An introduction to Civil War military history focusing on the evolution of warfare from the Napoleonic wars, the Mexican War, and Crimean War before dealing with specific Civil War technologies. Hattaway (history, U. of Missouri-Kansas City) discusses the impact of land and sea mines, minesweepers, hand grenades, automatic weapons, the Confederate submarine, and balloons. Although the core of the history is rooted in these discussions, the author uniquely connects them with anecdotes about the period and military leadership, reviewing recent scholarship and providing new insights which enliven the thesis. Includes photographs. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

He took an oath to fight. He just didn’t realize it was for the wrong reasons. Steaming South on the Mississippi River to enlist in the Confederate Army, Lummy Tullos leaves behind the life he always wanted. With little training and even less experience as a soldier, he joins the 27th Louisiana Volunteer Infantry to face the approaching Yankee juggernaut marching on Vicksburg. His singular purpose is to protect home and family from the blue invader. Enduring heat, cold, horrific assaults, sickness, privation, and starvation through a forty-seven day siege, it is his comrades in the trenches—gray and blue alike—who give him hope... until tragedy strikes him to the core. With death at every turn and little prospect of ever seeing home again, he begins to question his commitment, his faith, and the nation for which he fights, suffers, and kills. How can he honor his oath to the Confederacy when he no longer believes in the cause it defends? Lummy pushes forward until the battle for Vicksburg is lost. As he marches with his defeated army under the conquering Union flag, he comes to realize that the greatest surrender will be within.

Richard Serrano, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for the Los Angeles Times, pens a story of two veterans. In the late 1950s, as America prepared for the Civil War centennial, two very old men lay dying. Albert Woolson, 109 years old, slipped in and out of a coma at a Duluth, Minnesota, hospital, his memories as a Yankee drummer boy slowly dimming. Walter Williams, at 117 blind and deaf and bedridden in his daughter's home in Houston, Texas, no longer could tell of his time as a Confederate forage master. The last of the Blue and the Gray were drifting away; an era was ending. Unknown to the public, centennial officials, and the White House too, one of these men was indeed a veteran of that horrible conflict and one according to the best evidence nothing but a fraud. One was a soldier. The other had been living a great, big lie.

Cadmus Marcellus Wilcox started off his military career as a promising young West Point cadet and proved himself in battle with service as an officer in the Mexican War. But when the South seceded in 1861, Wilcox, along with 305 other West Point graduates, sided with the Confederacy. Aside from the historical perspective his life provides, a closer analysis reveals Wilcox as a man whose life, like those of many of his colleagues, was forever altered by the Civil War. Author Gerard Patterson brings his little-known subject to life in this fascinating biography.

An unusual collection of Civil War essays as seen through the lens of noted environmental scholars, this book's provocative historical commentary explores how nature--disease, climate, flora and fauna, etc.--affected the war and how the war shaped Americans' perceptions, understanding, and use of nature.

As the Civil War tears through the nation, its devastating reach extends far beyond the battlefield, leaving families torn apart and lives forever changed. In the midst of this turmoil, a young native american blue coat infantry man named Leo valiantly serves to preserve the union, only to come face to face with the true horrors of war. On the opposing side, a young woman of southern beauty, Cecilia, finds her world shattered as her father, the esteemed Louis, fights for the cause he believes in. Amidst the chaos and destruction, the fates of Leo, Cecilia, and Louis become intricately intertwined as they navigate the treacherous landscape of war, betrayal, and sacrifice. As they confront the harsh realities of their divided loyalties, they must fight not only to survive the conflict, but also to preserve their deepest values and cherished bonds. In this gripping tale of courage and resilience, these three individuals will be forced to make choices that test their sense of honor, loyalty, and love, ultimately revealing the enduring power of the human spirit in the face of adversity. "The Love of Blue and Gray" is a poignant and captivating story that delves into the depths of the human experience during one of the most tumultuous periods in American history. Through the intertwining journeys of Leo, Cecilia, and Louis, this tale explores the unbreakable connections of true love and family, illuminating the enduring strength that binds us together even in the darkest of times.

This text analyzes and evaluates the participation of Joseph Wheeler in the Spanish-American War. Southerners believe that Wheeler had a significant impact on the unification of the North and South during this period. Second, this historiographic writing acquaints the secondary teacher of history with the importance of the war in America's move toward imperialism. This research suggests there is a relationship between Joseph Wheeler and the healing of the Civil War wounds. This research investigates two different approaches to Wheeler's involvement in the war. The first approach involved the historical interpretation that McKinley's decision to appoint Wheeler as a Volunteer General was based on political expediency and not on ability. The second approach involved the examination of General Wheeler's primary documents and their interpretations of his participation in the war. Results of this research showed the following: (1) Joseph Wheeler's involvement in the Spanish-American War hastened the healing of North/South wounds; (2) Wheeler's involvement in the overall scheme of the war was more than token; and (3) Wheeler was perceived as an American hero by all regions after the war.