The Civil War was the most devastating event in U.S. history, in which over half a million Americans paid for their beliefs with their lives. The heroic battles, harrowing marches, and military genius of generals on both sides still inspire books, movies, and the imaginations of Civil War buffs. Less obvious are the economic, political, social, and cultural repercussions of the war, which continue to influence American life. Reconstruction and the end of slavery brought deep-seated problems to the reunited nation.
This single-volume encyclopedia includes 245 entries on all facets of the conflicted era. It features articles on:
- Battles and campaigns (Gettysburg, Shiloh, Sherman’s March to the Sea)
- Culture (music, photography, religion)
- Economic affairs (cost of the war, gold, Richmond Bread Riot)
- Foreign affairs (France, Great Britain, Laird rams)
- Health and welfare (disease, medicine, prisons)
- Ideologies (federalism, free-labor ideology)
- Legislative landmarks (14th Amendment, Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, Wade-Davis bill)
- Military terms, strategy, and weaponry (cavalry, rifles, tactics)
- Minorities (black suffrage, emancipation, Native Americans)
- Political events and organizations (Constitutional Union party, election of 1860, fire-eaters)
- Prominent individuals (Clara Barton, Frederick Douglass, Robert E. Lee, Abraham Lincoln, Walt Whitman)
- Social reform (abolitionism, women’s rights movement)
- Women (nurses, women in the war, individual women)
More than 200 black-and-white illustrations, including over a dozen maps, complement the entries. A list of selected Civil War museums and historic sites, suggestions for further reading, recommended websites, and a chronology of the war round out this essential resource.
