General & Introductory History
19th Century America
America's Civil War
Brooks D. Simpson
ISBN: 978-0-882-95929-0 April 1996 Wiley-Blackwell 239 Pages
Such is the continuing volume of work on the Civil War that we are regularly in need of an authoritative and accessible brief synthesis to keep us up to date with this endlessly fascinating subject. Brooks Simpson meets that need for the 1990s in America's Civil War, a wonderful feat of compression in which he addresses all the great issues of the war in 200 pages of clear and readable prose. Rightly, he puts the military history of the conflict at the center of the picture, but he excels in relating the drama of the war itself to the politics of both Union and Confederacy, to the stresses and strains-and opportunities-of the home front, and to the great issues of emancipation and reconstruction. This book is a fine achievement, and it will be invaluable not only to students but to many other readers-and even Civil War specialists will benefit from its fresh insights.–Peter J. Parish, Cambridge University
Brooks D. Simpson is the author of several books on the Civil War and Reconstruction era, including Let Us Have Peace: Ulysses S. Grant and the Politics of war and Reconstruction, 1861-1868, The Political Education of Henry Adams, and America's Civil War. He is a professor of history and humanities at Arizona State University.
Foreword VII
Preface and Acknowledgments XII
Introduction: On Understanding the Civil War 1
Chapter One: Secession and the First Shot 7
Secession 9
The First Shot 21
Chapter Two: War Begins 24
Mobilizing For Conflict 25
War Aims 31
The First Battles 37
The European Response 45
Chapter Three: The Limited War 49
Forts Henry and Donelson 50
Shiloh 53
Rebels Resurgents in Virginia 57
Confederate Escalation 66
Chapter Four: War Becomes Revolution 70
Toward Emancipation 71
Confederate Counteroffensives: Lee Moves North 80
Confederate Counteroffensives: Perryville, Iuka, and Corinth 87
Emancipation and Elections 89
Union Battlefield Standoffs and Rebuffs 94
Chapter Five: Gambles Won and Lost 100
Chancellorsville 101
Vicksburg and Gettysburg 105
Chickamauga and Chattanooga 114
The Impact of Emancipation 120
Chapter Six: The Home Front 130
The Folks Back Home 131
The Northern Economy and War Effort 137
The Southern Economy and War Effort 141
Politics and Society: The North 145
Politics and Society: The South 152
Wartime Reconstruction: Early Steps 157
Chapter Seven: The Campaigns of 1864 162
Grant's Grand Design 163
The Wilderness Campaigns 166
The Atlanta Campaign 175
Lincoln's Bid for Reelection 177
Victory on the Battlefield and at the Ballot Box 183
Chapter Eight: Victory and Defeat 188
Sherman's March to the Sea 189
Fort Fisher and the March through the Carolinas 194
Emancipation, Reconstruction, and Peace Proposals 197
From Richmond to Appomattox 201
Foundations for Peace 206
Conclusion: Why the Union Won 213
Bibliographical Essay 221
Maps: Major Campaigns of the Civil War 35
Campaigns in the West, February to April 1862 52
The Peninsula Campaign 1862 64
Campaigns in Virginia and Maryland, August to December 1862 82
War in the East, 1863 103
The Vicksburg Campaign, April to July 1863 108
Grant vs. Lee 168
Campaigns in the West, 1864-65 190
"Sensible, well-written, and thoroughly grounded in the most recent scholarship, America's Civil War is the best short synthesis of the subject available." —Mark Grimsley, Ohio State University
"This book is a fine achievement, and it will be invaluable not only to students but to many other readers—and even Civil War specialists will benefit from its fresh insights." —Peter J. Parish
"Simpson has written a lively and interpretive history of the US Civil War. Based on a mastery of the secondary literature, Simpson's narrative weaves the political, military, and social history of this significant period." (CHOICE, September 1996)
"This work finally condenses the story of the War to a manageable size for the beginner and student alike. ...Written in a clear, concise manner, this book belongs on the book shelves of any collector of writings on the Civil War." (The Cincinnati Civil War Round Table, November 1996)
"Students looking for a condensed, clear, and evenhanded summary of a particular campaign would do well to consult this volume. ...America's Civil War will be a useful supplemental reading in survey courses and a solid short text for courses on the war itself. Occupying an important niche between the single-chapter accounts of the American history textbooks and much longer single-volume treatments...Simpson's book admirably fulfills the goals of the American History Series." (Civil War History, June 1997)
The American History Series