Author: Brian Steel Wills
Publisher: LSU Press
ISBN: 0807153001
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 329
Book Description
During the Civil War, North Carolinian William Dorsey Pender established himself as one of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's best young generals. He served in most of the significant engagements of the war in the eastern theater while under the command of Joseph E. Johnston at Seven Pines and Robert E. Lee from the Seven Days to Gettysburg. His most crucial contributions to Confederate success came at the battles of Second Manassas, Shepherdstown, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. After an effective first day at Gettysburg, Pender was struck by a shell and disabled, necessitating his return to Virginia for what he hoped would be only an extended convalescence. Although Pender initially survived the wound, he died soon thereafter due to complications from his injury. In this thorough biography of Pender, noted Civil War historian Brian Steel Wills examines both the young general's military career and his domestic life. While Pender devoted himself to military service, he also embraced the Episcopal Church and was baptized before his command in the field. According to Wills, Pender had an insatiable quest for "glory" in both earthly and heavenly realms, and he delighted in his role as a husband and father. In Pender's voluminous correspondence with his wife, Fanny, he shared his beliefs and offered views and opinions on a vast array of subjects. In the end, Wills suggests that Pender's story captures both the idealistic promise and the despair of a war that cost the lives of many Americans and changed the nation forever.
Confederate General William Dorsey Pender
Author: Brian Steel Wills
Publisher: LSU Press
ISBN: 0807153001
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 329
Book Description
During the Civil War, North Carolinian William Dorsey Pender established himself as one of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's best young generals. He served in most of the significant engagements of the war in the eastern theater while under the command of Joseph E. Johnston at Seven Pines and Robert E. Lee from the Seven Days to Gettysburg. His most crucial contributions to Confederate success came at the battles of Second Manassas, Shepherdstown, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. After an effective first day at Gettysburg, Pender was struck by a shell and disabled, necessitating his return to Virginia for what he hoped would be only an extended convalescence. Although Pender initially survived the wound, he died soon thereafter due to complications from his injury. In this thorough biography of Pender, noted Civil War historian Brian Steel Wills examines both the young general's military career and his domestic life. While Pender devoted himself to military service, he also embraced the Episcopal Church and was baptized before his command in the field. According to Wills, Pender had an insatiable quest for "glory" in both earthly and heavenly realms, and he delighted in his role as a husband and father. In Pender's voluminous correspondence with his wife, Fanny, he shared his beliefs and offered views and opinions on a vast array of subjects. In the end, Wills suggests that Pender's story captures both the idealistic promise and the despair of a war that cost the lives of many Americans and changed the nation forever.
Publisher: LSU Press
ISBN: 0807153001
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 329
Book Description
During the Civil War, North Carolinian William Dorsey Pender established himself as one of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's best young generals. He served in most of the significant engagements of the war in the eastern theater while under the command of Joseph E. Johnston at Seven Pines and Robert E. Lee from the Seven Days to Gettysburg. His most crucial contributions to Confederate success came at the battles of Second Manassas, Shepherdstown, Fredericksburg, and Chancellorsville. After an effective first day at Gettysburg, Pender was struck by a shell and disabled, necessitating his return to Virginia for what he hoped would be only an extended convalescence. Although Pender initially survived the wound, he died soon thereafter due to complications from his injury. In this thorough biography of Pender, noted Civil War historian Brian Steel Wills examines both the young general's military career and his domestic life. While Pender devoted himself to military service, he also embraced the Episcopal Church and was baptized before his command in the field. According to Wills, Pender had an insatiable quest for "glory" in both earthly and heavenly realms, and he delighted in his role as a husband and father. In Pender's voluminous correspondence with his wife, Fanny, he shared his beliefs and offered views and opinions on a vast array of subjects. In the end, Wills suggests that Pender's story captures both the idealistic promise and the despair of a war that cost the lives of many Americans and changed the nation forever.
General William Dorsey Pender
Author: Edward G. Longacre
Publisher: Savas Publishing
ISBN: 1940669251
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 304
Book Description
The talented William Dorsey Pender is a prime example of the advantage held by the Confederacy in junior-level commanders during the opening months of the Civil War. Pender, a native North Carolinian, graduated in the top half of the West Point class of 1856. One of the first Southern-born officers to offer his services to the Confederacy. Pender first came to prominence during the Seven DaysÕ Battles, when a number of junior Confederate officers took bold action to counter the battlefield errors of some of their better-known superiors. Pender soon developed a reputation as Robert E. LeeÕs favorite brigade commander. After further capable service at Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, Pender was promoted to divisional command. Arriving at Gettysburg on the first day of the battle, PenderÕs troops from Georgia, South Carolina and his own North Carolina played a major role in driving the veteran Union I Corps from the town. Unfortunately, Pender sustained what at first seemed a minor wound later in the battle and died of complications after the Confederate retreat back to Virginia. The inability of the less-populous Confederacy to replace key figures such as Pender was an important cause of the ultimate Southern defeat.
