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This is a collection of war letters written by teenagers George and Walter Battle during their service in Company F, 4th North Carolina Regiment, CSA. Underage, yet full of vitality and idealism, these boys were not just fighting for their country; they were fighting to protect their family's name. Two young brothers had gone off to war as mere boys. Their experiences quickly hardened and molded them into veterans of the greatest army ever to march on American soil.
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Hero? Traitor? It all depends on which side of the fence you were standing. Col. Don Steenburn, U.S.Army retired, has put together a fascinating study of one of the most controversial characters in Madison County and Northern Alabama history- determined and gutsy Frank Ballou Gurley of the 4th Alabama, Confederate States of America.
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The Battle of Fort Donelson was the first major victory for Federal forces and the first decisive battle in the vital area from the Appalachians to the Mississippi. It gave the Federals control of both the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers; led directly to the fall of the first Confederate capital at Nashville and the Battle of Shiloh, and was the beginning of the fame and/or infamy of several Civil War generals, including U.S. Grant, N. B. Forrest, Gideon Pillow and John B. Floyd. It also resulted in the first surrender of an army by a Confederate general, and the largest capture of enemy troops in American history, up to that time.
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The commander of the three-hundred-wagon Union supply train never expected a large ragtag group of Texans and Native Americans to attack during the dark of night. But Brigadier Generals Richard Gano and Stand Watie defeated the unsuspecting Federals in the early morning hours of September 19, 1864, at Cabin Creek in the Cherokee nation. The legendary Watie, the only Native American general on either side, planned details of the raid for months. His preparation paid off--the Confederate troops captured wagons with supplies that would be worth more than $75 million today.
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The Civil War was trying, bloody, and hard-fought combat for both sides. What was it, then, that sustained soldiers low on supplies and morale? For the Army of Tennessee, it was religion. “Onward Southern Soldiers" explores the significant impact of religion on every rank, from generals to chaplains to common soldiers. Religion unified troops, informing both why and how they fought, and providing the rationale for enduring great hardship for the Confederate cause.
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Leonidas Polk is one of the most fascinating figures of the Civil War. Consecrated as a bishop of the Episcopal Church and commissioned as a general into the Confederate army, Polk’s life in both spheres blended into a unique historical composite. Polk was a man with deep religious convictions but equally committed to the Confederate cause. He baptized soldiers on the eve of bloody battles, administered last rites and even presided over officers’ weddings, all while leading his soldiers into battle.
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The author explores the personality of this iron-willed commander & brilliant tactician & gives us colorful profiles of the men who served under him. This is the most complete & compelling account to date of the fighting unit so hated by Grant that he ordered any captured Ranger to be summarily executed without trail.