Slaveholders' western ambitions culminated in a coast-to-coast crisis of the Union. By 1861, the rebellion in the South inspired a series of separatist movements in the Far West. Even after the collapse of the Confederacy, the threads connecting South and West held, undermining the radical promise of Reconstruction. Discover how the struggle over slavery played out on a transcontinental stage. Kevin Waite is assistant professor of history at Durham University. Get your copy of the book today!

Lost in all of the military histories of the war, and even in most of the Lee biographies, is what the general was doing when he was out of history’s “public” eye.  Where was Lee and what was he doing when the spotlight of history failed to illuminate him? Correspondence and papers from Lee’s family, his staff, his lieutenants, and the men of his army revel new things about Lee for the first time. Charles Knight is native of Richmond,…

Follow Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain’s swift transition from college professor and family man to regimental and brigade commander as he honed his fighting skills at Shepherdstown and Fredericksburg. Praised by his Gettysburg peers for leading the 20th Maine Infantry’s successful defense of Little Round Top—an action that would eventually earn him Civil War immortality—Chamberlain experienced his most intense combat after arriving at Petersburg. Raised on Chamberlain Street in Brewer, Maine, Brian F. Swartz has worked as a newspaper reporter, editor, and…

Sandwiched between the Napoleonic Wars and World War I, the Civil War is often called the first “modern war." Some of the most profound modern contributions to the art of war were made by Confederate General James Longstreet. Discover howLongstreet’s thinking evolved over a series of battles and how his innovations appeared in future wars.  LTC Knudsen is an Illinois native. His career spans twenty five years of active duty Army service, and includes seven resident career artillery, command and…