Publisher: Savas Publishing
ISBN: 1940669251
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 304
Book Description
The talented William Dorsey Pender is a prime example of the advantage held by the Confederacy in junior-level commanders during the opening months of the Civil War. Pender, a native North Carolinian, graduated in the top half of the West Point class of 1856. One of the first Southern-born officers to offer his services to the Confederacy. Pender first came to prominence during the Seven DaysÕ Battles, when a number of junior Confederate officers took bold action to counter the battlefield errors of some of their better-known superiors. Pender soon developed a reputation as Robert E. LeeÕs favorite brigade commander. After further capable service at Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, Pender was promoted to divisional command. Arriving at Gettysburg on the first day of the battle, PenderÕs troops from Georgia, South Carolina and his own North Carolina played a major role in driving the veteran Union I Corps from the town. Unfortunately, Pender sustained what at first seemed a minor wound later in the battle and died of complications after the Confederate retreat back to Virginia. The inability of the less-populous Confederacy to replace key figures such as Pender was an important cause of the ultimate Southern defeat.
One of Lee's Best Men
Author: William W. Hassler
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 0807869759
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 296
Book Description
On the day that Lincoln was inaugurated in 1861, twenty-seven-year-old William Dorsey Pender, en route to the provisional Confederate capital in Montgomery, Alabama, hurriedly scribbled a note to his wife, Fanny. So began a prolific correspondence between a rising Confederate officer and his cherished wife that would last until Pender was mortally wounded at Gettysburg. First published by UNC Press in 1965, Pender's letters are filled with personal details, colorful descriptions, and candid opinions of such important figures as Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, J. E. B. Stuart, and A. P. Hill. His comments on his military activities and aspirations and the challenges of command, combined with his husbandly advice and affection, sketch an intimate and unvarnished portrait of the man who was perhaps the most distinguished North Carolina commander.
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 0807869759
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 296
Book Description
On the day that Lincoln was inaugurated in 1861, twenty-seven-year-old William Dorsey Pender, en route to the provisional Confederate capital in Montgomery, Alabama, hurriedly scribbled a note to his wife, Fanny. So began a prolific correspondence between a rising Confederate officer and his cherished wife that would last until Pender was mortally wounded at Gettysburg. First published by UNC Press in 1965, Pender's letters are filled with personal details, colorful descriptions, and candid opinions of such important figures as Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, J. E. B. Stuart, and A. P. Hill. His comments on his military activities and aspirations and the challenges of command, combined with his husbandly advice and affection, sketch an intimate and unvarnished portrait of the man who was perhaps the most distinguished North Carolina commander.
The General to His Lady
Author: William Dorsey Pender
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : United States
Languages : en
Pages : 300
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : United States
Languages : en
Pages : 300
Book Description
A. P. Hill
Author: William W. Hassler
Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press
ISBN: 0807867160
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 286
Book Description
A. P. Hill: Lee's Forgotten General is the first biography of the Confederacy's long-neglected hero whom Lee ranked next to Jackson and Longstreet. Although the name and deeds ot this gallant Virginian conspicuously punctuate the record of every major campaign of the Army of Northern Virginia, the man himself has persistently remained what Douglas Southall Freman termed an "elusive personality." William Woods Hassler, through careful and persistent research, has compiled an interesting documentary study from which emerges a balanced portrait of this distinguished but complex character. Here for the first time is detailed the romantic triangle which enmeshed Hill and McClellan, former roommates at West Point, with beauteous Nelly Marcy, reigning queen of pre-war Washington's younger set. Hill lost this contest to Nelly's parents, but he later won the hand of General John Hunt Morgan's lovely and talented sister, Dolly. And at Sharpsburg, Hill wreaked vengeance upon McClellan by his timely arrival which saved Lee from defeat at the same time it spelled McClellan's subsequent dismissal from command of the Army of the Potomac. The author traces Hill's meteoric rise from Colonel of the redoubtable Thirteenth Virginia Regiment to Major General in command of the famed Light Division. Against a "you are there" background of intimate detail, the reader