Synopses & Reviews
Historians have long treated the patriotic anthems of the American Civil War as colorful, if largely insignificant, side notes. But beneath the songsandrsquo; inspirational surface is a far more complex story. The contradictory genesis and reception of one such anthem, andldquo;Maryland, My Maryland,andrdquo; for instance, showcases the inherent ironies underlying the Civil War in general. Long considered one of the most popular Confederate patriotic songs, andldquo;Maryland, My Maryland,andrdquo; was not only written in Louisiana but also celebrated a state that never joined the Confederacy.
In Maryland, My Maryland: Civil War Music and Patriotism, James A. Davis offers an in-depth exploration of the contradictions underlying this Civil War anthem and considers what these incongruities reveal more broadly about expressions of patriotism during the war. To do so, Davis explores the geographic specificity of the songandrsquo;s lyrics, which allowed the contest between regional and national loyalties to be fought on bandstands as well as battlefields, amplifying the emerging division between soldiers and civilians as audiences and their role in bestowing musical meaning.and#160; Furthermore, Davis posits that andldquo;Maryland, My Marylandandrdquo; contributed to the shift in patriotic allegiance from a specific, localized and material place to an ambiguous, inclusive, and imagined space. By resisting the straight-forward narrative of popular music, Davis reveals the inconsistencies that belie commonly-held assumptions that popular music was for all people and that patriotism was an easily defined, stable, and universally-held attitude shared by those living within clearly delineated geo-political boundaries.
Review
"Allen C. Guelzo's new book should occupy the same position in the current Civil War sesquicentennial as Bruce Catton's books did 50 years ago during the war's centennial. Fateful Lightning: A New History of the Civil War and Reconstruction deserves this prominence for Guelzo's thorough knowledge of the subject, his ability to draw fresh conclusion, and his exceptional writing skills." - The Saturday Evening Post
"With his accustomed eloquence and erudition, Allen C. Guelzo has produced a grand and sweeping account of the Civil War, vividly depicting its events, its characters, and, most of all, the ideas that drove them. Fateful Lightning is destined to take its place alongside the classic narratives of the nation's greatest crisis." --Steven E. Woodworth, author of This Great Struggle: America's Civil War
"Allen C. Guelzo works on an expansive canvas that embraces antecedents of the Civil War, the mighty conflict itself, and the aftershocks of Reconstruction. With sure mastery of a vast body of sources, he combines deft biographical detail, analytical acuity, and sensitivity to the dramatic resonance of events on the battlefield and behind the lines. Fateful Lightning provides a superb starting point for anyone seeking to come to grips with this critical era in American history." --Gary W. Gallagher, author of The Union War
"This is an outstanding effort to recount and explain our greatest national trauma to general readers." - Booklist
Review
"Guelzo's book is a shining example of the virtues of the macro approach when it is undertaken with energy and efficiency. By panning out and reviewing the events that occurred over several decades, Guelzo offers a useful synthesis of the developing Civil War narrative..." - The New York Times
"Allen C. Guelzo's new book should occupy the same position in the current Civil War sesquicentennial as Bruce Catton's books did 50 years ago during the war's centennial. Fateful Lightning: A New History of the Civil War and Reconstruction deserves this prominence for Guelzo's thorough knowledge of the subject, his ability to draw fresh conclusion, and his exceptional writing skills." - The Saturday Evening Post
"Allen C. Guelzo works on an expansive canvas that embraces antecedents of the Civil War, the mighty conflict itself, and the aftershocks of Reconstruction. With sure mastery of a vast body of sources, he combines deft biographical detail, analytical acuity, and sensitivity to the dramatic resonance of events on the battlefield and behind the lines. Fateful Lightning provides a superb starting point for anyone seeking to come to grips with this critical era in American history." --Gary W. Gallagher, author of The Union War
"This is an outstanding effort to recount and explain our greatest national trauma to general readers." - Booklist
