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Title details for The Essential Civil War by Jayne E. Blair - Available

The Essential Civil War

A Handbook to the Battles, Armies, Navies and Commanders

by Jayne E. Blair
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From 1861 through 1865, strife tore apart the United States. So divided was the country that even today, there are practically two versions of Civil War history—Confederate and Union. Attempting to sort out this record is not made any easier by the fact that there is no official nomenclature. The South, for example, tended to name battles based on the nearest town or region, while the North generally referred to the same skirmish by the nearest landmark or geographical feature. Therefore, finding the facts with a minimum of information can be a daunting task. This book brings together in an easy-to-use format the essential facts of the Civil War. The book aims to be quickly and precisely informative rather than comprehensive. The first section concentrates on individual topics, each of which is organized alphabetically and thoroughly cross-referenced. These provide details regarding the battles, armies and commanders of the Civil War. In the second half of the work, information is presented chronologically. Each year is chronicled, with all significant happenings listed by date. Appendices provide a glossary of contemporary terms; an alphabetical listing of ships from both navies; and basic biographical information on all commanders.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    December 9, 2014

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781476606767

    • PDF ebook

      • ISBN: 9781476606767
      • File size: 10756 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Booklist

      November 15, 2006
      This skillfully arranged and accessible chronology makes finding basic facts on battles, leaders, and armies easy for users with little or no knowledge of the Civil War. As author Blair says in the introduction, she was motivated by her own search for information: "I just wanted the basic information, not to be bogged down in the strategy that played out on the field. In essence, I just wanted the essential facts, plain and simple."

      Essential information is what a reader gets, the chronology being less than comprehensive. The first five chapters, which are arranged topically, provide brief overviews of the armies, the battles, the officers, the men, and the war itself. These are followed by five chapters arranged chronologically from 1861 to 1865 and providing useful, if not exhaustive, coverage of significant military actions. The average entry describes the action, victor, commanders, and casualties in 100-200 words. No analysis is done. Appendixes provide a glossary as well as lists of the U.S and Confederate armies, ships, and commanders. The short bibliography includes Internet sites.

      For comprehensive chronological coverage of social as well as military events, libraries should purchase " The Civil War Years: A Day-by-Day Chronicle of the Life of a Nation " (1998), by Robert Denney. Those wanting a similarly priced but more comprehensive reference should purchase Mark Boatner's " Civil War Dictionary" (rev. ed., 1988) or Margaret Wagner's" Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference" (2002). Overall, " The Essential Civil War" is an accessible and comprehensible chronology for the enthusiast looking for "that certain piece of information . . . or other essential detail on the war" and is recommended for libraries in need of a Civil War chronology. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • PDF ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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