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The Battle Of South Mountain
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Book Synopsis Unholy Sabbath by : Brian Matthew Jordan
Download or read book Unholy Sabbath written by Brian Matthew Jordan and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Readers of Civil War history have been led to believe the battle of South Mountain was but a trifling skirmish, a preliminary engagement of little strategic or tactical. In fact, the fight was a decisive Federal victory and important turning point in the campaign, as historian Brian Matthew Jordan argues convincingly in his fresh interpretation.
Book Synopsis The Battle of South Mountain by : John David Koptak
Download or read book The Battle of South Mountain written by John David Koptak and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2011-08-05 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A thorough account of the fighting . . . Not only appealingly written but a worthwhile addition to Maryland Campaign literature.” —Historynet.com In September 1862, Robert E. Lee led the Army of Northern Virginia north of the Potomac River for the time as part of his Northern invasion, seeking a quick end to the war. Lee divided his army in three, sending General James Longstreet north to Hagerstown and Stonewall Jackson south to Harper’s Ferry. It was at three mountain passes, referred to as South Mountain, that Lee’s army met the Federal forces commanded by General George B. McClellan on September 14. In a fierce day-long battle spread out across miles of rugged, mountainous terrain, McClellan defeated Lee but the Confederates did tie up the Federals long enough to allow Jackson’s conquest of Harper’s Ferry. Join historian John Hoptak as he narrates the critical Battle of South Mountain, long overshadowed by the Battle of Antietam. “A remarkable work . . . The marches of both armies to South Mountain are presented with close attention to the men in the ranks. The combat is fully covered at each of the gaps in South Mountain.” —Civil War Librarian “A crisp, concise but comprehensive account of the battles at the four passes or ‘gaps’ across South Mountain on September 14, 1862 . . . A truly scholarly effort that will satisfy both serious Civil War students and the general reading public. For Maryland Campaign aficionados, it is a must have addition to your library and is now the definitive account of the battle.” —South from the North Woods
Book Synopsis Before Antietam by : John Michael Priest
Download or read book Before Antietam written by John Michael Priest and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1996 with total page 476 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Civil War buffs and scholars quickly recognize the dates of September 16-18, 1862 as the period marking the bloodiest battle of the entire campaign--Antietam. But until now, the ten days prior to that event have remained in relative obscurity. In Before Antietem, John Michael Priest offers the first book-length, tactical exploration of the Maryland campaign and the Battles of South Mountain, describing the decisive events leading up to the famous battle and elevating them from mere footnote status to a matter of military record. Chronicling Robert E. Lee's turnabout from defensive maneuvres to full scale Confederate invasion into Maryland, Priest demonstrates how this tactical change brought about a series of engagements near Sharpsburg, Maryland that came to be known as "The Battle of South Mountain" in which the Federal and Confederate forces struggled fiercely over Union territory. It was here that George B. McClellan, the new Northern commander, led his Army of the Potomac to its first victory over Lee in a furious action that produced one of the war's few successful bayonet charges. Written from the perspective of the front line combatants (and civilian observers), the book recounts the Confederate invasion and the Federal pursuit into Sharpsburg that set the stage for Antietam. From September 5-15, a total of twenty-five skirmishes and three pitched battles were fought. Priest provides graphic descriptions of the terrible conditions surrounding these events and so thoroughly enters into the common soldier's viewpoint that military history quickly gives way to gritty realism. He vividly shows that, had Robert E. Lee not been bested at the gaps along South Mountain, there would have been no Antietam. Lee's decision to make a stand along Antietam Creek was a point of pride--he had never been "whipped" before and would not return to Virginia defeated. That decision was a fateful one, since the sparring and fighting drove him into an untenable position that became his downfall. Priest's revealing narrative establishes that, at this stage of the Civil War, the Federal cavalry was better equipped and just as well trained as the Confederate cavalry thereby settling a point of debate among historians. Scholars and Civil War buffs alike will applaud the efforts of John Michael Priest in bringing us the means to view those devastating encounters from a true military perspective.
