The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil WarLike 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 the tactics 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." |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 79
Page 17
... soldiers lost their lives out of a total population of million. If the same percentage of the American people were to die in a war fought by the United States today, the number of American war dead would be . million. An ...
... soldiers lost their lives out of a total population of million. If the same percentage of the American people were to die in a war fought by the United States today, the number of American war dead would be . million. An ...
Page 23
... soldiers fought was remarkably similar in the minds of soldiers on each side. Most Confederates fought for liberty and self-determination—many called the war a “second war of revolution” that would bring about the kind of freedom their ...
... soldiers fought was remarkably similar in the minds of soldiers on each side. Most Confederates fought for liberty and self-determination—many called the war a “second war of revolution” that would bring about the kind of freedom their ...
Page 42
... soldiers initially saw the war as a sweeping adventure, and indeed for most, who were after all quite young men, it ... soldier's life that dash of romance which makes pictures on the memory never fade.” “You have long before this been ...
... soldiers initially saw the war as a sweeping adventure, and indeed for most, who were after all quite young men, it ... soldier's life that dash of romance which makes pictures on the memory never fade.” “You have long before this been ...
Page 54
... soldiers and throwing rocks. Shots rang out from soldiers and civilians alike. “A scene of bloody confusion followed,” wrote journalist Frederic Emory, who witnessed the riot. “As the troops retreated, firing, the rioters rushed upon ...
... soldiers and throwing rocks. Shots rang out from soldiers and civilians alike. “A scene of bloody confusion followed,” wrote journalist Frederic Emory, who witnessed the riot. “As the troops retreated, firing, the rioters rushed upon ...
Page 55
... soldiers and would-be soldiers were grappling with loyalty. Inevitably, many people saw friends and acquaintances move to the other side. Robert E. Lee wrote his sister, Anne Marshall, from Arlington House on April : “With all my ...
... soldiers and would-be soldiers were grappling with loyalty. Inevitably, many people saw friends and acquaintances move to the other side. Robert E. Lee wrote his sister, Anne Marshall, from Arlington House on April : “With all my ...
Contents
17 | |
21 | |
29 | |
33 | |
57 | |
Southern Joy over First Bull Run | 80 |
A Massacre at Balls Bluff | 110 |
An Unlikely Hero at Belmont | 130 |
Three Days at Gettysburg | 501 |
Visiting the River of Death | 570 |
The Battles for Chattanooga | 600 |
Sherman Eyes the Deep South | 624 |
The Red River Campaign | 641 |
Grant Moves into the Wilderness | 659 |
Action at Atlanta and Petersburg | 705 |
Sheridan Raids the Valley | 735 |
Grant Moves into Tennessee | 154 |
Clash of the Ironclads | 183 |
A Bloodbath at Shiloh | 219 |
Jacksons Valley Campaign | 243 |
The Peninsular Campaign | 268 |
Confederate Triumph at Second Bull Run | 298 |
The Wars Bloodiest Day | 335 |
Fredericksburgs Appalling Loss | 381 |
Stalemate at Stones River | 408 |
The Campaign for Vicksburg | 436 |
Lees Master Stroke | 457 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
A. P. Hill action April army artillery attack batteries battle battlefield began Bragg brigades of Brig Burnside campaign Capt captured Carolina casualties cavalry Civil command Confeder Confederacy Confederate Creek D. H. Hill Davis divisions of Brig divisions of Maj Ewell Federal field fight fighting finally fire fired firing first five flag flank force Forrest Fredericksburg Frémont George Gettysburg Grant gunboats guns Halleck heavy Hill Hooker Infantry Jackson James Jefferson Davis John Johnston killed Lee’s Lincoln Longstreet March McClellan McClernand Meade miles military Mississippi moved movement naval Navy Northern officers ordered position Potomac prisoners railroad Rebel regiments retreat Richmond Ridge rifles River Road Robert E Rosecrans shell Sheridan Sherman ships shot skirmish Smith soldiers South Carolina Southern southward Stonewall Jackson struck Tennessee th Corps Thomas town troops U.S. Army Union Union army Vicksburg Virginia William wounded wrote Yankees
Popular passages
Page 51 - We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.