Fighting for the Confederacy: The Personal Recollections of General Edward Porter Alexander

by Gary W. Gallagher (Editor)

Overview

Originally published by UNC Press in 1989, Fighting for the Confederacy is one of the richest personal accounts in all of the vast literature on the Civil War. Alexander was involved in nearly all of the great battles of the East, from First Manassas through Appomattox, and his duties brought him into frequent contact with most of the high command of the Army of Northern Virginia, including Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and James Longstreet. No other Civil War veteran of his stature matched Alexander's ability to discuss operations in penetrating detail— this is especially true of his description of Gettysburg. His narrative is also remarkable for its utterly candid appraisals of leaders on both sides.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807847220
Publisher:	The University of North Carolina Press
Publication date:	03/02/1998
Series:	Civil War America
Edition description:	1
Pages:	692
Sales rank:	423,088
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.53(d)

About the Author

Gary W. Gallagher is John L. Nau III Professor of History at the University of Virginia.

Table of Contents

Contents

Acknowledgments Introduction Editor's Note Chapter 1. Early Days Chapter 2. First Manassas or Bull Run Chapter 3. Fall & Winter after Bull Run Chapter 4. Seven Days Chapter 5. Second Manassas Campaign Chapter 6. Sharpsburg Campaign Chapter 7. The Fall of 1862
Chapter 8. The Battle of Fredericksburg Chapter 9. Winter after Fredericksburg Chapter 10. Battle of Chancellorsville Chapter 11. The Gettysburg Campaign Chapter 12. Chickamauga Chapter 13. Chattanooga & Knoxville Chapter 14. Spring of 1864
Chapter 15. Wilderness & Spottsylvania Chapter 16. North Anna & Drury's Bluff Chapter 17. Totopotomoy & Cold Harbor Chapter 18. Passage of James River Chapter 19. Siege of Petersburg Chapter 20. Fall of 1864
Chapter 21. Fall & Winter of 1864 & '65
Chapter 22. Appomattox Notes Index

Figures
1. Hogshead and platform
2. Hogs on "sawpit" timbers
3. Projectile with hole through long axis
4. Vicinity of First Manassas battlefield
5. Strategic situation prior to First Manassas
6. First issue Confederate flag
7. Army of Northern Virginia battle flag
8. Confederate flag with cross as union
9. Confederate flag surrounded by stars
10. Lt. Gen James Longstreet late in life
11. Peninsula of Virginia
12. Battlefield at Seven Pines
13. Battlefield at Mechanicsville
14. Battlefield at Gaines's Mill
15. Terrain at White Oak Swamp
16. Strategic situation on the Richmond-Petersburg front, 1862
17. Virginia and Maryland
18. Potomac River near Shepherdstown
19. Battlefield at Sharpsburg
20. Battlefield at Fredericksburg
...
75. General Lee's return to his lines after surrender
76. McLean House, Appomattox Court House

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

A treasure of Civil War 'personal memoirs' . . . altogether livelier and more irreverent than anything in Grant's and Sherman's books."—New Republic



Alexander's vigorous prose and astute personal observations . . . have made Fighting for the Confederacy a new landmark in Civil War historiography, one that no historian of the period can afford to ignore."—Journal of Southern History



Gary W. Gallagher, in publishing Fighting for the Confederacy, has given Civil War historians one of the most unexpected and delightful surprises in many years. . . . It is a book that must be read."—Louisiana History



Unquestionably will join the ranks of those standard works that every serious student of the Civil War will want to read."—Georgia Historical Quarterly



The publication of Fighting for the Confederacy constitutes the most important addition to Confederate historiography in years. . . . A pleasure to read. . . . [It] will join the list of essential readings for students of the Civil War."—Civil War History



What a marvelous book! . . . Because of Gallagher's editorial efforts everyone interested in the Confederacy has ready access to what may very well be the most outstanding Confederate military memoir."—Virginia Magazine of History and Biography



Alexander's new memoirs are relaxed and engaging, lacking the self-importance that mars the memoirs of a good many soldiers with weaker claims to distinction than his, and refreshingly candid about his own frailties and those of some of the Confederacy's most revered commanders."—American Heritage



All serious students of the Army of Northern Virginia . . . owe a debt of gratitude to Gary Gallagher. . . . This book is destined to become a classic. It is simply must reading."—Blue and Gray

Editorial Reviews

[A] new landmark in Civil War historiography, one that no historian of the period can afford to ignore.

"Journal of Southern History"

ÝA¨ new landmark in Civil War historiography, one that no historian of the period can afford to ignore.

"Journal of Southern History"

ÝA¨ltogether livelier and more irreverent than anything in Grant's and Sherman's books.

"New Republic"

Alexander's new memoirs are relaxed and engaging, lacking the self-importance that mars the memoirs of a good many soldiers.

"American Heritage"

"[A] new landmark in Civil War historiography, one that no historian of the period can afford to ignore.

"Journal of Southern History""

"Alexander's new memoirs are relaxed and engaging, lacking the self-importance that mars the memoirs of a good many soldiers.

"American Heritage""

[A]ltogether livelier and more irreverent than anything in Grant's and Sherman's books.

"New Republic"

The publication of "Fighting for the Confederacy" constitutes the most important addition to Confederate historiography in years.

"Civil War History"

This book is destined to become a classic. It is simply "must" reading.

"Blue and Gray"

From the Publisher

Georgia native and West Point graduate Alexander was involved in nearly all of the significant battles in the Eastern theater of the Civil War and came into frequent contact with the highest command of the Army of Northern Virginia, including Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and James Longstreet. His perspective on such personalities and on the events unfolding around him is a most valuable one. Alexander's memoirs lay virtually untouched for some eight decades until rescued by Gallagher, who has done a splendid job of editing: unobtrusive; the annotation not merely a rehash of that which can be readily found in other Civil War sources. An excellent index and illustrations and maps from the original manuscript complement the text. Recommended for Civil War and military history collections. History Book Club selection.-- Jason H. Silverman, Winthrop Coll., Rock Hill, S.C.

Library Journal