follows the exploits of tempestous Ambrose Powell Hill as he welds his officers and men into fierce striking units. Where the fighing is thickests there is the red-haired, red-shirted Hill brandishing his sword and exhorting his men to victory. Sometimes the issue ends ignominiously as at Bristoe Station, but more often the outcome is glorious as at Second Manassas and Reams Station. Gray greats and near-greats stalk through these pages with vivid reality as one meets Jeb Stuart, Dorsey Pender, John Hood, Heros von Borcke, Ham Chamerlayne, Willie Pegram, Rev. J. Wm. Jones, Cadmus Wilcox, Harry Heth, J. R. Anderson, Lawrence O'Brien Branch, James Archer, Jim Lane, Thomas Wooten, Charles Field, George Tucker, Kyd Douglas, Johnston Pettigrew, Moxley Sorrel, William H. Palmer, Wade Hampton, Jube Early, Lindsay Walker, Maxcy Gregg, Sam McGowan, and others. Accompanying Hill and his commands from pre-Manassas to the final breakthrough at Petersburg, the reader relives the campaigns in the Eastern theater. At the same time the reader gains a deeper insight into the problems of command, together with an appreciation of the hardships which the Confederate soldiers endured during even the early days of the conflict. Although Powell Hill's consideration and ability won for him the unbounded respect and devotion of his troops, his proud, sensitive nature continually embroiled him with his superiors. His dispute with Longstreet following the Seven Days Battles almost culminated in a duel. Transferred to Jackson's command, Hill outspokenly quarreled with "Old Jack" until the latter's mortal wounding at Chancellorsville effected a dramatic battlefield reconciliation. As Jackson's successor, Hill performed irregularly. The author analyzes objectively the various factors which may have caused the changes in Hill's fortunes following his elevation to corps command.
Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press
ISBN: 0807867160
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 286
Book Description
A. P. Hill: Lee's Forgotten General is the first biography of the Confederacy's long-neglected hero whom Lee ranked next to Jackson and Longstreet. Although the name and deeds ot this gallant Virginian conspicuously punctuate the record of every major campaign of the Army of Northern Virginia, the man himself has persistently remained what Douglas Southall Freman termed an "elusive personality." William Woods Hassler, through careful and persistent research, has compiled an interesting documentary study from which emerges a balanced portrait of this distinguished but complex character. Here for the first time is detailed the romantic triangle which enmeshed Hill and McClellan, former roommates at West Point, with beauteous Nelly Marcy, reigning queen of pre-war Washington's younger set. Hill lost this contest to Nelly's parents, but he later won the hand of General John Hunt Morgan's lovely and talented sister, Dolly. And at Sharpsburg, Hill wreaked vengeance upon McClellan by his timely arrival which saved Lee from defeat at the same time it spelled McClellan's subsequent dismissal from command of the Army of the Potomac. The author traces Hill's meteoric rise from Colonel of the redoubtable Thirteenth Virginia Regiment to Major General in command of the famed Light Division. Against a "you are there" background of intimate detail, the reader follows the exploits of tempestous Ambrose Powell Hill as he welds his officers and men into fierce striking units. Where the fighing is thickests there is the red-haired, red-shirted Hill brandishing his sword and exhorting his men to victory. Sometimes the issue ends ignominiously as at Bristoe Station, but more often the outcome is glorious as at Second Manassas and Reams Station. Gray greats and near-greats stalk through these pages with vivid reality as one meets Jeb Stuart, Dorsey Pender, John Hood, Heros von Borcke, Ham Chamerlayne, Willie Pegram, Rev. J. Wm. Jones, Cadmus Wilcox, Harry Heth, J. R. Anderson, Lawrence O'Brien Branch, James Archer, Jim Lane, Thomas Wooten, Charles Field, George Tucker, Kyd Douglas, Johnston Pettigrew, Moxley Sorrel, William H. Palmer, Wade Hampton, Jube Early, Lindsay Walker, Maxcy Gregg, Sam McGowan, and others. Accompanying Hill and his commands from pre-Manassas to the final breakthrough at Petersburg, the reader relives the campaigns in the Eastern theater. At the same time the reader gains a deeper insight into the problems of command, together with an appreciation of the hardships which the Confederate soldiers endured during even the early days of the conflict. Although Powell Hill's consideration and ability won for him the unbounded respect and devotion of his troops, his proud, sensitive nature continually embroiled him with his superiors. His dispute with Longstreet following the Seven Days Battles almost culminated in a duel. Transferred to Jackson's command, Hill outspokenly quarreled with "Old Jack" until the latter's mortal wounding at Chancellorsville effected a dramatic battlefield reconciliation. As Jackson's successor, Hill performed irregularly. The author analyzes objectively the various factors which may have caused the changes in Hill's fortunes following his elevation to corps command.
