While fighting his way toward Atlanta, William T. Sherman encountered his biggest roadblock at Kennesaw Mountain, where Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee held a heavily fortified position. The opposing armies confronted each other from June 19 to July 3, 1864, and Sherman initially tried to outflank the Confederates. His men endured heavy rains, artillery duels, sniping, and a fierce battle at Kolb's Farm before Sherman decided to directly attack Johnston's position on June 27. Kennesaw Mountain tells the story of an important phase of the Atlanta campaign. Historian Earl J. Hess explains how this battle, with its combination of maneuver and combat, severely tried the patience and endurance of the common soldier and why Johnston's strategy might have been the Confederates' best chance to halt the Federal drive toward Atlanta. He gives special attention to the engagement at Kolb's Farm on June 22 and Sherman's assault on June 27. A final section explores the Confederate earthworks preserved within the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park.

"As General William Tecumseh Sherman set his sights on Atlanta in the summer of 1864, he fought several small battles-Resaca, Pickett's Mill, and skirmishes around Marietta-against an ever-retreating General Joseph E. Johnston who had replaced the beleaguered General Braxton Bragg as leader of the Confederate Army of Tennessee. After heavy rains slowed Sherman's advance, Johnston shored his army up along the Brushy Mountain line. With Johnston's army well entrenched and Sherman unable to flank him because of the mountains and impassable roads, Sherman noted in his reports to Washington, 'Kennesaw is the key to the whole country.' Intended for the Command Decisions in America's Civil War series, this book explores eleven critical decisions that affected the outcome of the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain and why the battle unfolded as it did"--

This Civil War history presents a lively and detailed study of one of the bloodiest and most important battles fought in Georgia. In the summer of 1864, Georgia was the scene of one of the most important campaigns of the Civil War. William Tecumseh Sherman’s push southward toward Atlanta threatened the heart of the Confederacy, and Joseph E. Johnston and the Army of Tennessee were the Confederacy's best hope to defend it. In June, Johnston managed to grind Sherman’s advance to a halt northwest of Atlanta at Kennesaw Mountain. After weeks of maneuvering, on June 27, Sherman launched a bold attack on Johnston's lines. The Confederate victory was one of the bloodiest days of the entire campaign. And while Sherman’s assaults had a frightful cost, Union forces learned important lessons at Kennesaw Mountain that enabled the fall of Atlanta several months later.

Includes Civil War Map and Illustrations Pack – 224 battle plans, campaign maps and detailed analyses of actions spanning the entire period of hostilities. Few men can have known General and President of the United States Ulysses S. Grant as well as General Adam Badeau. As Grant’s military secretary during 1864-1865, he came to know and work closely with the future president; he wrote his classic account of General Grant’s military abilities. Allowed access to documents produced on both the Union and Confederate armies during the war, Badeau weaves these into an excellent narrative. As a soldier himself Badeau is able to give a critical account of the battles actions and motivations that Grant was engaged in. An excellent military biography.

Includes Civil War Map and Illustrations Pack – 224 battle plans, campaign maps and detailed analyses of actions spanning the entire period of hostilities. The Nineteenth Massachusetts Regiment had a long and glorious history during the American Civil War, as the author states in his introduction— “For thirty-four years I have waited patiently for someone to write a history of the 19th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, but fearing that it may never be accomplished, I have concluded to send out this story. I do not dignify it by calling it a history. It is simply a soldier’s story, told by one of the "boys." Most of it is written from memory. The account of prison life is taken from an imperfect diary, kept by the writer while a prisoner of war. “ Captain Adams recounts the history of his illustrious regiment through the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville to perhaps their finest hour at Gettysburg, where five men of the 19th won the Congressional Medal of Honour. His own troubles in the war became worse upon his capture by Confederate soldiers after the battle of Cold Harbor, and, despite escaping, was recaptured. As he says, his is a soldier’s story. A very engaging one at that.

