Civil War in the United States 1861-1865

by Reid, Brian Holden

• ISBN13: 9780340614495
• ISBN10: 0340614498
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2099-11-30
• Publisher: Hodder Education Publishers

Summary

In his study of the American Civil War Brian Holden Reid embeds some new arguments, both persuasive and provocative, in a narrative framework. He suggests that the war was not as 'modern' as many previous writers have suggested, and more closely resembled Napoleonic warfare in importantrespects than it did in World War I. He also stresses the importance of examining the relationship between military and political affairs: of assessing the extent to which strategy on both sides developed out of political sources. To the traditional question 'why did it take the North so long tosubjugate the South', the suggestion in this book is that the question is misconceived: that in the circumstances of the time, the subjugation was achieved in a short period, with great efficiency. It is sometimes suggested that the winners were more up-to-date in their approach to war: that Grantand Sherman were somehow more forward-looking than Lee and Johnston. In fact there was little difference in their approach. Far more important was the margin of resources that so favoured the North. Recent interpretations have argued that the Confederacy, given the imbalance of resources, shouldhave adopted a defensive strategy - but, as Holden Reid demonstrates, this view is based on the erroneous assumption that the defensive is more economical in casualities. This book will introduce readers to the heart of many of the issues that surround the conduct of the war and in the processdislodge many of the conventional wisdoms that have attached to its history.

Table of Contents

The origins of the war and its outbreak

The first phase, April 1861

March 1862

Union frustration, April 1862

December 1862

Confederate surge, January 1863

August 1863

Stalemate, September 1863

December 1863

Union onslaught, January 1864

December 1864

Confederate disintegration, January 1865

April 1865

Conclusion

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