The Photographic History of the Civil War, Vol 2 - The Decisive Battles / The Cavalry

by Francis Trevelyan Miller (Series Editor), Blue & Grey Press (Producer)

The Photographic History of the Civil War was first published in 1911 to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the great conflict. Extremely popular then, it has become a rare book. Here, in five double volumes, is the complete and unabridged original edition, text and photographs carefully reproduced in the original format and full size.

The thousands of photographs contained within are remarkable in their immediacy, spontaneity, and authenticity. They demonstrate the power of the camera as well as the importance of the photographer.   They are a unique record of one of the greatest conflicts in the history of mankind.

These pictures can be viewed as art, as history and as journalism. Covering every aspect of the war --from the front to weapons, from tactics to the wounded, from everyday life to grief, from victory to defeat—these volumes are a testament to a mighty conflict and to the great nation which emerged from it.

This volume describes the decisive battles of the Civil War, and the Cavalry on both sites of the battle. 

Genres: Civil War, History, American History

688 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1987

About the author

Francis Trevelyan Miller (1877–1959) was an American writer and film-maker. He is known for his books about exploration, travel and photography. Notable works from him including several books about the American Civil War, such as The Photographic History of the Civil War, in Ten Volumes (New York: The Review of Reviews Co., 1912). Another of his significant works is "History of WWII: Armed Services Memorial Edition." He has also made several feature films and wrote the screenplay for the 1919 film Deliverance about Helen Keller. In 1955 his photograph of children at a Chicago funfair was selected by Edward Steichen for MoMA's world-touring The Family of Man exhibition.

Reviews

[Tom Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have finished "The Decisive Battles" and I am now on page 98 of the second book, "The Cavalry". First published in 1911 the writing is somewhat in the florid style of those times though much better than I feared it would be. Since the set was published for all of the veterans, North and South, the text is, understandably, not as strong as it could be. I almost hesitate to be taken in too much by it. The photos are of great interest and, again, the history doesn't read so bad. Would love to see an original book. I bought the set 10 years ago for a very reasonable price. The set is in new condition. I will update when I finish. I wasn't sure if I would find this exact book on Goodreads but, happily, I have! / Mar 19, finished "The Cavalry". Very satisfied with having purchased this set. Picked out another volume to read as the mood strikes. The freed slaves are barely mentioned. It is 1911, about as bad as Jim Crow could be. From Reading this book one would never know how horrible Forrest proved to be in history. Great raider but cruel man. History is rife with such. The Decisive Battles provided good review whereas, for me, The Cavalry proved quite informative. Again, keeping in mind that the text was written circa 1911, horses and mules remained the prime movers of personal transportation and agriculture. 825,000 horses and mules were processed through the Northern camps that were built for the care, training, rehabilitation, etc., all the myriad concerns that the horse required. Even more difficult was the introduction of handling a horse to raw recruits. That was one problem the South did not face. However after the first two years of war, the resources of the South were badly strained. They could no more replace their mounts than they could their soldiers. War was exceedingly cruel to the animals forced into service. Through exhaustion and ignorance hundreds of thousands were lost. "The Cavalry" was well worth the read.