Synopses & Reviews
Abraham Lincoln (1), Ulysses S. Grant (2), Robert E. Lee (4), Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson (20)... The Civil War's legendary figures are among the most famous in American history. The Civil War 100, the newest addition into the Citadel Press "100" series, offers a provocative discussion of the most significant persons in America's bloodiest war.
The Civil War altered the nation's political, social, and cultural landscape. Government more than ever before became directly involved in the lives of its citizens. The stunning photographs of Matthew Brady (34) forever changed the way the American public saw war; much of the finest poetry of Walt Whitman (69) stemmed from his wartime observations. Slavery was abolished and the rights of male citizens, regardless of color, were constitutionally guaranteed. Women broke barriers into the public sphere by becoming nurses and challenging existing assumptions about their "place".
The war produced an intriguing mix of soldiers, sailors, politicians, reformers, writers, bankers, and activists. Some were heroes and others rogues. Many, such as William T. Sherman (3), leader of the march through Georgia, or John Brown (14), whose raid on a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry helped spark the war, will be familiar. But other less famous persons-like Justin Morrill (83), founder of the nation's land-grant colleges; Gail Borden (96), developer of condensed milk; or May ("Mother") Bickerdyke (90), the only woman the irascible Sherman allowed into his army's hospitals -- will alternately delight and frustrate with their successes and failures.
Who was more important? Grant or Lee? Would a president other than Jefferson Davis (5) have better served theConfederacy? The answers to these and other questions will challenge, surprise, and entertain. Designed to provoke and enlighten, The Civil War 100 helps to bring the men, women, and issues of America's greatest conflict to life.