Encyclopedia of Battles in North America: 1517-1916 (Facts on File Library of American History) - Hardcover

Purcell, L. Edward; Purcell, Sarah J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0816033501 ISBN 13: 9780816033508

Publisher: Facts on File, 2000

Synopsis

Maps supplement descriptive narratives of more than 350 battles, from battles over Spanish conquest in 1517 to Mexican border raids in 1916, providing information on each battle's context, important leaders, and outcome.

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Reviews

L. Edward Purcell (Who Was Who in the American Revolution) and Sarah Purcell (The Vice Presidents: A Biographical Dictionary) succinctly describe nearly all the military and naval battles that have taken place on the North American continent. Entries are in alphabetical order by battle name, from Adobe Walls to Yorktown, each one with bibliographic references. Many were from wars that are vaguely remembered today, if at all (e.g., the Pequot War of 1637 or the Russian-Indian War of 1804 in Alaska). There are cross references to alternate names, a comprehensive bibliography, a glossary, 50 maps, and indexes by war, year, and geographic area. Each battle is placed in context, while the authors describe opposing forces, commanders, casualties, and outcomes. Specialists may occasionally find fault, yet excellent writing and composition make the book appropriate for casual readers and students. Similar information is available in other sources but without the up-to-date references and other guides. This well-conceived reference resource is suitable for all libraries."Edward Gibson, Lincoln Univ. Lib., PA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

There have been numerous attempts to catalog and analyze important battles, including Dictionary of Battles: The World's Key Bat tles from 405 B.C. to Today (Holt, 1987) and Decisive Battles of the U.S.A . (Da Capo, 1993). This one is similar in format and approach, but it covers a more limited time period (1517-1916). The authors define a battle as "an armed, violent conflict between two opposing forces of appreciable size, the outcome of which was seen at the time, or has been by historians since, to be significant." And they acknowledge that there have been "thousands of battles between Indian groups since prehistoric times in North America, but we can discover little about most of them."The table of contents is actually an A-Z list of entries, from Adobe Walls (1874, Texas, Buffalo War) to Yorktown (1781, Virginia, American Revolution). Most of the more than 350 entries are several paragraphs long (the longest, such as Gettysburg and Tenochtitlan , are two or three pages), providing narrative descriptions of the battles within the context of their wars. Many are accompanied by black-and-white line maps. The appendixes include an "Alphabetical List of Battles" (noting date, place, and war), a "Chronological List of Battles," a "List of Battles by War," "Battlefield Sites in Alphabetical Order" (listing those currently open to the public), and "Battlefield Sites by Region" (showing contact addresses and phone numbers). The authors have written this source for the nonspecialist, and the glossary helps with terms like abatis (a log-strewn obstacle guarding a fortification), cottonclads (wooden gunboats of the Confederate navy whose decks were heavily barricaded with cotton bales), and redan (a two-sided, V-shaped projection from the wall of a fortification, often used to enclose an artillery battery), as well as the more familiar battalion , cavalry , and regiment . In addition to the "Further Reading" portions of each entry, there is an 18-page bibliography, arranged by war. The index denotes page numbers for main entries in bold type.Libraries already owning the older works mentioned above or similar items might not need this volume for its information, but its readability and reasonable price make it worth considering.REVWR
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Facts on File
• Publication date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0816033501
• ISBN 13: 9780816033508
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 383