History

Eminent Victorians on American Democracy: The View from Albion

Frank Prochaska

This book is a survey of a wide range of British opinion on the United States in the nineteenth century and highlights the views of John Stuart Mill, Walter Bagehot, Sir Henry Maine, and ... More

This book is a survey of a wide range of British opinion on the United States in the nineteenth century and highlights the views of John Stuart Mill, Walter Bagehot, Sir Henry Maine, and James Bryce, who wrote extensively on American government and society. The Victorians made a memorable contribution to the ongoing debate over the character and origins of democracy through their examination of a host of issues, including the role of the Founding Fathers, the American Constitution and its relationship to the British Constitution, slavery, the Supreme Court, the Presidency, the spoils system, and party politics. Their trenchant commentary punctures several popular American assumptions, not least the idea of exceptionalism. To Victorian commentators, the bonds of kinship, language, law, and language were of great significance; and while they did not see the United States as having a unique destiny, they rallied to Anglo-Saxon exceptionalism, which reflected their sense of a shared transatlantic history. Their commentary remains remarkably prescient, if only because the American government retains so much of its eighteenth-century character. Less

A Family Venture: Men and Women on the Southern Frontier

Joan E. Cashin

This book deals with the westward migration of the planter families of the seaboard South in the years before the Civil War. The book examines the decision of families to migrate, the ... More

This book deals with the westward migration of the planter families of the seaboard South in the years before the Civil War. The book examines the decision of families to migrate, the effects migration had on the family life of the planters, and the way old ties were maintained and new ones formed. The emphasis is on child-rearing and women's lives in the Old Southwest (Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana), and the book draws on rich archival sources to present moving portraits of individual women caught in the flux of change. Less

“far, Far From Home”: The Wartime Letters of Dick and Tally Simpson Third South Carolina Volunteers

Guy R. Everson, Edward H. Simpson (eds)

In April 1861, Dick and Tally Simpson, sons of South Carolina Congressman Richard F. Simpson, enlisted in Company A of the Third South Carolina Volunteers of the Confederate army. Their ... More

In April 1861, Dick and Tally Simpson, sons of South Carolina Congressman Richard F. Simpson, enlisted in Company A of the Third South Carolina Volunteers of the Confederate army. Their letters home read like a historical novel, complete with plot, romance, character, suspense, and tragedy. They gave firsthand accounts of dramatic events from the battle of First Manassas in July 1861 to the battle of Chickamauga in September 1863. Their letters provide a picture of war as it was actually experienced at the time, not as it was remembered some twenty or thirty years later. It is a picture that neither glorifies war nor condemns it, but simply “tells it like it is”. Written to a number of different people, the boysʼ letters home dealt with a number of different subjects. Letters to “Pa” went into great detail about military matters in Lee's Army of Northern Virginia — troop movements, casualties, and how well particular units had fought; letters to “Ma” and sisters Anna and Mary were about camp life and family friends in the army and usually included requests for much-needed food and clothing; letters to Aunt Caroline and her daughter Carrie usually concerned affairs of the heart, for Aunt Caroline continued to be Dick and Tally's trusted confidante, even when they were “far, far from home”. The value of these letters lays not so much in the detailed information they provide as in the overall picture they convey — a picture of how one Southern family, for better or for worse, at home and at the front — coped with the experience of war. Less

From Selma to Appomattox: The History of the Jeff Davis Artillery

Lawrence R. Laboda

The history of the Jeff Davis Artillery is the story of a company of Alabamians who fought with valor and distinction for the Confederacy during more than three and a half years of ... More

