The Civil War Society's Encyclopedia of the Civil War

This vividly illustrated compendium of useful and fascinating information about the Civil War presents more than two hundred fifty alphabetical entries that explain why the war began, where and how the war was fought, and how the war shaped the lives of soldiers and civilians. Woven into the accounts of famous heroes and military clashes are stories of African-Americans, Native Americans, women, and people of many different ethnic groups. Information on family life during the conflict explains the many difficulties civilians endured on the home front, from the psychological effects of losing a loved one to the scarcity of supplies caused by the Union blockade of Southern ports.This encyclopedia surveys the most important battles of the war, from the first shots fired at Fort Sumter through Bull Run, Shiloh, Antietam, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, and up to the final cavalry fight at Appomatox Station.