Book Synopsis Antietam, South Mountain, and Harpers Ferry by : Ethan S. Rafuse
Download or read book Antietam, South Mountain, and Harpers Ferry written by Ethan S. Rafuse and published by U of Nebraska Press. This book was released on 2008-12-01 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In September 1862 the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Union Army of the Potomac conducted one of the truly great campaigns of the Civil War. At South Mountain, Harpers Ferry, and Antietam, North and South clashed in engagements whose magnitude and importance would earn this campaign a distinguished place in American military history. The siege of Harpers Ferry produced the largest surrender of U.S. troops in the nation's history until World War II, while the day-long battle at Antietam on September 17 still holds the distinction of being the single bloodiest day of combat in Amer.
Book Synopsis Cedar Mountain to Antietam by : M. Chris Bryan
Download or read book Cedar Mountain to Antietam written by M. Chris Bryan and published by Savas Beatie. This book was released on 2022-01-04 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This history of the Union XII Corps “skillfully weaves firsthand accounts into a compelling story about the triumphs and defeats of this venerable unit” (Bradley M. Gottfried, author of The Maps of Antietam). The diminutive Union XII Corps found significant success on the field at Antietam. Its soldiers swept through the East Woods and the Miller Cornfield—permanently clearing both of Confederates—repelled multiple Southern assaults against the Dunker Church plateau, and eventually secured a foothold in the West Woods. This important piece of high ground had been the Union objective all morning, and its occupation threatened the center and rear of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s embattled Army of Northern Virginia. Yet federal leadership largely ignored this signal achievement and the opportunity it presented. The achievement of the XII Corps is especially notable given its string of disappointments and hardships in the months leading up to Antietam. M. Chris Bryan’s Cedar Mountain to Antietam begins with the formation of this often-luckless command as the II Corps in Maj. Gen. John Pope’s Army of Virginia on June 26, 1862. Bryan explains in meticulous detail how the corps endured a bloody and demoralizing loss after coming within a whisker of defeating Maj. Gen. “Stonewall” Jackson at Cedar Mountain on August 9; suffered through the hardships of Pope’s campaign before and after the Battle of Second Manassas; and triumphed after entering Maryland and joining the reorganized Army of the Potomac. The men of this small corps earned a solid reputation in the Army of the Potomac at Antietam that would only grow during the battles of 1863. This unique study, which blends unit history with sound leadership and character assessments, puts the XII Corps’ actions in proper context by providing significant and substantive treatment to its Confederate opponents. Bryan’s extensive archival research, newspapers, and other important resources, together with detailed maps and images, offers a compelling story of a little-studied yet consequential command that fills a longstanding historiographical gap.
Author :Charles River Charles River Editors Publisher :Createspace Independent Publishing Platform ISBN 13 :9781985025844 Total Pages :112 pages Book Rating :4.0/5 (258 download)
Book Synopsis The Battle of South Mountain by : Charles River Charles River Editors
Download or read book The Battle of South Mountain written by Charles River Charles River Editors and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2018-02-04 with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: *Includes pictures *Includes accounts of the fighting by soldiers and generals on both sides *Includes footnotes, online resources and a bibliography for further reading The bloodiest day in American history took place on the 75th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. On September 17, 1862, Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia fought George McClellan's Union Army of the Potomac outside Sharpsburg along Antietam Creek. That day, nearly 25,000 would become casualties, and Lee's army would barely survive fighting the much bigger Northern army. Although the battle was tactically a draw, it resulted in forcing Lee's army out of Maryland and back into Virginia, making it a