Creating The Library of Congress Illustrated Timeline of the Civil War was a labor of love and, as with every new Library project, even those on familiar topics, an exciting voyage of discovery. Drawing on the massive Civil War collections of the Library of Congress, the Timeline was also very much a collaborative effort.
The book has benefited most especially from the dedication, knowledge, artistic eye, sleuthing abilities, and organizational skills of its incomparable picture editor, Athena Angelos. Her research acumen and sage advice have resulted in a nourishing visual feast that grandly complements the text.
In addition to writing an eloquent and informed introduction to the book and the Civil War era, Gary W. Gallagher reviewed the Timeline text; his comments, corrections, and suggestions—given with characteristic consideration, zest, and good humor—have made this a stronger book.
It has been a great pleasure to work with our colleagues at Little, Brown and Company, where executive editor Michael Sand guided the book to completion with excellent editorial suggestions while exhibiting much-appreciated patience. At the crucial intersection of several streams of production requirements, Melissa Caminneci was a perfect diplomat and traffic officer and helped keep the book on track. Designer Laura Lindgren has taken hundreds of elements and transformed them with skill and artistry into a stunning volume. And I offer a special tip of my cap to the excellent copyediting team of Peggy Freudenthal, Janet Byrne, and Pamela Marshall, for whose careful attention to telling details I am most grateful.
Several members of the talented and dedicated staff of the Library of Congress are due special thanks for their assistance on this book. Prints and Photographs Division chief Helena Zinkham provided guidance and excellent suggestions for exploration and methods of operation, while Sara Duke, curator of popular and applied graphic arts, and Carol Johnson, curator of photography, introduced us to thrilling material in their P&P domains. Clark Evans, head of reference in the Rare Book and Special Collections Division, and that division’s Civil War–era specialist, was a most excellent guide to the treasures there. In the Manuscript Division thanks go to assistant chief Janice Ruth and to Civil War and Reconstruction specialist Michelle Krowl, who led us enthusiastically through the wealth of material there. Thanks, too, to Cheryl Regan, exhibition director in the Interpretive Programs Office; Ed Redmond, in the Geography and Map Division; James Martin, in the Law Division; Domenico Sergi, in the Information Technology Service; Margaret Kiekhefer, Georgia Zola, and Paul Hogroian in Duplication Services; Beatriz BM Haspo, in the Loan Division; consultant Lee Ewing, for his excellent special photography; and to Publishing Office interns Ariel Moore and Julie Thompson, whose research and fact checking contributed much to the development of the Timeline. All those named above have made this a richer book; the flaws that remain in the text are my own.
Finally, and especially, I salute my dauntless colleagues in the Publishing Office at the Library of Congress: Director of Publishing Ralph Eubanks, fellow writer-editors Linda Osborne, Susan Reyburn, and Aimee Hess, and administrative wizard Myint San. Their love of history and the making of good books, their integrity and devotion to producing work of the highest quality, their wisecracks and wise counsel are ever a joy and an inspiration.
M.E.W.