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Lil' Air Force Pilot (Mini Military)
by RP KidsCelebrate real-life heroes in the US Air Force with this early introduction board book series to the US military branches.The Mini Military series focuses on introducing young readers to the various branches of the US military. Lil' Air Force Pilot highlights what it's like to be in the US Air Force, focusing on uniforms and flight gear, and introducing toddlers to military vehicles, such as the fighter jets, helicopters, and bombers. Perfect for military families, those with veterans in their family, or for anyone looking to expose their youngest readers to parts of American society, this book and the series is sure to inspire and celebrate our brave service men and women.
Lil' Army Soldier (Mini Military)
by RP KidsCelebrate real-life heroes in the US Army with this early board book introduction to the US military branches.The Mini Military series focuses on introducing young readers to the various branches of the US military. Lil' Army Soldier highlights what it's like to be in the US Army, focusing on uniforms, helmets, and vests, and introducing toddlers to military vehicles, such as the Humvee, helicopter, and tank.Perfect for military families, those with veterans in their family, or for anyone looking to educate their youngest readers about our troops, this book and the series is sure to inspire and celebrate our brave service men and women.
Lil' Marine (Mini Military)
by RP KidsCelebrate real-life heroes in the US Marine Corps with this early introduction board book series to the US military branches. The Mini Military series focuses on introducing young readers to the various branches of the US military. Lil' Marine highlights what it's like to be in the US Marine Corps, focusing on uniforms, bases, and parachutes, and introducing toddlers to military vehicles, such as the amphibious assault vehicles and aircraft. Perfect for military families, those with veterans in their family, or for anyone looking to expose their youngest readers to parts of American society, this book and the series is sure to inspire and celebrate our brave service men and women.
Lil' Navy Sailor (Mini Military)
by RP KidsCelebrate real-life heroes in the US Navy with this early board book introduction to the US military branches.The Mini Military series focuses on introducing young readers to the various branches of the US military. Lil' Navy Sailor highlights what it's like to be part of this special force, focusing on uniforms, radar tracking devices, and other special items, and introducing toddlers to military vehicles.Perfect for military families, those with veterans in their family, or for anyone looking to educate their youngest readers about our troops, this book and the series is sure to inspire and celebrate our brave service men and women.
Limbo: A Novel
by Melania G. MazzuccoA moving but unsentimental examination of one woman's life as she navigates life after warIt's Christmas Eve and twenty-seven-year-old Manuela Paris is returning home to a seaside town outside Rome. Years ago, she left to become a soldier. Then, Manuela was fleeing an unhappy, rebellious adolescence; with anger, determination, and sacrifice she painstakingly built the life she dreamed of as a platoon commander in the Afghan desert. Now, she's fleeing something else entirely: the memory of a bloody attack that left her seriously injured. Her wounds have plunged her into in a very different and no less insidious war: against flashbacks, disillusionment, pain, and victimhood. Numb and adrift, she is startled to life by an encounter with a mysterious stranger, a man without a past who is, like her, suspended in his own private limbo of expectation and hope. Their relationship—confusing, invigorating—forces her to confront her past and the secrets she, and those closest to her, are hiding. In chapters that toggle between Manuela at home, grappling with her new life, and Manuela in Afghanistan, coming to terms with her role as a leader of fighting men and a peacemaker in a country that doesn't seem to want her help, Melania G. Mazzucco limns a story of love and loss, death and resistance in terms both surprising and cathartic. Limbo asks its readers, no less than its protagonist, what it means to be a daughter, a sister, a woman, a citizen, a soldier—or, more simply, a human.
Limited Conflicts Under the Nuclear Umbrella: Indian and Pakistani Lessons from the Kargil Crisis
by C. Christine Fair Jamison Jo Medby Ashley J. TellisThis report examines the views of India and Pakistan on the significance of Pakistan's foray into the Kargil-Dras sector in a limited war that has come to be known as the Kargil conflict. The goal of the analysis is to assess both combatants' perceptions of the crisis, with a view to evaluating the possibilities of future Kargil-like events and the implications of the lessons each country learned for stability in South Asia. The analysis is based almost exclusively on Indian and Pakistani source materials. The Kargil crisis demonstrated that even the presence of nuclear weapons might not appreciably dampen security competition between the region's largest states. However, the question remains of whether or not the Kargil war represents a foretaste of future episodes of attempted nuclear coercion if India and Pakistan believe that their nuclear capabilities provide them the immunity required to prosecute a range of military operations short of all-out war.