strategic victory for the North and an opportune time for President Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves in the rebellious states. When discussing the Civil War in Maryland, most of the focus is understandably on Antietam, but it's important not to overlook the battle that ultimately brought the Union and Confederate to Antietam Creek in the first place. The Battle of South Mountain was an opening salvo of sorts before Antietam, fought on September 14, 1862 among several gaps. An extension of the Blue Ridge Range, South Mountain was a heavily wooded and rocky terrain that ran southwest from Pennsylvania down to the Potomac River near Harpers Ferry. To the east of the mountain was the town of Frederick, Maryland, less than 50 miles from Washington, D.C. Despite being significantly outnumbered, Lee's army had the advantage of fighting defensively on higher terrain. At Crampton's Gap, Union General William Franklin's nearly 13,000 strong VI Corps crashed down on about 2,000 Confederates led by Howell Cobb who were part of Lafayette McLaws' division. McClellan had ordered Franklin's corps to set out for Crampton's Gap on the morning of September 14, wasting nearly 11 hours in the process, and Franklin delayed his assault for 3 more hours while arranging his lines for what turned out to be a short fight. The fighting that occurred on that long Sunday was fierce and constant. Artillery, musket, bayonet, and fists were all employed as weapons, resulting in a tremendous number of casualties. The Union forces engaged that day totaled 28,000 and by nightfall 2,325 were listed as casualties. The Confederate Army utilized 18,000 troops and suffered a loss of 2,685 men, an astounding 800 of which were listed as missing. By barely holding onto some of the passes, Lee was able to retreat to Sharpsburg, where he hoped to gather together his scattered forces. As it turned out, the last of the Confederates, A.P. Hill's Light Division, would only arrive around Sharpsburg during the afternoon on September 17, while the Battle of Antietam was at its peak and Lee's army was in danger of being surrounded and captured in its entirety. Thus, these men, many of whom are lost to history, engaged in a battle that led directly to the bloodiest single day in U.S. military history a few days later along Antietam Creek, and that battle would eventually compel President Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. The Battle of South Mountain, therefore, proved to be the catalyst for events that forever altered the course of the Civil War and the nation. The Battle of South Mountain: The History of the Civil War Battle that Led the Union and Confederate Armies to Antietam looks at the events that led up and brought on the Battle of South Mountain. Along with pictures of important people and places, you will learn about South Mountain like never before.
Book Synopsis Faces of Union Soldiers at South Mountain and Harpers Ferry by : Matthew Borders
Download or read book Faces of Union Soldiers at South Mountain and Harpers Ferry written by Matthew Borders and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2021 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first Confederate invasion of the North in the fall of 1862 led to a series of engagements known as the Maryland Campaign. Though best remembered for its climax, there was desperate fighting at both South Mountain and Harpers Ferry prior to the bloodletting at Antietam Creek. These battles in particular were desperate affairs of bloody attacks and determined defense. In this work are the images of thirty Union soldiers, published here for the first time, that help give a face and a history to those men who struggled up the slopes of South Mountain or sheltered from Confederate cannons at Harpers Ferry. Join Matthew Borders and Joseph Stahl as they introduce you to these men, their battles and their stories.
Book Synopsis The Maps of Antietam by : Bradley M. Gottfried
Download or read book The Maps of Antietam written by Bradley M. Gottfried and published by . This book was released on 2019-06-19 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This magisterial work breaks down the entire campaign into 21 map sets enriched with 124 original full-page color maps. These spectacular cartographic creations bore down to the regimental and battery level. Opposite each map is a full facing page of detailed text to make the story of General Lee's invasion into Maryland come alive.
