Gateway to the Confederacy: New Perspectives on the Chickamauga and Chattanooga Campaigns, 1862–1863 - Hardcover

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9780807155097: Gateway to the Confederacy: New Perspectives on the Chickamauga and Chattanooga Campaigns, 1862–1863

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0807155098 ISBN 13: 9780807155097

Publisher: LSU Press, 2014

A collection of ten new essays from some of our finest Civil War historians working today, Gateway to the Confederacy offers a reexamination of the campaigns fought to gain possession of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Each essay addresses how Americans have misconstrued the legacy of these struggles and why scholars feel it necessary to reconsider one of the most critical turning points of the American Civil War.
The first academic analysis that delineates all three Civil War campaigns fought from 1862 to 1863 for control of Chattanooga -- the trans-portation hub of the Confederacy and gateway to the Deep South -- this book deals not only with military operations but also with the campaigns' origins and consequences. The essays also explore the far-reaching social and political implications of the battles and bring into sharp focus their impact on postwar literature and commemoration. Several chapters revise the traditional portraits of both famous and con-troversial figures including Ambrose Bierce and Nathan Bedford Forrest. Others investigate some of the more salient moments of these cam-paigns such as the circumstances that allowed for the Confederate breakthrough assault at Chickamauga.
Gateway to the Confederacy reassesses these pivotal battles, long in need of reappraisal, and breaks new ground as each scholar re-shapes a particular aspect of this momentous part of the Civil War.
CONTRIBUTORS
Russell S. Bonds Stephen Cushman Caroline E. Janney Evan C. Jones David A. Powell Gerald J. Prokopowicz William Glenn Robertson Wiley Sword Craig L. Symonds

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From the Author:

"THE BEST EDITED ESSAY COLLECTION OF 2014" --Civil War Books & Authors

"This collection of thought-provoking essays, all of which are solidly researched and impeccably written, should have wide appeal to those not only interested in the armies and personalities of the campaigns for Chattanooga but those who seek to understand how history is written, remembered, and revised." --Civil War History

"Essay collections rarely win literary honors over sweeping studies or finely honed monographs. . . . The 10 articles in Gateway to the Confederacy, superbly edited by Evan C. Jones and Wiley Sword, stand as an exception to conventional wisdom. . . . Beautifully produced, elegantly written, and buttressed by useful maps, this is a book that should be devoured by any reader interested in mid-way military operations in the West." --Civil War Monitor

"Some great contributions . . . demonstrating how the all-too-familiar can often be quite surprising." --Journal of Southern History

"A collection of ten deeply researched essays by nine prominent historians that offers fresh insights into the overlooked significance of this mountain city and the men who fought there. . . . Gateway to the Confederacy is an excellent compilation of scholarship. Individually, the essays constitute thought-provoking case studies. Collectively, they persuasively assert that Chattanooga is central to any full understanding of the Civil War." --Journal of Military History

"Gateway to the Confederacy is required reading for serious scholars of the Western Theater. Its multifaceted exploration of the 1862-1863 Chattanooga campaigns should also keep general audiences intrigued. The respective authors have made a substantial contribution to the scholarship of these campaigns, one that other scholars will have to consider in future works on the topic." --North Carolina Historical Review

"If you are looking for a rehash of time-worn theories, Gateway to the Confederacy is definitely not your book. Always thought provoking and at times edgy, this collection of essays pokes, prods, and challenges our views about two crucial campaigns of the western theater. The result is a fresh perspective that, though controversial at times, must be taken seriously. Excellent." --Larry J. Daniel, author of Days of Glory: The Army of the Cumberland, 1861-1865

"Gateway to the Confederacy is an important work for many reasons. . . . One can see why Chickamauga and Chattanooga was the 'Gateway to the Confederacy' and without it, the victories at both Gettysburg and Vicksburg would not have meant much of anything. . . . Gateway to the Confederacy is highly recommended for any Civil War reader."
--Gettysburg Chronicle

About the Author:

WILEY SWORD is the author of several books about the Civil War, including Mountains Touched with Fire: Chattanooga Besieged, 1863.

EVAN C. JONES is a former National Park Service ranger who has worked at numerous Civil War battlefields, including the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park.

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