The Great “What Ifs” of the American Civil War

The Great “What Ifs” of the American Civil War
Author: Chris Mackowski
Publisher: Savas Beatie
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2022-01-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 1954547064

“Thought-provoking and entertaining . . . What if Lincoln had dodged the assassin’s bullet? What if Lee had waged guerrilla warfare in April 1865?” —Gordon C. Rhea, author of the Overland Campaign series “What if. . . ?” Every Civil War armchair general asks the question. Possibilities unfold. Disappointments vanish. Imaginations soar. More questions arise. “What if . . .” can be more than an exercise in wistful fantasy. A serious inquiry sparks rigorous exploration, demands critical thinking, and unlocks important insights. The Great “What Ifs” of the American Civil War: Historians Tackle the Conflict’s Most Intriguing Possibilities is a collection of fourteen essays by the historians at Emerging Civil War, and includes a Foreword by acclaimed alternate history writer Peter G. Tsouras. Each entry focuses on one of the most important events of the war and unpacks the options of the moment. To understand what happened, we must look with a clear and objective eye at what could have happened, with the full multitude of choices before us. “What if” is a tool for illumination. These essays also explode the assumptions people make when they ask “what if” and then jump to wishful conclusions. This collection offers not alternate histories or counterfactual scenarios, but an invitation to ask, to learn, and to wonder . . . “A lively and engaging examination of those perennial ‘second guesses’ no student of the war fails to appreciate. No ‘pie in the sky’ here—each exploration is firmly rooted in fact, with a keen appreciation of context, providing provocative insight without sacrificing history.” —David A. Powell, author of the award–winning series The Chickamauga Campaign

Grant at 200

Grant at 200
Author: Chris Mackowski
Publisher: Savas Beatie
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2023-02-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 161121615X

Proceeds from this volume will go to support the Ulysses S. Grant Association and the Grant Monument Association. Ulysses S. Grant stood at the center of the American Civil War maelstrom. The Ohio native answered his nation’s call to service and finished the war as a lieutenant general in command of the U.S. Army. Four years later, he ascended to the presidency to better secure the peace he had helped win on the battlefield. Despite his major achievements in war and peace, political and sectional enemies battered his reputation. For nearly a century, his military and political career remained deeply misunderstood. Since the Civil War centennial, however, Grant’s reputation has blossomed into a full renaissance. His military record garners new respect and, more recently, an appreciation for his political career—particularly his strong advocacy for equal rights—is quickly catching up. Throughout these decades, his personal memoirs marking him as a significant American “Man of Letters” have never gone out of print. Grant at 200: Reconsidering the Life and Legacy of Ulysses S. Grant celebrates the bicentennial of the birth of a man whose towering impact on American history has often been overshadowed and, in many cases, ignored. This collection of essays by some of today’s leading Grant scholars offers fresh perspectives on Grant’s military career and presidency, as well as underexplored personal topics such as his faith and family life.

More Great What Ifs of the American Civil War

More Great What Ifs of the American Civil War
Author: Chris Mackowski
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2022-10-15
Genre:
ISBN: 9781611216134

To ask "What If" about great moments of history is to simultaneously unleash imagined possibilities and embrace the rigorous confines of fact.Every armchair general asks "What If," but serious students of the war avoid making assumptions when they ask it. They go beyond wishful thinking and use "What If" as a springboard to explore not only what happened but also their own assumptions about what happened. A serious inquiry sparks rigorous exploration, demands critical thinking, and unlocks important insights.More Great "What Ifs" of the American Civil War: Historians Tackle More of the Conflict's Most Intriguing Possibilities picks up where volume one left off: with historians at Emerging Civil War tackling more of the war's most enduring questions.Each essay focuses on a key event of the war and, much like an army staff ride, examines the options of the moment. To understand what happened, we must look at what could have happened, with the full multitude of choices before us and a clear and objective eye. "What if" becomes a tool for illumination.This is not a collection of alternate histories or counterfactual scenarios. Rather, it is an invitation to ask, to learn, and to wonder, "What if . . . ?"

