 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although nine of the former British colonies joined the United States before Virginia, the fate of the new republic depended heavily on the Commonwealth. With four of the first five American presidents, and many other founding fathers and framers of the Constitution, calling Virginia their home, the roots of American democracy are firmly planted within the borders of the Old Dominion. Similarly, several Southern states preceded Virginia in seceding from the Union, but until Virginia joined them in April 1861, the Confederacy lacked cohesion. Richmond was immediately named the capital of the fledgling nation, and by the end of spring, Virginia had become the primary political and military theater in which the grand tragedy of the Civil War was enacted. Virginia at War, 1861, edited by acclaimed historians William C. Davis and James I. Robertson Jr., vividly portrays the process of secession, the early phases of conflict, and the struggles of Virginians to weather the brutal storms of war. Virginia at War, 1861 is the first in a series of volumes on each of Virginia's five years as a Confederate state. Essays by eight noted Civil War scholars provide a three-dimensional view of Virginians' experiences during the first year of the War Between the States. In addition to recounting the remarkable military events taking place in Virginia in 1861, this collection examines a civilian population braced for war but divided on crucial questions, an economy pressed to cope with the demands of combat, and a culture that strained to reconcile its proud heritage with its uncertain future. In 1861, the outcome of the Civil War was far from determined, but for Virginians there was little doubt that the war experience would alter nearly everything they had known before the outbreak of hostilities. In exacting detail, Virginia at War, 1861 examines the earliest challenges of the Civil War, the changes war wrought, and the ways in which Virginians withstood and adapted to this profound, irrevocable upheaval.
Download or read book On to Richmond written by James R. Arnold and published by Lerner Publications. This book was released on 2002-01-01 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examines the early battles of the Civil War, including the First Battle of Bull Run and the Battle of Antietam, and discusses the affects of the war on both Confederate and Union soldiers.
Download or read book Him on the One Side and Me on the Other written by Alexander Campbell and published by Univ of South Carolina Press. This book was released on 1999 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alexander and James Campbell, born and raised in Scotland, immigrated to the United States as teenagers in the 1850s and settled in vastly different regions of the country - Alexander in New York City and James in Charleston, South Carolina. When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, Alexander and James opted to fight for their adopted states and causes: Alexander enlisted in the 79th New York "Highlanders" and James in the 1st South Carolina ("Charleston") Battalion. "Him on the One Side and Me on the Other" tells the remarkable story of these two brothers divided by the Civil War. Through their wartime letters to family and to each other, the brothers expose the deep fractures in American society caused by the most destructive war in this country's history. In the most dramatic moment in this story of the brothers' wartime experiences, the letters reveal a near-reunion on the battlefield of Secessionville, South Carolina, on June 16, 1862. There Alexander was part of the Union force that assaulted Tower Battery, a fort inhabited by James and his Confederate comrades.
Download or read book Lost Cause written by James R. Arnold and published by Lerner Publications. This book was released on 2002-01-01 with total page 84 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discusses the last year of the Civil War, including Linclon's reelection, and the final battles west of Richmond which ended the Confederate Army's hopes of victory and the surrender at Appomattox.
Download or read book Robert E Lee A Biography written by Emory M. Thomas and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 1997-06-17 with total page 491 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The best and most balanced of the Lee biographies."—New York Review of Books The life of Robert E. Lee is a story not of defeat but of triumph—triumph in clearing his family name, triumph in marrying properly, triumph over the mighty Mississippi in his work as an engineer, and triumph over all other military men to become the towering figure who commanded the Confederate army in the American Civil War. But late in life Lee confessed that he "was always wanting something." In this probing and personal biography, Emory Thomas reveals more than the man himself did. Robert E. Lee has been, and continues to be, a symbol and hero in the American story. But in life, Thomas writes, Lee was both more and less than his legend. Here is the man behind the legend.
