Published here for the first time, the Civil War combat memoir of Lieutenant Colonel James Taylor Holmes of the 52nd Ohio Volunteers presents a richly detailed firsthand account of the action on Cheatham's Hill during the June 1864 Battle of Kennesaw Mountain. Written in 1915, Holmes' insightful narrative, with original hand-drawn diagrams, differs on key points from the accepted scholarship on troop movements and positions at Kennesaw, and contests the legitimacy of a battlefield monument. An extensive introduction and annotations by historian Mark A. Smith provide a brief yet comprehensive overview of the battle and places Holmes' document in historical context.
While fighting his way toward Atlanta, William T. Sherman encountered his biggest roadblock at Kennesaw Mountain, where Joseph E. Johnston's Army of Tennessee held a heavily fortified position. The opposing armies confronted each other from June 19 to July 3, 1864. Hess explains how this battle, with its combination of maneuver and combat, severely tried the patience and endurance of the common soldier and why Johnston's strategy might have been the Confederates' best chance to halt the Federal drive toward Atlanta.
Excerpt from The Road Past Kennesaw: The Atlanta Campaign of 1864 The Atlanta Campaign had an importance reaching beyond the immediate military and political consequences. It was conducted in a manner that helped establish a new mode of warfare. From beginning to end, it was a railroad campaign, in that a major transportation center was the prize for which the contestants vied, and both sides used rail lines to marshal, shift, and sustain their forces. Yanks and Rebs made some use of repeating rifles, and Confederate references to shooting down moving bushes indicate resort to camouflage by Sherman's soldiers. The Union commander maintained a command post under signal tree at Kennesaw Mountain and directed the movement of his forces through a net of telegraph lines running out to subordinate head quarters. Men oi both armies who early in the war had looked askance at the employment of pick and shovel, now, as a matter of course, promptly scooped out protective ditches at each change of position. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
This Civil War history presents a lively and detailed study of one of the bloodiest and most important battles fought in Georgia. In the summer of 1864, Georgia was the scene of one of the most important campaigns of the Civil War. William Tecumseh Sherman’s push southward toward Atlanta threatened the heart of the Confederacy, and Joseph E. Johnston and the Army of Tennessee were the Confederacy's best hope to defend it. In June, Johnston managed to grind Sherman’s advance to a halt northwest of Atlanta at Kennesaw Mountain. After weeks of maneuvering, on June 27, Sherman launched a bold attack on Johnston's lines. The Confederate victory was one of the bloodiest days of the entire campaign. And while Sherman’s assaults had a frightful cost, Union forces learned important lessons at Kennesaw Mountain that enabled the fall of Atlanta several months later.
This two-volume encyclopedia offers a unique insight into the Civil War from a state and local perspective, showing how the American experience of the conflict varied significantly based on location. Intended for general-interest readers and high school and college students, American Civil War: A State-by-State Encyclopedia serves as a unique ready reference that documents the important contributions of each individual state to the American Civil War and underscores the similarities and differences between the states, both in the North and the South. Each state chapter leads off with an overview essay about that state's involvement in the war and then presents entries on prominent population centers, manufacturing facilities, and military posts within each state; important battles or other notable events that occurred within that state during the war; and key individuals from each state, both civilian and military. The A–Z entries within each state chapter enable readers to understand how the specific contributions and political climate of states resulted in the very different situations each state found itself in throughout the war. The set also provides a detailed chronology that will help students place important events in proper order.
The Civil War was the most traumatic event in American history, pitting Americans against one another, rending the national fabric, leaving death and devastation in its wake, and instilling an anger that has not entirely dissipated even to this day, 150 years later. This updated and expanded two-volume second edition of the Historical Dictionary of the Civil War relates the history of this war through a chronology, an introductory essay, an extensive bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced dictionary entries on persons, places, events, institutions, battles, and campaigns. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the Civil War.
DIVRelive the historic battles of the Civil War in this comprehensive overview of all the key battle sites./div Written by expert Civil War scholar Richard Sauers, Civil War Battlegrounds is fully illustrated with period photography and modern artwork, bringing the pivotal battles to life for historian and tourist alike. From Fort Sumter to Gettysburg to Appomattox and points between, Sauers illuminates the path of the war, providing stories of the battles and key participants along with fascinating sidebars covering a variety of related topics. He also covers helpful visitor information for the battleground tourist, including phone numbers and websites, hours, parking details, admission fees, and available tours and programs. With its wealth of concise and engaging information, Civil War Battlegrounds lets you walk in the footsteps of the men and women who lived, fought, and died in this bloodiest of American conflicts.
The Civil War obliterated Americas past, along with many of the founders visions of what America should be. Replacing those visions was the America that we have today. Any true understanding of America, both past and present, must include a specific understanding of this conflict. This work, with a thought-provoking introduction exploring the true causes of the war, traces the entire story of the conflict in a concise monthly summary. In addition to all the major events that shaped the war, key facts that have disappeared from most mainstream texts are also included, such as: Both Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis lost young sons during the war The legendary Robert E. Lee faced intense southern criticism for military failures in the wars first year U.S. forces battled the Sioux Indians during the war, leading to the largest mass execution in American history A former Ohio congressman was banished to the South by Lincoln for opposing the war Facts are explored and myths are exposed as the conflict is put in its proper chronological perspective. For anyone seeking a general resource guide to the seminal event in American history, this is required reading.