The history of the Jeff Davis Artillery is the story of a company of Alabamians who fought with valor and distinction for the Confederacy during more than three and a half years of active service. As part of the Army of Northern Virginia, these soldiers played an integral part in most of the major campaigns of the Eastern Theatre, participating in the crucial battles at Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, and Spotsylvania, among others. This book tells the story of an artillery unit relatively unknown, but whose performance on the fields of battle more than justified the honor of being named after the President of the Confederacy. After their recruitment in Selma, Alabama, we learn that the men of the Jeff Davis Artillery found themselves under many different commanders. It was only when First Lieutenant Robert F. Beckham, Captain James W. Bondurant, and Captain William J. Reese took command that the unit matured as a military organization, and provided its most efficient service on the field of battle. Even though unfortunate circumstances later in the war caused the company to be divided between two commands, the Alabama Battery's skill and determination carried through in all of the engagements that followed. On more than one occasion, the Jeff Davis Artillery received praise from the Confederate high command, including General Robert E. Lee himself. Within the Confederate Army, the reputation of the unit was no doubt one of the best, but after the fighting was done, the war record of this particular company, except for a rare article or mention in an obituary, never received proper recognition. It is only fitting, therefore, that the entire story of the gallant Alabamians finally be told. Conditions on and off the battlefield were less than ideal at times, and from the beginning, the company as a whole fell victim to the horrors of disease. One glance down the roster list shows the extreme seriousness of the situation. Even disease was not their most immediate concern, however, as the book describes the unit's difficulties in finding food, horses, and even recruits while enduring the reorganizations of an army at war. With the assistance of numerous detailed maps, he follows the ever-proud Alabamians into their first fight at Seven Pines, through the major battles of the Peninsula, South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Spotsylvania, and Cedar Creek; and ultimately, to their surrender at Appomattox. Less

The Geronimo Campaign

Odie B. Faulk

On August 25 1886, the Apache chief, Geronimo, surrendered to the US army, ending a long and bloody struggle. This book draws on fresh evidence to examine the ironies, dangers, and ... More

On August 25 1886, the Apache chief, Geronimo, surrendered to the US army, ending a long and bloody struggle. This book draws on fresh evidence to examine the ironies, dangers, and vicissitudes of that campaign. Based on the papers collected by Lt. Charles B. Gatewood—the one white man Geronimo trusted—including depositions from old soldiers and scouts, official documents, articles, letters, and photographs, the book shows that it was essentially a war no one won—the Apaches (like the Sioux, Comanche, and Nez Perce before them), losing their land and lifestyle, the Americans losing all that the tribes might have contributed to the union and more than a measure of national self-respect. The author is especially concerned with the campaign's wider historical setting and significance, and with the sad record of betrayal of the Native American by the US Government. Less

The Gettysburg Lectures

Gabor S. Boritt (ed.)

This book looks at how Lincoln confronted the central issues of the Civil War era, throwing new light on the revolutionary changes he helped usher in. The book explores the issue of ... More

This book looks at how Lincoln confronted the central issues of the Civil War era, throwing new light on the revolutionary changes he helped usher in. The book explores the issue of self-determination, illuminating Lincoln's views and comparing the South's struggle for independence to others in history (including the post-Soviet situation in Eastern Europe). One chapter offers a provocative comparison of how Lincoln and America's other outstanding war president, FDR, went beyond the limits of the Constitution in defense of the nation and freedom—as they understood them. Another chapter focuses on both the exhilarating moment of emancipation and its disappointing results. A further chapter traces Lincoln's transition from strident opponent of the Mexican War, to resolute war leader (“Destroy the rebel army,” were his terse orders), to speaking out for reconciliation (after Appomattox he exclaimed, “Enemies, never again must we repeat that word”). The next chapter compares the Civil War as a successful attempt at true national unification with the unifications of Italy, Germany, and even Switzerland (which waged a fraternal war not many years earlier). A later chapter provides an incisive look at the premonitions of Civil War that haunted the American republic since independence, including Lincoln's reluctance to accept war as a possibility. Finally, the book establishes once and for all Lincoln's brilliance as a national strategist. Less

Gettysburg Requiem: The Life and Lost Causes of Confederate Colonel William C. Oates

Glenn W. LaFantasie

William C. Oates is best remembered as the Confederate officer defeated at Gettysburg's Little Round Top, losing a golden opportunity to turn the Union's flank and win the battle — and ... More

