At the beginning of the Civil War, Georgia ranked third among the Confederate states in manpower resources, behind only Virginia and Tennessee. With an arms-bearing population somewhere between 120,000 and 130,000 white males between the ages of 16 and 60, this resource became an object of a great struggle between Joseph Brown, governor of Georgia, and Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederacy. Brown advocated a strong state defense, but as the war dragged on Davis applied more pressure for more soldiers from Georgia. In December 1863, the state's general assembly reorganized the state militia and it became known as Joe Brown's Pets. Civil War historians William Scaife and William Bragg have written not only the first history of the Georgia Militia during the Civil War, but have produced the definitive history of this militia. Using original documents found in the Georgia Department of Archives and History that are too delicate for general public access, Scaife and Bragg were granted special permission to research the material under the guidance of an archivist and conducted under tightly controlled conditions of security and preservation control.

Joseph E. Brown was governor of Georgia from 1861-1865.

"The story of the industrial village founded in central Georgia by Samuel Griswold, its antebellum prosperity and role in the war effort of the Confederate States of America, and its destruction during the march to the sea, together with accounts of the military operations conducted in Griswoldville's vicinity during the summer and fall of 1864."

In this history of Atlanta's destruction, the author offers points of view of Confederate and Union soldiers and officers during a pivotal moment in the Civil War. By the author of The Millionaire's Unit: The Aristocratic Flyboys Who Fought the Great War and Invented American Air Power, in development as a feature film.

First published in 1882, Samuel Watkins' 'Co. Aytch - A Sideshow of the Big Show' is widely recognized as one of the most important Civil War memoirs. Written in a lively, engaging style, the book captures the pride, misery, glory, and horror experienced by the common foot soldier.