Table of Contents
Acknowledgements xi
Introduction Lamar Underwood xiii
Perhaps you've never heard details on Civil War life and battles described as they are in these forty chapters. Perhaps you never dreamed that such things could have existed. Well, they did! And the writers here remembered them and put their pens to paper.
Editor's Note xvii
Chapter 1 In the Ranks Reverend R. E. M'Bride 1
From a quiet Pennsylvania town, to the battlefields and hospitals of a savage war, a vivid description of life in the Union army.
Chapter 2 A Confederate Soldier Speaks His Mind Carlton McCarthy 11
The mind-set of a Confederate soldier, straight talk from the ranks.
Chapter 3 America's Deadliest Day: One Officer's Story Frederick L. Hitchcock 15
The prelude and ultimate horrors of the deadliest battle in a single day on American soil.
Chapter 4 Lincoln at War: Prominent Letters and Papers Abraham Lincoln 36
The president deals with incompetent generals and a horrific loss of life.
Chapter 5 A Common Soldier Leander Stillwell 52
Life in the ranks in the Union army.
Chapter 6 The Soldiers Life: A Confederate View Carlton McCarthy 58
The Confederate soldier who spoke his mind in our chapter 2 is back-this time with detailed descriptions of what it was like to be a rebel soldier.
Chapter 7 Robert E. Lee in Command Captain Robert E. Lee (General Lee's son) 70
From turning down Lincoln's offer to command the Union army, to glimpses of his personal life, the Virginian who inspired the entire Confederate army, even though he officially only led the Army of Northern Virginia.
Chapter 8 Slaughterhouse at Fredericksburg Frederick L. Hitchcock 80
Detailing yet another battle in which the losses of the Union army were horrific.
Chapter 9 Among the Wounded Walt Whitman 91
One of Americas greatest writers describes what he saw during his frequent visits to hospitals during the Civil War.
Chapter 10 On Confederate Battlefields Carlton McCarthy 103
A Confederate soldier describes the marches, the battles, and the agony that followed-vividly, personally, and in great detail.
Chapter 11 How Private George W. Peck Put Down the Rebellion (Or Funny Experiences of a Raw Recruit) George W. Peck 112
Humor in uniform, aka service comedy, became a great staple in American life in World War II and afterward-Korea, for instance. But even during the Civil War, certain writers turned talented pens toward putting smiles on readers' faces. George W. Peck was the leader in that department.
Chapter 12 What I Saw of Shiloh Ambrose Bierce 131
Bierce was known for his fiction, but there's no fiction here. It's the "boots-on-ground" story of what happened in one of the Civil War's most famous battles.
Chapter 13 Gettysburg: The Decisive Second Day Abner Doubleday 145
The debates have raged for decades: Was this the day the South lost the war? General Doubleday's account is a vivid, clear picture of all the action that fateful day.
Chapter 14 Gettysburg: Pickett's Charge Abner Doubleday 160
Confederate General James Longstreet, second in command, pleaded with Lee-even begged him-not to make the attack. Lee went ahead anyway, and disaster followed.
Chapter 15 Gettysburg: Lee's Escape Abner Doubleday 170
On Saturday, July 4,1863, soundly defeated after three days of battle, Robert E. Lee began withdrawing his exhausted forces back to the Potomac and the safety of Virginia. They were low on ammunition and food, and burdened by the wounded and prisoners. Union Commander George Meade did not pursue with forces that could have ended the war-which was destined to go on for two more years of bloodshed.
Chapter 16 The Truth about Gettysburg Helen D. Longstreet 175
The Gettysburg battle was so important that it remained a subject of great debate for years after the war. Here, Confederate General James Longstreet's wife picks up the torch in defense of her much-maligned husband.
Chapter 17 The Clash of Ironclad Titans: Merrimac vs. Monitor H. Ashton Ramsay, Major, C.S.A., Chief Engineer of the Merrimac 198
They were behemoths afloat-weird fortresses doing battle on the waters off Virginia. This is the story of the fateful day they met.
Chapter 18 The Flag Bearer Theodore Roosevelt 208
Politician, hunter, naturalist, explorer, soldier-all these words can describe our twenty-sixth president. He was also a prodigious writer, producing scores of volumes. This gem is from the book Hero Tales from American History, which he coauthored with the distinguished senator and historian Henry Cabot Lodge.
Chapter 19 Love, Loss, and Army Life of the Common Soldier Leander Stillwell 213
Life in the Union army, where pain and drama went beyond the battlefields.
Chapter 20 A Night Ride of the Wounded Randall Parrish 220
Sometimes the pain that went with being wounded seemed worse than death itself.
Chapter 21 The Unforgettable Private Peck: Further Adventures of a Raw Recruit George W. Peck 225
He's back, and funnier than ever, continuing the hilarious escapades begun in chapter 11.
Chapter 22 Bull Run Joseph A. Altsheler 235
Early in the war, the Union army begins facing the setbacks that would go on for years.
Chapter 23 Andersonville: Confederate Prison Horrors John L. Maile 245
In the peaceful Georgia countryside, a Confederate prison camp became a tomb for Union soldiers.
Chapter 24 Chickamauga James R. Carnahan 255
Fought in the Tennessee mountains, this great battle has become an icon of Civil War history.
Chapter 25 An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Ambrose Bierce 265
Convicted as a spy, a Confederate prisoner makes his escape from hanging, and then …
Chapter 26 Army Life in a Black Regiment Thomas Wentworth Higginson 272
Once they were slaves, now they are soldiers-armed and ready to fight.
Chapter 27 Drummer Boy from Maine George T. Ulmer 282
He was so small, he often went unnoticed-even by the enemy.
Chapter 28 Suffering and Hatred Phoebe Yates Pember 304
The agonies of the Civil War, up close and personal, by a lady who knows how to write.
Chapter 29 Vermont Sharp Shooters Wm. Y.W. Ripley 309
Unique rifles and unique skills made them a special force in the field.
Chapter 30 Vicksburg during the Trouble Mark Twain 327
The siege of the town that controlled the mighty Mississippi, as told by a famous writer who was there.
Chapter 31 The Red Badge of Courage Stephen Crane 331
Excerpt from the greatest novel ever written about the Civil War.
Chapter 32 An Artilleryman's Diary Jenkin Lloyd Jones 350
A boy from Pennsylvania becomes a man under fire.
Chapter 33 A Night Louisa May Alcott 362
More suffering, more details, by a lady famous for caring.
Chapter 34 The Rebel Army Life Carlton McCarthy 373
Cold, hungry, wet, worried, far from home. The agonies go on and on.
Chapter 35 A Woman's Wartime Journal Dolly Sumner Lunt 385
Life in the South during the war was not easy.
Chapter 36 A Horseman in the Sky Ambrose Bierce 391
Another classic tale from a great writer.
Chapter 37 To the Sea: Sherman on the March. Dispatches of Major General W. T. Sherman 396
The way to victory was through Georgia.
Chapter 38 Last Days of the Confederacy: Campfire and Battlefield General John B. Gordon, C. S.A. 403
When time was running out for the rebel army, the scene wasn't pretty.
Chapter 39 Decisive Maneuvers to End the War Ulysses S. Grant 416
The general who became president was a commander who knew his stuff.
Chapter 40 Appomattox: How the War Ended Ulysses S. Grant 424
Details and facts-not myths-on Lee's surrender, by the man who made it happen and was there. (Myth: Lee presenting sword; Grant handing it back. It never happened.)
About the Editor 435
Sources 437
