In June 1861, practically unschooled, without military training or experience, Nathan Bedford Forrest (1821-1877) enlisted in the Confederate Army as a private. Yet by the Civil War's end he was a lieutenant general whose dazzling exploits and bloody victories caused him to be regarded by his Northern opponents as a "devil," by Southerners as a living legend, and by historians as the greatest cavalry commander and one of the few authentic military geniuses produced by the war. His spectacular, unparalleled career has intrigued generations of Civil War scholars and enthusiasts. Subsequent...
In June 1861, practically unschooled, without military training or experience, Nathan Bedford Forrest (1821-1877) enlisted in the Confederate Army as ...
Following a skirmish on June 28, 1864, a truce is called so the North can remove their dead and wounded. For two hours, Yankees and Rebels mingle, with some of the latter even assisting the former in their grisly work. Newspapers are exchanged. Northern coffee is swapped for Southern tobacco. Yanks crowd around two Rebel generals, soliciting and obtaining autographs. As they part, a Confederate calls to a Yankee, "I hope to miss you, Yank, if I happen to shoot in your direction." "May I, never hit you Johnny if we fight again," comes the reply. The reprieve is short. A couple of...
Following a skirmish on June 28, 1864, a truce is called so the North can remove their dead and wounded. For two hours, Yankees and Rebels mingle, wit...
Our hurly-burly sagas of war often overlook the deep connections between warriors and the families they left behind. In Tom Taylor's Civil War, eminent Civil War historian Albert Castel brings that familial connection back into sharp focus, reminding us again that soldiers in the field are much more than mere cogs in the machinery of war. A young Ohio lawyer, Thomas Taylor was a junior officer who fought under Sherman at Vicksburg and Chattanooga and on the march through Georgia, and his diary and letters contain vivid descriptions of numerous skirmishes and battles over four years. By...
Our hurly-burly sagas of war often overlook the deep connections between warriors and the families they left behind. In Tom Taylor's Civil War, eminen...
Had Lee enjoyed the manpower or materiel advantages of Grant, would the South have triumphed? Had Hood possessed strength superior to Sherman's, would he still have lost their encounters in Georgia? Popular sentiment has long bowed to the military leadership of the Civil War's victorious generals--a view that has been disputed by modern scholarship. Many might be startled to learn that a British army officer also called these opinions into question long ago. Out of print for more than fifty years, Lee, Grant and Sherman is an unrecognized classic of Civil War history that presaged current...
Had Lee enjoyed the manpower or materiel advantages of Grant, would the South have triumphed? Had Hood possessed strength superior to Sherman's, would...
The Quantrill legend is rooted in acts of savage violence throughout Kansas and Missouri during the Civil War--deeds both romanticized and vilified. In "William Clarke Quantrill," Albert Castel s classic biography, the story of Quantrill and his men comes alive through facts verified from firsthand, original sources. Castel traces Quantrill s rise to power, from Kansas border ruffian and Confederate Army captain to lawless leader of "the most formidable band of revolver fighters the West ever knew." During the Civil War Quantrill and his men descended on Lawrence, Kansas, and carried out a...
The Quantrill legend is rooted in acts of savage violence throughout Kansas and Missouri during the Civil War--deeds both romanticized and vilified...
Indeed, the story of General Price -- as this account by Albert Castle shows -- is the story, in large part, of the Confederacy's struggle in the West. The author draws a fascinating portrait of Price the man -- vain, courageous, addicted to secrecy -- and produces insightful interpretations and much pertinent information about the Civil War in the West.
Indeed, the story of General Price -- as this account by Albert Castle shows -- is the story, in large part, of the Confederacy's struggle in the W...