"With his accustomed eloquence and erudition, Allen C. Guelzo has produced a grand and sweeping account of the Civil War, vividly depicting its events, its characters, and, most of all, the ideas that drove them. Fateful Lightning is destined to take its place alongside the classic narratives of the nation's greatest crisis." --Steven E. Woodworth, author of This Great Struggle: America's Civil War
Review
"Guelzo has a masterful command of the intricate narrative of the Civil War period. His tale contains familiar stories, but also new insights." --Journal of American History
"Guelzo's book is a shining example of the virtues of the macro approach when it is undertaken with energy and efficiency. By panning out and reviewing the events that occurred over several decades, Guelzo offers a useful synthesis of the developing Civil War narrative..." --The New York Times
"It's hard to imagine a better one-volume history of the American Civil War than Gettysburg College professor Allen C. Guelzo's new work." --The Washington Times
"Guelzo's prose is graceful and erudite - indeed, almost poetic. His is as comfortable with military topics as he is with the political, social, and economic aspects of the war and its aftermath." --The Weekly Standard
"Allen C. Guelzo's new book should occupy the same position in the current Civil War sesquicentennial as Bruce Catton's books did 50 years ago during the war's centennial. Fateful Lightning: A New History of the Civil War and Reconstruction deserves this prominence for Guelzo's thorough knowledge of the subject, his ability to draw fresh conclusion, and his exceptional writing skills." --The Saturday Evening Post
"This is an outstanding effort to recount and explain our greatest national trauma to general readers." --Booklist
"With his accustomed eloquence and erudition, Allen C. Guelzo has produced a grand and sweeping account of the Civil War, vividly depicting its events, its characters, and, most of all, the ideas that drove them. Fateful Lightning is destined to take its place alongside the classic narratives of the nation's greatest crisis." --Steven E. Woodworth, author of This Great Struggle: America's Civil War
"[A] splendidly-written narrative" --Civil War Book Review
"Fateful Lightning is a splendid accomplishment." --David Frum, Daily Beast
"Fateful Lightning is a wonderful book. It is the summit of a long career of a consumate historian. ... [A] timely addition to a long tradition of scholarly histories of both the Civil War and Reconstruction. ... Guelzo seamlessly weaves the history of actual warfare with other cultural and historical events of the time. ... Because it is so well-written and produces such an engrossing story, it is one that students and scholars alike will relish." --International Social Science Review
Review
and#8220;The dramatic role of frontier Iowa as abolitionand#8217;s western bridgehead in the crusade to save Kansas for freedom has long awaited definitive study. Now historian Lowell J. Soike has carefully reconstructed this story.and#8221;and#8212;Robert R. Dykstra, author of
Bright Radical Star: Black Freedom and White Supremacy on the Hawkeye FrontierReview
and#8220;Who knew that the young Hawkeye state sent more settlers to and#8216;Bleeding Kansasand#8217; than all of New England combined? Deeply researched and clearly written, Busy in the Cause reconnects Iowaand#8217;s Underground Railroad to its Kansas roots and offers our most complete description yet of John Brownand#8217;s Missouri raid.and#8221;and#8212;G. Galin Berrier, historian, writer, and speaker on the Underground Railroad
Review
"John Christgau has a knack for finding riveting slivers of history hidden in complex events. He pumps fresh blood into long-forgotten characters and does it with crisp, simple writing."—Curt Brown, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Review
“Incident at the Otterville Station is an amazing story of a state divided over the issue of slavery and a group of Minnesota soldiers who performed their duties not only as soldiers but as men with high morals. Christgau enlightens the world to a little-known story that was one of many during the Civil War. The people of southeast Minnesota should find pride in the history of their soldiers in this book.”—Dustin B. Heckman, executive director of the Mower County (MN) Historical Society
Review
“While President Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg address, thirty-six Minnesota enlisted soldiers languished in a Missouri jail. Their crime of conscience to implement Lincoln’s ‘new birth of freedom’ for a group of runaway slaves would soon be the mission of the entire Union Army.”—Stephen Osman, retired senior historian, Minnesota State Historical Society
Review