Limited War in South Asia: From Decolonization to Recent Times (Military Strategy and Operational Art)
by Kaushik Roy Scott GatesThis book examines the origins, courses and consequences of conventional wars in post-colonial South Asia. Although South Asia has experienced large-scale conventional warfare on several occasions since the end of World War II, there is an almost total neglect of analysis of conventional warfare in the Indian subcontinent. Focusing on China, India and Pakistan, this volume, therefore, takes a unique approach. Regional rivalries between India and Pakistan are linked with global rivalries between the US and USSR (later Russia) and then China, and war is defined in a broader perspective. The book analyses the conduct of land, sea and air warfare, as well as the causes and consequences of conflicts. Tactical conduct of warfare (the nature of mobile armoured strikes and static linear infantry combat supported by heavy artillery) and generalship are studied along with military strategy, doctrine and grand strategy (national security policy), which is an amalgam of diplomacy, military strategy and economic policy. While following a realpolitik approach, this book blends the development of military strategies and doctrines with the religious and cultural ethos of the subcontinent’s inhabitants. Drawing on sources not easily accessible to Western scholars, the overall argument put forward by this work is that conventional warfare has been limited in South Asia from the very beginning for reasons both cultural and realpolitik. This book will be of much interest to students of South Asian politics, security studies, war and conflict studies, military studies and International Relations in general.
Limits of Air Power: The American Bombing of North Vietnam
by Mark ClodfelterTracing the use of air power in World War II and the Korean War, Mark Clodfelter explains how U. S. Air Force doctrine evolved through the American experience in these conventional wars only to be thwarted in the context of a limited guerrilla struggle in Vietnam. Although a faith in bombing's sheer destructive power led air commanders to believe that extensive air assaults could win the war at any time, the Vietnam experience instead showed how even intense aerial attacks may not achieve military or political objectives in a limited war. Based on findings from previously classified documents in presidential libraries and air force archives as well as on interviews with civilian and military decision makers, The Limits of Air Power argues that reliance on air campaigns as a primary instrument of warfare could not have produced lasting victory in Vietnam. This Bison Books edition includes a new chapter that provides a framework for evaluating air power effectiveness in future conflicts.
Limits of Power
by Elizabeth MoonElizabeth Moon is back with the fourth adventure in her bestselling fantasy epic. Moon brilliantly weaves a colorful tapestry of action, betrayal, love, and magic set in a richly imagined world that stands alongside those of such fantasy masters as George R. R. Martin and Robin Hobb. The unthinkable has occurred in the kingdom of Lyonya. The queen of the Elves--known as the Lady--is dead, murdered by former elves twisted by dark powers. Now the Lady's half-elven grandson must heal the mistrust between elf and human before their enemies strike again. Yet as he struggles to make ready for an attack, an even greater threat looms across the Eight Kingdoms. Throughout the north, magic is reappearing after centuries of absence, emerging without warning in family after family--rich and poor alike. In some areas, the religious strictures against magery remain in place, and fanatical followers are stamping out magery by killing whoever displays the merest sign of it--even children. And as unrest spreads, one very determined traitor works to undo any effort at peace--no matter how many lives it costs. With the future hanging in the balance, it is only the dedication of a few resolute heroes who can turn the tides . . . if they can survive. PRAISE FOR ELIZABETH MOON Echoes of Betrayal "This is an excellent series, and Echoes of Betrayal is particularly well done. [Elizabeth Moon is a] consistently entertaining writer, and this book lives up to her standards."--San Jose Mercury News "Rousing action and intriguing plot twists."--Kirkus Reviews Kings of the North "Moon's characters navigate an intricate maze of alliances and rivalries. . . . Close attention to military detail gives the action convincing intensity."--The Star-Ledger "Her storytelling is as electrifying as ever, and her readers should be delighted with this new vista of a well-known world."--Booklist Oath of Fealty "A triumphant return to the fantasy world she created . . . No one writes fantasy quite like Moon."--The Miami Herald "Ranks alongside Andre Norton's Witch World and Tolkien's Middle-earth for invention, deeds of valor, and battles of good against evil."--Jack Campbell
Lincoln & Churchill: Statesmen at War
by Lewis E Lehrman&“With penetrating insight, Lehrman unfolds the contrasts and similarities between these two leaders . . . I savored every page of this magnificent work.&”—Doris Kearns Goodwin, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln Winner of the Abraham Lincoln Institute of Washington&’s 2019 book prize Lewis E. Lehrman, a renowned historian and National Humanities Medal winner, gives new perspective on two of the greatest English-speaking statesmen—and their remarkable leadership in wars of national survival. Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill, as commanders in chief, led their nations to victory—Lincoln in the Civil War, Churchill in World War II. They became revered leaders—statesmen for all time. Yet these two world-famous war leaders have never been seriously compared at book length. Acclaimed historian Lewis Lehrman, in his pathbreaking comparison of both statesmen, finds that Lincoln and Churchill—with very different upbringings and contrasting personalities—led their war efforts, to some extent, in similar ways. As supreme war lords, they were guided not only by principles of honor, duty, and freedom, but also by the practical wisdom to know when, where, and how to apply these principles. Even their writings and speeches were swords in battle. Gifted literary stylists, both men relied on the written and spoken word to steel their citizens throughout desperate and prolonged wars. And both statesmen unexpectedly left office near the end of their wars—Lincoln by the bullet, Churchill by the ballot. They made mistakes, which Lehrman considers carefully. But the author emphasizes that, despite setbacks, they never gave up. &“Deeply researched and elegantly written. . . . a valuable contribution to our knowledge of the past. By expertly conjoining two great leaders in a single volume, he has enhanced our understanding of both.&” ―The Wall Street Journal Includes illustrations and photographs