William Dorsey Pender
Author: Edward G. Longacre
Publisher: Da Capo Press
ISBN: 9781580970341
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
The talented William Dorsey Pender is a prime example of the advantage held by the Confederacy in junior-level commanders during the opening months of the Civil War. The inability of the Southern forces to adequately replace Pender after his death at a young age also demonstrates the ultimate lack of depth that the Confederacy had at the command level.Pender was born in North Carolina and graduated in the top half of the West Point class of 1856. He was one of the first Southern-born officers to offer his services to the Confederacy and soon found himself a colonel, a rank he might not have attained during a full career in the pre-War army. Pender first came to prominence during the Seven Days' Battles, when a number of junior Confederate officers took bold action to counter the battlefield errors of some of their better-known superiors. Pender soon developed a reputation as Robert E. Lee's favorite brigade commander.After further capable work at Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, Pender was raised to divisional command. Arriving at Gettysburg on the first day of the battle, Pender's troops from Georgia, South Carolina and his own North Carolina played a major role in driving the veteran Union I Corps from the town. Unfortunately, Pender sustained what at first seemed a minor wound later in the battle and died of complications after the Confederate retreat back to Virginia. The inability of the less-populous Confederacy to replace key figures such as Pender was an important cause of the ultimate Southern defeat.Edward G. Longacre has previously done ground-breaking research for his acclaimed biographies of John Buford, George Armstrong Custer, and Joshua Chamberlain. His study of William Dorsey Pender is both a gripping narrative and a major contribution to our understanding of Civil War principles of command.
Publisher: Da Capo Press
ISBN: 9781580970341
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
The talented William Dorsey Pender is a prime example of the advantage held by the Confederacy in junior-level commanders during the opening months of the Civil War. The inability of the Southern forces to adequately replace Pender after his death at a young age also demonstrates the ultimate lack of depth that the Confederacy had at the command level.Pender was born in North Carolina and graduated in the top half of the West Point class of 1856. He was one of the first Southern-born officers to offer his services to the Confederacy and soon found himself a colonel, a rank he might not have attained during a full career in the pre-War army. Pender first came to prominence during the Seven Days' Battles, when a number of junior Confederate officers took bold action to counter the battlefield errors of some of their better-known superiors. Pender soon developed a reputation as Robert E. Lee's favorite brigade commander.After further capable work at Antietam, Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, Pender was raised to divisional command. Arriving at Gettysburg on the first day of the battle, Pender's troops from Georgia, South Carolina and his own North Carolina played a major role in driving the veteran Union I Corps from the town. Unfortunately, Pender sustained what at first seemed a minor wound later in the battle and died of complications after the Confederate retreat back to Virginia. The inability of the less-populous Confederacy to replace key figures such as Pender was an important cause of the ultimate Southern defeat.Edward G. Longacre has previously done ground-breaking research for his acclaimed biographies of John Buford, George Armstrong Custer, and Joshua Chamberlain. His study of William Dorsey Pender is both a gripping narrative and a major contribution to our understanding of Civil War principles of command.
The Early Morning of War
Author: Edward G. Longacre
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 080614761X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 681
Book Description
This crucial campaign receives its most complete and comprehensive treatment in Edward Longacre’s The Early Morning of War. A magisterial work by a veteran historian, The Early Morning of War blends narrative and analysis to convey the full scope of the campaign of First Bull Run—its drama and suspense as well as its practical and tactical underpinnings and ramifications.
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 080614761X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 681
Book Description
This crucial campaign receives its most complete and comprehensive treatment in Edward Longacre’s The Early Morning of War. A magisterial work by a veteran historian, The Early Morning of War blends narrative and analysis to convey the full scope of the campaign of First Bull Run—its drama and suspense as well as its practical and tactical underpinnings and ramifications.
