Civil War
This anthology commemorates the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War with reflections from both sides of the conflict. Compiled by an expert in the literature of the era, the poems and short stories appear in chronological order. They trace the war's progress and portray a gamut of moods, from the early days of eagerness to confront the foe to long years of horror at the ongoing carnage and sad relief at the struggle's end.Selections include the poetry of Walt Whitman, John Greenleaf Whittier, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; observations by Herman Melville and Louisa May Alcott; and noteworthy fiction by Ambrose Bierce (An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge) and Mark Twain (A True Story, Repeated Word for Word, As I Heard It). Lesser-known writers, many of them anonymous, offer heartfelt testimonials and eyewitness accounts from battlefields and the homefront. Publisher: Dover Publications. Paperback, 210 Pages. Measures 8"x5.125"x0.5" . Weighs 6 oz.
This guide is the perfect Civil War buff travel companion, with exact directions and brief descriptions of all the important battle sites of the era. Publisher: The Globe Pequot Press. Paperback, 326 pages. Measures 9"x6"x0.75". Weighs 1 lb 3.4 oz.
Civil war spyglass with historical map included. Spyglass measures 14" x 1" x 1". Weighs 7.3 oz.
Newspaperman, short-story writer, poet and satirist, Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914?) is one of the most striking and unusual literary figures America has produced. Dubbed "Bitter Bierce" for his vitriolic wit and biting satire, his fame rests largely on a celebrated compilation of barbed epigrams, "The Devil's Dictionary," and a book of short stories ( "Tales of Soldiers and Civilians," 1891). Most of the 16 selections in this volume have been taken from the latter collection. Publisher: Dover Publications. Paperback, 124 Pages. Measures 8"x5"x0.25" . Weighs 3.5 oz.
"My lot has been cast. I am a son of Virginia, and her destiny shall be mine." -- Logan Osburn, June 6, 1861No time period in history had more impact on Jefferson County citizens than the Civil War years. Those four years saw families uprooted, homes, farms and livelihoods destoryed, and the end of six decades of arms productions at Harpers Ferry. For some, the war crashed through their walls with deafening terror. For others, it led to freedom and education. And whether by choice or not, Jefferson Countians entered the war as Virginians and left it as West Virginians.In his first book, historian P. Douglas Perks -- "Mr. Jefferson County" -- uses his decades of research and writing on the topic, along with rare first person accounts of four citizens who endured these tenuous years. Perks also brings new focus to the statewide issue of secession. No state in the Union was more divided over the issue, and perphas no other county. Who would cast their lot with the destiny of Virginia and who would remain "firmly attached to the Union of these States"? Publisher: Harpers Ferry Park Association. Hardcover, 157 Pages. Measures 9.25" x 6.25" x 0.6" . Weighs 14.3 oz.
Propelled by his boyhood passion for the Civil War, Horwitz embarks on a search for places and people still held in thrall by America's greatest conflict. The result is an adventure into the soul of the unvanquished South, where the ghosts of the Lost Cause are resurrected through ritual and remembrance. In Virginia, Horwitz joins a band of "hardcore" reenactors who crash-diet to achieve the hollow-eyed look of starved Confederates; in Kentucky, he witnesses Klan rallies and calls for race war sparked by the killing of a white man who brandishes a rebel flag; at Andersonville, he finds that the prison's commander, executed as a war criminal, is now exalted as a martyr and hero; and in the book's climax, Horwitz takes a marathon trek from Antietam to Gettysburg to Appomattox in the company of Robert Lee Hodge, an eccentric pilgrim who dubs their odyssey the "Civil Wargasm." Written with Horwitz's signature blend of humor, history, and hard-nosed journalism, Confederates in the Attic brings alive old battlefields and new ones - classrooms, courts, country bars - where the past and the present collide, often in explosive ways. Publisher: Vintage Books. Paperback, 432 pages. Measures 5.25" x 8" x 0.9". Weighs 10.9 oz.
