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Index
Title
Contents
Introduction: The First Modern War
About This Book
Map Legend
How This Book Is Organized
Icons Used in This Book
Where to Go from Here
Part I : The War and Its Causes
Chapter 1: How Did the War Happen?
The Big Picture: War and Politics
The North and South: Two Different Worlds
The Opposing Sides
Playing a Part in the Controversy: The Constitution
Struggling for Power
California: The Compromise of 1850
Chapter 2: The Five Steps to War: 1850–1860
Setting the Stage: Five Events Leading to War
Struggling for Kansas
Rising from the Collapse: The Republican Party
The Republicans and the 1856 Presidential Election
The Dred Scott Decision
John Brown’s Raid
The Fighting South, the Angry North
The Election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860
So Who Started the War?
Chapter 3: Secession and War: 1860–1861
Starting the Secession: South Carolina
The Confederate States of America
Taking Office: Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address
Starting the War: The First Shot
Part II : Making War
Chapter 4: Civil War Armies: Structure and Organization
Understanding the Basics of War
Creating a Strategy: Three Basic Questions
The Principles of War
Developing Campaigns: The Art of War
Campaigning
The Civil War Army Organization
Basic Civil War Army Structure: The Regiment
The Science versus the Art of War
Chapter 5: Union and Confederate Strategy
Comparing Northern and Southern Resources
Wartime Strategy: North and South
Geography and Strategy: Theaters of War
Civil War Strategy in Retrospect
Chapter 6: Organizing and Training the Armies
Making Civilians into Soldiers
Qualifications of Union and Southern Officers
Chapter 7: Weapons of the Civil War
The Weapons You Need to Fight
Effect of the Rifled Musket on Tactics
The Really Big Guns: Civil War Artillery
Cavalry Weapons
Part III : Opening Moves, 1861–1862
Chapter 8: Starting the War: Bull Run (First Manassas), July 1861
The First Rumblings: “On to Richmond!”
Marching into Battle (Sort Of)
Opening Moves: Key Decisions and Events
Advancing to Victory: The Outcome
Analyzing the Strategies and Significance of the Battle
Heroes and Goats
Chapter 9: The Road to Shiloh, April 1862
Dictating a Strategy in the Western Theater
Struggling with Rank: Union Command
The Importance of Kentucky
Attacking the Forts: Grant Teams with the Navy
The Shiloh Campaign
The Fighting Begins: The Battle of Shiloh
Aftermath of the Battle
Heroes and Goats
Chapter 10: Setbacks for the South, March–July 1862
Taking a Gamble: The Blockade
Patrolling the Coast: Union Naval Victories
McClellan Takes Command
The Political Price of Failure and Inaction
The Peninsula: A New Campaign
A New Chapter in Naval Warfare: The Ironclad
McClellan Is Fooled at Yorktown
The Presidents versus the Generals
McClellan before Richmond
Chapter 11: Stonewall Jackson’s Valley Campaign, March–June 1862
Creating a Hero: Stonewall Jackson
Stonewall’s Valley: The Shenandoah Valley
The Valley Campaign: An Appreciation
Chapter 12: The Seven Days of Robert E. Lee, June–July 1862
The Confederacy in Crisis: Seven Pines
Results of the Battle: McClellan Falters
Taking Command: The “King of Spades”
The Significance of the Campaign
Heroes and Goats
Chapter 13: Second Bull Run (Manassas), August 1862
Reshuffling the Union Command Structure
Giving Lee an Opportunity: “Old Brains” Miscalculates
The Aftermath of the Battle
Heroes and Goats
Chapter 14: The Bloodiest Day: Antietam (Sharpsburg), September 1862
Winning the War Now: The Southern Strategic Situation
Waiting for a Victory: The Northern Strategic Situation
The Antietam Campaign
Jackson’s Coup at Harpers Ferry
Starting the Battle: McClellan Creeps In
Aftermath of the Battle
Assessing the Battle and Its Significance
The Emancipation Proclamation
Heroes and Goats
Chapter 15: Bragg Fails at Perryville
Confederate Cavalry Dominates Tennessee
Bragg Takes Command
Starting the Fight: The Battle of Perryville
The Aftermath of Battle: Results and Recriminations
Significance of the Battle
Heroes and Goats
Chapter 16: War So Terrible: Fredericksburg and Murfreesboro, December 1862
A New Start in the East
Hurry Up and Wait at Rappahannock
The Battle of Fredericksburg
The Aftermath of the Battle
The Strategic Situation in the West: September–December 1862
The Battle of Murfreesboro
The Results of the Battle
Heroes and Goats
Part IV : War to the Hilt, 1863–1865
Chapter 17: The Battle of Chancellorsville, May 1863
The Strategic Situation East and West
The Battle of Chancellorsville
Heroes and Goats
Chapter 18: The Battle of Gettysburg and Vicksburg, July 1863
