The American Civil War: This Mighty Scourge of War

Essential Histories Special #1

by Gary W. Gallagher, Stephen D. Engle, Joseph T. Glatthaar

Undoubtedly the most cataclysmic military struggle of the late nineteenth century, the American Civil War spanned four bloody years of fighting in which over 620,000 American soldiers and sailors lost their lives. From its outbreak at Fort Sumter, South Carolina in April 1861 until its conclusion at the Appotomax Court House, more than 10,000 battles, engagements and skirmishes were recorded across the length and breadth of America. This book explores the political, historical and cultural significance of the American Civil War, examining its impact on the civilians and military personnel caught up in it.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Military History, American Civil War, Military Fiction, American History, Civil War

328 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Gary W. Gallagher, the John L. Nau III Professor of History at the University of Virginia, is the author or editor of many books in the field of Civil War history, including The Confederate War; Causes Won, Lost, and Forgotten: How Hollywood and Popular Art Shape What We Know about the Civil War; and The Union War.

Reviews

[Frédéric · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice 101 on the american war. Good for beginners.

The book is divided in 4 chapters-the original books from Osprey's Essential Histories collection- by theater of operations East/West and period 1861-63/1863-65.

It contains the usual features (portrait of a solder, of a civilian, the world around the war...), illustrations and of course maps.

I've read dozen of Essential Histories and I have yet to be disappointed. But as said above it gives an overview that'll need further reading if one's interested in the topic, either on the political or military aspects of the conflict.

For a comprehensive analysis I can't recommend enough James McPherson's Battle cry of freedom.
Osprey's Campaign series offers excellent books on the various battles fought on all theaters.

[Yoda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Good Introduction to the Topic (with emphasis on military narrative)

Any review of this book would have to start off by mentioning that this book is geared not to specialist, knowledgeable or intermediate reader in the subject but to those new to the subject. Anyone over and above that would have little to gain. In addition, the book's emphasis and narrative is almost entirely the military struggle per se (i.e.., campaigns, battles, etc.). There is, unfortunately, little detailed content in regard to economics and industrial sinews of war, internal domestic politics and international diplomacy and policy. The little there is, however, suffices for the new reader to the topic in that, although not detailed, it at least summarizes these issues and discussed their impact on the military struggle.

A second thing that needs to be mentioned is that this book is not an original work but, instead, is a compendium of four previously published Osprey "Essential Series" books on this war. One cover the war in the East between 1861-2, one the West during the same period and the other two the East and West for the balance of the war. This compendium has a handful of pages over and above the original text of the 4 volumes. These provide a decent summary of many facts that the 4 volumes barely covered or did not cover (the role of industrial production, domestic US politics and international diplomacy). They are quite short however, barely amounting to a paragraph on each in the aggregate. Plus important topics such as demographic differences between the North and South are not even mentioned. Hence the book is far from encyclopedic in its coverage. However, for those new to the topic, its intended audience, the book serves as decent introduction to the topic that covers (and emphasizes) the military narrative of the war.

[Declan Waters · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of the 4 American Civil War books in Osrey's 'Essential Histories' series detailing the wars and battles of the American Civil War, a large conflict and one which has glimmers of the difficulty which would be encountered in World War I.

Whilst it would be impossible to cover all the battles and impact of the American Civil War in 350 pages, this book does make a great attempt to achieve this aim. I knew little about this conflict, but having visited Fort Sumter a few years ago I wanted to find out more and turned the Essential Histories series. A clear, concise (and necessarily brief) account of many of the battles and the movements of armies the book also includes information on Civilians, and the impact around war, but this is definitely an Osprey book so don't expect too much beyond the fighting.

Another superb addition to the series and a lot of new details and history learned. Recommended.

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another winner from The Great Courses! This is a broad overview of the Civil War that includes so much more than "just" the battles (e.g., politics, key figures, emancipation, economy, life on the "home front", reconstruction). It was fascinating. Although it doesn't go into the details of even the major wars (when the battle of Gettysburg itself - the actual details of the fighting - gets only about half of one lecture you know breadth is given favor over depth) it provides the best overview of all aspects of the Civil War that I've ever experienced. Exceptional.

[Marie Mcentire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

[Werewolf670 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very helpful for understanding key battles and the toll on soldiers and civilians .

[Conrad Kinch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a collection of four separate volumes in Osprey's Essential Histories series; The War in the East 1861 – 1863, The War in the West 1861 – 1863, The War in the East 1863 – 1865 and The War
in the West 1863 – 1865.

Presented in the usual Osprey style, it's an easy read and illustrated with period photographs, pictures, contemporary artwork (mostly by Don
Troiani) and a sheaf of maps. Given that I judge military history books on their maps, mainly as I can rarely make sense of a written account of a battle without one, I'd rate the book fairly highly on that basis alone.

The book covers the whole war with varying degrees of detail, with the emphasis most definitely on the operational side of things. There are
several sections on the home front both in the North and the South, the political situation and the experiences of slaves and non-combatants, but for the most part the big battalions, battles and
generals are the stars of the show.

That said, the book covers that aspect of the war very well and manages to tell a complex, multi-layered story with clarity, which is
no mean feat. I find the separation of the war into two distinct theatres artificial from the point of view of the narrative as each
theatre influenced the other greatly, but the authors do a workmanlike job of relating the two to each other and keeping the whole narrative
flowing in the minds eye within the limitations of that structure.

Rounded off with a comprehensive index and a relatively short bibliography (with a few surprising absences), "This Mighty Scourge of
War" is a fine introduction to the American Civil War. But it is exactly that, an introduction, a careful searcher* could probably find
most of this information on the internet, and a genuine Civil War buff is not going to find anything new here.

On the other hand, the newcomer is not going to find a more visually appealing or friendly introduction to the period.

*And one who can stand reading their history from a computer screen which I'm less and less willing to do as I grow older.

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. He was very interesting to listen to. He covered a lot of the background of the people during the war. He covered a lot of battles that I have not heard about.

The biggest thing that I learned from this book was to be like General Grant and Sherman, who set goals and got to where they needed to be and were not afraid of doing their job, which was fighting the enemy.

General George B. McClellan started out as the General of all the Armies of the United States, but had to be fired by President Lincoln because he refused to do any thing except prepare and train and slowly move.

[Bruinrefugee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introductory history with lots of good maps. Really four books bundled as one, but it is a strong overall approach. Biggest single missing item: does not really address any portion of the war west of the Mississippi.

[Spectre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent one volume treatment of the Civil War.