The true story of one man's reluctant but relentless war against the invaders of his country.

Winner of the General Nathan Bedford Forrest Southern History Award 

Finalist, History, National Best Books Awards, USA Book News

Jack Hinson never planned to become a deadly sniper.

A quiet, wealthy plantation owner, Jack Hinson watched the start of the Civil War with disinterest. Opposed to secession and a friend to Union and Confederate commanders alike, he did not want a war. After Union soldiers seized and murdered his sons, placing their decapitated heads on the gateposts of his estate, Hinson could remain indifferent no longer. He commissioned a special rifle for long-range accuracy, he took to the woods, and he set out for revenge.

This remarkable biography presents the story of Jack Hinson, a lone Confederate sniper who, at the age of 57, waged a personal war on Grant's army and navy. By the end of the Civil War, the Union had committed infantry and cavalry from nine regiments and a specially equipped amphibious task force of marines to capture Hinson, who was by that time nearly sixty years old. They never caught him. Since then, the story of Jack Hinson has evaded astute historians, and until now, he has remained invisible in the history of sniper warfare.

The result of 15 years of scholarship, this meticulously researched and beautifully written work is the only account of Hinson's life ever recorded and involves an unbelievable cast of characters, including the Earp brothers, Jesse James, and Nathan Bedford Forrest.

In this unprecedented and incredible biography, Lt. Col. Tom C. McKenney masterfully recounts Hinson’s extraordinary feats as a lone Confederate sniper.

The effective end of the American Civil War on April 9, 1865, had hardly sunk in when, only five days later, another disaster stunned the battered and bloodied nation. On the night of April 9, Pres. Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. There would be time for vengeful thoughts later, but first the Great Emancipator was going to get a royal send-off. At the center of what would become a three-week national funeral was a spectacular train that would carry Lincoln’s remains, and those of his deceased son, from Washington, DC, to Springfield, Illinois. “The Lincoln Special” steamed slowly out of spring mists, allowing thousands of mourners lining the tracks a lingering view. It was a logistics miracle; a romantic pageant of sorrow and wonder, carried off flawlessly. Through the tears, however, was a sense that America’s identity had turned a corner and was about to enter a dynamic and hopeful future.

Author of nine books, Michael Leavy is an avid Civil War and railroad historian. Leavy has searched through archives to locate rare photographs and new details and dispel some lingering myths surrounding this tragic but formative American event.

One of the Most Important Speeches in American History, in an Elegant Hardback Gift Edition

The Gettysburg Address was delivered on the afternoon of November 19, 1863 by Abraham Lincoln at the dedication of the battlefield of the Civil War's bloodiest battle. Included in this edition is the Bliss text of the address, contemporary reactions, and other important documents relating to this moving speech by one of America's most beloved Presidents.