Publisher Description

New developments in Civil War scholarship owe much to removal of artificial divides by historians seeking to explore the connections between the home front and the battlefield. Indeed, scholars taking a holistic view of the war have contributed to our understanding of the social complexities of emancipation, of freedom in a white republic, and the multifaceted experiences of both civilians and soldiers. Given these accomplishments, research focusing on military history prompts prominent and recurring debates among Civil War historians. Critics of traditional military history see it as old-fashioned, too technical, or irrelevant to the most important aspects of the war. Proponents of this area of study view these criticisms as a misreading of its nature and potential to illuminate the war. The collected essays in Upon the Fields of Battle bridge this intellectual divide, demonstrating how historians enrich Civil War studies by approaching the period through the specific but nonetheless expansive lens of military history.

Drawing together contributions from Keith Altavilla, Robert L. Glaze, John J. Hennessy, Earl J. Hess, Brian Matthew Jordan, Kevin M. Levin, Brian D. McKnight, Jennifer M. Murray, and Kenneth W. Noe, editors Andrew S. Bledsoe and Andrew F. Lang present an innovative volume that deeply integrates and analyses the ideas and practices of the military during the Civil War. Furthermore, by grounding this collection in both traditional and pioneering methodologies, the authors assess the impact of this field within the social, political, and cultural contexts of Civil War studies.

Upon the Fields of Battle reconceives traditional approaches to subjects like battles and battlefields, practice and policy, command and culture, the environment, the home front, civilians and combatants, atrocity and memory, revealing a more balanced understanding of the military aspects of the Civil War's evolving history.

Author Biography

Andrew S. Bledsoe, assistant professor of history at Lee University, is the author of Citizen-Officers: The Union and Confederate Volunteer Junior Officer Corps in the American Civil War.

Andrew F. Lang, assistant professor of history at Mississippi State University, is the author of In the Wake of War: Military Occupation, Emancipation, and Civil War America.

Review

Upon the Fields of Battle emphasizes the inherent unpredictability of warfare, rejects the 'conceit of perfect retrospection, ' and offers readers ways to think anew about the traditional military history of the American Civil War. These essays will prove especially useful to those pondering new directions in military history.--Susannah J. Ural, author of Hood's Texas Brigade: The Soldiers and Families of the Confederacy's Most Celebrated Unit
Military operations, by their very nature, have always assumed a complexity that few other historical events possess. The essays featured in Upon the Fields of Battle capture the myriad of ways that warfare permeated the social and political life of Civil War America without pushing Union and Confederate armies to the periphery of the main story. The contributors to this essential volume, through innovative methodologies and compelling writing, have battered down the ancient walls of tradition that have long isolated Civil War military history from its natural allies in cultural and social history. Upon the Fields of Battle is a triumph.--Peter S. Carmichael, author of The War for the Common Soldier: How Men Thought, Fought, and Survived in Civil War Armies

Review Quote

Upon the Fields of Battle emphasizes the inherent unpredictability of warfare, rejects the 'conceit of perfect retrospection,' and offers readers ways to think anew about the traditional military history of the American Civil War. These essays will prove especially useful to those pondering new directions in military history.

Promotional "Headline"

Foreword by Gary W. Gallagher

Excerpt from Book

Contents Foreword: Gary W. Gallagher I. Considerations Military History and the American Civil War Andrew S. Bledsoe and Andrew F. Lang Rejuvenating Traditional Military History in the Current Age of Civil War Studies Earl J. Hess II. The Contested Battlefield ?I am Completely Checked by the Weather?: George B. McClellan, Weather, and the Peninsula Campaign Kenneth W. Noe ?Such Then Is The Decision?: George Gordon Meade, the Expectations of Decisive Battle, and the Road to Williamsport Jennifer M. Murray ?The Farce Was Complete?: Braxton Bragg, Field Orders, and the Language of Command at McLemore?s Cove Andrew S. Bledsoe The Looting and Bombardment of Fredericksburg: ?Vile Spirits? or War Transformed? John J. Hennessy Guerrilla Warfare as Social Stimulus Brian D. McKnight III. The Soldiers? War The Problem of American Exceptionalism: Military Occupation, Emancipation, and the Preservation of Union Andrew F. Lang ?They Met Their Fate Without a Sigh?: An Analysis of Confederate Military Executions Kevin M. Levin McClellan's Men: Union Army Democrats in 1864 Keith Altavilla The Hour That Lasted Fifty Years: The 107th Ohio and The Human Longitude of Gettysburg Brian Matthew Jordan ?His death may have lost the South her independence?: Albert Sidney Johnston and Civil War Memory Robert L. Glaze

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