Includes Civil War Map and Illustrations Pack – 224 battle plans, campaign maps and detailed analyses of actions spanning the entire period of hostilities. Few military memoirs have had the impact of those of General Grant, a best-seller on publication, considered a classic ever since both but military and literary critics. Mark Twain reflected that he "had been comparing the memoirs with Caesar's Commentaries... I was able to say in all Apologetic forms that the same high merits distinguished both books - clarity of statement, directness, simplicity, manifest truthfulness, fairness and justice toward friend and foe alike and avoidance of flowery speech. General Grant was just a man, just a human being, just an author...The fact remains and cannot be dislodged that General Grant's book is a great, unique and unapproachable literary masterpiece. There is no higher literature than these modest, simple Memoirs. Their style is at least flawless, and no man can improve upon it." Highly recommended. Author — General Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885) Text taken, whole and complete, from the edition published in 1885-86, New York, C.L. Webster & Co.

Includes Civil War Map and Illustrations Pack - 224 battle plans, campaign maps and detailed analyses of actions spanning the entire period of hostilities. "...it offers a sure, quick, eyewitness assessment of all Lee’s campaigns." --Southern Partisan Colonel Taylor was the Adjutant-General of the Army of Northern Virginia, and Lee’s right-hand man at Headquarters. Most of the orders and dispatches went out in Taylor’s handwriting, and he was uniquely positioned to observe Lee’s thinking and generalship close-up. In addition, Taylor was responsible for the "returns" (manpower statistics), and so is able to correlate the accounts of campaigns and battles with the actual strength of Confederate forces. The conclusion is inescapable: few military commanders have done more, with less, than Lee, and fewer still can have emerged with his reputation as a human being. The book concludes with the Address on the Character of General R.E. Lee, by Captain John Hampden Chamberlayne, delivered in 1876, which is a fine analysis on the career and character of the great General.

Includes Civil War Map and Illustrations Pack - 224 battle plans, campaign maps and detailed analyses of actions spanning the entire period of hostilities. This thesis is a historical analysis of Brigadier General St. John R. Liddell and his division during the Battle of Chickamauga. Liddell’s Division was an ad hoc unit, formed just prior to the battle. During the battle, the unit was involved in five different engagements over a period of three days. These engagements resulted in varying degrees of success and failure. In today’s context the performance of the division can be seen as mostly a failure, but from the American Civil War perspective the division’s performance in many ways was a success... The thesis begins with a general summation of the battle and an introductory discussion of the structure, leadership, tactics, weapons, and training of the Confederate armies during the American Civil War. The thesis then continues with an examination of General Liddell’s life and background before and during the early part of the war. Next, the thesis discusses, as a prelude to Chickamauga, Liddell and his brigades’ experiences at the Battle of Stones River and during the Tullahoma Campaign. The thesis continues with a description of the background and combat experiences of the brigade commanders and the units that comprised Liddell’s Division. Thereafter, the thesis analyzes the performance of General Liddell and his division at the Battle of Chickamauga and draws conclusions as to the proximate causes of the performance: causes that are related to the terrain, the organization of the division, the lack of enemy information, and the tactical focus of Liddell and his commanders.

Includes Civil War Map and Illustrations Pack – 224 battle plans, campaign maps and detailed analyses of actions spanning the entire period of hostilities. Few novels written of the Civil War stand in such high regard as the Red Badge of Courage, the visceral, realistic and gripping story of Henry, a new recruit in the Union Army. Henry’s first taste of battle is brutal and horrifying as he fails at the first hurdle and baulks at the severity of combat and runs. After the realization of what he had done, he is driven to atone for his failure by facing his fears of the battle-line once again, hoping to receive a “Red Badge of Courage” as a mark of conquering his fears. A Classic, with many additional illustrations. Author — Crane, Stephen, 1871-1900. Text taken, whole and complete, from the edition published in New York, D. Appleton and company, 1927. Original Page Count – xli and 266 pages.

Includes Civil War Map and Illustrations Pack – 224 battle plans, campaign maps and detailed analyses of actions spanning the entire period of hostilities. Few men can have known General and President of the United States Ulysses S. Grant as well as General Adam Badeau. As Grant’s military secretary during 1864-1865, he came to know and work closely with the future president; he wrote his classic account of General Grant’s military abilities. Allowed access to documents produced on both the Union and Confederate armies during the war, Badeau weaves these into an excellent narrative. As a soldier himself Badeau is able to give a critical account of the battles actions and motivations that Grant was engaged in. An excellent military biography.