Download or read book The West Point History of the Civil War written by The United States Military Academy and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2014-10-21 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The definitive military history of the Civil War, featuring the same exclusive images, tactical maps, and expert analysis commissioned by The United States Military Academy to teach the history of the art of war to West Point cadets. The United States Military Academy at West Point is the gold standard for military history and the operational art of war. West Point has created military history texts for its cadets since 1836. For the first time in over forty years, the United States Military Academy has authorized a new military history series that will bear the name West Point. That text has been updated repeatedly, but now it has been completely rewritten and The West Point History of the Civil War is the first volume to result in a new series of military histories authorized by West Point. The West Point History of the Civil War combines the expertise of preeminent historians commissioned by West Point, hundreds of maps uniquely created by cartographers under West Point’s direction, and hundreds of images, many created for this volume or selected from West Point archives. Offering careful analysis of the political context of military decisions, The West Point History of the Civil War is singularly brilliant at introducing the generals and officer corps of both Union and Confederacy, while explaining the tactics, decisions, and consequences of individual battles and the ebb and flow of the war. For two years it has been beta-tested, vetted, and polished by cadets, West Point faculty, and West Point graduates and the results are clear: This is the best military history of its kind available anywhere. This is the standard ebook edition. It is a reproduction of the hardcover edition. It does not include any enhanced or interactive features.
Download or read book America s Bloody Hill of Destiny written by Phillip Thomas Tucker and published by Fonthill Media. This book was released on 2018-11-27 with total page 542 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "No chapter in the annals of the most important battle of America's national epic has been more celebrated than the key struggle for possession of the rocky hill at the extreme southern flank of the battle line at Gettysburg, Little Round Top. And no contest during the battle of Gettysburg was deadlier or as dramatic as the high stakes showdown for Little Round Top on the afternoon of July 2, 1863. Gettysburg was the decisive turning point of America's history, and Little Round Top was the crucial turning point of that three-day struggle in Adams County, Pennsylvania. Little Round Top was indeed the bloody Hill of Destiny, when the fate of America hung in the balance and was ultimately determined on the most decisive day of the three days at Gettysburg, July 2. However, some of the most important aspects of the famous struggle for Little Round Top have been distorted by misconceptions, myths, and layers of romance. For the first time, this ground-breaking book, America's Bloody Hill of Destiny, A New Look at the Struggle for Little Round Top, July 2, 1863, has presented a fresh and new look at the key leaders and hard-fighting common soldiers on both sides, who played the most important roles during the climactic struggle that decided the fate of America during one of the most pivotal moments in American history."
Download or read book What This Cruel War Was Over written by Chandra Manning and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2008-03-11 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using letters, diaries, and regimental newspapers to take us inside the minds of Civil War soldiers—black and white, Northern and Southern—as they fought and marched across a divided country, this unprecedented account is “an essential contribution to our understanding of slavery and the Civil War" (The Philadelphia Inquirer). In this unprecedented account, Chandra Manning With stunning poise and narrative verve, Manning explores how the Union and Confederate soldiers came to identify slavery as the central issue of the war and what that meant for a tumultuous nation. This is a brilliant and eye-opening debut and an invaluable addition to our understanding of the Civil War as it has never been rendered before.
Download or read book Fredericksburg Fredericksburg written by George C. Rable and published by Univ of North Carolina Press. This book was released on 2009-11-15 with total page 688 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the battle of Gettysburg, as Union troops along Cemetery Ridge rebuffed Pickett's Charge, they were heard to shout, "Give them Fredericksburg!" Their cries reverberated from a clash that, although fought some six months earlier, clearly loomed large in the minds of Civil War soldiers. Fought on December 13, 1862, the battle of Fredericksburg ended in a stunning defeat for the Union. Confederate general Robert E. Lee suffered roughly 5,000 casualties but inflicted more than twice that many losses--nearly 13,000--on his opponent, General Ambrose Burnside. As news of the Union loss traveled north, it spread a wave of public despair that extended all the way to President Lincoln. In the beleaguered Confederacy, the southern victory bolstered flagging hopes, as Lee and his men began to take on an aura of invincibility. George Rable offers a gripping account of the battle of Fredericksburg and places the campaign within its broader political, social, and military context. Blending battlefield and home front history, he not only addresses questions of strategy and tactics but also explores material conditions in camp, the rhythms and disruptions of military life, and the enduring effects of the carnage on survivors--both civilian and military--on both sides.
