One of the most important, and controversial, Confederate generals during the Civil War was Lieutenant General James Longstreet, Robert E. Lees old warhorse. Longstreet was Lee's principal subordinate for most of the war, ably managing a corps in the Army of Northern Virginia. Longstreet was instrumental in Confederate victories at Second Bull Run, Fredericksburg, and Chickamauga, while he was also effective at Antietam and the Battle of the Wilderness,...

Reminiscences of the Civil War is John Brown Gordon's first-hand account of the war as seen through the eyes of the prominent officer. Gordon was trusted and admired by many, including Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis. The work begins with him being elected as the commander of the "Raccoon Roughs" and his recollection of the Battle of Manassas. He also describes the South's surrender at Appomattox, in which he participated. He recounts his role in...

Horace Porter served as lieutenant colonel on Ulysses S. Grant's staff from April 1864 to the end of the Civil War. He accompanied Grant into battle in the Wilderness, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg campaigns, and was present at Lee's surrender at McLean's house. Throughout the war, he kept extensive notes that capture Grant's conversations, as well as his own observations of military life. Porter's portrait of Grant is the most comprehensive first-hand...

A memoir by retired Maj. General Charles W. Sweeney, the pilot of the B-29 that dropped the second atmoic bomb, providing an inside look at the months of planning and training that preceded the bombing, and discussing the purpose and devasting aftermath of the mission.

"After serving over fifteen years with General George Crook, John Gregory Bourke, his right-hand man, sat down to write of his time with the legendary US Army officer in the post-Civil War West. On the Border with Crook is a firsthand account of Crook's campaigns during the American Indian Wars. Observant and inquisitive, Bourke brings to life the entire American frontier. In sharp descriptions and detailed anecdotes, he sketched vivid pictures not...

Andrew Carroll's intimate portrait of General Pershing, who led all of the American troops in Europe during World War I, is a revelation. Given a military force that on the eve of its entry into the war was downright primitive compared to the European combatants, the general surmounted enormous obstacles to build an army and ultimately command millions of U.S. soldiers. But Pershing himself--often perceived as a harsh, humorless, and wooden leader--concealed...