George B. Davis (1847–1914)

Endlessly fascinating for browsing, and still the BIGGEST book I own. Even though I have long recovered from my brief infatuation with reading about the civil war, I still drag this book out sometimes and find myself lost in it for a while. By the way, I think the Civil War has broken even by now. The tourism income and dollars from the Civil War industry have put more into the American economy (even accounting for the time value of money) than 5 years of brother-against-brother bloodshed show more took out of it! Why are we so fascinated by the Civil War anyway? Why do we treat it as a tale of dedication, patriotism, and courage rather than the national tragedy it was (and still is)? show less

This is a very thorough lay out of the many bloody campaigns of the American Civil War. The sheer mileage that these soldiers had on their feet, what they were expected to do after marching and riding hundreds of miles to face death and disease is appalling. A hefty reference tool.

This was an 1890s atlas to accompany The Official Records, and is reprinted in a fine, large edition by Barnes & Noble. By itself it is fun to thumb through, when read in conjunction with a history of the Civil War, like Foote's, it is a fine adjunct.

Some printing errors, it seems to me, and an index I've still not figured out. But still nice to have around to accompany Foote's narrative.