Download or read book Second Manassas written by Scott C. Patchan and published by Potomac Books, Inc.. This book was released on 2011 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1862, looking for an opportunity to attack Union general John Pope, Confederate general Robert E. Lee ordered Maj. Gen. James Longstreet to conduct a reconnaissance and possible assault on the Chinn Ridge front in Northern Virginia. At the time Longstreet launched his attack, only a handful of Union troops stood between Robert E. Lee and Gen. John Pope's Army of Virginia. Northern Virginia's rolling terrain and Bull Run also provided Lee with a unique opportunity seldom seen during the entire Civil War--that of "bagging" an army, an elusive feat keenly desired by political leaders of both sides. Second Manassas: Longstreet's Attack and the Struggle for Chinn Ridge details the story of Longstreet and his men's efforts to obtain the ultimate victory that Lee desperately sought. At the same time, this account tells of the Union soldiers who, despite poor leadership and lack of support from Pope and his senior officers, bravely battled Longstreet and saved their army from destruction along the banks of Bull Run. Longstreet's men were able to push the Union forces back, but only after they had purchased enough time for the Union army to retreat in good order. Although Lee did not achieve a decisive victory, his success at Chinn Ridge allowed him to carry the war north of the Potomac River, thus setting the stage for his Maryland Campaign. Within three weeks, the armies would meet again along the banks of Antietam Creek in western Maryland. Uncovering new sources, Scott Patchan gives a vivid picture of the battleground and a fresh perspective that sharpens the detail and removes the guesswork found in previous works dealing with the climactic clash at Second Manassas.
Download or read book Miller Cornfield at Antietam The Civil War s Bloodiest Combat written by Phillip Thomas Tucker, PhD and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2017 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On September 17, 1862, the forces of Major General George B. McClellan and his Union Army of the Potomac confronted Robert E. Lee's entire Army of Northern Virginia at the Battle of Antietam in Sharpsburg, Maryland. The Union forces mounted a powerful assault on Lee's left flank in the idyllic Miller Cornfield. It was the single bloodiest day in the history of the Civil War. The elite combat units of the Union's Iron Brigade and the Confederate Texas Brigade held a dramatic showdown and suffered immense losses through vicious attacks and counterattacks sweeping through the cornstalks. Author Phillip Thomas Tucker reveals the triumph and tragedy of the greatest sacrifice of life of any battleground in America.
Download or read book The Longest Night written by David J Eicher and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2002-03-30 with total page 992 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Like no other conflict in our history, the Civil War casts a long shadow onto modern America," writes David Eicher. In his compelling new account of that war, Eicher gives us an authoritative modern single-volume battle history that spans the war from the opening engagement at Fort Sumter to Lee's surrender at Appomattox (and even beyond, to the less well-known but conclusive surrender of Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith in Galveston, Texas, on June 2, 1865). Although there are other one-volume histories of the Civil War -- most notably James M. McPherson's Pulitzer Prize-winning Battle Cry of Freedom, which puts the war in its political, economic, and social context -- The Longest Night is strictly a military history. It covers hundreds of engagements on land and sea, and along rivers. The Western theater, often neglected in accounts of the Civil War, and the naval actions along the coasts and major rivers are at last given their due. Such major battles as Gettysburg, Antietam, and Chancellorsville are, of course, described in detail, but Eicher also examines lesser-known actions such as Sabine Pass, Texas, and Fort Clinch, Florida. The result is a gripping popular history that will fascinate anyone just learning about the Civil War while at the same time offering more than a few surprises for longtime students of the War Between the States. The Longest Night draws on hundreds of sources and includes numerous excerpts from letters, diaries, and reports by the soldiers who fought the war, giving readers a real sense of life -- and death -- on the battlefield. In addition to the main battle narrative, Eicher analyzes each side's evolving strategy and examines the tactics of Lee, Grant, Johnston, Sherman, and other leading figures of the war. He also discusses such militarily significant topics as prisons, railroads, shipbuilding, clandestine operations, and the expanding role of African Americans in the war. The Longest Night is a riveting, indispensable history of the war that James McPherson in the Foreword to this book calls "the most dramatic, violent, and fateful experience in American history."
