The product of a symposium held in 1989, this book of essays provides an introduction to the cardinal aspects of an important American Civil War campaign. The authors disagree on the relative importance of certain operations or leaders in the valley.

The author "brings to life the courage, recklessness, heartbreak, and deprivation of the (Shenandoah) Valley Campaign and the battles to the east of the Blue Ridge" ("The Commercial Appeal"). 60 photos.

Shenandoah follows a Southern family through the trials and tribulations of the American Civil War. The long-absent Titus Brannon returns home to find that his wife has remarried.

This research seeks to inform on the relationship between tactics and attrition during the 1864 campaigns in the Shenandoah Valley. Many studies have broadly examined these campaigns but have not focused their analysis on the relationship between tactics and attrition. By doing this it allows this examination to gain a deeper understanding of how particular engagements were decided, and ultimately the fate of the Shenandoah Valley. This research utilizes a chronological approach and relies on numerous primary sources from officers that provide an accurate appraisal of troop strengths and tactics employed. Various sources such as letters, diaries, and correspondence have been used to support these findings. Official reports have also proven to be quite useful as they provide thorough and comprehensive information on the progression of many engagements. Memoirs and post war manuscripts also provide valuable insight into the role of attrition and the relationship with tactics. This study demonstrates how attrition and tactics were closely related. It exposes that tactics often dictated how extensive attrition would be in a given engagement. Additionally it demonstrates how attrition, or the prospect of it, would dictate to the commanders what tactics could be used. It is also evident that the army that best marshaled their resources to mitigate or accentuate numerical disparities would be most successful. The field would benefit from an incorporation of this type of analysis, as it would provide a clearer explanation of how individual battles were decided. This type of analysis distills the sometimes overly complex nuances of many works and provides a clear and concise appraisal of how battles were decided.

"The eleven essays in this volume re-examine common assumptions about the campaign, its major figures, and its significance. Taking advantage of the most recent scholarship and a wide range of primary sources, contributors examine strategy and tactics, the performances of key commanders on each side, the campaign's political repercussions, and the experiences of civilians caught in the path of the armies. The authors do not always agree with one another, but, taken together, their essays highlight important connections between the home front and the battlefield, as well as ways in which military affairs, civilian experience, and politics played off one another during the campaign."--BOOK JACKET.

The Journal of the Shenandoah Valley During the Civil War Era is published annually by Shenandoah University's McCormick Civil War Institute. The Journal's goal is to provide fresh perspectives on seldom-studied aspects of the Civil War era in one of the most oft-contested regions during the Civil War--Virginia's Shenandoah Valley. The Journal examines the Civil War era broadly and examines aspects of memory, social, military, and political history.