“A very informative tribute to ‘the Minnesota boys in blue who carried ‘the state flag and protected our nation during the great War between the States. This narrative further enhances the legend of the troops from Minnesota—especially those from the southern part of the state—primarily Mower County. It makes you proud to be a Minnesotan and live in the United States.”—Polly Jelinek, historian and lifelong resident of Mower County, Minnesota
Review
andquot;Busy in the Cause is a unique and important contribution to Iowa history and to the literature of the 1850s Free Soil movement in the unsettled West.andquot;andmdash;
Civil War Books and Authors Review
"Soike's clearly written narrative illuminates the intersection between free soilism in Iowa and turmoil in Bleeding Kansas. . . . [She] has filled a niche in elaborating Iowa's role in the territorial struggle."and#8212;Nicole Etcheson, Middle West Review
Review
andquot;Rafuse's Manassas ranks among the best tools for touring the Second Bull Run campaign and battlefield and for the first battle it is without peer among traditionally formatted guide books.andquot;andmdash;Civil War Books and Authors
Review
"[Manassas] belongs in every serious visitor's knapsack."and#8212;Free Lance-Star
Review
andquot;Rafuse has done yeoman's work in simplifying a complicated subject for the casual tourist on a battlefield visit, the scholar conducting historical research, and the military profession on a staff ride.andquot;andmdash;Kevin Dougherty, On Point
Review
and#8220;This guidebook explores the campaigns of Manassas like no other. It will take you to obscure places long forgotten and accord them significance; it takes the familiar and illuminates them in ways not done before. Well written and dashed with analytical twists both thoughtful and helpful, Dr. Rafuseand#8217;s work is by far the best of its kind.and#8221;and#8212;John Hennessy, author of Return to Bull Run: The Campaign and Battle of Second Manassas
Review
and#8220;No other work juxtaposes Lincolnand#8217;s writing and speeches with contemporary commentaries and criticism of him. Rawleyand#8217;s careful selection of these documents and his judicious interweaving of his historical analysis and background come together to create a powerful dialogue with the reader as well.and#8221;and#8212;From the foreword by William G. Thomas
Review
andquot;Ethan S. Rafuse, a distinguished scholar of the Civil War, provides a clearly organized, thorough, and uniquely insightful account of both campaigns, along with expert analysis and precise directions for armchair traveler and battlefield visitor alike.andquot;andmdash;civilwar.com
Review
andquot;As with the other guides, Manassasandrsquo;s format is a model of perfection.andquot;Timothy J. Orr, Civil War Monitor
Review
andquot;This volume is highly recommended to all for their next battlefield trek.andquot;andmdash;Stuart McClung, Journal of Americaand#39;s Military Past
Review
andldquo;[It is] required reading in the history of the Trans-Mississippi during the Civil War period.andrdquo;andmdash;Earl J. Hess, author of The Civil War in the West: Victory and Defeat from the Appalachians to the Mississippiand#160;
Review
andldquo;A timely anthology, offering readers the opportunity to learn more about the participants and events that occurred in Indian Territory over 150 years ago. . . . The book will appeal to specialists in Five Tribes and Civil War history . . . [and would be appropriate for] Oklahoma history courses as well as the general reader.andrdquo;andmdash;Patricia Loughlin, author of Hidden Treasures of the American West: Muriel H. Wright, Angie Debo, and Alice Marriottand#160;and#160;
Review
andquot;Busy in the Cause is worthwhile reading for anyone who is interested in the run-up to the Civil War in the West.andquot;andmdash;Dan Holtz, Nebraska History
Review
andquot;Busy in the Cause is a lively and engaging narrative.andquot;andmdash;Brent M. S. Campney, Western Historical Quarterly
Review
andquot;Busy in the Cause is a welcome addition to this literature, and its accessible narrative makes the work handy for undergraduate courses on Civil War and western history.andquot;andmdash;William Hickox, Kansas History
Synopsis
The Civil War is the greatest trauma ever experienced by the American nation, a four-year paroxysm of violence that left in its wake more than 600,000 dead, more than 2 million refugees, and the destruction (in modern dollars) of more than $700 billion in property. The war also sparked some of the most heroic moments in American history and enshrined a galaxy of American heroes. Above all, it permanently ended the practice of slavery and proved, in an age of resurgent monarchies, that a liberal democracy could survive the most frightful of challenges.
