A Gunner in Lee's Army


Book Description

Gunner in Lee's Army: The Civil War Letters of Thomas Henry Carter




Loyal Gunners


Book Description

Loyal Gunners uniquely encapsulates the experience of Canadian militia gunners and their units into a single compelling narrative that centres on the artillery units of New Brunswick. The story of those units is a profoundly Canadian story: one of dedication and sacrifice in service of great guns and of Canada. The 3rd Field Regiment (The Loyal Company), Royal Canadian Artillery, is Canada’s oldest artillery unit, dating to the founding of the Loyal Company in Saint John in 1793. Since its centennial in 1893, 3rd Field—in various permutations of medium, coastal, and anti-aircraft artillery—has formed the core of New Brunswick’s militia artillery, and it has endured into the twenty-first century as the last remaining artillery unit in the province. This book is the first modern assessment of the development of Canadian heavy artillery in the Great War, the first look at the development of artillery in general in both world wars, and the first exploration of the development and operational deployment of anti-tank artillery in the Second World War. It also tells a universal story of survival as it chronicles the fortunes of New Brunswick militia units through the darkest days of the Cold War, when conventional armed forces were entirely out of favour. In 1950 New Brunswick had four and a half regiments of artillery; by 1970 it had one—3rd Field. Loyal Gunners traces the rise and fall of artillery batteries in New Brunswick as the nature of modern war evolved. From the Great War to Afghanistan it provides the most comprehensive account to date of Canada’s gunners.







From Arlington to Appomattox


Book Description

“Brilliant . . . really gives one a sense of what it took to both lead and run an army in the Civil War. . . . Superb.” —Chris Kolakowski, author of The Virginia Campaigns: March–August 1862 In From Arlington to Appomattox, Charles Knight does for Robert E. Lee and students of the Civil War what E. B. Long’s Civil War Day by Day did for our understanding of the conflict as a whole. This is not another Lee biography, but it is every bit as valuable as one. We know Lee rode out to meet the survivors of Pickett’s Charge and accept blame for the defeat, that he tried to lead the Texas Brigade in a counterattack to save the day at the Wilderness, and took a tearful ride from Wilmer McLean’s house at Appomattox. But where was Lee and what was he doing when the spotlight of history failed to illuminate him? Focusing on what he was doing day by day offers an entirely different appreciation for Lee. Readers will come away with a fresh sense of his struggles, both personal and professional, and discover many things about Lee for the first time through his own correspondence and papers. From Arlington to Appomattox is a tremendous contribution to the literature of the Civil War. “Knight’s study will become the standard reference work on Lee’s daily wartime experiences.” —R. E. L. Krick, author of Staff Officers in Gray “A staggering work of scholarship.” —Jeffry D. Wert, author of A Glorious Army: Robert E. Lee’s Triumph, 1862–1863 "A pleasure to read.” —Michael C. Hardy, author of General Lee’s Immortals “Keeps the reader engaged.” —Journal of America's Military Past




Gunner with Stonewall: Reminiscences Of William Thomas Poague [Illustrated Edition]


Book Description

Includes Civil War Map and Illustrations Pack - 224 battle plans, campaign maps and detailed analyses of actions spanning the entire period of hostilities. An excellent memoir from one of Stonewall Jackson’s artillery officers who fought throughout the Civil War until final defeat. Born in Rockbridge County, Virginia in 1835, the opening of the Civil War found William T. Poague practicing law in Missouri. As the first shots began flying he repaired to his home state to offer his services to the Confederate army. He started his army life as a second lieutenant in the famous Rockbridge Virginia Artillery and would fight with gallantry, courage and great skill on many Civil War battlefields. He was engaged at First Manassas, Romney, Kernstown, the Seven Days Campaign, Cedar Mountain, Second Manassas, Harper’s Ferry Antietam, and Fredericksberg. By this time his distinguished conduct had led him to be promoted to Major and fought on at Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Cold Harbor before the final surrender at Appomattox. This edition was edited by noted Civil War historian Monroe F. Cockerell and has an excellent introduction by Bell Irwin Wiley.