Confederate General R.S. Ewell
Author: Paul D. Casdorph
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 0813194229
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 719
Book Description
Richard Stoddert Ewell is best known as the Confederate General selected by Robert E. Lee to replace "Stonewall" Jackson as chief of the Second Corps in the Army of Northern Virginia. Ewell is also remembered as the general who failed to drive Federal troops from the high ground of Cemetery Hill and Culp's Hill during the Battle of Gettysburg. Many historians believe that Ewell's inaction cost the Confederates a victory in this seminal battle and, ultimately, cost the Civil War. During his long military career, Ewell was never an aggressive warrior. He graduated from West Point and served in the Indian wars in Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, and Arizona. In 1861 he resigned his commission in the U.S. Army and rushed to the Confederate standard. Ewell saw action at First Manassas and took up divisional command under Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign and in the Seven Days' Battles around Richmond. A crippling wound and a leg amputation soon compounded the persistent manic-depressive disorder that had hindered his ability to make difficult decisions on the battlefield. When Lee reorganized the Army of Northern Virginia in May of 1863, Ewell was promoted to lieutenant general. At the same time he married a widowed first cousin who came to dominate his life—often to the disgust of his subordinate officers—and he became heavily influenced by the wave of religious fervor that was then sweeping through the Confederate Army. In Confederate General R.S. Ewell, Paul D. Casdorph offers a fresh portrait of a major—but deeply flawed—figure in the Confederate war effort, examining the pattern of hesitancy and indecisiveness that characterized Ewell's entire military career. This definitive biography probes the crucial question of why Lee selected such an obviously inconsistent and unreliable commander to lead one-third of his army on the eve of the Gettysburg Campaign. Casdorph describes Ewell's intriguing life and career with penetrating insights into his loyalty to the Confederate cause and the Virginia ties that kept him in Lee's favor for much of the war. Complete with riveting descriptions of key battles, Ewell's biography is essential reading for Civil War historians.
Publisher: University Press of Kentucky
ISBN: 0813194229
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 719
Book Description
Richard Stoddert Ewell is best known as the Confederate General selected by Robert E. Lee to replace "Stonewall" Jackson as chief of the Second Corps in the Army of Northern Virginia. Ewell is also remembered as the general who failed to drive Federal troops from the high ground of Cemetery Hill and Culp's Hill during the Battle of Gettysburg. Many historians believe that Ewell's inaction cost the Confederates a victory in this seminal battle and, ultimately, cost the Civil War. During his long military career, Ewell was never an aggressive warrior. He graduated from West Point and served in the Indian wars in Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, and Arizona. In 1861 he resigned his commission in the U.S. Army and rushed to the Confederate standard. Ewell saw action at First Manassas and took up divisional command under Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign and in the Seven Days' Battles around Richmond. A crippling wound and a leg amputation soon compounded the persistent manic-depressive disorder that had hindered his ability to make difficult decisions on the battlefield. When Lee reorganized the Army of Northern Virginia in May of 1863, Ewell was promoted to lieutenant general. At the same time he married a widowed first cousin who came to dominate his life—often to the disgust of his subordinate officers—and he became heavily influenced by the wave of religious fervor that was then sweeping through the Confederate Army. In Confederate General R.S. Ewell, Paul D. Casdorph offers a fresh portrait of a major—but deeply flawed—figure in the Confederate war effort, examining the pattern of hesitancy and indecisiveness that characterized Ewell's entire military career. This definitive biography probes the crucial question of why Lee selected such an obviously inconsistent and unreliable commander to lead one-third of his army on the eve of the Gettysburg Campaign. Casdorph describes Ewell's intriguing life and career with penetrating insights into his loyalty to the Confederate cause and the Virginia ties that kept him in Lee's favor for much of the war. Complete with riveting descriptions of key battles, Ewell's biography is essential reading for Civil War historians.
Stonewall Jackson and Religious Faith in Military Command
Author: Kenneth E. Hall
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786420855
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 257
Book Description
The relationship between war and religion is nothing new. For millennia, humankind has waged war over religion and derived religion from war. It is not surprising, then, that military leadership and religious conviction frequently coincide. This study documents the long tradition of the religious warrior in Western history and literature, with a special focus on Civil War general Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. It also provides a general survey of the religious antecedents of Jackson and other more modern American military heroes. The book begins with an introduction to the Confederate general, largely from the perspective of those who lived with and served under him, whose testimonies attest to his courage, initiative, innate tactical talent, deep religious faith, and eccentric personal habits. The author analyzes the extent to which Jackson's national zeal has elevated him to the status of a religious martyr, remembered today within an epic frame of sainthood and heroism. Concise comparisons are drawn between Jackson and his Old World predecessors, including Ulrich Zwingli, John Knox and Oliver Cromwell. Similar associations are made between Jackson and such Civil War contemporaries as William Dorsey Pender and Oliver Otis Howard. A chapter addressing the representation of "Stonewall" in modern Civil War literature and film, particularly in the novel and subsequent motion picture Gods and Generals, provides an insightful juxtaposition of Jackson's status among the "gods" of the Civil War and his own reverence for the God of his Presbyterian faith.
