A candidate for the title of “unsung hero” among the Union generals of the Civil War, Alpheus Williams, “Old Pap” to his men, wrote as frequently as he could to his family in Detroit of his successes, achievements and battles during that terrible period of strife. In this engaging collection of his correspondence he recounts the part he played in the battles both East and West at Second Bull Run, Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Atlanta and the Savannah campaign. A kind hearted man, he was deeply affected by the hardships suffered by the common soldiers under his command who he treated with great care and often sorrow at the awful casualties they suffered. Warmly recommended. “Superb war letters. . . . Old ‘Pap’ Williams possessed an unconscious literary flair that gives simple style and force to his letters. . . . Milo Quaife has added annotation that will enlighten the casual reader and satisfy the scholar.”—New York Times Book Review “Civil War scholars are always grateful for a volume of letters written by a high-ranking officer who held important commands in pivotal engagements. . . . A superior collection. . . . Especially useful to students of the war are his keen, detailed accounts of Antietam, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg.”—American Historical Review

Engaging Correspondence Of This Michigan General In The Union Army During The American Civil War, Recounting The Battles Of Second Bull Run, Antietam, Chancellorsville, And Gettysburg, As Well As The Atlanta And Savannah Campaigns.

Fifty-one years old when the Civil War broke out, Alpheus S. Williams was commissioned brigadier general of volunteers in the Army of the Potomac. These letters to his daughters, written in the most rigorous wartime circumstances, reveal the high-ranking officer's views on events from Bull Run to Georgia and the Carolinas to Gettysburg. He characterizes McClellan, Sherman, Hooker, and Meade; scorns a system of promotion that rewards grandstanders and press-kissers; and explodes in fury at the contractors whose graft cheats the soldiers of blankets and shoes in midwinter. He pities the people and animals thrust in the path of the cannon and is acutely attuned to the weather and landscape. Every line by Williams is stamped with intelligence and sensibility, and his combatant's view of the battle at Antietam is the most stirring in Civil War literature.

The importance of Robert E. Lee’s first movement north of the Potomac River in September 1862 is difficult to overstate. After his string of successes in Virginia, a decisive Confederate victory in Maryland or Pennsylvania may well have spun the war in an entirely different direction. Why he and his Virginia army did not find success across the Potomac was due in large measure to the generalship of George B. McClellan, as Steven Stotelmyer ably demonstrates in Too Useful to Sacrifice: Reconsidering George B. McClellan’s Generalship in the Maryland Campaign from South Mountain to Antietam, now available in paperback. History has typecast McClellan as the slow and overly cautious general who allowed opportunities to slip through his grasp and Lee’s battered army to escape. Stotelmyer disagrees and argues persuasively that he deserves significant credit for moving quickly, acting decisively, and defeating and turning back the South’s most able general. He accomplishes this with five comprehensive chapters, each dedicated to a specific major issue of the campaign: Fallacies Regarding the Lost Orders Antietam: The Sequel to South Mountain All the Injury Possible: The Day between South Mountain and Antietam General John Pope at Antietam and the Politics behind the Myth of the Unused Reserves Supplies and Demands: The Demise of General George B. McClellan Was McClellan’s response to the discovery of Lee’s Lost Orders really as slow and inept as we have been led to believe? Although routinely dismissed as a small prelude to the main event at Antietam, was the real Confederate high tide in Maryland the fight on South Mountain? Is the criticism leveled against McClellan for not rapidly pursuing Lee’s army after the victory on South Mountain warranted? Did McClellan really fail to make good use of his reserves in the bloody fighting on September 17? Finally, what is the true story behind McClellan’s apparent “failure” to pursue the defeated Confederate army after Antietam that convinced President Lincoln to sack him? In Too Useful to Sacrifice, Stotelmyer combines extensive primary research, smooth prose, and a keen appreciation for the infrastructure and capabilities of the terrain of nineteenth century Maryland. The result is one of the most eye-opening and groundbreaking essay collections in modern memory. Readers will never look at this campaign the same way again. By the time they close this book, most readers will agree Lincoln had no need to continue his search for a capable army commander because he already had one.

A new look at the Civil War battle that led to Stonewall Jackson’s death: A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year and “tour de force in military history” (Library Journal). From the award-winning, national bestselling author of Gettysburg, this is the definitive account of the Chancellorsville campaign, from the moment “Fighting Joe” Hooker took command of the Army of the Potomac to the Union’s stinging, albeit temporary, defeat. Along with a vivid description of the experiences of the troops, Stephen Sears provides “a stunning analysis of how terrain, personality, chance, and other factors affect fighting and distort strategic design” (Library Journal). “Most notable is his use of Union military intelligence reports to show how Gen. Joseph Hooker was fed a stream of accurate information about Robert E. Lee’s troops; conversely, Sears points out the battlefield communications failures that hampered the Union army at critical times . . . A model campaign study, Sears’s account of Chancellorsville is likely to remain the standard for years to come.” —Publishers Weekly “The finest and most provocative Civil War historian writing today.” —Chicago Tribune Includes maps

Tells the history of Civil War forts and other defenses in the Washington, DC area. This study provides historical information to improve and enhance interpretation of the parks and historic resources and provides a historical framework fro future preservation efforts. A great deal of new information pertaining to the relationship of minorities to the Defenses of Washington was discovered. The role of U.S. Colored Troops in construction and defense of the fortifications is better understood. In addition, much new information is available on the work of Freedmen and women in the Defenses of Washington. Finally, the association of African Americans with the former fortifications after the Civil War is better known. Furthermore, much information relating to the day-to-day construction and maintenance activity within the Defenses of Washington during the Civil War was also uncovered. Teachers, students, historians, and others interested in the American Civil War history, particularly in the Washington, DC area would enjoy this publication. Related products: American Civil War resources collection can be found here: https: //bookstore.gpo.gov/catalog/us-military-history/wars-conflicts/ame...

“The best account of the Battle of Antietam” from the award-winning, national bestselling author of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville (The New York Times Book Review). The Civil War battle waged on September 17, 1862, at Antietam Creek, Maryland, was one of the bloodiest in the nation’s history: in this single day, the war claimed nearly 23,000 casualties. In Landscape Turned Red, the renowned historian Stephen Sears draws on a remarkable cache of diaries, dispatches, and letters to recreate the vivid drama of Antietam as experienced not only by its leaders but also by its soldiers, both Union and Confederate. Combining brilliant military analysis with narrative history of enormous power, Landscape Turned Red is the definitive work on this climactic and bitter struggle. “A modern classic.”—The Chicago Tribune “No other book so vividly depicts that battle, the campaign that preceded it, and the dramatic political events that followed.”—The Washington Post Book World “Authoritative and graceful . . . a first-rate work of history.”—Newsweek