American Civil War

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Splendid and the Vile brings to life the pivotal five months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and the start of the Civil War—a simmering crisis that finally tore a deeply divided nation in two....

Hated and hailed, excoriated and revered, Abraham Lincoln was at the pinnacle of American power when secessionists gave no quarter in a clash of visions bound up with money, race, identity, and faith. In him we can see the possibilities of the presidency as well as its limitations....

Pulitzer Prize winner Ron Chernow returns with a sweeping and dramatic portrait of one of our most compelling generals and presidents, Ulysses S. Grant....

In 1848, a year of international democratic revolt, a young, enslaved couple, Ellen and William Craft, achieved one of the boldest feats of self-emancipation in American history....

On May 18, 1860, William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, and Abraham Lincoln waited in their hometowns for the results from the Republican National Convention....

The Civil War: A Narrative, Volume 1 begins one of the most remarkable works of history ever fashioned. All the great battles are here, of course, from Bull Run through Shiloh....

A riveting historical narrative of the heart-stopping events surrounding the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, and the first work of history from mega best-selling author Bill O'Reilly....

In April of 1862 he was merely another Confederate general with only a single battle credential in an army fighting in what seemed to be a losing cause....

Bill O'Reilly's Legends and Lies: The Civil War reveals the amazing and often little-known stories behind the battle lines of America's bloodiest war....

The Civil War: A Narrative, Vol. 2 continues one of the most remarkable works of history ever fashioned. Focusing on the pivotal year of 1863....

The murder of Abraham Lincoln set off the greatest manhunt in American history. From April 14 to April 26, 1865, the assassin, John Wilkes Booth, led Union cavalry and detectives on a wild chase....

In 1873 the people of Labette County, Kansas made a grisly discovery. Buried by a trailside cabin beneath an orchard of young apple trees were the remains of countless bodies. Below the cabin itself was a cellar stained with blood....

The Irish-American story, with all its twists and triumphs, is told through the improbable life of one man....

While the North prevailed in the Civil War, ending slavery and giving the country a "new birth of freedom," Heather Cox Richardson argues in this provocative work that democracy's blood-soaked victory was ephemeral....

Ty Seidule grew up revering Robert E. Lee. From his southern childhood to his service in the US Army, every part of his life reinforced the Lost Cause myth: that Lee was the greatest man who ever lived, and that the Confederates were underdogs who lost the Civil War with honor....

Vicksburg, Mississippi, was the last stronghold of the Confederacy on the Mississippi River. It prevented the Union from using the river for shipping between the Union-controlled Midwest and New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico....

The greatest of all Civil War campaigns, Gettysburg was the turning point of the turning point in our nation’s history. In Gettysburg Sears tells the whole story in a single volume....

Korda paints a vivid and admiring portrait of Lee as a general and a devoted family man who, though he disliked slavery and was not in favor of secession, turned down command of the Union army....

Nothing Like It in the World is the story of the men who built the transcontinental railroad. In Ambrose's hands, this enterprise comes to life....

Best-selling historian and three-time winner of the Lincoln Prize Allen C. Guelzo gives us an intimate study of Abraham Lincoln’s powerful vision of democracy, which guided him through the Civil War and is still relevant today....

In this epic 1885 work, General Ulysses S. Grant, 18th president of the United States and staunch supporter of the Union cause, set the record straight on his storied life and career. At its heart is Grant, victor and eyewitness to the defining moments of the Civil War....

How a band of antislavery leaders recovered the radical philosophical inspirations of the first American Revolution to defeat the slaveholders' oligarchy in the Civil War.

From the New York Times bestselling author of A. Lincoln and American Ulysses comes the dramatic and definitive biography of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, the history-altering professor turned Civil War hero....

The most intimate and richly readable account we have had–of the climactic three-day battle of Gettysburg (July 1–3, 1863)....

A magnificent history of the opening years of the Civil War by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Bruce Catton....

On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the fluky victor in a tight race for president. The country was bitterly at odds; Southern extremists were moving ever closer to destroying the Union, with one state after another seceding and Lincoln powerless to stop them. Slavery fueled the conflict, but somehow the passions of North and South came to focus on a lonely federal fortress in Charleston Harbor: Fort Sumter.

On November 6, 1860, Abraham Lincoln became the fluky victor in a tight race for president. The country was bitterly at odds; Southern extremists were moving ever closer to destroying the Union, with one state after another seceding and Lincoln powerless to stop them. Slavery fuelled the conflict, but somehow the passions of North and South came to focus on a lonely federal fortress in Charleston Harbor: Fort Sumter. Master storyteller Erik Larson offers a gripping account of the chaotic months between Lincoln’s election and the Confederacy’s shelling of Sumter.

