The Second United States Sharpshooters was a hodgepodge regiment, composed of companies raised in several New England states. The regiment was trained for a specific mission and armed with specially ordered breech-loading target rifles. This book covers the origin, recruitment, training, and battle record of the regiment and features 32 photographs, four battlefield maps, and a regimental roster.
Action-packed account of the legendary 1st and 2nd U.S. SharpShooters Based on diaries, letters, and other firsthand sources Photos of the men as well as their uniforms, equipment, and firearms plus paintings by acclaimed Civil War artist Don Troiani This detailed and beautifully illustrated book tells the story of Col. Hiram Berdan's brilliant conception: the U.S. SharpShooters, a specialized 2-regiment unit of marksmen recruited from the farming and backwoods communities of the North. Known for their distinctive green uniforms, Sharps breech-loading rifles, and risky tactics, the SharpShooters fought at battles such as the Peninsula, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and the Wilderness. The book covers their training, tactics, and weapons and is a must-have for Civil War enthusiasts and anyone interested in the history of special forces.
The final year of the Civil War witnessed a profound transformation in the practice of modern warfare, a shift that produced unprecedented consequences for the soldiers fighting on the front lines. In The Army of the Potomac in the Overland and Petersburg Campaigns, Steven E. Sodergren examines the transition to trench warfare, the lengthy campaigns of attrition that resulted, and how these seemingly grim new realities affected the mindset and morale of Union soldiers. The 1864 Overland Campaign created tremendous physical and emotional suffering for the men of the Army of the Potomac as they faced a remarkable increase in the level and frequency of combat. By the end of this critical series of battles, surviving Union soldiers began to express considerable doubt in their cause and their leaders, as evidenced by widespread demoralization and the rising number of men deserting and disobeying orders. Yet, while the Petersburg campaign that followed further exposed the Army of the Potomac to the horrors of trench warfare, it proved both physically and psychologically regenerative. Comprehending that the extensive fortification network surrounding them benefitted their survival, soldiers quickly adjusted to life in the trenches despite the harsh conditions. The army’s static position allowed the Union logistical structure to supply the front lines with much-needed resources like food and mail—even a few luxuries. The elevated morale that resulted, combined with the reelection of Abraham Lincoln in November 1864 and the increasing number of deserters from the Confederate lines, only confirmed the growing belief among the soldiers in the trenches that Union victory was inevitable. Taken together, these aspects of the Petersburg experience mitigated the negative effects of trench warfare and allowed men to adapt more easily to their new world of combat. Sodergren explores the many factors that enabled the Army of the Potomac to endure the brutal physical conditions of trench warfare and emerge with a renewed sense of purpose as fighting resumed on the open battlefield in 1865. Drawing from soldiers’ letters and diaries, official military correspondence, and court-martial records, he paints a vivid picture of the daily lives of Union soldiers as they witnessed the beginnings of a profound shift in the way the world imagined and waged large-scale warfare.
Alan Nolan's 1961 Iron Brigade, the classic study of Brigadier General John Gibbon's Black Hat Brigade composed of the 19th Indiana, the 2nd, 6th, and 7th Wisconsin and the 24th Michigan, drew public attention to the superior unit during the Civil War Centennial. Since then, much has been written about Gibbon's Iron Brigade but nothing has published on the original Iron Brigade from which Gibbon's brigade inherited it name. In The Original Iron Brigade, author Thomas Reed discusses the history of the 1st Brigade,1st Division, 1st Corps, Army of the Potomac, composed of three New York two year regiments, the 22nd, 34th, and 30th New York Infantry, the 14th Brooklyn Militia (84th New York Infantry) and the 2nd United States Sharpshooters. The brigade's story begins with the 14th Brooklyn's role during the First Battle of Manassas in 1861 and ends with the disbanding of the brigade in June 1863. Based on original unpublished diaries and letters of the men of the brigade, this book describes how the Original Iron Brigade earned its name by its hard marching during the spring of 1862. The brigade attacked Stonewall Jackson's troops along the unfinished railroad line during the Second Battle of Manassas, stormed Turner's Gap during the Battle of South Mountain, and attacked Stonewall Jackson's men again at the Dunker Church in the Battle of Antietam.
The Sword of Lincoln is the first authoritative, accessible, single-volume history of the Army of the Potomac from a renowned Civil War historian. From Bull Run to Gettysburg to Appomattox, the Army of the Potomac repeatedly fought -- and eventually defeated -- Robert E. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia. Jeffry D. Wert, one of our finest Civil War historians, brings to life the battles, the generals, and the common soldiers who fought for the Union and ultimately prevailed. The Army of the Potomac endured a string of losses under a succession of flawed commanders -- McClellan, Burnside, and Hooker -- until at Gettysburg it won a decisive battle under a new commander, General George Meade. Within a year the Army of the Potomac would come under the overall leadership of the Union's new general-in-chief, Ulysses S. Grant. Under Grant the army would finally trap and defeat Lee and his forces. Wert's history draws on letters and diaries, some previously unpublished, to show us what army life was like. Throughout the book Wert shows how Lincoln carefully monitored the operations of the Army of the Potomac, learning as the war progressed, until he found in Grant the commander he'd long sought. Perceptive in its analysis and compellingly written, The Sword of Lincoln is the finest modern account of the army that was central to the Civil War.
For use in schools and libraries only. An analysis of the Civil War, drawing on letters and diaries by more than one thousand soldiers, gives voice to the personal reasons behind the war, offering insight into the ideology that shaped both sides.
Fought over the course of four years, the Civil War pitted countrymen against countrymen, North versus South, friend against friend, and brother against brother. The photographs within these pages document the war that united America as one. These rare shots were taken in the middle of the battlefield during the earliest days of photography. Selected from a collection of seven thousand original negatives, these historic photos capture nearly every aspect of Civil War life. Among these photos are images of camps sprawling across acres, soldiers at their battlements, firing of heavy artillery, the aftermath of battle, and the terror that these young men faced. See first-hand of Union and Confederate officers strategizing their next moves, and Abraham Lincoln addressing his Union commanders. Originally released from the private collection of Edward Bailey Eaton in 1907, this edition is a must have for any Civil War buff or historian. No collection can be considered complete without these photographs by Matthew Brady and Alexander Gardner, as well as the meticulous passages that put the images in illuminating context.
