The second episode in this award-winning trilogy impressively shows how the Union and Confederacy, slowly and inexorably, reconciled themselves to an all-out war—an epic struggle for freedom. In Terrible Swift Sword, Bruce Catton tells the story of the Civil War as never before—of two turning points which changed the scope and meaning of the war. First, he describes how the war slowly but steadily got out of control. This would not be the neat, short, “limited” war both sides had envisioned. And then the author reveals how the sweeping force of all-out conflict changed the war’s purpose, in turning it into a war for human freedom. It was not initially a war against slavery. Instead, this was, Mr. Lincoln kept insisting, a fight to reunite the United States. At first, it was not even much of a fight. Cautious generals; inexperienced, incompetent, or jealous administrators; shortages of good people and supplies; excess of both gloom and optimism, kept each side from swinging into decisive action. As the buildup began, there were maddening delays. The earliest engagements were halting and inconclusive. After these first tests at arms, reputations began to crumble. Buell, Halleck, Beauregard Albert Sidney Johnston. Failed to drive ahead—for reasons good and bad. General McClellan (impaled in these pages on the arrogant words of his letters) captured more imaginations than enemies, and continued to accept serious over estimates of Confederate strength while becoming more and more fatally estranged from his own government.

Isolated and under attack by more than two North Vietnamese Battalions, Mike Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines (M Co. 3/5) fought for its life with an unreliable rifle, The M-16. Only the courage of the individual Marines, marvelous Close Air Support, and a heroic helicopter drop of tear gas on their position stalled the NVA assault. Deep in the heart of the Queson Valley, the 2nd North Vietnamese Army Division (2nd NVA Division) decided for the first time to fight all Marine forces at once. They placed three Infantry regiments to intercept any American reinforcements to the two 1st Battalion 5th Marine (1/5) Companies surrounded and under intense fire. The 5th Marines, with limited forces, attempted to reinforce their beleaguered companies and marry up in the Queson Valley with 2 companies from 3/5. Before reaching 1/5 location, M Co moved on a small cemetery knoll. Two NVA Battalions smothered them from the flanks. Surrounded and isolated from other Marine forces, M Co. fought for their lives against overwhelming forces. The 5th Marines, stretched so thin they had only two Infantry Companies out of twelve available, were drawn into battle by the entire 2nd NVA Division of 6500 troops and all the local guerrilla forces in the Quesons. Swift Sword The Marines of Mike 3/5 is a true saga of a one day battle in the Queson valley, Vietnam.

A compelling new biography of General Sheridan, whose leadership and aggressive tactics helped win the Civil War, crush the Plains Indians, and save Yellowstone National Park

From Antietam to Chancellorville, this is an eyewitness account of the man himself, his ambitious and powerful successes against a poorly led foe which helped to promote an overconfidence that he could go North again, to Gettysburg, and win.

More than two centuries after his birth and almost a century and a half after his death, the legendary life and legacy of John Brown go marching on. Variously deemed martyr, madman, monster, terrorist, and saint, he remains one of the most controversial figures in America's history. Brown's actions in Kansas and Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, provided major catalysts for the American Civil War, actions that continue today to evoke commendation or provoke condemnation. Through the prisms of history, literature, psychology, criminal justice, oral history, African American studies, political science, film studies, and anthropology, Terrible Swift Sword offers insights not only into John Brown's controversial character and motives, but also into the nature of a troubled society before, during, and after the Civil War. The discussions include reasons why Brown's contemporaries supported him, attempts to define Brown using different criteria, analyses of Brown's behavior, his depiction in literature, and examinations of the iconography surrounding him.The interdisciplinary focus marshalled by editor Peggy A. Russo makes Terrible Swift Sword unique, and this, together with the popular mythology surrounding the legend of John Brown, will appeal to a broad audience of readers interested in this turbulent moment in American history.Paul Finkelman is Chapman Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Tulsa College of Law. He is the author of many articles and books, including His Soul Goes Marching On: Responses to John Brown and the Harpers Ferry Raid and the Library of Congress Civil War Desk Reference Peggy Russo is an assistant professor of English at the Mont Alto Campus of Pennsylvania State University. She has published in Shakespeare Bulletin, The Southern Literary Journal, Journal of American Culture, Shakespeare and the Classroom, and Civil War Book Review.

John Langellier''s study examines the uniforms and equipment of Abraham Lincoln''s soldiers as they appeared in the field during the Civil War. The study covers the artillery, cavalry and infantry.