The Diary of a Young Officer Serving with the Armies of the United States During the War of the Rebellion

The Diary of a Young Officer Serving with the Armies of the United States During the War of the Rebellion PDF Author: Josiah Marshall Favill
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : United States
Languages : en
Pages : 334

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Storming the Wheatfield

Storming the Wheatfield PDF Author: James M. Smith
Publisher: Gettysburg Publishing
ISBN: 0999304984
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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This gripping narrative is an in-depth study of the valiant men of General John Caldwell’s Union Division during the Gettysburg Campaign. Caldwell’s Division made a desperate stand against a tough and determined Confederate force in farmer George Rose's nearly 20-acre Wheatfield. Ready for harvest, the infamous Wheatfield would change hands nearly six times in the span of two hours of fighting on July 2, becoming a trampled, bloody, no-man's land for thousands of wounded soldiers. Smith examines the lives of the Union soldiers in the ranks—as well as leaders Cross, Kelly, Zook, Brooke, and Caldwell himself. From Colonel Edward Cross’s black bandana, to the famed Irish Brigade's charge on Stoney Hill, to a lone young man from Washington County whose grave is marked in stone nearby, James Smith’s Storming the Wheatfield goes deep into the lives the soldiers, evoking a personal connection with the troops. Smith painstakingly contacted nearly one hundred descendants of Caldwell's soldiers, producing one of the most extensively researched narratives to date.

To the North Anna River

To the North Anna River PDF Author: Gordon C. Rhea
Publisher: LSU Press
ISBN: 0807140694
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 526

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Rhea looks at the initial campaign between Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee between May 13 and 25, 1864--a phase that was critical in the clash between the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia. Rhea charts the generals' every step and misstep in their efforts to outfox each other. 12 halftones. 29 maps.

Kill Jeff Davis

Kill Jeff Davis PDF Author: Bruce M. Venter
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN: 0806155493
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 476

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The ostensible goal of the controversial Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid on Richmond (February 28–March 3, 1864) was to free some 13,000 Union prisoners of war held in the Confederate capital. But orders found on the dead body of the raid’s subordinate commander, Colonel Ulric Dahlgren, point instead to a plot to capture or kill Confederate president Jefferson Davis and set Richmond ablaze. What really happened, and how and why, are debated to this day. Kill Jeff Davis offers a fresh look at the failed raid and mines newly discovered documents and little-known sources to provide definitive answers. In this detailed and deeply researched account of the most famous cavalry raid of the Civil War, author Bruce M. Venter describes an expedition that was carefully planned but poorly executed. A host of factors foiled the raid: bad weather, poor logistics, inadequate command and control, ignorance of the terrain, the failures of supporting forces, and the leaders’ personal and professional shortcomings. Venter delves into the background and consequences of the debacle, beginning with the political maneuvering orchestrated by commanding brigadier general Judson Kilpatrick to persuade President Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton to approve the raid. Venter’s examination of the relationship between Kilpatrick and Brigadier General George A. Custer illuminates the reasons why the flamboyant Custer was excluded from the Richmond raid. In a lively narrative describing the multiple problems that beset the raiders, Kill Jeff Davis uncovers new details about the African American guide whom Dahlgren ordered hanged; the defenders of the Confederate capital, who were not just the “old men and young boys” of popular lore; and General Benjamin F. Butler’s expedition to capture Davis, as well as Custer’s diversionary raid on Charlottesville. Venter’s thoughtful reinterpretations and well-reasoned observations put to rest many myths and misperceptions. He tells, at last, the full story of this hotly contested moment in Civil War history.

Major McKinley

Major McKinley PDF Author: William Howard Armstrong
Publisher: Kent State University Press
ISBN: 9780873386579
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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This is an account of the Civil War service of President William McKinley, the last of the Civil War veterans to reach the White House and the only one who served in the ranks. It draws on a range of material to present a picture of McKinley as a soldier and his later life as a veteran in politics.