William C. Oates is best remembered as the Confederate officer defeated at Gettysburg's Little Round Top, losing a golden opportunity to turn the Union's flank and win the battle — and perhaps the war. Oates was no moonlight-and-magnolias Southerner, as this book shows. Raised in the hard-scrabble Wiregrass Country of Alabama, he ran away from home as a teenager, roamed through Louisiana and Texas — where he took up card sharking — and finally returned to Alabama, to pull himself up by his bootstraps and become a respected attorney. During the war, he rose to the rank of colonel, served under Stonewall Jackson and Lee, was wounded six times, and lost an arm. Returning home, he launched a successful political career, becoming a seven-term congressman and ultimately governor. The author shows how, for Oates, the war never really ended — he remained devoted to the Lost Cause, and spent the rest of his life waging the political battles of Reconstruction. This is the story of Southern life before, during, and after the Civil War, based on family papers and archives. Less

Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Life

Joan D. Hedrick

This book travels the multi-layered world of 19th-century morals and mores in this absorbing story of a gifted and complex writer whose place in the canon is still contended. Harriet ... More

This book travels the multi-layered world of 19th-century morals and mores in this absorbing story of a gifted and complex writer whose place in the canon is still contended. Harriet Beecher Stowe, daughter of a preacher, married to a poor Biblical scholar, and mother of nine, had the early good fortune of an education at a school founded by her feminist older sister. To help support her family, Stowe began to write. In 1851, born of evangelical outrage against slavery, her novel Uncle Tom's Cabin made her famous. Today, the very name conveys white paternalism and black passivity, but this book points out that this unfairly ignores the “freedom narrative” of a book that had an electrifying effect on the abolitionist cause. When Abraham Lincoln met Stowe in 1862 he joked, “So you're the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.”. Less

Inside War: The Guerrilla Conflict in Missouri During the American Civil War

Michael Fellman

During the Civil War, the state of Missouri witnessed the most widespread, prolonged, and destructive guerrilla fighting in American history. With its horrific combination of robbery, ... More

During the Civil War, the state of Missouri witnessed the most widespread, prolonged, and destructive guerrilla fighting in American history. With its horrific combination of robbery, arson, torture, murder, and swift and bloody raids on farms and settlements, the conflict approached total war, engulfing the whole populace and challenging any notion of civility. This book captures the conflict from “inside,” drawing on a wealth of first-hand evidence, including letters, diaries, military reports, court-martial transcripts, depositions, and newspaper accounts. It gives us a clear picture of the ideological, social, and economic forces that divided the people and launched the conflict. Along with depicting how both Confederate and Union officials used the guerrilla fighters and their tactics to their own advantage, the author describes how ordinary civilian men and women struggled to survive amidst the random terror perpetuated by both sides; what drove the combatants themselves to commit atrocities and vicious acts of vengeance; and how the legend of Jesse James arose from this brutal episode in the American Civil War. Less

Intimate Strategies of the Civil War: Military Commanders and Their Wives

Lesley J. Gordon

Carol K. Bleser (ed.)

From Robert E. and Mary Lee to Ulysses S. and Julia Grant, this book examines the marriages of twelve prominent military commanders, highlighting the impact wives had on their famous ... More

From Robert E. and Mary Lee to Ulysses S. and Julia Grant, this book examines the marriages of twelve prominent military commanders, highlighting the impact wives had on their famous husbands' careers. The authors assemble an array of scholars to explore the marriages of six Confederate and six Union commanders. Contributors reveal that, for many of these men, the matrimonial bond was the most important relationship in their lives, one that shaped (and was shaped by) their military experience. In some cases, the commanders' spouses proved relentless and skillful promoters of their husbands' careers. Jessie Frémont drew on all of her connections as the daughter of former Senator Thomas Hart Benton to aid her modestly talented husband John. Others bolstered their military spouses in less direct ways. For example, Ulysses S. Grant's relationship with Julia (a Southerner and former slave owner herself) kept him anchored in stormy times. Here, too, are tense and tempestuous pairings, such as William Tecumseh Sherman and his wife Ellen — his foster sister before becoming his wife — and Jefferson Davis's complex bond with Varina, further complicated by the hostile rumors about the two in Richmond society. Less