In the late summer of 1862, after a series of victories culminating in the Union Armys rout at Second Manassas, General Lee and his commanders meet with President Davis and Secretary of State Judah Benjamin near that blood-soaked battleground to arrange a highly controversial and risky campaign for the fall. General Lee agrees to divide his Army of Northern Virginia by sending his most trusted general, Thomas Stonewall Jackson, to Kentucky with three Divisions by railcars to Knoxville, Tennessee. Jacksons Corps is ordered to march into Kentucky and meet with two other Confederate armies, those of Braxton Bragg and Kirby Smith, to secure that state for the Confederacy. In 1862 The Confederates Strike Back, author Kevin Carroll offers a fictional work of military history that envisions what might have happened if commanders at the time had made other choices. The story journeys through a series of hypothetical historical events once the Battle of Second Manassas is complete. Laced with military strategy, tactical maneuvering, and unforeseen complications caused by the fog of war, 1862 The Confederates Strike Back is complete with details on orders of battle that were accurate in late summer of 1862. It presents a realistic and plausible alternative to the historical events as they occurred. Can General Lee hold on and buy the time Jackson needs to complete his mission and return to Virginia? Will the risky strategy backfire on the South? Will the Confederacy achieve Independence?

Was Robert E. Lee a gifted soldier whose only weaknesses lay in the depth of his loyalty to his troops, affection for his lieutenants, and dedication to the cause of the Confederacy? Or was he an ineffective leader and poor tactician whose reputation was

Introducing a New U.S. History Text That Takes Religion Seriously Unto a Good Land offers a distinctive narrative history of the American people -- from the first contacts between Europeans and North America's native inhabitants, through the creation of a modern nation, to the 2004 presidential election. Written by a team of highly regarded historians, this textbook shows how grasping the uniqueness of the "American experiment" depends on understanding not only social, cultural, political, and economic factors but also the role that religion has played in shaping U. S. history. While most United States history textbooks in recent decades have expanded their coverage of social and cultural history, they still tend to shortchange the role of religious ideas, practices, and movements in the American past. Unto a Good Land restores the balance by giving religion its appropriate place in the story. This readable and teachable text also features a full complement of maps, historical illustrations, and "In Their Own Words" sidebars with excerpts from primary source documents.

A book with 23 illustrations, 19 maps, notes, a bibliography and an index offers a sweeping history of the Civil War navies in action.

Discover what happened during one of the most controversial conflicts in US history, and its causes and lasting consequences, episode by episode. Covering the pivotal political, military, and cultural events around the American Civil War, this engaging and accessible book offers a rich, detailed account of the events as they unfolded. Bringing the reality of the war to life with eyewitness accounts by soldiers and civilians, alongside profiles of key military and political leaders, the ebook also features clear timelines that give an instant overview of the developments during the tumultuous war. Galleries of weaponry and equipment, and a range of features on everything from the treatment of wounded soldiers to information on slavery offer essential context. A Short History of the American Civil War is an invaluable resource for schools and libraries, as well as a perfect introduction to the subject for anyone interested in military and social history.

This book fills a gap in Civil War literature on the strategies employed by the Union and Confederacy in the East, offering a more integrated interpretation of military operations that shows how politics, public perception, geography, and logistics shaped the course of military operations in the East. For all the literature about Civil War military operations and leadership, precious little has been written about strategy, particularly in what has become known as the eastern theater. Yet it is in this theater where the interaction of geography and logistics, politics and public opinion, battlefront and home front, and the conduct of military operations and civil-military relations can be highlighted in sharp relief. With opposing capitals barely 100 miles apart and with the Chesapeake Bay/tidewater area offering Union generals the same sorts of opportunities sought by Confederate leaders in the Shenandoah Valley, geography shaped military operations in fundamental ways: the very rivers that obstructed Union overland advances offered them the chance to outflank Confederate-prepared positions. If the proximity of the enemy capital proved too tempting to pass up, generals on each side were aware that a major mishap could lead to an enemy parade down the streets of their own capital city. Presidents, politicians, and the press peeked over the shoulders of military commanders, some of who were not reluctant to engage in their own intrigues as they promoted their own fortunes. The Civil War in the East does not rest upon new primary sources or an extensive rummaging through the mountains of material already available. Rather, it takes a fresh look at military operations and the assumptions that shaped them, and offers a more integrated interpretation of military operations that shows how politics, public perception, geography, and logistics shaped the course of military operations in the East. The eastern theater was indeed a theater of decision (and indecision), precisely because people believed that it was important. The presence of the capitals raised the stakes of victory and defeat; at a time when people viewed war in terms of decisive battles, the anticipation of victory followed by disappointment and persistent strategic stalemate characterized the course of events in the East.

The author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Battle Cry of Freedom and the New York Times bestsellers Crossroads of Freedom and Tried by War, among many other award-winning books, James M. McPherson is America's preeminent Civil War historian. In this collection of provocative and illuminating essays, McPherson offers fresh insight into many of the enduring questions about one of the defining moments in our nation's history. McPherson sheds light on topics large and small, from the average soldier's avid love of newspapers to the postwar creation of the mystique of a Lost Cause in the South. Readers will find insightful pieces on such intriguing figures as Harriet Tubman, John Brown, Jesse James, and William Tecumseh Sherman, and on such vital issues as Confederate military strategy, the failure of peace negotiations to end the war, and the realities and myths of the Confederacy. This Mighty Scourge includes several never-before-published essays--pieces on General Robert E. Lee's goals in the Gettysburg campaign, on Lincoln and Grant in the Vicksburg campaign, and on Lincoln as Commander-in-Chief. All of the essays have been updated and revised to give the volume greater thematic coherence and continuity, so that it can be read in sequence as an interpretive history of the war and its meaning for America and the world. Combining the finest scholarship with luminous prose, and packed with new information and fresh ideas, this book brings together the most recent thinking by the nation's leading authority on the Civil War.

The Encyclopedia of Military Science provides a comprehensive, ready-reference on the organization, traditions, training, purpose, and functions of today’s military. Entries in this four-volume work include coverage of the duties, responsibilities, and authority of military personnel and an understanding of strategies and tactics of the modern military and how they interface with political, social, legal, economic, and technological factors. A large component is devoted to issues of leadership, group dynamics, motivation, problem-solving, and decision making in the military context. Finally, this work also covers recent American military history since the end of the Cold War with a special emphasis on peacekeeping and peacemaking operations, the First Persian Gulf War, the events surrounding 9/11, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and how the military has been changing in relation to these events. Click here to read an article on The Daily Beast by Encyclopedia editor G. Kurt Piehler, "Why Don't We Build Statues For Our War Heroes Anymore?"