Readers will discover fresh information about certain Civil War battles. For instance, Pulitzer Prize winner Douglas Douthall Freeman states in his classic three-volume work: Lee's Lieutenants that the battle of Big Bethel, Va. (June 10, 1861, the first land battle of the war) "...had been a small battle to be sure. Not more than 300 of the 1,400 Confederates had been engaged simultaneously and then for no longer than twenty minutes." However, the acquisition of the complete battle report of D. H. Hill, the Confederate field commander at Big Bethel, details a battle which lasted for many hours, not twenty minutes — resulting in hundreds of casualties on both sides.
Riveting narratives dramatically depict the action minute-by-minute, hour-by-hour, through revealing descriptions provided by the participants. The text details strategy and tactics employed by the commanders as each action unfolds, meshing the order of battle with the personalized, vivid experiences of the soldiers on both sides. It is a rich, moving story, conveyed in informative, revealing, ironic, poignant, religious, humorous and horrific anecdote.
Unequalled in scope and depth, unparalleled in research and scholarship, the narrative of this work encompasses the lofty strategies and hardscrabble tactics of the commanders of this war. It also realistically depicts, in human and passionate terms, the lot of the lowly foot soldier, whose perspective can be seen through more than 20,000 eyewitness reports.
Table of Contents
Appearing in its entirety prefacing the main text of each of the three volumes, the Table of Contents for the Encyclopedia of Civil War Battles is detailed and comprehensive. Entries by volume: Volume I: Alabama to Frying Pan, Va.; Volume II: Gaines Mill, Va. to Rowanty Creek, Ga.; Volume III: Sabine Pass, Tex. to Yorktown, Va., plus all Supplements, including a compilation of Minor Engagements, Operations and Skirmishes by location; Filmography; Glossary, Bibliography (appears in each eBook and in Volume III of the Deluxe Library Edition), Index.
Entries for battles, engagements, and skirmishes are shown as proper name places in boldface, with cross-references for alternate names. Many battles and skirmishes are grouped under a series of continuing battles involving essentially the same forces or extended campaigns representing many separate battles, engagements and skirmishes initiated by Confederate or Union forces.
Conferences, forts, prison camps, riots, plots, and war-related place name entries are also included in this work. Some entries are listed under the name of a ship (such as the Alabama) or other entity. All other minor engagements, operations and skirmishes, consisting of approximately 6,000, appear in Supplements (Vol. III).
Release Schedule
- Published by History, Inc.
- Offered incrementally as each volume is completed. Both eBook and Deluxe Library Editions will be offtered (acid-free stock; end-sheets; Smythe-sewn binding; high-grade vellum cloth).
- The author is presently completing two additional three-volume works: the Biographical Encyclopedia of the Confederacy and the Biographical Encyclopedia of the Union. Each set contains more than 3 million words, over 3,000 images, and greater than 3,000 pages. Release of the full 9-volume set is anticipated to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the start of the American Civil War (2011).
About the Author
Jay Robert Nash is the only author to receive four Best Reference awards from the American Library Association. He has produced more than 70 books and multi-volume reference works, including the 17-volume Motion Picture Guide and the 8-volume Encyclopedia of World Crime which have become the definitive reference works in their fields. He has also been the recipient of the Edgar Allan Poe Award and has been nominated four times for a Pulitzer Prize.
|