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786420855
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 257
Book Description
The relationship between war and religion is nothing new. For millennia, humankind has waged war over religion and derived religion from war. It is not surprising, then, that military leadership and religious conviction frequently coincide. This study documents the long tradition of the religious warrior in Western history and literature, with a special focus on Civil War general Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson. It also provides a general survey of the religious antecedents of Jackson and other more modern American military heroes. The book begins with an introduction to the Confederate general, largely from the perspective of those who lived with and served under him, whose testimonies attest to his courage, initiative, innate tactical talent, deep religious faith, and eccentric personal habits. The author analyzes the extent to which Jackson's national zeal has elevated him to the status of a religious martyr, remembered today within an epic frame of sainthood and heroism. Concise comparisons are drawn between Jackson and his Old World predecessors, including Ulrich Zwingli, John Knox and Oliver Cromwell. Similar associations are made between Jackson and such Civil War contemporaries as William Dorsey Pender and Oliver Otis Howard. A chapter addressing the representation of "Stonewall" in modern Civil War literature and film, particularly in the novel and subsequent motion picture Gods and Generals, provides an insightful juxtaposition of Jackson's status among the "gods" of the Civil War and his own reverence for the God of his Presbyterian faith.
The Confederate War
Author: Gary W. Gallagher
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674160569
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 276
Book Description
If one is to believe contemporary historians, the South never had a chance. Many allege that the Confederacy lost the Civil War because of internal division or civilian disaffection; others point to flawed military strategy or ambivalence over slavery. But, argues distinguished historian Gary Gallagher, we should not ask why the Confederacy collapsed so soon but rather how it lasted so long. In The Confederate War he reexamines the Confederate experience through the actions and words of the people who lived it to show how the home front responded to the war, endured great hardships, and assembled armies that fought with tremendous spirit and determination.Gallagher’s portrait highlights a powerful sense of Confederate patriotism and unity in the face of a determined adversary. Drawing on letters, diaries, and newspapers of the day, he shows that Southerners held not only an unflagging belief in their way of life, which sustained them to the bitter end, but also a widespread expectation of victory and a strong popular will closely attuned to military events. In fact, the army’s “offensive-defensive” strategy came remarkably close to triumph, claims Gallagher—in contrast to the many historians who believe that a more purely defensive strategy or a guerrilla resistance could have won the war for the South. To understand why the South lost, Gallagher says we need look no further than the war itself: after a long struggle that brought enormous loss of life and property, Southerners finally realized that they had been beaten on the battlefield.Gallagher’s interpretation of the Confederates and their cause boldly challenges current historical thinking and invites readers to reconsider their own conceptions of the American Civil War.
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 9780674160569
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 276
Book Description
If one is to believe contemporary historians, the South never had a chance. Many allege that the Confederacy lost the Civil War because of internal division or civilian disaffection; others point to flawed military strategy or ambivalence over slavery. But, argues distinguished historian Gary Gallagher, we should not ask why the Confederacy collapsed so soon but rather how it lasted so long. In The Confederate War he reexamines the Confederate experience through the actions and words of the people who lived it to show how the home front responded to the war, endured great hardships, and assembled armies that fought with tremendous spirit and determination.Gallagher’s portrait highlights a powerful sense of Confederate patriotism and unity in the face of a determined adversary. Drawing on letters, diaries, and newspapers of the day, he shows that Southerners held not only an unflagging belief in their way of life, which sustained them to the bitter end, but also a widespread expectation of victory and a strong popular will closely attuned to military events. In fact, the army’s “offensive-defensive” strategy came remarkably close to triumph, claims Gallagher—in contrast to the many historians who believe that a more purely defensive strategy or a guerrilla resistance could have won the war for the South. To understand why the South lost, Gallagher says we need look no further than the war itself: after a long struggle that brought enormous loss of life and property, Southerners finally realized that they had been beaten on the battlefield.Gallagher’s interpretation of the Confederates and their cause boldly challenges current historical thinking and invites readers to reconsider their own conceptions of the American Civil War.