Battles and Leaders of the Civil War V1 - The Opening Battles

Battles and Leaders of the Civil War: The Opening Battles edited by Robert Underwood Johnson and Clarence Clough Buel from the editorial staff of "The Century Magazine." This is volume one of a four volume set, being for the most part contributions by Union and Confederate officers, based upon "The Century War Series."This lead off volume begins with a realistic view of Washington,D.C. on the eve of the war as the preparation for war in the North and South begins. There is an excellent account of the fall of Fort Sumter along with detailed accounts of the operations in Virginia. This book is NOT limited to just ground action, but has naval battles and conflicts along the island waterways.What I found to be interesting aside from the eyewitness accounts, were the excellent maps and engravings. This series was originally conceived in 1883 and is refered to as source material in other writings about the Civil War. Grant, Bauregard, Longstreet and Sherman are just a few of the stories and accounts represented in this volume as the opening battles begin and the pages of history were forever changed. Written by the men who fought these battles makes this book very interesting as we read these accounts you begin to feel all of the emotions that bring to bear on these men as war becomes a reality where death and wounding become all too common.We read about battles in Missouri, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia, South and North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas as the war heats up and the opening slavos begin.

The four volumes of the famous Battles and Leaders series constitute one of the essential collections of Civil War source material and the next step up for the casual and interested reader of Civil War literature. It includes lavishly illustrated (photographs, sketches, maps) accounts of the battles by the men who fought them, the great generals, the staff officers and other observers. Nothing is omitted and the price is unbelievably low for books of this sort. The only caveat is that accounts are sometimes self-serving, especially when written by a losing general. Nonetheless things balance out and I doubt if anyone will ever regret buying the set.