"Profusely illustrated . . . an extraordinary and detailed account of a major battle that is often overlooked and underappreciated by Civil War historians." — Midwest Book ReviewIn early August 1862, Confederate Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson took to the field with his Army of the Valley for one last fight—one that would also turn out to be his last independent command. Near the base of Cedar Mountain, in the midst of a blistering heat wave, outnumbered Feder...

With hundreds of entries, as well as photographs, drawings, and a handy time line of events, Civil War, A to Z encompasses everything about this historic conflict . . . from Appomattox to Zouaves.This encyclopedic illustrated reference features facts both familiar and engagingly new, organized in an easy-to-follow alphabetical format. Ranging from the basic to the bizarre, from secession to spies to all kinds of swords, Civil War, A to Z creates a complete picture...

TRAVEL THROUGH A PIVOTAL TIME IN AMERICAN HISTORYJeff Shaara, America’s premier Civil War novelist, gives a remarkable guided tour of the ten Civil War battlefields every American should visit: Shiloh, Antietam, Fredericksburg/Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, New Market, Chickamauga, the Wilderness/Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg/Appomattox. Shaara explores the history, the people, and the places that capture the true meaning and magnitude of the conflict and prov...

Could the South have won the Civil War?To many, the very question seems absurd. After all, the Confederacy had only a third of the population and one-eleventh of the industry of the North. Wasn’t the South’s defeat inevitable?Not at all, as acclaimed military historian Bevin Alexander reveals in this provocative and counterintuitive new look at the Civil War. In fact, the South most definitely could have won the war, and Alexander documents exactly how a Confederate victory...

Few historians have ever captured the drama, excitement, and tragedy of the Civil War with the headlong elan of Edwin Bearss, who has won a huge, devoted following with his extraordinary battlefield tours and eloquent soliloquies about the heroes, scoundrels, and little-known moments of a conflict that still fascinates America. Antietam, Shiloh, Gettysburg: these hallowed battles and more than a dozen more come alive as never before, rich with human interest and colorful detail culled from...

"The definitive account of Union Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans' operational masterpiece—the almost bloodless conquest . . . of Middle Tennessee." —Sam Davis Elliott, author of Soldier of TennesseeJuly 1863 was a momentous month in the Civil War. News of Gettysburg and Vicksburg electrified the North and devastated the South. Sandwiched geographically between those victories and lost in the heady tumult of events was news that William S. Rosecrans's Army of...

It's a poignant irony in American history that on Independence Day, 1863, not one but two pivotal Civil War battles ended in Union victory, marked the high tide of Confederate military fortune, and ultimately doomed the South's effort at secession. But on July 4, 1863, after six months of siege, Ulysses Grant's Union army finally took Vicksburg and the Confederate west. On the very same day, Robert E. Lee was in Pennsylvania, parrying the threat to Vicksburg with a daring push north to Get...

An insightful new account, Robert E. Lee delivers a fresh perspective that leads to a greater understanding of one of the most studied and yet enigmatic military figures in American history.General Robert E. Lee was a complicated man and military figure. From his birth as the son of a celebrated and tragic Revolutionary War hero, to his career after the Civil War when he led by example to heal the terrible wounds of the conflict, there is much to learn fro...

The Boeing (McDonnell Douglas, formerly Hughes) AH-64A Apache was the US Army's primary attack helicopter, and continues to dominate the skies.The most expensive rotary-winged aircraft ever built when it was introduced in the early 1980s, it has since proved its worth on battlefields all over the world, seeing action in the Gulf War, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq.This book examines the design, development and deployment of a quick-reacting, airborne ...

A gripping narrative of one of the Civil War's most consequential engagements.In the spring of 1864, the newly installed Union commander Ulysses S. Grant did something none of his predecessors had done before: He threw his army against the wily, audacious Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia over and over again.At Spotsylvania Court House, the two armies shifted from stalemate in the Wilderness to slugfest in the mud. Most commonly known for the ...

This Civil War history and guide offers a vivid chronicle of this dramatic yet misunderstood battle, plus invaluable information for battlefield visitors.The battle of Fredericksburg is usually remembered as the most lopsided Union defeat of the Civil War. It is sometimes called "Burnside's folly," after Union commander Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside who led the Army of the Potomac to ruin along the banks of the Rappahannock River. Confederates, fortified behind a stone...

Award-winning author Scott Thybony recounts the dramatic events of a war which re-shaped the nation. His essays trace the year-by-year unfolding of the conflict, followed by accounts of the legendary battles and the tragic struggles which changed forever the lives of those who fought them.From John Brown's desperate raid on Harper's Ferry to the reuniting of a nation at Appomattox Court House, the essays and historic photographs cover the major battlefield parks and introduce the l...