The fabled battle between these two iron-plated vessels is ironic. The battle had virtually no effect on the outcome of the Civil War, yet it revolutionized naval warfare, instantaneously condemning wooden warships to obsolescence. Nelson's technical knowledge of the art of naval warfare is impressive, and he effectively tells this story in lay terms. He begins with the launching of the Merrimack (more correctly, the Virginia, after its refitting). His description of the attack upon almost helpless Union wooden warships spares nothing in showing the bloody carnage. Nelson then chronicles the genesis of both ships, and his portrayals of the key players in the process, both Union and Confederate, are absorbing and often surprising. He concludes with the confrontation between the ironclads, and his vivid, blow-by-blow account has the aura of two uncertain giants pummeling each other while watching for the effects of their blows. This exciting retelling of a famous and groundbreaking battle is an excellent addition to Civil War collections |
Nat Turner: A Slave Rebellion in History and Memory
From the moment of the rebellion he led in 1831 that killed almost 60 whites, terrorized Southampton County, VA, and shook slaveholders everywhere, to the many evocations of him and his bloody course in folklore and literature, various people have sought to capture the enigmatic and elusive Nat Turner for their cause. Finding the "real" Turner has fascinated people from the first interrogations before he was hanged continuing down to this collection of new and previously published essays by 12 scholars in history, literature, and psychology, including an interview with novelist William Styron |
The first real battle of the war and the second of Robert E. Lee's incredible victories. Scale: 1"= 2700' Map image: 21" x 15" Overall size: 18" x 28" Style: Watercolor and colored pencil map showing crops, fences, houses, farms, watercourses, woods and significant terrain. No troop movements depicted. Reverse side: The text includes a history of the unfinished railroad, the principal tactical feature of the Second Manassas battle. A detailed sketch map of the unfinished railroad is reproduced, inset with modern photographs of the existing remnants of the unfinished railroad including the massive stone abutments at Cub Run and Bull Run. Packaged in a reusable sleeve. A History Book Club Selection. |
Staff Officers in Gray: A Biographical Register of the Staff Officers in the Army of Northern Virginia
This indispensable Civil War reference profiles some 2,300 staff officers in Robert E. Lee's famous Army of Northern Virginia. These men--ordnance officers, engineers, aides-de-camp, and quartermasters, among others--worked at the side of many of the Confederacy's greatest figures, helping to feed and clothe the army, maintain its discipline, and operate its military machinery. |
