Bücher der Reihe Civil War campaigns & commanders series

An exploration of the capture of the river bastions Forts Henry and Donelson during the American Civil War. Spencer C. Tucker blends the elements of naval innovation, combined operations and political considerations into this story about the beginning of the end for the Southern Confederacy.

Texas Rangers had patrolled on horseback since the early days of the Republic. Texas military heritage, born in a revolution from Mexico in the 1830s and maturing in the Mexican-American War of the 1840s, shaped all who lived there. Now, years later, a handful of these veterans and a generation raised in this heritage would make a colorful and heroic contribution to the Civil War as unique and independent "horse soldiers." This is the picturesque story of their battles and skirmishes where the often outnumbered cavalry, through bravado or sheer madness, frequently helped turn the tide of battle . . . from Colonel Parsons' assault on the Federal Navy during the Red River Campaign of 1864 to Terry's Texas Rangers with General Wheeler's horsemen tirelessly badgering Sherman on his "March to the Sea," it's all here. A lively and picturesque narration by a respected historian.

In October 1864, in the mountains of southwest Virginia, one of the most brutal acts of the Civil War occurs. Brig. Gen. Stephen Burbridge launches a raid to capture Saltville. Included among his forces is the 5th U.S. Colored Cavalry. Repeated Federal attacks are repulsed by Confederate forces under the command of Gen. John S. Williams. As the sun begins to set, Burbridge pulls his troops from the field, leaving many wounded. In the morning, Confederate troops, including a company of ruffians under the command of Captain Champ Ferguson, advance over the battleground seeking out and killing the wounded black soldiers. What starts as a small but intense mountain battle degenerates into a no-quarter, racial massacre. A detailed account from eyewitness reports of the most blatant battlefield atrocity of the war.