The American Civil War and the Wars of the Industrial Revolution (The History of Warfare)

Analyzes many puzzling aspects of the Civil War, from its mismatched sides to the absence of decisive outcomes for dozens of skirmishes, and offers insight into the war's psychology, ideology, and economics while discussing the pivotal roles of leadership and geography.;North and South divide -- Will there be a war? -- Improvised armies -- Running the war -- The military geography of the Civil War -- The life of the soldier -- Plans -- McClellan takes command -- The war in middle America -- Lee's war in the East, Grant's war in the West -- Chancellorsville and Gettysburg -- Vicksburg -- Cutting the Chattanooga-Atlanta link -- The overland campaign and the fall of Richmond -- Breaking into the South -- The battle off Cherbourg and the Civil War at sea -- Black soldiers -- The home fronts -- Walt Whitman and wounds -- Civil War generalship -- Civl War battle -- Could the South have survived? -- The end of the war. For the past half century, John Keegan, the greatest military historian of our time, has been returning to the scenes of America's most bloody and wrenching war to ponder its lingering conundrums: the continuation of fighting for four years between such vastly mismatched sides; the dogged persistence of ill-trained, ill-equipped, and often malnourished combatants; the effective absence of decisive battles among some two to three hundred known to us by name. Now Keegan examines these and other puzzles with a peerless understanding of warfare, uncovering dimensions of the conflict that have eluded earlier historiography.While offering original and perceptive insights into psychology, ideology, demographics, and economics, Keegan reveals the war's hidden shape--a consequence of leadership, the evolution of strategic logic, and, above all, geography, the Rosetta Stone of his legendary decipherments of all great battles. The American topography, Keegan argues, presented a battle space of complexity and challenges virtually unmatched before or since. Out of a succession of mythic but chaotic engagements, he weaves an irresistible narrative illuminated with comparisons to the Napoleonic Wars, the First World War, and other conflicts. The American Civil War is sure to be hailed as a definitive account of its eternally fascinating subject.From the Hardcover edition. The greatest military historian of our time gives a peerless account of America's most bloody, wrenching, and eternally fascinating war. In this long-awaited history, John Keegan shares his original and perceptive insights into the psychology, ideology, demographics, and economics of the American Civil War. Illuminated by Keegan's knowledge of military history he provides a fascinating look at how command and the slow evolution of its strategic logic influenced the course of the war. Above all, The American Civil War gives an intriguing account of how the scope of the conflict combined with American geography to present a uniquely complex and challenging battle space. Irresistibly written and incisive in its analysis, this is an indispensable account of America's greatest conflict. From the Trade Paperback edition The greatest military historian of our time gives a peerless account of America’s most bloody, wrenching, and eternally fascinating war. In this magesterial history and national bestseller, John Keegan shares his original and perceptive insights into the psychology, ideology, demographics, and economics of the American Civil War. Illuminated by Keegan’s knowledge of military history he provides a fascinating look at how command and the slow evolution of its strategic logic influenced the course of the war. Above all, The American Civil War gives an intriguing account of how the scope of the conflict combined with American geography to present a uniquely complex and challenging battle space. Irresistibly written and incisive in its analysis, this is an indispensable account of America’s greatest conflict. This Book Focuses On The Strategic And Operational Dimensions Of The Campaigns Of The Civil War, Showing How Such Factors As Generalship, Organization, Intelligence And Logistics Affected The Decisions Of The Battlefield. Introduction, War And Industrialization -- 1. The Crimean War, 1854-6 -- 2. The American Civil War: The War Takes Shape, 1861-2 -- 3. The American Civil War: The Year Of Trial And Hope, 1862-3 -- The American Civil War: Confederate Collapse, 1864-5 -- The German Wars Of Unification, 1864, 1866, 1870-71 -- Afterword. Brian Holden Reid ; General Editor, John Keegan. Series Statement On Jacket. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 218-219) And Index. The social and political changes wrought by the Industrial Revolution transformed everything from the balance of power between nations to arms manufacturing to battlefield tactics and strategy. Using three wars as examples -- most dramatically the American Civil War -- trace the development of land fighting and the effects of higher command during this period of tumultuous technological change. Unlike histories that downplay the connection between the outcome in the United States and the conflicts in Europe, this one reveals their interconnection.