Lincoln And Mcclellan: The Troubled Partnership Between A President And His General
by John C. WaughThere was no more remarkable pair in the Civil War than Abraham Lincoln and George McClellan. At only 35 years old, McClellan commanded the Ohio troops early in the war, and won skirmishes for the Union in western Virginia. After the disastrous Union defeat at Bull Run in the summer of 1861, Lincoln sent word for McClellan to come to Washington, and soon elevated him to commander-in-chief of the Union army. But in the late summer and fall of 1861, things took a turn for the worst. Meticulous in his planning and preparations, McClellan began to delay attacking the enemy and developed a penchant for vastly overestimating the Confederate forces he faced. All of this hampered his ability to lead an aggressive force in a fast-moving battlefield environment. Finally losing his patience, Lincoln was famously quoted as saying, "If General McClellan does not want to use the army, I would like to borrow it for a time." Lincoln and McClellan takes an in-depth look at this fascinating relationship, from the early days of the Civil War to the 1864 presidential election when McClellan ran against Lincoln on an anti-war platform and lost. Here, award-winning author John C. Waugh weaves a tale of hubris, paranoia, failure, and triumph, illuminating as never before this unique and complicated alliance.
Lincoln Master of Men: A Study of Character
by Alonzo RothschildAbraham Lincoln (1809–1865) is one of the most famous Americans in history and one of the country’s most revered presidents. Schoolchildren can recite the life story of Lincoln, the “Westerner” who educated himself and became a self made man, rising from lawyer to leader of the new Republican Party before becoming the 16th President of the United States. Lincoln successfully navigated the Union through the Civil War but didn’t live to witness his crowning achievement, becoming the first president assassinated when he was shot at Ford’s Theater by John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865. In the generation after the Civil War, Lincoln became an American deity and one of the most written about men in history. With such a sterling reputation, even historians hesitate to write a critical word; in Team of Rivals Doris Kearns Goodwin casts Lincoln as an almost superhuman puppet master in control of his Cabinet’s political machinations and the war’s direction, juggling the balancing act flawlessly. As a result, Lincoln the man is far less known than Lincoln the myth.-Print ed.
Lincoln Runs for Congress
by Prof. Donald W. Riddle“THIS study of Lincoln’s campaign for nomination and election to Congress is offered as a report of an episode in Western history, rather than as a chapter of Lincoln biography. In the broadest sense it is a documentation of the Frederick Jackson Turner hypothesis of the significance of the frontier. Its potential contribution to Lincoln biography is within the framework of frontier history. The regional factors in the settlement of Illinois enable the understanding of the emergence of political attitudes and parties in a frontier state, and Lincoln’s early career can be understood as the issues and viewpoints of Illinois politicians were shaped by the regional influences in western settlement.“If the estimate of Congressman A. G. Riddle—that Lincoln was a consummate manager of men—is correct, Lincoln’s finesse in political technique is discovered to be no sudden acquisition at the time of his election to the presidency, but a skill developed in the formative days of his career as an Illinois politician. Lincoln’s ability as a minority President is much more readily understood when his leadership in a minority party in his state is studied. His success in handling the border slave states in the secession crisis was made possible by what he learned as a local politician in a region which had been settled largely by emigrants from Kentucky and Tennessee.” (Donald W. Riddle, Preface)
Lincoln Takes Command: The Campaign to Seize Norfolk and the Destruction of the CSS Virginia
by Steve NorderA detailed history of one week during the Civil War in which the American president assumed control of the nation&’s military. One rainy evening in May, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln boarded the revenue cutter Miami and sailed to Fort Monroe in Hampton Roads, Virginia. There, for the first and only time in our country&’s history, a sitting president assumed direct control of armed forces to launch a military campaign. In Lincoln Takes Command, author Steve Norderdetails this exciting, little-known week in Civil War history. Lincoln recognized the strategic possibilities offered by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan&’s ongoing Peninsula Campaign and the importance of seizing Norfolk, Portsmouth, and the Gosport Navy Yard. For five days, the president spent time on sea and land, studied maps, spoke with military leaders, suggested actions, and issued direct orders to subordinate commanders. He helped set in motion many events, including the naval bombardment of a Confederate fort, the sailing of Union ships up the James River toward the enemy capital, an amphibious landing of Union soldiers followed by an overland march that expedited the capture of Norfolk, Portsmouth, and the navy yard, and the destruction of the Rebel ironclad CSS Virginia. The president returned to Washington in triumph, with some urging him to assume direct command of the nation&’s field armies. The week discussed in Lincoln Takes Command has never been as heavily researched or told in such fine detail. The successes that crowned Lincoln&’s short time in Hampton Roads offered him a better understanding of, and more confidence in, his ability to see what needed to be accomplished. This insight helped sustain him through the rest of the war.