In early July 1864, a quickly patched together force of outnumbered Union soldiers under the command of Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace prepared for a last-ditch defense along the banks of the Monocacy River. Behind them, barely fifty miles away, lay the capital of the United States, open to attack. Facing Wallace's men were Lt. Gen. Jubal Early's Confederates. In just under a month, they had cleared the Shenandoah Valley of Union soldiers and crossed the Potomac River, invading the north for the third time in the war. The veterans in Early's force could almost imagine their flags flying above the White House. A Confederate victory near Washington could be all the pro-peace platforms in the north needed to defeat Abraham Lincoln in the upcoming election. Then came Monocacy. Over the course of the day, Union and Confederate soldiers attacked and counter-attacked, filling the fields just south of Frederick, Maryland, with the dead and wounded. By the end of the day, Wallace's men fell into retreat, but they had done their job: they had slowed Jubal Early. The fighting at Monocacy soon became known as the "Battle that Saved Washington." Determined to Stand and Fight by Ryan T. Quint tells the story of that pivotal day and an even more pivotal campaign that went right to the gates of Washington, D.C. Readers can enjoy the narrative and then easily follow along on a nine-stop driving tour around the battlefield and into the streets of historic Frederick. Another fascinating title from the award-winning Emerging Civil War Series. About the Author: Ryan Quint graduated from the University of Mary Washington, and is a seasonal park historian at the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. Publisher: Savas Beatie LLC. Paperback, 172 Pages. Measures 8.9"x5.9"x0.5" . Weighs 10.9 oz.
Born into Southern aristocracy, Mary Boykin Chesnut (1823-86) married a rising star of the political scene who ultimately served as an aide to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. As a prominent hostess and popular guest in the highest circles of Confederate society, Chesnut possessed an insider's perspective on many of the Civil War's major events, which she recorded in vivid journal entries. Her diary recounts the social life that struggled to continue in the midst of war, the grim economic conditions that resulted from blockaded ports as well as how people's spirits rose and fell with each victory and defeat. Hailed by William Styron as "a great epic drama of our greatest national tragedy," Chesnut's annotated diary won the Pulitzer Prize for History in 1982 and served as a primary source for Ken Burns's celebrated Civil War documentary. This edition of the compelling narrative features photos and engravings from the original publication. Publisher: Dover Publications. Paperback, 323 Pages. Measures 8"x5"x0.75" . Weighs 8.9 oz.
Similar in scope to H. H. Cunningham's Doctors in Gray, George Worthington Adams' Doctors in Blue, originally published more than forty years ago and now available for the first time in paperback, remains the definitive work on the medical history of the Union army. Adams calculates that 300,000 Union soldiers lost their lives during the war. Confederate attacks account for only a third of these deaths, disease for the rest. In addition, there were a startling 400,000 wounded or injured and almost 6,000,000 cases of illness. Undoubtedly, behind the sickness and mortality statistics of the Civil War lie ignorance and inefficiency. But Doctors in Blue reveals the earnestness, cooperative spirit, and great scientific strides of the period as well. Publisher: LSU Press. Paperback, 253 Pages. Measures 8.5"x5"x0.5" . Weighs 11.9 oz.
H. H. Cunningham's Doctors in Gray remains the definitive work on the medical history of the Confederate army. Drawing on a prodigious array of sources, Cunningham paints as complete a picture as possible of the daunting task facing those charged with caring for the war's wounded and sick. Of the estimated 600,000 Confederate troops, Cunningham claims that 200,000 died either from battle wounds or from illness--the majority, surprisingly, from illness. Despite these grim statistics, Confederate medical personnel frequently performed heroically under the most primitive of circumstances and made imaginative use of limited resources. Cunningham provides detailed information on the administration of the Confederate Medical Department, the establishment and organization of Confederate hospitals, the experiences of medical officers in the field, the manufacture and procurement of supplies, the causes and treatment of diseases, and the beginning of modern surgical practices. Publisher: LSU Press. Paperback, 339 Pages. Measures 9"x6"x0.75" . Weighs 1 lb 1.8 oz.