For four decades, Winfield Scott Hancock was a serving officer in the United States Army. In this affectionate memoir by his wife Almira, you learn many details and anecdotes from Hancock's life that appear no where else. Stationed in Los Angeles before the Civil War, southern friends like Armistead, Garnett, Pickett, and a host of other military comrades whom he loved, came to ask his advice. He replied, "I can give you no advice, as I shall not fight upon the principle of State-rights, but for the Union, whole and undivided, as I do not and will not belong to a country formed of principalities. I cannot sympathize with you; you must be guided by your own convictions, and I hope you will make no mistakes.” Known to his Army colleagues as "Hancock the Superb," he was especially lauded for his leadership at the Battle of Gettysburg in the American Civil War. One military historian wrote, "No other Union general at Gettysburg dominated men by the sheer force of their presence more completely than Hancock." He was severely wounded at Gettysburg but recovered to serve again. Widely recognized for his personal integrity, Hancock's name was proffered several times for the presidency of the United States on the Democratic ticket. He ran for president in 1880 but was defeated by James Garfield. For the first time, this long-out-of-print book is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE or download a sample.

One of the most prominent nurses to serve in the American Civil War, Ada Smith was at the center of action. She met Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, Dorothea Dix, Clara Barton, and many of the other military men and civilians in the conflict. This lively and engaging memoir is like many of those by nurses of the Civil War. They saw the horrible cost of the war in terms of shattered bodies and shattered minds. They held the hand of many a dying man and Ada's story is very much the story of the human side of war. But they also heard the guns and had rifle balls whistling through their hospital tents. After the war, Ada continued her work to help veterans, as well as engaging in the fight for women's suffrage. Every memoir of the American Civil War provides us with another view of the catastrophe that changed the country forever. For the first time, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.

One of the most remarkable collections of letters to come out of the American Civil War is this compilation by the Woolsey family. Educated, aware, and closely affectionate, the family exchanged and kept letters throughout the war. Included in the set are those from family members serving in hospitals, taking collections for soldiers at home, and a soldier serving on the front lines with Grant, Sheridan, and Meade. What was life like for those who watched their country rent by war? The desperate anxiety and despair of the early war and the hopeful expressions later on give a vivid and very human face to an event that, though long past, is still apart of who we are as Americans today. There is also humor and gossip, and an incredible awareness of what was going on in battles far from home. That the collection includes letters from various family members provides a view into Civil War life as no other. For less than you'd spend on gas going to the library, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.

Beloved by the soldiers of the Army of the Potomac, insubordinate to his commander in chief, a master at preparing for war but cautious about engaging, General George Brinton McClellan is one of the most controversial figures of the American Civil War. Criticized throughout the remainder of his life, he never publicly defended his actions as commander of the Union army. Here, however, his posthumously-published memoir provides his answers to the critics. Using a combination of military documents, his own field records, and letters to his beloved wife Nelly, McClellan does not attempt a full autobiography but instead focuses on his short time as general in chief of the army. McClellan's legacy as commander is still in contention by some historians. The value of this book is its view into the mind of George McClellan during the bitter early days of the Civil War. No study of this important figure is complete without this volume. The editor of this work, William Cowper Prime, was an American journalist, art historian, numismatist, and travel writer, and close friend of McClellan's. He was instrumental in getting Princeton University to establish a department of art history, to which he donated his extensive collection of ceramic art. This remarkable and important narrative is available for the first time as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones for the first time. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE or download a sample.

One of the most remarkable books to come out of the immediate aftermath of the American Civil War was William F.G. Shank's book on the generals he observed up close and personal all during the war. As a correspondent for Harper's Magazine and the New York Herald, Shank followed through camp and battle, seeing the strengths but also the foibles and failings of some of our most prominent Union leaders. Shank does not shy from including illuminating details that he was later told may have offended the subjects of his treatments. But he is admiring of the men he met and admirably creates portraits of Grant, Sherman, Sheridan, Rousseau, Thomas, Hooker, and others that you will not read elsewhere. As he states in the preface: "Very few generals have appeared great to the war correspondents; and though very few of the latter can claim to be descendants of Diogenes, they can assert, with equal positiveness, that very few of the generals have been Alexanders, and that 'the very sun shines through them.'" An interesting note included about Rousseau (one of our least written-about generals) is that during his legal career, he successfully tried a veritable "To Kill a Mockingbird" case. No student of the war should be without this volume. For the first time, this long-out-of-print book is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE or download a sample

One of the two most important books about life at the frontier post of Fort Phil Kearny. At 21 in 1866, Fannie Grummond was the witness to and victim of the famous Fetterman Fight. Forces commanded by Red Cloud and Crazy Horse took the offensive against the encroachment on their lands of the Bozeman Trail. On December 21, 1866, 81 soldiers from Fort Phil Kearny were killed in a short battle, including Fannie's husband. This is a very personal and poignant account of life on the frontier for a woman from the east. She was tenderly cared for by Margaret Carrington, wife of the post commander, who wrote "AB-SA-RA-KA: Home of the Crows" about her life at Kearny. When Margaret Carrington died in 1870, correspondence began between Fannie and the widowed husband, Henry B. Carrington. They later married. Every memoir of the American West provides us with another view of the movement that changed the country forever. For the first time, this long out-of-print volume is available as an affordable, well-formatted book for e-readers and smartphones. Be sure to LOOK INSIDE by clicking the cover above or download a sample.

"In addition to the Civil War, Hancock's military service included memorable experience during the Mexican-American War, Reconstruction, and the Indian Wars. He also pursued a political career, which ended in an unsuccessful try for the presidency in 1880"--Jacket.