Book Synopsis The Carnage was Fearful by : Michael Block
Download or read book The Carnage was Fearful written by Michael Block and published by Savas Beatie. This book was released on 2021-12-06 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Profusely illustrated . . . an extraordinary and detailed account of a major battle that is often overlooked and underappreciated by Civil War historians.” —Midwest Book Review In early August 1862, Confederate Maj. Gen. Stonewall Jackson took to the field with his Army of the Valley for one last fight—one that would also turn out to be his last independent command. Near the base of Cedar Mountain, in the midst of a blistering heat wave, outnumbered Federal infantry under Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks attacked Jackson’s army as it marched toward Culpeper Court House. A violent three-hour battle erupted, yielding more than 3,600 casualties. “The carnage was fearful,” one observer wrote. The unexpected Federal aggressiveness nearly won the day. Jackson, attempting to rally his men, drew his sword—only to find it so rusted, it would not come unsheathed. “Jackson is with you!” he cried, brandishing the sword still in its scabbard. The tide of battle turned—and the resulting victory added to Stonewall’s mystique. Civil War history typically breezes by the battle of Cedar Mountain, moving quickly from the Seven Days’ Battles into the Second Bull Run Campaign, but the stand-alone battle at Cedar Mountain had major implications. It saw the emergence of the Federal cavalry as an effective intelligence collector and screening force. It also provided Confederate Maj. Gen. A.P. Hill’s first opportunity to save the day—and his first opportunity to raise Jackson’s ire. Within the Federal Army, the aftermath of the battle escalated the infighting among generals and led to recriminations and finger-pointing over why the battle was even fought. Some called it outright murder. Most importantly, the Federal defeat at Cedar Mountain halted an advance into central Virginia and provided the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, Gen. Robert E. Lee, an opportunity to take the fight away from Richmond and toward Washington. For years, Michael Block has been deeply involved in developing interpretation for the Cedar Mountain battlefield. The Carnage was Fearful presents the battle with the full boots-on-the-ground insight Block has earned while walking the ground and bringing its story to life.
Book Synopsis Landscape Turned Red by : Stephen W. Sears
Download or read book Landscape Turned Red written by Stephen W. Sears and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2015-02-03 with total page 363 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “The best account of the Battle of Antietam” from the award-winning, national bestselling author of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville (The New York Times Book Review). The Civil War battle waged on September 17, 1862, at Antietam Creek, Maryland, was one of the bloodiest in the nation’s history: in this single day, the war claimed nearly 23,000 casualties. In Landscape Turned Red, the renowned historian Stephen Sears draws on a remarkable cache of diaries, dispatches, and letters to recreate the vivid drama of Antietam as experienced not only by its leaders but also by its soldiers, both Union and Confederate. Combining brilliant military analysis with narrative history of enormous power, Landscape Turned Red is the definitive work on this climactic and bitter struggle. “A modern classic.”—The Chicago Tribune “No other book so vividly depicts that battle, the campaign that preceded it, and the dramatic political events that followed.”—The Washington Post Book World “Authoritative and graceful . . . a first-rate work of history.”—Newsweek
Book Synopsis The Long Road to Antietam by : Richard Slotkin
Download or read book The Long Road to Antietam written by Richard Slotkin and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2013-07-16 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A masterful account of the Civil War's turning point in the tradition of James McPherson's Crossroads of Freedom. In the summer of 1862, after a year of protracted fighting, Abraham Lincoln decided on a radical change of strategy—one that abandoned hope for a compromise peace and committed the nation to all-out war. The centerpiece of that new strategy was the Emancipation Proclamation: an unprecedented use of federal power that would revolutionize Southern society. In The Long Road to Antietam, Richard Slotkin, a renowned cultural historian, reexamines the challenges that Lincoln encountered during that anguished summer 150 years ago. In an original and incisive study of character, Slotkin re-creates the showdown between Lincoln and General George McClellan, the “Young Napoleon” whose opposition to Lincoln included obsessive fantasies of dictatorship and a military coup. He brings to three-dimensional life their ruinous conflict, demonstrating how their political struggle provided Confederate General Robert E. Lee with his best opportunity to win the war, in the grand offensive that ended in September of 1862 at the bloody Battle of Antietam.
Book Synopsis The Maryland Campaign of September 1862 by : Ezra A. Carman
Download or read book The Maryland Campaign of September 1862 written by Ezra A. Carman and published by Savas Beatie. This book was released on 2022-04-15 with total page 576 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After the horrific fighting of September 17, 1862, Ezra Carman recorded in his diary that he was preparing "a good map of the Antietam battle and a full account of the action." Unbeknownst to the young officer, the project would become the most significant work of his life.
