Little happened in 1859 that would have told Americans there were on the precipice of a continent-wide war and the end of the most powerful slave society in the

“Should be required reading for anyone interested in preserving our 246-year experiment in self-government.” —The New York Times Book Review * “Well res

Archival images and biographical sketches of Union soldiers tell the stories of their lives during and after the Civil War. Before leaving to fight in the Civil

Collects the best artwork created before, during and following the Civil War, in the years between 1859 and 1876, along with extensive quotations from men and w

Ayers gives readers the Civil War on an intimate scale. His masterful narrative conveys the coming of war and its bloody encounters through the eyes of those wh