During the hottest days of the summer of 1863, while the nation's attention was focused on a small town in Pennsylvania known as Gettysburg, another momentous battle was being fought along the banks of the Mississippi. In the longest single campaign of the war, the siege of Vicksburg left 19,000 dead and wounded on both sides, gave the Union Army control of the Mississippi, and left the Confederacy cut in half. In this highly-anticipated new work, Christopher Waldrep takes a fresh look at how the Vicksburg campaign was fought and remembered. He begins with a gripping account of the battle,...

Virginians at War: The Civil War Experiences of Seven Young Confederates is a detailed examination of the lives of seven young Virginians who strongly supported the Confederacy from beginning to end. Their stories illustrate how devotion to the cause of independence, religious faith, family and community commitment to the struggle, and shared sacrifices tied these people to the flagging fortunes of the Confederacy. Taken together, their experiences begin to illuminate the challenges of the Civil War generation, especially those Southerners who formed the emotional core of the Confederacy....