Overview
The bloodiest conflict in U.S. history--claiming over 600,000 lives--was also one of the most complex. This handy chronology of the Civil War allows readers to follow the conflict from opening salvo to Appomattox and to grasp at a glance the order and intricacies of all the key developments, from battles on land and sea to political maneuvers North and South. Principal commanders and political figures, key technology, transportation, and weaponry, all receive due treatment.The Civil War Day by Day goes beyond the major engagements of the war to cover lesser episodes and partisan activities (like Mosbys and Quantrills), providing a reference that is at once fingertip-quick and comprehensive--and an incomparable resource on this critical chapter in American history.
Synopsis
The hardcover reference titles in the Day by Day series examine the evolution of wars in a chronological timeline, from the first skirmish to the last battle and everything in between. These books are a historical companion to each major war in the nineteenth and twentieth century. The fate of soldiers, battalions, armies, can change in the blink of an eye—with this comprehensive book readers can follow the conflicting sides in their strategy, weaponry, and policies.
The Civil War was the bloodiest conflict in U.S. history, claiming the lives of over 600,000 Americans between 1861 and 1865. The Civil War Day by Day is a chronological, month-by-month approach to the conflict, allowing the reader to see at a glance the key battles on land and at sea; bloody engagements such as the First Bull Run, Antietam, Nashville, Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg, Cold Harbor and Gettysburg. Illustrated throughout with hundreds of contemporary photographs and illustrations, this book also includes full-color maps of all the major battles and campaigns of the war. Each chapter contains boxes on the weapons that were used by both sides in the war, and the tactics that were employed on the battlefield.
Editorials
Library Journal
Beginning with the 1820 Missouri Compromise and ending with the ratification of the 13th Amendment, military historian Katcher (Great Gambles of the Civil War) provides a day-by-day tour through America's bloodiest conflict. Entries in the chronology are brief (generally just a few sentences) and for easier identification include such topic headers as "Land War" or "Politics" under the relevant date, although most of the entries relate to military engagements. The strength of this book is not its chronology but the lavish illustrations, including many contemporary images, and the sidebars, which offer more information on key personalities, decisive moments, and strategy and tactics and in effect flesh out the chronology's skeleton.
—Mike Miller