This book, written for the general reader and scholar alike, reproduces and discusses over 175 of the finest objects from the Library's richly diverse collections. An introductory section provides an account of the origins of the Library, when Pierpont Morgan - avowing that "no price is too high for an object of unquestioned beauty and known authenticity" - set out to form a collection of books, manuscripts, and drawings to rival those of the great aristocratic libraries of Europe. The elegant marble library he built in New York to house these collections, regarded as one of architect Charles F. McKim's finest achievements, is illustrated and discussed in detail as well.
Do you shy away from situations that require you to speak in English? Do you wish to command an army of words at a moment’s notice? Filled with innovative and practical learning devices, this book is a comprehensive guide to mastering the art of reading, writing and speaking English. As a learner who has spent many years navigating the treacherous slopes of the language, Manish Gupta understands the challenges faced by an Indian learner. He recounts his own struggles and narrates his interactions with people to outline tips and tricks to improve vocabulary, pronunciation and spoken English.
The United States needed a road to Alaska so they could defend the Aleutians from Japan. They sent soldiers to build the Alaska Highway. The segregated Black 97th Engineers built the road in Alaska, and when their disorganized white officers struggled to make progress, the army replaced their commander. The new one got the job done but ignored military protocol and discipline, so the army, worried about undisciplined black soldiers, replaced him too. And to put the fear of God into the soldiers, the army trumped up a mutiny charge against ten of them and sentenced them to long prison terms at hard labor.
Book 3, the last of a three-book series, continues from 1968 in book 2 to cover the action of Marine Corps Tankers and Ontos crewmen fighting the locally grown Viet Cong; the better armed, trained, organized, and equipped Viet Cong main forces; and the North Vietnamese Army regulars from 1969 through 1970+ in I Corps, South Vietnam. As in books 1 and 2 and continuing in book 3, it features hundreds of personal stories and on-the-spot, real-time interviews of Marines just returning from their fight, all of which are framed within the official unit command chronologies and after-action reports, including documented “lessons learned.” The maps, personal pictures, organizational charts, and the citing of each Marine who gave his life are also linked to the Vietnam Wall and to the Foundation’s website, with volumes of additional information about the Marines and Ontos crewmen who left their sweat and blood in Vietnam, battling their Communist enemy.
The Nashville and Decatur Railroad was in operation five months before the start of the Civil War and 17 months before the Federals took control of Nashville and the railroad. Running through Central Tennessee to Alabama, the highly contested line passed through Confederate-held territory, where rebels and their sympathizers continually sabotaged bridges, trestles and track. This first full-length work on the N&D Railroad emphasizes its importance in the Western Theater and brings to light the four key men who kept it open for the duration of the war. Significant military activities in the region are described, along with the contraband camp, military complex and other features surrounding the railroad's only tunnel.
The work at hand is a complete listing of all extant Shenandoah County marriage bonds from the county's formation until 1850, when the State of Virginia started keeping vital records. All told, Ashby has abstracted the 15,000 oldest Shenandoah County marriages on record, identifying 45,000 brides, grooms, and bondsmen in the process.
An award–winning, “deeply researched and thoroughly analyzed” account of the Confederate cavalry’s mistakes that turned Chickamauga into a Pyrrhic victory (Eric J. Wittenberg, award-winning author of The Battle of Brandy Station). Tales of the Confederate cavalry’s raids and daring exploits create a whiff of lingering romance about the horse soldiers of the Lost Cause. Sometimes, however, romance obscures history. In August 1863 William Rosecrans’ Union Army of the Cumberland embarked on a campaign of maneuver to turn Braxton Bragg’s Army of Tennessee out of Chattanooga, one of the most important industrial and logistical centers of the Confederacy. Despite the presence of two Southern cavalry corps—nearly 14,000 horsemen—under legendary commanders Nathan Bedford Forrest and Joe Wheeler, Union troops crossed the Tennessee River unopposed and unseen, slipped through the passes cutting across the knife-ridged mountains, moved into the narrow valleys, and turned Bragg’s left flank. Threatened with the loss of the railroad that fed his army, Bragg had no choice but to retreat. He lost Chattanooga without a fight. After two more weeks of maneuvering, skirmishing, and botched attacks, Bragg struck back at Chickamauga, where he was once again surprised by the position of the Union army and the manner in which the fighting unfolded. Although the combat ended with a stunning Southern victory, Federal counterblows that November reversed all that had been so dearly purchased. David A. Powell’s Failure in the Saddle is the first in-depth attempt to determine what role the Confederate cavalry played in both the loss of Chattanooga and the staggering number of miscues that followed up to, through, and beyond Chickamauga. Powell draws upon an array of primary accounts and his intimate knowledge of the battlefield to reach several startling conclusions: Bragg’s experienced cavalry generals routinely fed him misleading information, failed to screen important passes and river crossings, allowed petty command politics to routinely influence their decision-making, and on more than one occasion disobeyed specific and repeated orders that may have changed the course of the campaign. Richly detailed, Failure in the Saddle offers new perspectives on the role of the Rebel horsemen in every combat large and small waged during this long and bloody campaign and, by default, a fresh assessment of the generalship of Braxton Bragg. This judiciously reasoned account includes a guided tour of the cavalry operations, several appendices of important information, and original cartography. Winner of the Civil War Round Table of Atlanta’s Richard Harwell Award