In Fateful Lightning, two-time Lincoln Prize-winning historian Allen C. Guelzo offers a marvelous portrait of the Civil War and its era, covering not only the major figures and epic battles, but also politics, religion, gender, race, diplomacy, and technology. And unlike other surveys of the Civil War era, it extends the reader's vista to include the postwar Reconstruction period and discusses the modern-day legacy of the Civil War in American literature and popular culture. Guelzo also puts the conflict in a global perspective, underscoring Americans' acute sense of the vulnerability of their republic in a world of monarchies. He examines the strategy, the tactics, and especially the logistics of the Civil War and brings the most recent historical thinking to bear on emancipation, the presidency and the war powers, the blockade and international law, and the role of intellectuals, North and South.
Written by a leading authority on our nation's most searing crisis, Fateful Lightning offers a vivid and original account of an event whose echoes continue with Americans to this day.
Synopsis
Despite the immense body of literature about the American Civil War and its causes, the nationand#8217;s western involvement in the approaching conflict often gets short shrift. Slavery was the catalyst for fiery rhetoric on both sides of the Mason-Dixon line and fiery conflicts on the western edges of the nation. Driven by questions regarding the place of slavery in westward expansion and by the increasing influence of evangelical Protestant faiths that viewed the institution as inherently sinful, political debates about slavery took on a radicalized, uncompromising fervor in states and territories west of the Mississippi River.
Busy in the Cause explores the role of the Midwest in shaping national politics concerning slavery in the years leading up to the Civil War. In 1856 Iowa aided parties of abolitionists desperate to reach Kansas Territory to vote against the expansion of slavery, and evangelical Iowans assisted runaway slaves through Underground Railroad routes in Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska. Lowell J. Soikeand#8217;s detailed and entertaining narrative illuminates Iowaand#8217;s role in the stirring western events that formed the prelude to the Civil War.
Synopsis
While elated Northerners were celebrating victory at Gettysburg and toasting Abraham Lincoln as the Great Emancipator, Missourian Charles W. Walker was rousing his thirteen slaves in the dark of night. In defiance of a standing Union order prohibiting the transfer of slaves among states, he intended to ship his slaves by train to Kentucky, where they would be sold at auction. What ensued was one of the most gripping—and until now, mostly forgotten—events of the Civil War.
In Incident at the Otterville Station, John Christgau relates the true story of the rescue of Walkers thirteen slaves by soldiers of the Ninth Minnesota Regiment and the soldiers subsequent arrest for mutiny. The controversial incident became national news, with President Lincoln ultimately sending Secretary of War Edward Stanton to investigate. Christgaus compelling narrative of the Otterville Station rescue and its aftermath illustrates the complex process of emancipation during the American Civil War, particularly in border states such as Missouri. The end of slavery was the product of many actors, from Union soldiers to the president and Congress to abolitionists and the enslaved themselves. This detailed account examines the critical role that individuals played in determining the outcome of emancipation and the war.
Synopsis
and#8220;The Army was much embarrassed by the absence of the cavalry,and#8221; Robert E. Lee wrote of the Gettysburg campaign, stirring a controversy that continues even today. Leeand#8217;s statement was an indirect indictment of Gen. James Ewell Brown (and#8220;Jeband#8221;) Stuart, who was the cavalry. This book reexamines the questions that have shadowed the legendary Confederate hero and offers a fresh, informed interpretation of his role at Gettysburg.