Citizen-Officers

Citizen-Officers PDF Author: Andrew S. Bledsoe
Publisher: LSU Press
ISBN: 0807160725
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 433

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Book Description
From the time of the American Revolution, most junior officers in the American military attained their positions through election by the volunteer soldiers in their company, a tradition that reflected commitment to democracy even in times of war. By the outset of the Civil War, citizen-officers had fallen under sharp criticism from career military leaders who decried their lack of discipline and efficiency in battle. Andrew S. Bledsoe’s Citizen-Officers explores the role of the volunteer officer corps during the Civil War and the unique leadership challenges they faced when military necessity clashed with the antebellum democratic values of volunteer soldiers. Bledsoe’s innovative evaluation of the lives and experiences of nearly 2,600 Union and Confederate company-grade junior officers from every theater of operations across four years of war reveals the intense pressures placed on these young leaders. Despite their inexperience and sometimes haphazard training in formal military maneuvers and leadership, citizen-officers frequently faced their first battles already in command of a company. These intense and costly encounters forced the independent, civic-minded volunteer soldiers to recognize the need for military hierarchy and to accept their place within it. Thus concepts of American citizenship, republican traditions in American life, and the brutality of combat shaped, and were in turn shaped by, the attitudes and actions of citizen-officers. Through an analysis of wartime writings, post-war reminiscences, company and regimental papers, census records, and demographic data, Citizen-Officers illuminates the centrality of the volunteer officer to the Civil War and to evolving narratives of American identity and military service.

Winfield Scott Hancock

Winfield Scott Hancock PDF Author: David M. Jordan
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 9780253210586
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 428

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Book Description
An excellent biography of one of the principal commanders of the Civil War who was also a renowned politician after the war. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Writings on American History

Writings on American History PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : America
Languages : en
Pages : 312

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To the Gates of Richmond

To the Gates of Richmond PDF Author: Stephen W. Sears
Publisher: HMH
ISBN: 0547527551
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 521

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This account of McClellan’s 1862 campaign is “a wonderful book” (Ken Burns) and “military history at its best” (The New York Times Book Review). From “the finest and most provocative Civil War historian writing today,” To the Gates of Richmond is the story of the one of the conflict’s bloodiest campaigns (Chicago Tribune). Of the 250,000 men who fought in it, only a fraction had ever been in battle before—and one in four was killed, wounded, or missing in action by the time the fighting ended. The operation was Gen. George McClellan’s grand scheme to march up the Virginia Peninsula and take the Confederate capital. For three months McClellan battled his way toward Richmond, but then Robert E. Lee took command of the Confederate forces. In seven days, Lee drove the cautious McClellan out, thereby changing the course, if not the outcome, of the war. “Deserves to be a classic.” —The Washington Post

The Historian's Red Badge of Courage

The Historian's Red Badge of Courage PDF Author: Paul A. Cimbala
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 1440854262
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Book Description
For someone who did not actually fight in the American Civil War, Stephen Crane was extraordinarily accurate in his description of the psychological tension experienced by a youthful soldier grappling with his desire to act heroically, his fears, and redemption. Stephen Crane's novel The Red Badge of Courage provides an extraordinary take on the battlefield experiences of a young soldier coming of age under extreme circumstances. His writing took place a generation after the war's conclusion, at a time when the entire nation was coming to grips with the meaning of the Civil War. It was during this time in the late 19th century that the battle over the memory of the war was taking place. This new, annotated edition of the novel is designed to guide readers through references made through Crane's characters and how they reflect Civil War military experiences—specifically how "the youth's" experiences reflect the reality of the multi-day battle of Chancellorsville, which took place in Virginia beginning on May 1, 1863, and concluded on May 4 of the same year. The annotated text is preceded by introductory essays on Crane and on the Civil War. Crane's short story "The Veteran" is also included to allow readers to better understand the post-war lives of Civil War soldiers.

Annual Report

Annual Report PDF Author: American Historical Association
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 804

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