In June 1863, the Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee, moved north through the Shenandoah Valley and invaded Pennsylvania. Brewing with confidence after decisive victories at Fredericksburg in December 1862 and Chancellorsville in April 1863, Lee planned to draw out the Union army and destroy it on ground of his choosing. An aura of invincibility was in the air. A dramatic victory would expose Washington and perhaps lead to Southern secession. In fact, a letter suing for peace was to be placed on Lincoln’s desk following the annihilation of the Union army . . . ...

In the fall of 1862, the Army of the Potomac under Major General George B. McClellan had a chance to inflict a crushing blow on Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Following his victory at the Second Battle of Bull Run, Lee moved his army into Maryland, hoping to gain recruits in this crucial border state. He then planned to invade Pennsylvania, possibly reaching Harrisburg, or turn to face the Union army on ground of his choosing. However, on September 13, when Federal forces moved into Frederick, Maryland, following the departure of Lee’s soldiers to Harpers Ferry, Boonsboro, ...

In William N. Still’s essay, “A Naval Sieve: The Union Blockade in the Civil War,” he contended that the blockade “was not a major factor in the collapse of the Confederacy” (Still 72). Of the Union Navy’s primary tasks of maintaining control of Southern ports, supporting amphibious operations, and pursuing piratical cruisers, the effectiveness of the blockade remains the most hotly debated strategy. Did it strangle the Confederate economy and force the South to pursue peace? According to Still, the answer is no. The supporting evidence he cites, however, is inconclusive and can...

"The War-Time Journal of a Georgia Girl, 1864-1865" is an evocative and historically significant diary penned by Eliza Frances Andrews, which vividly captures the tumult and transformation of the American South during the waning days of the Civil War and the onset of Reconstruction.

J. E. B. Stuart: The Soldier and the Man is the first thoroughly scrutinized study of the life and service of the Civil War's most famous cavalryman. James Ewell Brown Stuart led the Army of Northern Virginia's cavalry to the all-but-complete satisfaction of his superiors. Being human, Stuart occasionally underperformed.

The Great Abolitionist is the first major biography of Charles Sumner to be published in over fifty years. Acclaimed historian Stephen Puleo relates the story of one of the most influential non-presidents in American history with evocative and accessible prose, transporting listeners back to an era when our leaders exhibited true courage and authenticity in the face of unprecedented challenges.

Atlanta was the linchpin of the South's hopes and the North's determination, and the city became the epicenter of a battle that would change the course of history forever. The Union Army moved in to capture the city, but the Confederates defended it. Each army employed cunning strategies in their relentless pursuit of victory. But in the summer of 1864, the struggle reached its peak. It was also the time when the nations destiny hung in the balance. Every decision made by the generals affected the future of the United States, and the Battle of Atlanta became the center stage of the war.

Unleash the power of the past and explore groundbreaking moments in the historical tapestry with "Women Warriors". This incredible new eBook takes you on a gripping journey through time, documenting the valor, courage, and skill of women on the battlefield, enlightening us about the critical role of women in warfare. "Women Warriors" sets the stage with a captivating chronicle, evolving from the first orchestrated conflicts to current global counterinsurgency efforts. It spotlights daughters of the Nile, Hatshepsut and Cleopatra, who seized power in Ancient Egypt and recounts the incredible...

Journey back in time and stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the unsung heroes who defined a nation. "American Civil War Heroes" unveils a gripping narrative filled with the extraordinary tales of bravery, sacrifice, and resilience that history often overlooks.

But in darkness, leaders emerge to shine a light of hope to guide people. During the American Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant emerged to guide the nation to victory, then to the beginnings of reconciliation.

The book containing the Constitution of the Confederate States of America serves as a pivotal historical document, encapsulating the legal and governmental framework intended to govern the Confederacy during the American Civil War (1861-1865).

In the fall of 1863, William Clarke Quantrill, the Missouri bushwhacker, took about three hundred of his followers across Indian Territory to Sherman, Texas. In the Lone Star State, the bushwhackers made camp at Mineral Creek. Henry McCulloch, the Confederate commander of the District of Northeast Texas, tried to find a use for the pseudo-rebels, but they failed in rounding up deserters, chasing Indians, and destroying moonshiners. They did manage to ravage the city of Sherman, getting drunk and shooting the tassels off the hat of Grayson County's leading lady, Sophia Butts. They also ...

Hailed as the definitive portrait of the sixteenth president, Lincoln scholar Michael Burlingame's impressive two-volume biography has been masterfully abridged and revised. Based on deep research in unpublished sources as well as newly digitized sources, this work reveals how Lincoln's character and personality were the North's secret weapon in the Civil War, the key variables that spelled the difference between victory and defeat. He was a model of psychological maturity and a fully individuated man whose influence remains unrivaled in the history of American public life.