The Longest Night : A Military History of the Civil War - Softcover

David J. Eicher

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0712668543 ISBN 13: 9780712668545

Publisher: Vintage Uk, 2002

Synopsis

'Like no other conflict in our history, the Civil War casts a long shadow onto modern America,' writes David Eicher. In his compelling new account of that war, Eicher gives us an authoritative modern single-volume battle history that spans the entire war. Although there are other one-volume histories of the Civil War - most notably James M. McPherson's Pulitzer Prize-winning Battle Cry of Freedom - The Longest Night is strictly a military history. It covers hundreds of engagements on land and sea, and along rivers. The often neglected Western theatre, and the naval actions along the coasts and major rivers are at last given their due. Such major battles as Gettysburg and Chancellorsville are, of course, described in detail, but Eicher also examines lesser-known actions such as Sabine Pass, Texas and Fort Clinch, Florida. The result is a gripping popular history that will fascinate anyone learning about this war for the first time while at the same time offering more than a few surprises for longtime students. The Longest Night draws on hundreds of sources and includes numerous excerpts from letters and diaries by the soldiers who fought the war. Eicher analyses each side's evolving strategy and examines the tactics of Lee, Grant, Johnston, Sherman and other leading figures of the war. He also discusses such militarily significant topics as prisons, railroads, shipbuilding, clandestine operations and the expanding role of African Americans in the war. The Longest Night is a riveting, indispensable history of the war that James McPherson in the Foreword to this book calls 'the most dramatic, violent and fateful experience in American history.''A comprehensive military overview-he ably presents delicious nuggets of information-The Longest Night will surely be an important reference work for students of the war.' Jay Winik, New York Times Book Review

About this title

Review:

The Longest Night by David J. Eicher aspires to become the standard reference in its field, and it very nearly succeeds. It is strictly a military history of the Civil War, which means it eschews all the political and social context setting that takes up so much space in James M. McPherson's heralded Battle Cry of Freedom (still the best single volume on the war) and focuses almost exclusively on the actual campaigns and combat. Eicher challenges a line of historians that includes Bruce Catton and Shelby Foote, whose own books on the war are classics. He is not quite as good a writer as either of these two, but he does bring something to the subject that Catton and Foote do not: An entire generation's worth of new scholarship. As Eicher himself points out, a big chunk of his sources only became available in the 1990s. This is not to suggest that he offers a dramatic reinterpretation. On certain fundamental topics he has familiar opinions: "I am convinced that the Confederate States of America could not have emerged victorious in the Civil War." Eicher can write with occasional verve, too. Of an obscure operation in New Mexico, he deadpans, "Though [Major General Harry Hopkins] Sibley's strategic goals were fuzzy, his military successes on the surface seemed pleasing, particularly to a commander who experienced much of his campaign under the influence of liquor."

Yet the real strength of The Longest Night is its intricate detail. Although few readers probably want to know how many different types of bronze smoothbore mortars were used in battle (11, according to Eicher), other facts and figures are fresh and fascinating: "Of the 246,712 wounded treated in Federal hospitals during the war, 922 causes were reported as traceable to wounds from edged weapons of any kind [i.e., swords, knives, and bayonets]. Most of those resulted from personal arguments or use by camp guards rather than by fighting on the field." The bulk of the book is chronological retelling of the war, starting with Fort Sumter and ending with the death of President Lincoln and the various Confederate surrenders. It is a strong entry on a subject that continues to fascinate readers everywhere. --John Miller

About the Author:

David J Eicher is an astronomer and Civil War historian. The managing editor of Astronomy magazine, he is the author of several books on the Civil War. He lives with his wife and son in the Milwaukee suburbs.

About this edition

• Publisher: Vintage Uk
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0712668543
• ISBN 13: 9780712668545
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 992