Book Synopsis Too Useful to Sacrifice by : Steven R. Stotelmyer
Download or read book Too Useful to Sacrifice written by Steven R. Stotelmyer and published by . This book was released on 2020-11-15 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The importance of Robert E. Lee's first movement north of the Potomac River in September 1862 is difficult to overstate. After his string of successes in Virginia, a decisive Confederate victory in Maryland or Pennsylvania may well have spun the war in an entirely different direction. Why he and his Virginia army did not find success across the Potomac was due in large measure to the generalship of George B. McClellan, as Steven Stotelmyer ably demonstrates in Too Useful to Sacrifice: Reconsidering George B. McClellan's Generalship in the Maryland Campaign from South Mountain to Antietam, now available in paperback.History has typecast McClellan as the slow and overly cautious general who allowed opportunities to slip through his grasp and Lee's battered army to escape. Stotelmyer disagrees and argues persuasively that he deserves significant credit for moving quickly, acting decisively, and defeating and turning back the South's most able general. He accomplishes this with five comprehensive chapters, each dedicated to a specific major issue of the campaign:Fallacies Regarding the Lost OrdersAntietam: The Sequel to South MountainAll the Injury Possible: The Day between South Mountain and AntietamGeneral John Pope at Antietam and the Politics behind the Myth of the Unused ReservesSupplies and Demands: The Demise of General George B. McClellanWas McClellan's response to the discovery of Lee's Lost Orders really as slow and inept as we have been led to believe? Although routinely dismissed as a small prelude to the main event at Antietam, was the real Confederate high tide in Maryland the fight on South Mountain? Is the criticism leveled against McClellan for not rapidly pursuing Lee's army after the victory on South Mountain warranted? Did McClellan really fail to make good use of his reserves in the bloody fighting on September 17? Finally, what is the true story behind McClellan's apparent "failure" to pursue the defeated Confederate army after Antietam that convinced President Lincoln to sack him?In Too Useful to Sacrifice, Stotelmyer combines extensive primary research, smooth prose, and a keen appreciation for the infrastructure and capabilities of the terrain of nineteenth century Maryland. The result is one of the most eye-opening and ground-breaking essay collections in modern memory. Readers will never look at this campaign the same way again. By the time they close this book, most readers will agree Lincoln had no need to continue his search for a capable army commander because he already had one.
Book Synopsis The Maryland Campaign of September 1862 by : Ezra A. Carman
Download or read book The Maryland Campaign of September 1862 written by Ezra A. Carman and published by . This book was released on 2017-02-15 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Battle of Shepherdstown and the End of the Campaign is the third and final volume of Ezra Carman’s magisterial The Maryland Campaign of September 1862. As bloody and horrific as the battle of Antietam was, historian Ezra Carman—who penned a 1,800-page manuscript on the Maryland campaign—did not believe it was the decisive battle of the campaign. Generals Robert E. Lee and George B. McClellan intended to continue fighting after Sharpsburg, but the battle of Shepherdstown Ford (September 19 and 20) forced them to abandon their goals and end the campaign. Carman was one of the few who gave this smaller engagement its due importance, detailing the disaster that befell the 118th Pennsylvania Infantry and Maj. Gen. A. P. Hill’s success in repulsing the Union advance, and the often overlooked foray of Jeb Stuart’s cavalry to seize the Potomac River ford at Williamsport. Carman also added a statistical study of the casualties in the various battles of the entire Maryland Campaign, and covered Lincoln’s decision to relieve McClellan of command on November 7. He also explored the relations between President Lincoln and General McClellan before and after the Maryland Campaign, which he appended to his original manuscript. The “before” section, a thorough examination of the controversy about McClellan’s role in the aftermath of Second Manassas campaign, will surprise some and discomfort others, and includes an interesting narrative about McClellan’s reluctance to commit General Franklin’s corps to aid Maj. Gen. John Pope’s army at Manassas. Carman concludes with an executive summary of the entire campaign. Dr. Clemens concludes Carman’s invaluable narrative with a bibliographical dictionary (and genealogical goldmine) of the soldiers, politicians, and diplomats who had an impact on shaping Carman’s manuscript. While many names will be familiar to readers, others upon whom Carman relied for creating his campaign narrative are as obscure to us today as they were during the war. The Maryland Campaign of September 1862, Vol. III: The Battle of Shepherdstown and the End of the Campaign, concludes the most comprehensive and detailed account of the campaign ever produced. Jammed with firsthand accounts, personal anecdotes, detailed footnotes, maps, and photos, this long-awaited study will be appreciated as Civil War history at its finest.
