Military

Volume IV of this landmark series traces the military groups raised from all parts of the state—from Oconee to Horry to Beaufort—as well as militia and reserves. In this anticipated four-volume series, author Robert Seigler presents a comprehensive review of South Carolina's Civil War troops in incomparable detail. Revealing the origination of military organizations from the three major geographical regions of the state, as well as those units whose men came from all parts of the state, Seigler outlines the frontline infantry, cavalry and artillery units, as well as militia, reserves and state troops that were critical to the Confederate efforts. For every regiment and battalion, Seigler analyzes when, where and under what legal authority each one was organized, and then provides a biographical sketch of the field officers for every unit. Included in each company history, in addition to its geographical origins, are a wartime biography of each captain and Seigler's special interest, company nicknames. Finally, a summary is provided of each unit's major movements and engagements.

Spurred by the promise of gold, hungry adventurers flocked to San Francisco in search of opportunity on the eve of the Civil War. The city flourished and became a magnet for theater. Some of the first buildings constructed in San Francisco were theater houses, and John Wilkes Booth's famous acting family often graced the city's stages. In just two years, San Francisco's population skyrocketed from eight hundred to thirty thousand, making it an instant city where tensions between transplanted Northerners and Southerners built as war threatened the nation. Though seemingly isolated, San Franciscans took their part in the conflict. Some extended the Underground Railroad to their city, while others joined the Confederate-aiding Knights of the Golden Circle. Including a directory of local historic sites and streets, author Monika Trobits chronicles the dramatic and volatile antebellum and Civil War history of the City by the Bay.

In the course of history, few human events have had so compelling an effect and left such a deep mark on the nation's soul as has the Civil War. New Hampshire in the Civil War presents a unique and concise pictorial chronicle of the state's volunteer regiments that served during the four very long and costly war years.

This volume includes more than 200 vivid and accurate pictures depicting heroic battles scenes, maps, camp life, and more than 40 portraits of the men who served New Hampshire in battle. These chapters contain accounts of battles from the first bombardment of Fort Sumter to the sinking of the Alabama. Also included are glimpses of camp life, with its frying pan meals of "slosh" and the illnesses accompanied by "cold clammy sweat," and of the famous Libby Prison.

The occupation of Bardstown and Nelson County, Kentucky, by Union troops began in September of 1861 and ended in September of 1865—a turbulent time in the neutral county, and a piece of history rarely explored by Kentuckians. In this unprecedented visual
journey, discover the unique role that Nelson County and Kentucky played in the Civil War as a military crossroads and the site of many Union training camps.
More than 80 different Union units were involved in skirmishes and set up camps in Nelson County during the war. The county's turnpikes and railroads dictated the movement of many troops and supplies through the area—both Union and Confederate. Included
in these pages are historical images, maps, documents, and vivid accounts passed down from generation to generation that bring the war to life. From the Confederate invasion of 1862 and the Guerrilla activities of 1864–1865 to the last surrender at Samuel's Depot on July 26 and the aftermath of the war, A Portrait of the Civil War in
Nelson County offers a unique perspective of the war's effects on one county and its people.

As centuries turn and decades pass, many wars and major historical events fade into the national memory as bold-face words in our history textbooks. However, the Civil War is unique, in that it still remains a heavily discussed, published, and debated topic in today's society. No other war has struck such a chord in our country's consciousness, combining romantic notions of glory and chivalry with horrific images of death and devastation, both of the landscape and its people. Entire libraries of books are devoted to discussing the battles, the tactics, and machines of warfare, the strategies of notable and eccentric commanders, and the biographies of the many larger-than-life personalities conducting the war, both civilian and military. But like most wars, the Civil War was a "rich man's war, but a poor man's fight." It is the story of the common soldier's plight that is most engaging, for it is in those stories in which one sees the true effects the war had on the people and time. The Tar Heel State provided much of the manpower behind the Confederate armies and thus, sacrificed many of its fathers and sons for the Confederate cause. An eclectic scrapbook of sorts,
Piedmont Soldiers and Their Families details, in word and image, the lives of some of those common soldiers and their families in Forsyth, Stokes, Surry, Yadkin, and Davidson Counties, allowing today's readers an opportunity to explore the lives of their ancestors affected by the war.

On December 31, 1862, 16 men perished that stormy New Year's Eve when the USS Monitor sank off Cape Hatteras, N.C.

The United States Navy's first ironclad warship rose to glory during the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862, but there's much more to know about the USS Monitor. Historian John Quarstein has painstakingly compiled bits of historical data gathered through years of research to present the first comprehensive picture of the lives of the officers and crew who served faithfully in an iron ship unlike any vessel previously known.

The Monitor Boys, a moniker the men gave themselves, is a reflection of how these hundred-odd souls were bound together through storms, battles, boredom and disaster. Just living aboard the ironclad took uncommon effort and fortitude. Their perseverance through the heat, stress and unseaworthiness that defined life on the ship makes the study of those who dared it a worthy endeavor. Many recognized that they were part of history. Moreover, the Monitor Boys were agents in the change of naval warfare.

Following Quarstein's compelling narrative is a detailed chronology as well as appendices including crew member biographies, casualties and statistics and dimensions of the ship. Readers can dive into the world of the Monitor and meet William Flye, George Geer and the rest of the men who risked everything by going to sea in the celebrated cheesebox on a raft and became the hope of a nation wracked by war.

Though no legendary battles took place at Oxford, the community was deeply affected by the War Between the States and deeply involved in its proceedings. Oxford in the Civil War tells the story of the steadfast men and women who fought to defend their homeland. Join author Stephen Enzweiler as he recounts the lives of Oxfordians caught in the grips of civil war. Looming historical figures include L.Q.C. Lamar, a politician and so-called "fire eater" who organized the Nineteenth Mississippi Regiment in Oxford; the "University Greys," a unit organized by Ole Miss students; and Jacob Thompson, former secretary of the interior under President James Buchanan who resigned and returned to Oxford to serve the Confederate cause. Although Union general Andrew "Whiskey" Smith burned much of the town to the ground, Oxford survived. And the resilient people--both slaveholders and slaves--finally have their stories told here.