The Gettysburg Campaign
The Battle of Gettysburg: Day One
The Battle of Gettysburg: Day Two
The Battle of Gettysburg: Day Three
The Final Moves
The Battle’s Significance
Heroes and Goats
The Vicksburg Campaign
The Siege and Fall of Vicksburg
Grant’s Accomplishment
Chapter 19: The Battle of Chickamauga and Chattanooga, August–November 1863
Rosecrans: Approaching and Taking Chattanooga
The Chickamauga Campaign
The Battle of Chickamauga: Day One
The Battle of Chickamauga: Day Two
The Battle Ends
Chickamauga: The Results
Heroes and Goats
Turned Tables at Chattanooga
The Battle’s Aftermath
Heroes and Goats
Chapter 20: Lee and Grant: The Virginia Campaign, May–June 1864
Generals Get Their Orders
Day One in the Wilderness: “Bushwhacking on a Grand Scale”
Day Two in the Wilderness: Grant Doesn’t Quit
Lee Loses the Initiative at North Anna
Grant’s Disaster at Cold Harbor
The Jug-Handle Movement to Petersburg
The Second Valley Campaign
The Siege at Petersburg
Chapter 21: The Atlanta Campaign and a Guarantee of Union Victory, May–December 1864
Taking Command: Johnston and the Army of Tennessee
Preparing to Move: Sherman in the Western Theater
The Campaign for Atlanta Begins
The Battle for Atlanta
The Navy’s Contributions in 1864
Presidential Politics of 1864
Sherman’s March to the Sea
Assessing Sherman’s Impact
Chapter 22: The Destruction of Hood’s Army in Tennessee, October 1864–January 1865
Hood Moves North
Triumphing at Nashville: Thomas’s Brilliant Plan
The Battle of Nashville
The Aftermath
Heroes and Goats
Chapter 23: A Matter of Time: Petersburg and Appomattox, January–April 1865
The Strategic Situation in 1865
Lee’s Fateful Dilemma: Petersburg
The Last Retreat
Symbolic Formalities: The Last Act
Closing Events: The War Ends, a President Dies
Victory and Uncertainty: The Reunited States
Winners and Losers: The Debate Lives On
Part V : Behind the Lines
Chapter 24: The Confederacy at War: Creating a Nation and Vying for Recognition
Jefferson Davis as President and War Leader
The New Confederate Government
Financing the War
Supplying Manpower for the War
Supplying Material for the War
The Confederate Naval War
Struggling with Diplomacy: European Recognition
Creating a Nation: Confederate Nationalism
Chapter 25: The Union at War: Creating a New Banking System and a Strong Economy
Abraham Lincoln as President and War Leader
Financing the War
Running the War: Congress and the President
Fighting the War
Building an Economy: Northern Industrial Production
Chapter 26: The Life of the Common Soldier, Women, and Other Participants
Meeting the Common Soldier: Everyman
Women’s Roles in the Civil War
The African-American Contribution
Discovering the American Indians
Part VI : The Civil War Tourist
Chapter 27: Getting Ready to Travel
Planning Your Trip
Using Your Time Wisely
Taking Three Methods on a Battlefield
Chapter 28: Visiting a Civil War Battlefield
Fine-Tuning Your Trip
Getting Oriented: The Visitors’ Center
Appreciating the Terrain
Studying, Stories, and Reflection
Part VII : The Part of Tens
Chapter 29: The Ten Worst Generals of the Civil War
Braxton Bragg (1817–1876)
Nathaniel P. Banks (1816–1894)
Ambrose E. Burnside (1824–1881)
John B. Hood (1831–1879)
John B. Floyd (1806–1863)
Ben F. Butler (1818–1893)
Leonidas (Bishop) Polk (1806–1864)
Joseph Hooker (1814–1879)
John Pope (1822–1892)
P.G.T. Beauregard (1818–1893)
George B. McClellan (1826–1885): Honorable Mention
Chapter 30: The Ten Biggest “Firsts” of the Civil War
Changing Tactics and Uniforms: The Rifle Bullet
Minesweeping: Naval Mines
Starting Undersea Warfare: The Submarine
Changing Tactics and Moving Quickly: The Railroad
Battling without Bullets: Psychological Warfare
Using Air-to-Ground Communication
Dominating the Seas: The Ironclad Warship
Talking over Wires: The Telegraph
Increasing Firepower: The Repeating Rifle
Born in the Civil War: The Machine Gun
Chapter 31: The Ten Biggest “What Ifs” of the Civil War
What If the Confederates Had Pursued After Bull Run?
What If Grant Were Killed at Shiloh?
What If Fort Sumter Had Not Been Fired On?
What If McClellan Had Not Found Lee’s Lost Orders?
What If McClellan Had Won Decisively at Antietam?
What If Johnston Had Not Been Wounded at Seven Pines?
What If Davis Had Adopted a Different Strategy in the West?
What If Lee Had Won at Gettysburg?
What If Davis Had Relieved Bragg Earlier in the War?
What If Jackson Had Not Been Lost?
Chapter 32: The Ten Best Battlefields of the Civil War
Best Battlefields by the Mounted Method
Best Battlefields by the Mounted/Dismounted Method
Best Battlefields by the Terrain Walk Method
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