The Army of Northern Virginia


Book Description

To see the introduction, the table of contents, a generous selection of sample pages, and more, visit the website The Army of Northern Virginia website. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was one of the greatest fighting formations in history: a combination of an outstanding commander and an excellent fighting force. This book offers an in-depth study of why this formation was so successful against Northern armies, which often had a greater wealth of resources and manpower and some very able leaders. Almost always outnumbered, Lee's forces were able to record a number of notable victories by giving free rein to subordinates and utilizing the fighting qualities of the army's units to the full. Also includes color and black and white maps.




Their Maryland


Book Description

“Engagingly written and persuasively argued, this daringly revisionist book is an essential addition to the Antietam bibliography.” —Brian Matthew Jordan, Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of Marching Home What if the histories previously written about Robert E. Lee’s 1862 Maryland Campaign, the first major Confederate operation north of the Potomac River, missed key sources, proceeded from mistaken readings of the evidence, or were influenced by Lost Cause ideology? As Alexander B. Rossino, author of the acclaimed Six Days in September, demonstrates in Their Maryland: The Army of Northern Virginia from the Potomac Crossing to Sharpsburg in September 1862, these types of distortions indeed continue to shape modern understanding of the campaign. Rossino reassesses the history of the Confederate operation in seven comprehensive chapters, each tackling a specific major issue. He addresses many important questions: Did supply problems in Virginia force Lee north to press the advantage he’d won after the Battle of Second Manassas? What did Rebel troops believe about the strength of secessionist sentiment in Maryland, and why? Did the entire Army of Northern Virginia really camp at Best’s Farm near Frederick, Maryland? Did D.H. Hill lose Special Orders No. 191, or is there more to the story? How did Maryland civilians respond to the Rebel army in their midst, and what part did women play? Finally, why did Robert E. Lee choose to fight at Sharpsburg, and how personally was he involved in directing the fighting? Rossino makes extensive use of primary sources to explore these and other questions. In doing so, he reveals that many long-held assumptions about the Confederate experience in Maryland do not hold up under close scrutiny. The result is a well-documented reassessment that sheds new light on old subjects and reinvigorates the debate on several fronts. “The reader will come away with a greater understanding of this crucial campaign and battle.” —James M. McPherson, Pulitzer Prize winner and New York Times–bestselling author of Battle Cry of Freedom




Lee's Last Retreat


Book Description

Few events in Civil War history have generated such deliberate mythmaking as the retreat that ended at Appomattox. As the popular imagination would have it, Robert E. Lee's tattered, starving, but devoted troops found themselves hopelessly surrounded thro




Horse Soldiers at Gettysburg


Book Description

Cavalry operations during the Gettysburg campaign have been well covered, but never like this. Most cavalry treatments of the campaign and battle have focused on strategy, operations, and tactics and zoomed in on particular episodes: the Battle of Brandy Station in June 1863 (the largest cavalry engagement on American soil), Jeb Stuart’s controversial ride-for-glory that deprived Lee of important intelligence for days, Union cavalry general John Buford’s role in the start of the battle on July 1, and the cavalry battle involving not only Stuart but also George Armstrong Custer east of Gettysburg on July 3. Daniel Murphy’s book covers the grand sweep of cavalry in the Gettysburg campaign, from Lee’s crossing of the Rappahannock in early June 1863, through the epic three-day clash in Pennsylvania, to the conclusion of Lee’s retreat in July 1863. But more than that, in a book blending strategy and tactics and campaign narrative with deep research in primary sources and an equestrian’s sense for what it’s like to ride and manage horses, Daniel Murphy brings a horseman’s eye to the story of the campaign: how individual cavalrymen experienced the campaign from the saddle and how horses—with special needs for care and maintenance—were in fact weapons that helped shape battles. In this new narrative of Civil War cavalry, author Daniel Murphy gets into the saddle and explores what it was like to be a cavalryman during the Gettysburg campaign. Horse-soldiering was a unique way of doing battle, and Murphy gives it more justice and nuanced description than any author has yet given it.