The Iron Dice of Battle

The Iron Dice of Battle
Author: Timothy B. Smith
Publisher: LSU Press
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2023-11-29
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 080718084X

Killed in action at the bloody Battle of Shiloh, Confederate general Albert Sidney Johnston stands as the highest-ranking American military officer to die in combat. His unexpected demise had cascading negative consequences for the South’s war effort, as his absence created a void in adequate leadership in the years that followed. In The Iron Dice of Battle, noted Civil War historian Timothy B. Smith reexamines Johnston’s life and death, offering remarkable insights into this often-contradictory figure. As a commander, Johnston frequently faced larger and better-armed Union forces, dramatically shaping his battlefield decisions and convincing him that victory could only be attained by taking strategic risks while fighting. The final wager came while leading his army at Shiloh in April 1862. During a desperate gambit to turn the tide of battle, Johnston charged to the front of the Confederate line to direct his troops and fell mortally wounded after sustaining enemy fire. The first work to survey the general’s career in detail in nearly sixty years, The Iron Dice of Battle builds on recent scholarship to provide a new and incisive assessment of Johnston’s life, his Confederate command, and the effect his death had on the course of the Civil War in the West.

American Civil War For Dummies

American Civil War For Dummies
Author: Keith D. Dickson
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 484
Release: 2022-02-08
Genre: History
ISBN: 1119863317

Take a walk through history with this guide for lifelong learners The American Civil War is one of the most fascinating and impactful periods in American history. Besides bringing about the end of slavery, the war had many important economic and social effects that continue to shape the history and present-day realities of the American people. In American Civil War For Dummies, you'll get an accessible, bird's-eye view of one of history's greatest conflicts. All the must-know details of the war are covered here, from the Battle of Gettysburg to the Emancipation Proclamation. You'll also find: Descriptions of the experiences of Black Americans, in both the North and the South, during the war Explorations of how slavery and civil rights fit into the social, political, and economic context of the time Profiles of some of the most famous generals in the war, including Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant Take a moment to get a hands-on education in this critical point in American history. Get American Civil War For Dummies now!

Turning Points of the American Civil War

Turning Points of the American Civil War
Author: Chris Mackowski
Publisher: SIU Press
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2018
Genre: History
ISBN: 0809336219

Although most Americans believe that the Battle of Gettysburg was the only turning point of the Civil War, the war actually turned repeatedly. Turning Points of the American Civil War examines key shifts and the context surrounding them, demonstrating that the war was a continuum of watershed events.

The Transnational Significance of the American Civil War

The Transnational Significance of the American Civil War
Author: Jörg Nagler
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2016-10-05
Genre: History
ISBN: 3319402684

This volume of pioneering essays brings together an impressive array of well-established and emerging historians from Europe and the United States whose common endeavor is to situate America’s Civil War within the wider framework of global history. These essays view the American conflict through a fascinating array of topical prisms that will take readers beyond the familiar themes of U. S. Civil War history. They will also take readers beyond the national boundaries that typically confine our understanding of this momentous conflict. The history of America’s Civil War has typically been interpreted within a familiar national narrative focusing on the internal discord between North and South over the future of slavery in the United States.

What Ifs? of American History

What Ifs? of American History
Author: Robert Cowley
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2004-09-07
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780425198186

Did Eisenhower avoid a showdown with Stalin by not taking Berlin before the Soviets? What might have happened if JFK hadn't been assassinated? This new volume in the widely praised series presents fascinating "what if..." scenarios by such prominent historians as: Robert Dallek, Caleb Carr, Antony Beevor, John Lukacs, Jay Winick, Thomas Fleming, Tom Wicker, Theodore Rabb, Victor David Hansen, Cecelia Holland, Andrew Roberts, Ted Morgan, George Feifer, Robert L. O'Connell, Lawrence Malkin, and John F. Stacks. Included are two essential bonus essays reprinted from the original New York Times bestseller What If?-David McCullough imagines Washington's disastrous defeat at the Battle of Long Island, and James McPherson envisions Lee's successful invasion of the North in 1862.