From late 1862 to the spring of 1865, the federal government accepted more than 180,000 black men as soldiers, something it had never done before on such a scale. Known collectively as the United States Colored Troops and organized in segregated regiments led by white officers, some of these soldiers guarded army posts along major rivers; others fought Confederate raiders to protect Union supply trains; and still others took part in major operations like the siege of Petersburg and the battle of Nashville. After the war, many of the black regiments garrisoned the former Confederacy to enforce federal Reconstruction policy. This book tells the story of these soldiers' recruitment, organization, and service.

AD 439: The Roman Empire is on the brink of collapse. With terrifying speed a Vandal army has swept through the Roman provinces of Spain and North Africa, conquering Carthage and threatening Roman control of the Mediterranean. But a far greater threat lies to the east, a barbarian force born in the harsh steppelands of central Asia, warriors of unparalleled savagery who will sweep all before them in their thirst for conquest - the army of Attila the Hun. For a small group of Roman soldiers and a mysterious British monk, the only defense is to rise above the corruption and weakness of the Roman emperors and hark back to the glory days of the army centuries before, to find strength in history. Led by Flavius, a young tribune, and his trusty centurion Macrobius, they fight a last-ditch battle against the Vandals in North Africa before falling back to Rome, where they regroup and prepare for the onslaught to come. Flavius learns that the British monk who had fled with them from Carthage is more than he seems, and he is drawn into a shady world of intelligence and intrigue under the aegis of Flavius' uncle Aetius, commander-in-chief of the Roman armies in the west, the man who alone has the power to rally Rome and her allies and save the western empire from annihilation. Aetius is desperate to buy time until his army is strong enough to confront the Huns on the field of battle, and meanwhile will do anything to undermine their strength. Together they devise a plan of astonishing audacity that will take Flavius and Macrobius across the frontier and far up the river Danube to the heart of darkness itself, to the stronghold of the most feared warrior-emperor the world has ever known – and into alliance with the emperor's daughter, a warrior-princess who has sworn vengeance against her father for the death of her mother. In the showdown to come, in the greatest battle the Romans have ever fought, victory will go to those who can hold high the most potent symbol of war ever wrought by man - the sacred sword of Attila.

He, a wandering orphan, was fortunate enough to witness the confrontation between two peerless experts, and thought that the two of them were legendary immortals. Legend has it that the pinnacle of martial arts can shatter space and become an Immortal God! He decided: I will shatter the void and become an immortal god, and enjoy eternal life! [Previous Chapter] [Table of Contents] [Next Chapter]

Rachel Goldenstein continues to lead her group home, but perhaps Earth isn't as safe as she had thought. It is a time for the newly appointed Lady Goldensword to command armies. A time to forge new alliances and to make war against the children of magic. There will be great loss for Rachel... and perhaps a chance to learn the terrible truth behind her shadow magic. “By the light of the gates, she saw her adversaries rise, bearing magical swords and staves. Rachel set down her candle stand and drew her swords. Somewhere, during the skirmish that followed, a flying, severed leg almost toppled her candle stand. She put out a hand to steady it. Some, the less hardy of them, fled at the sight of her. Ever afterwards, there would be a legend of a ghost in a torn white dress drenched in red blood, with crimson hair and a devilish grin. It was a world that could never be the same. A world that a woman would boldly change.”

Anabaptists and the Sword (1972; revised edn. 1976) is the first book to challenge the consensus, dating from the seventeenth century, that sixteenth-century Anabaptists were nonresistants, or Christian pacifists. While recognizing the importance of the nonresistance tradition among Anabaptists, the book gives equal attention to more militant elements in Anabaptism. It is also pioneering in giving attention to Anabaptist practice as well as Anabaptist teaching on this subject.

The third book of The Eternal Champion trilogy. John Daker is the Eternal Champion, trapped in a dimensionless plane outside of time, defender and destroyer of justice, a hero whose quest for justice leads only further into darkness. Haunted by the memories of too many battles waged during countless lifetimes, he searches for the beautiful Ermizhad - and for the key that will allow him to step off the wheel of infinite incarnations. His is a voyage on a dark ship piloted by a blind helmsman, through the slave stalls of the Cannibal Ghost Women and the tunnels of doom to a monstrous confrontation with the Evil that could plunge the world into the final night of oblivion.

European waters are rife with mighty naval battles – not least the renowned Battle of Amalfi of 1527. Yet for Admiral Andrea Doria, the battles confronts are not confined to sea alone. The House of Dorian is plagued with conflict, both within and without, and Andrea finds that he has very real enemies in his midst.

The samurai sword: a symbol of the spirit of old Japan, it embodies the samurai's steel discipline, unswerving devotion and peerless skill. With its creation, a feat of craftsmanship passed down by generations of artisans, the samurai sword is generally considered to be superior even to the famed blades of Western Damascus and Toledo. The Samurai Sword Handbook is a precise exploration of the samurai sword designed for sword collectors as well as anyone intrigued by these ancient blades. Detailing the origins and development of the samurai sword, its historical background, styles, famous schools and differences in construction, this revised edition of the classic reference outlines methods of identifying and researching the sword, as well as caring for it properly. This must-have for sword lovers is sure to be a bestseller. Topics of this Samurai book include: Japanese History and the Samurai Sword Types of swords Parts of the sword Blade shape, construction, and grain The making of the sword Inscriptions and their readings Care and maintenance Appraisal and value Relative point values