Book Synopsis To Antietam Creek by : D. Scott Hartwig
Download or read book To Antietam Creek written by D. Scott Hartwig and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2012-10-15 with total page 808 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A richly detailed account of the hard-fought campaign that led to Antietam Creek and changed the course of the Civil War. In early September 1862 thousands of Union soldiers huddled within the defenses of Washington, disorganized and discouraged from their recent defeat at Second Manassas. Confederate General Robert E. Lee then led his tough and confident Army of Northern Virginia into Maryland in a bold gamble to force a showdown that could win Southern independence. The future of the Union hung in the balance. The campaign that followed lasted only two weeks, but it changed the course of the Civil War. D. Scott Hartwig delivers a riveting first installment of a two-volume study of the campaign and climactic battle. It takes the reader from the controversial return of George B. McClellan as commander of the Army of the Potomac through the Confederate invasion, the siege and capture of Harpers Ferry, the daylong Battle of South Mountain, and, ultimately, to the eve of the great and terrible Battle of Antietam.
Book Synopsis Guide to the Battle of Antietam, the Maryland Campaign of 1862 by : Jay Luvaas
Download or read book Guide to the Battle of Antietam, the Maryland Campaign of 1862 written by Jay Luvaas and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "America's bloodiest day"—the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862—left more dead American soldiers in its wake than any other 24-hour period in history. Antietam and the related battles of the Maryland Campaign that led up to the lethal confrontation did not result in decisive defeats for either side. But they did serve as a brutal warning to an out-gunned, out-commanded, and out-organized Union army. Eyewitness accounts by battle participants make these guides an invaluable resource for travelers and nontravelers who want a greater understanding of five of the most devastating yet influential years in our nation's history. Explicit directions to points of interest and maps—illustrating the action and showing the detail of troop position, roads, rivers, elevations, and tree lines as they were 130 years ago—help bring the battles to life. In the field, these guides can be used to recreate each battle's setting and proportions, giving the reader a sense of the tension and fear each soldier must have felt as he faced his enemy.
Book Synopsis How the South Could Have Won the Civil War by : Bevin Alexander
Download or read book How the South Could Have Won the Civil War written by Bevin Alexander and published by Forum Books. This book was released on 2008-11-25 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Could the South have won the Civil War? To many, the very question seems absurd. After all, the Confederacy had only a third of the population and one-eleventh of the industry of the North. Wasn’t the South’s defeat inevitable? Not at all, as acclaimed military historian Bevin Alexander reveals in this provocative and counterintuitive new look at the Civil War. In fact, the South most definitely could have won the war, and Alexander documents exactly how a Confederate victory could have come about—and how close it came to happening. Moving beyond fanciful theoretical conjectures to explore actual plans that Confederate generals proposed and the tactics ultimately adopted in the war’s key battles, How the South Could Have Won the Civil War offers surprising analysis on topics such as: •How the Confederacy had its greatest chance to win the war just three months into the fighting—but blew it •How the Confederacy’s three most important leaders—President Jefferson Davis and Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson—clashed over how to fight the war •How the Civil War’s decisive turning point came in a battle that the Rebel army never needed to fight •How the Confederate army devised—but never fully exploited—a way to negate the Union’s huge advantages in manpower and weaponry •How Abraham Lincoln and other Northern leaders understood the Union’s true vulnerability better than the Confederacy’s top leaders did •How it is a myth that the Union army’s accidental discovery of Lee’s order of battle doomed the South’s 1862 Maryland campaign •How the South failed to heed the important lessons of its 1863 victory at Chancellorsville How the South Could Have Won the Civil War shows why there is nothing inevitable about military victory, even for a state with overwhelming strength. Alexander provides a startling account of how a relatively small number of tactical and strategic mistakes cost the South the war—and changed the course of history.
