A Short History of the Civil War

The Definitive One-Volume History of the American Civil War

The American Civil War (1861–1865) was the pivotal conflict of the nation’s history. It was a wardefined by savage brutality, untold human costs, and monumental political crises that left theliteral and social landscape of the nation forever changed. One hundred fifty years later, itcontinues to hold a powerful grip on the American psyche. In A Short History of the Civil War, notedhistorian James L. Stokesbury dramatically and concisely chronicles the important events leading upto the war and, using maps, recounts its decisive battles while describing the strategies and tactics ofthe North’s and South’s prominent commanders. Drawing on fascinating details and little-known facts,Stokesbury also brings to life the generals—Grant, Lee, Hooker, McClellan, Jackson—and the unsungheroes of this great struggle between the Union and the Confederacy.