The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil WarSimon & Schuster, 2001 - 990 pages Like no other conflict in our history, the Civil War casts a long shadow onto modern America," writes David Eicher. In his compelling new account of that war, Eicher gives us an authoritative modern single-volume battle history that spans the war from the opening engagement at Fort Sumter to Lee's surrender at Appomattox (and even beyond, to the less well-known but conclusive surrender of Confederate General Edmund Kirby Smith in Galveston, Texas, on June 2, 1865). Although there are other one-volume histories of the Civil War -- most notably James M. McPherson's Pulitzer Prize-winning "Battle Cry of Freedom," which puts the war in its political, economic, and social context -- "The Longest Night" is strictly a military history. It covers hundreds of engagements on land and sea, and along rivers. The Western theater, often neglected in accounts of the Civil War, and the naval actions along the coasts and major rivers are at last given their due. Such major battles as Gettysburg, Antietam, and Chancellorsville are, of course, described in detail, but Eicher also examines lesser-known actions such as Sabine Pass, Texas, and Fort Clinch, Florida. The result is a gripping popular history that will fascinate anyone just learning about the Civil War while at the same time offering more than a few surprises for longtime students of the War Between the States. "The Longest Night" draws on hundreds of sources and includes numerous excerpts from letters, diaries, and reports by the soldiers who fought the war, giving readers a real sense of life -- and death -- on the battlefield. In addition to the main battle narrative, Eicher analyzes each side's evolving strategy and examines thetactics of Lee, Grant, Johnston, Sherman, and other leading figures of the war. He also discusses such militarily significant topics as prisons, railroads, shipbuilding, clandestine operations, and the expanding role of African Americans in the war. "The Longest Night" is a riveting, indispensable history of the war that James McPherson in the Foreword to this book calls "the most dramatic, violent, and fateful experience in American history." |
Contents
List of Maps | 13 |
Foreword by James M McPherson Introduction | 21 |
1915 | 29 |
The War Begins at Sumter | 33 |
Organizing the Struggle | 59 |
Western Virginia June 3September 13 1861 | 76 |
Southern Joy over First Bull | 81 |
30 A M | 93 |
Fredericksburg Virginia December 13 1862 Approx 1 P M | 402 |
Stalemate at Stones River | 408 |
Stones River Tennessee December 31 1862 11 A M | 425 |
Arkansas Post January 11 1863 | 431 |
The Campaign for Vicksburg | 432 |
Lees Master Stroke | 457 |
Vicksburg Mississippi Yazoo Campaign May 7 1863 | 460 |
Chancellorsville Virginia May 2 1863 6 P M | 481 |
221 | 103 |
Battle of Wilsons Creek August 10 1861 | 105 |
A Massacre at Balls Bluff | 110 |
An Unlikely Hero at Belmont | 130 |
Action Around Port Royal Sound August 27November 7 1861 Battle | 132 |
Grant Moves into Tennessee | 154 |
Forts Henry and Donelson Tennessee February 1862 | 170 |
The Fall of Fort Donelson February 15 1862 Midafternoon | 177 |
Battle of Pea Ridge March 78 1862 | 187 |
Naval Action at Hampton Roads March 89 1862 | 194 |
Clash of the Ironclads | 195 |
Western States and Territories 1862 | 206 |
A Bloodbath at Shiloh | 219 |
Shiloh Tennessee April 6 1862 9 A M Assault on Sherman 710 A M | 225 |
Attacks on Forts Jackson and St Philip April 24 1862 | 240 |
Jacksons Valley Campaign | 243 |
The Peninsular Campaign | 257 |
Jacksons Valley Campaign April 1862 | 258 |
Jacksons Valley Campaign June 7 1862 | 264 |
McClellans Advance to the Chickahominy May 630 1862 | 271 |
The Seven Days Gainess Mill Virginia June 27 1862 Mechanicsville | 286 |
Malvern Hill July 1 1862 | 294 |
Confederate Triumph at Second Bull | 298 |
Cedar Mountain August 9 1862 Approx Noon | 330 |
Cramptons Gap Maryland September 14 1862 | 342 |
The Wars Bloodiest | 345 |
Antietam Creek Maryland September 17 1862 Approx 10 A M | 354 |
30 P M | 362 |
Battle of Perryville October 8 1862 | 369 |
Battle of Corinth October 34 1862 | 376 |
Fredericksburgs Appalling Loss | 381 |
Battle of Prairie Grove December 78 1862 | 394 |
Tennessee Campaign June 24September 9 1863 | 497 |
Three Days at Gettysburg | 501 |
Gettysburg Campaign June 28 1863 | 505 |
30 P M | 514 |
30 P M | 525 |
30 P M | 545 |
Lees Retreat July 4July 13 1863 | 551 |
Morgans Ohio Raid July 126 1863 | 561 |
Visiting the River of Death | 570 |
Chickamauga Campaign Second Day September 20 1863 Dawn | 587 |
The Battles for Chattanooga | 600 |
Lookout Mountain November 24 1863 Noon | 608 |
Sherman Eyes the Deep South | 629 |
II | 656 |
142 | 738 |
17 | 756 |
29 | 766 |
33 | 780 |
57 | 796 |
ΠΙΟ 130 | 863 |
154 | 864 |
183 | 865 |
243 | 872 |
268 | 874 |
23 | 886 |
27 | 893 |
Index | 939 |
298 | 940 |
381 | 941 |
436 | 951 |
624 | 958 |
Copyright | |