This fascinating collection explores the unusual and often bizarre persons,attitudes, and events of the Civil War. Illustrated and indexed.

Presents a series of historical anecdotes about little-known, miscellaneous events and personal experiences of the American Civil War.

A collection of more than one hundred true stories from the Civil War era that recount the exploits of key figures and chronicle important events that shaped the war.

The Civil War is most often described as one in which brother fought against brother. But the most devastating war fought on American soil was also one in which women demonstrated heroic deeds, selfless acts, and courage beyond measure. Women mobilized soup kitchens and relief societies. Women cared for wounded soldiers. Women were effective spies. And it is estimated that 300 women fought on the battlefields, usually disguised as men. The most fascinating Civil War women include: Harriet Tubman, a former slave, who led hundreds of fellow slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad Four hundred women who were seized in Roswell, Georgia, deported to Indiana, and vanished without a trace Belle Boyd, the "Siren of the Shenandoah," who at the age of seventeen killed a Union soldier "Crazy" Elizabeth Van Lew, who deliberately fostered the impression that she was eccentric so that she could be an effective spy for the North "The poor fellow sprang from my hands and fell back quivering in the agonies of death. A bullet had passed between my body and the right arm which supported him, cutting through my sleeve and passing through his chest from shoulder to shoulder." ?Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross "We were all amused and disgusted at the sight of a thing that nothing but the debased and depraved Yankee nation could produce. [A woman] was dressed in the full uniform of a Federal surgeon. She was not good looking, and of course had tongue enough for a regiment of men." ?Captain Benedict J. Semmes, describing Mary Walker, M.D.

More than 100 true stories of comrade killing comrade: defective ammunition accidental shootings blinding smoke deliberate fire upon comrade mistaken uniforms inexperienced troops unknown passwords On May 2, 1863, Stonewall Jackson was on the verge of the greatest victory of his career. Shortly before 10 P.M. he rode through the woods near Chancellorsville, Virginia, to find where the Federals had established their line. As he returned, his own men, in the noise and confusion, opened fire, woulding Jackson several times. One of the Civil War's first heroes died eight days later. Stonewall Jackson's death is but one example of Confederate killing Confederate or Yankee killing Yankee. No war was as intense and chaotic as the American Civil War. Author Webb Garrison has brought together Jackson's story and 150 other instances of friendly fire in this unique book that strips away the romanticism of the Civil War. "[With] night setting in, it was difficult to distinguish friend from foe. Several of our own command were killed by our own friends." ?Ambrose Wright at Malvern Hill "I thought it better to kill a Union man or two than to lose the effect of my moral suasion." ?Union Officer Louis M. Goldsborough "Whilst in this position my regiment was shelled by our own artillery. The officer in command should be made to pay the penalty for this criminal conduct." ?Confederate Col. Edward Willis, speaking of a battle at Gettysburg "Seemingly not content with the speed that the enemy were slaughtering us, one of our own batteries commenced a heavy and destructive fire on us." ?Union Maj. Thomas S. Tate, speaking of Tupelo, Mississippi

Civil War buffs, be warned: Webb Garrison’s Curiosities of the Civil War may catch you off guard. Packed with obscurities and bizarre anecdotes, it spills over with specifics you’ve likely never heard. Debated, reenacted, and analyzed, the Civil War has been the subject of countless books, films, and scholarly research—many of them quite repetitious. This nuanced perspective on the war provides a glimpse beyond the bloody battles, casualties, and political conflict. You'll discover: The first sitting president to be exposed to enemy fire What badgers, pigeons, and bear cubs had in common during the war Which of Stonewall Jackson’s limbs received its own proper burial The turtle-shaped ship designed to douse its opponents with boiling water Which Confederate general was responsible for introducing camels to the Southwest This cache of peculiar characters and stories will deepen your understanding of the war and the people who engaged in it.

Richard Serrano, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for the Los Angeles Times, pens a story of two veterans. In the late 1950s, as America prepared for the Civil War centennial, two very old men lay dying. Albert Woolson, 109 years old, slipped in and out of a coma at a Duluth, Minnesota, hospital, his memories as a Yankee drummer boy slowly dimming. Walter Williams, at 117 blind and deaf and bedridden in his daughter's home in Houston, Texas, no longer could tell of his time as a Confederate forage master. The last of the Blue and the Gray were drifting away; an era was ending. Unknown to the public, centennial officials, and the White House too, one of these men was indeed a veteran of that horrible conflict and one according to the best evidence nothing but a fraud. One was a soldier. The other had been living a great, big lie.