A short history of The Civil War.

Smithsonian Institution, (sponsoring body.).

Summary: "Combining expert historical insight with the eyewitness accounts of soldiers and civilians, A Short History of the Civil War offers a brilliant summary of the key events and wider context of the hostilities between North and South. Profiles of influential military and political leaders, and thought-provoking features on themes and experiences, from the evils of slavery to the treatment of wounded soldiers, bring the story dramatically to life." -- back cover.

Record details

ISBN: 9781465494078
ISBN: 1465494073
Physical Description: print
560 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm
Edition: First American edition.
Publisher: New York, NY : DK, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, 2020.

Content descriptions

General Note:

Includes index.

"Content previously published as The Civil War: a visual history." -- title page verso.

Formatted Contents Note:

AN IMPERFECT UNION, 1815-1860: Introduction -- The State of the Nation -- A Question of Union -- Slavery Divides the Country -- Frederick Douglass -- The Fury of Abolition -- Slave Auction -- Bleeding Kansas -- The Rise of the Republican Party -- The Raid on Harpers Ferry -- The Election of 1860 -- Abraham Lincoln ; SECESSION TRIGGERS WAR, 1861: Introduction -- The Union is Dissolved -- Jefferson Davis -- The Call to Arms -- Fort Sumter -- The South's Challenge -- Union and Confederate Flags -- Raising Armies -- The First Battle of Bull Run -- First Encounter -- Organizing for the Fight -- George B. McClellan -- The Sinews of War -- Missouri and Kentucky -- Blockading the South -- Courting European Allies ; CLASH OF ARMIES, 1862: Introduction -- Soldiers in Gray -- Confederate Uniforms -- Soldiers in Blue -- Union Uniforms -- Fighting on Foot -- The Battle of Hampton Roads -- The Fall of New Orleans -- David Farragut -- Action on the Mississippi River -- CSS Arkansas Runs Through the Union Fleet -- Grant Takes Forts Henry and Donelson -- The Battle of Shiloh -- The Hornet's Nest at Shiloh -- Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley -- Thomas J. Jackson -- Rifles and Muskets -- The Peninsula Campaign -- The Seven Days Battles -- The Second Battle of Bull Run -- Longstreet's Flank Attack at Second Bull Run -- Robert E. Lee -- Lee Invades Maryland -- Field Artillery -- Espionage and Intelligence -- The Battle of Antietam -- Burnside's Bridge at Antietam -- Burnside Takes the Offensive -- The Far West -- Bragg Invades Kentucky -- Braxton Bragg -- The Battle of Stones River -- Cavalry in the Civil War -- Cavalry Equipment ; THE UNION TIGHTENS ITS GRIP, 1863: Introduction -- The Emancipation Proclamation -- African Americans in the War -- Journey to Freedom -- Harriet Tubman -- The Role of Black Troops -- Assault on Fort Wagner -- Immigrants in the Ranks -- The Battle of Chancellorsville -- The Death of Jackson -- Lee Advances North -- The Battle of Gettysburg -- Little Round Top -- James Longstreet -- The Vicksburg Campaign -- Surrender at Vicksburg -- Ulysses S. Grant -- The Home Front -- War-Weary People -- Riots in New York -- Medicine and Medical Services -- Medical Equipment -- Clara Barton -- The Chickamauga Campaign -- The Chattanooga Campaign -- George H. Thomas -- The Railroad in War -- Communications -- Guerrillas and Partisans -- Operations in the Indian Territory and Texas -- The Gettysburg Address ; GRANT, SHERMAN, AND TOTAL WAR, 1864: Introduction -- Lincoln Prevails -- The Wilderness Campaign -- In the Trenches at Spotsylvania -- Photography in the War -- Maneuvering Toward Richmond -- Jeb Stuart -- Pistols -- Rebel Victories -- Prisoners of War -- Andersonville Prison Camp -- The Battle of Cold Harbor -- Grant Advances to Petersburg -- Supply, Transportation, and Logistics -- The Valley Campaign -- Philip Sheridan -- Sheridan's Ride -- The Siege of Petersburg -- Siege Artillery and Siege Warfare -- The Battle of the Crater -- Navel Developments -- Confederate Raiders -- The Duel of the Alabama and the Kearsarge -- The Battle of Mobile Bay -- Mississippi Operations -- Nathan Bedford Forrest -- Sherman's Advance to Atlanta -- Sherman's March to the Sea -- William Tecumseh Sherman -- Franklin and Nashville ; COLLAPSE OF THE CONFEDERACY, 1865: Introduction -- The Thirteenth Amendment -- The Carolinas and Alabama -- The Fall of Petersburg and Richmond -- The Appomattox Campaign -- Surrender at Appomattox -- The Assassination of Lincoln -- The Last Hours of Lincoln -- Last Terms of Surrender -- Andrew Johnson ; LEGACIES OF THE WAR, 1865-1877, Introduction -- The Cost of War -- The Politics of Reconstruction -- The Reality of Black Freedom -- "Redeeming" the South -- The End of Reconstruction -- The War Remembered -- In Their Footsteps -- Index -- Acknowledgments.