Turning Points of the Civil War

by James A. Rawley

James A. Rawley examines the seven turning points of the Civil the course of the slaveholding borderland in 1861, First Bull Run, the Trent affair, Antietam, the Emancipation Proclamation, Gettysburg and Vicksburg, and the presidential election of 1864. Among the topic unifying his book are slavery, democracy, British policy, military organization and progress, and the roles of Lincoln, McClellan, Davis, and Lee. The afterword looks at the Civil War itself as a turning point in American history. In a preface to this Bison Book editin, James A. Rawley, considers recent books that sustain the idea of turning points during the Civil War.

Genres: Civil War

230 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1968

About the author

James A. Rawley was professor of history emeritus at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

Reviews

[James Violand]

A very good synopsis of key events that changed the course of the war, aborted England's recognition of the Confederacy and assured the destruction of slavery.