Avoiding the partisan pros and cons characterizing previous accounts, Warren C. Robinson reassesses the historical record to come to a clearer view of Stuartand#8217;s orders for the crucial battle (as well as what was expected of him), of his actual performance, and of the impact his late arrival had on the outcome of the campaign. Though Stuart may not have disobeyed Leeand#8217;s orders, Robinson argues, he did abuse the generaland#8217;s discretion by raiding Washington rather than scouting for the army at Gettysburgand#8212;a move that profoundly affected Confederate fortunes and perhaps the war itself.
Synopsis
This volume is the essential guide to the Manassas battlefields, site of two of the Civil Warand#8217;s critical campaigns. Ethan S. Rafuse, a distinguished scholar of the Civil War, provides a clearly organized, thorough, and uniquely insightful account of both campaigns, along with expert analysis and precise directions for armchair traveler and battlefield visitor alike.
The July 1861 Battle of First Manassas and the August 1862 Battle of Second Manassas unequivocally influenced the course and outcome of the Civil War. The first battle dealt a decisive blow to hopes that the inexperienced armies of the North and the South could bring about a quick military resolution of the secession crisis. The second battle was the climactic engagement of a spectacular campaign that carried the war to the outskirts of Washington DC and marked the coming of age of Robert E. Leeand#8217;s Army of Northern Virginia. Manassas: A Battlefield Guide presents readers with a clear, convenient guide to the sites in northern and central Virginia that shaped the course and outcome of these campaigns. Lucid, concise narratives give readers a better understanding of the events that took place on these battlefields and of the terrain, personalities, and decisions that shaped them.
Synopsis
In Indian Territory the Civil War is a story best told through shades of gray rather than black and white or heroes and villains. Since neutrality appeared virtually impossible, the vast majority of territory residents chose a side, doing so for myriad reasons and not necessarily out of affection for either the Union or the Confederacy. Indigenous residents found themselves fighting to protect their unusual dual status as communities distinct from the American citizenry yet legal wards of the federal government.and#160;The Civil War and Reconstruction in Indian Territory is a nuanced and authoritative examination of the layers of conflicts both on and off the Civil War battlefield. It examines the military front and the home front; the experiences of the Five Nations and those of the agency tribes in the western portion of the territory; the severe conflicts between Native Americans and the federal government and between Indian nations and their former slaves during and beyond the Reconstruction years; and the concept of memory as viewed through the lenses of Native American oral traditions and the modern evolution of public history. These carefully crafted essays by leading scholars such as Amanda Cobb-Greetham, Clarissa Confer, Richard B. McCaslin, Linda W. Reese, and F. Todd Smith will help teachers and students better understand the Civil War, Native American history, and Oklahoma history.
About the Author
Allen C. Guelzo is the Henry R. Luce Professor of the Civil War Era, and Director of Civil War Era Studies at Gettysburg College. He is the author of
Abraham Lincoln: Redeemer President and
Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation: The End of Slavery in America, both of which won the Lincoln Prize. His most recent books on Lincoln and the Civil War era are
Lincoln and Douglas: The Debates That Defined America and
Lincoln: A Very Short Introduction.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: A Nation Announcing Itself
Chapter 2: The Disillusion of Compromise
Chapter 3: From Debate to Civil War
Chapter 4: To War Upon Slavery: The East and Emancipation, 1861-1862
Chapter 5: Elusive Victories: East and West, 1862-1863
Chapter 6: The Soldier's Tale
Chapter 7: The Manufacture of War
Chapter 8: Year That Trembled: East and West, 1863
Chapter 9: World Turned Upside Down
Chapter 10: Stalemate and Triumph
Chapter 11: A Dim Shore Ahead
Epilogue
Index