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The final campaign of the American Civil War in the eastern theatre witnessed the zenith of American cavalry warfare, the salient aspect of the operation. The Appomattox Campaign not only determined whether the conflict would continue, but also which army had better assimilated the intricate, difficult lessons of mounted service. The outcome indicated why the Union troopers emerged victorious: They displayed greater tactical versatility -- the ability to fight mounted and afoot -- whereas the Confederate horsemen considered the outdated 'saber charge' the essence of mounted battle.
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 the...
Fifteen years have passed since the publication of the last biography of Jeb Stuart. Several appeared during the last century lauding his contributions to Confederate fortunes in the Eastern Theater. Each follows a familiar tradition established by hero-worshipping subordinates portraying its subject as a model of chivalric conduct with a romantic’s outlook on life and a sense of fair dealing and goodwill, even toward his enemy. J. E. B. Stuart: The Soldier and the Man, by award-winning author Edward Longacre, is the first balanced, detailed, and thoroughly scrutinized study of the life and service of the Civil War’s most famous cavalryman. Long known to scholars and history buffs alike ...
How did Americans imagine the Civil War before it happened? The most anticipated event of the nineteenth century appeared in novels, prophecies, dreams, diaries, speeches, and newspapers decades before the first shots at Fort Sumter. People forecasted a frontier filibuster, an economic clash between free and slave labor, a race war, a revolution, a war for liberation, and Armageddon. Reading their premonitions reveals how several factors, including race, religion, age, gender, region, and class, shaped what people thought about the future and how they imagined it. Some Americans pictured the future as an open, contested era that they progressed toward and molded with their thoughts and actio...
They considered themselves "Lee's Body Guard," cavalrymen specifically recruited to serve as scouts, couriers and guides for General Robert E. Lee. Though their battle experiences might pale compared to those of soldiers under J.E.B. Stuart and Wade Hampton, the men of the 39th Virginia served crucial roles in the Confederate army. From the fields of Second Manassas to Appomattox Court House, they were privy to the inner workings of the Confederate high command. They were also firsthand witnesses to the army's victories and triumphs and to its tragedies and trials, from losing Stonewall Jackson at Chancellorsville to losing the opportunity to win the war at Gettysburg. Award-winning author Michael C. Hardy chronicles the experiences of this unique group of Confederate cavalrymen.
“Engagingly written and persuasively argued, this daringly revisionist book is an essential addition to the Antietam bibliography.” —Brian Matthew Jordan, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of Marching Home What if the histories previously written about Robert E. Lee’s 1862 Maryland Campaign, the first major Confederate operation north of the Potomac River, missed key sources, proceeded from mistaken readings of the evidence, or were influenced by Lost Cause ideology? As Alexander B. Rossino, author of the acclaimed Six Days in September, demonstrates in Their Maryland: The Army of Northern Virginia from the Potomac Crossing to Sharpsburg in September 1862, these types of distortions...
This is the third volume in an operational and chronological series covering the Marine Corps’ participation in the Vietnam War. This particular volume details the continued build-up in 1966 of the III Marine Amphibious Force in South Vietnam’s northernmost corps area, I Corps, and the accelerated tempo of fighting during the year—the result being an “expanding war.” Although written from the perspective of III MAF and the ground war in I Corps, the volume treats the activities of Marine advisors to the South Vietnamese Armed Forces, the Seventh Fleet Special Landing Force, and Marines on the staff of the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam, in Saigon. There are separate chapters on Marine air, artillery, and logistics. An attempt has been made to place the Marine role in relation to the overall effort.
This special enhanced ebook edition to the newly updated A Field Guide to Gettysburg will lead visitors to every important site across the battlefield and also give them ways to envision the action and empathize with the soldiers involved and the local people into whose lives and lands the battle intruded.. Both Carol Reardon and Tom Vossler are themselves experienced guides who understand what visitors to Gettysburg are interested in, but they also bring the unique perspectives of a scholar and a former army officer. Divided into three day-long tours, this newly improved and expanded edition offers important historical background and context for the reader while providing answers to six key questions: What happened here? Who fought here? Who commanded here? Who fell here? Who lived here? And what did the participants have to say about it later? With new stops, maps, soldier vignettes, and illustrations, the enhanced e-book edition of A Field Guide to Gettysburg adds more human stories to an already impressive work that remains the most comprehensive guide to the events and history of this pivotal battle of the Civil War.
The final volume in this comprehensive history of Confederate Virginia examines the end of the Civil War in the Old Dominion. By January 1865, most of Virginia's schools were closed, many newspapers had ceased publication, businesses suffered, and food was scarce. Having endured major defeats on their home soil and the loss of much of the state's territory to the Union army, Virginia's Confederate soldiers began to desert at higher rates than at any other time in the war, returning home to provide their families with whatever assistance they could muster. It was a dark year for Virginia. Virginia at War, 1865 presents a striking depiction of a state ravaged by violence and destruction. In the final volume of the Virginia at War series, editors William C. Davis and James I. Robertson Jr. have once again assembled an impressive collection of essays covering topics that include land operations, women and families, wartime economy, music and entertainment, the demobilization of Lee's army, and the war's aftermath. The volume ends with the final installment of Judith Brockenbrough McGuire's popular and important Diary of a Southern Refugee during the War.