Lincoln and Grant: The Westerners Who Won the Civil War
by Edward H. Bonekemper IIILincoln and Grant is an intimate dual-portrait of President Abraham Lincoln and General Ulysses S. Grant: their ordinary "Western" backgrounds, their early struggles to succeed, and their history-making relationship during the Civil War. Though generally remembered by history as two very different personalities, the soft-spoken Lincoln and often-crude Grant in fact shared a similar drive and determination, as this in-depth character study illustrates.
Lincoln and McClellan at War: A Novel (Voices of the South)
by Chester G. HearnAt the beginning of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln and his highest-ranking general, George B. McClellan, agreed that the United States must preserve the Union. Their differing strategies for accomplishing that goal, however, created constant conflict. In Lincoln and McClellan at War, Chester G. Hearn explores this troubled relationship, revealing its complexity and showing clearly why the two men -- both inexperienced with war -- eventually parted ways. A staunch Democrat who never lost his acrimony toward Republicans -- including the president -- McClellan first observed Lincoln as an attorney representing the Illinois Central Railroad and immediately disliked him. This underlying bias followed thirty-five-year-old McClellan into his role as general-in-chief of the Union army. Lincoln, a man without military training, promoted McClellan on the advice of cabinet members and counted on "Little Mac" to whip the army into shape and end the war quickly. McClellan comported himself with great confidence and won Lincoln's faith by brilliantly organizing the Army of the Potomac. Later, however, he lost Lincoln's trust by refusing to send what he called "the best army on the planet" into battle. The more frustrated Lincoln grew with McClellan's inaction, the more Lincoln studied authoritative works on military strategy and offered strategic combat advice to the general. McClellan resented the president's suggestions and habitually deflected them. Ultimately, Lincoln removed McClellan for what the president termed "the slows." According to Hearn, McClellan's intransigence stemmed largely from his reluctance to fight offensively. Thoroughly schooled in European defensive tactics, McClellan preferred that approach to fighting the war. His commander-in-chief, on the other hand, had a preference for using offensive tactics. This compelling study of two important and diverse figures reveals how personality and politics prolonged the Civil War.
Lincoln and the Bluegrass: Slavery and Civil War in Kentucky
by William H. TownsendTHE BLUEGRASS REGION OF KENTUCKY was the only part of the slaveholding South that Abraham Lincoln knew intimately. Even before the young Illinois lawyer had married a daughter of one of Lexington’s leading statesmen, he had taken Robert Todd’s close friend, Henry Clay, as his political idol. Mary Todd, who had grown to young womanhood in Lexington, widened Lincoln’s circle of acquaintances in the Bluegrass to include such diverse personalities as Judge George Robertson, Lincoln’s counsel, who supported emancipation in the abstract but indignantly demanded that the President protect his slave property; the fiery Cassius M. Clay, who urged Lincoln to proclaim immediate emancipation and who raised a motley battalion in Washington, D.C., to defend the Capital; Dr. Robert J. Breckinridge, the doughty Presbyterian minister who refused to ask special treatment for the members of his family in the Confederacy; and the Doctor’s nephew, Vice-President John C. Breckinridge, who rejected a demand that he use his position to thwart Lincoln’s election but immediately took up arms against him.With the gifted pen that has won praise from so many students of Lincoln and the Civil War, William H. Townsend here describes the fabulous Bluegrass region which had so large a part in shaping Lincoln’s views about emancipation and secession. Lexington, heart of the Bluegrass, had early been called the “Athens of the West,” and the grace and culture of its pleasure-loving aristocracy could hardly have failed to impress any thinking man. Here Lincoln saw the genteel side of slavery—the trusted mammies whose word was law, the valets whose talent for mixing mint juleps was famous—but he also saw the public whipping post, slave jails, and slave auctions, and the disregard for the humanity of the Negro.
Lincoln and the First Shot
by Richard Nelson CurrentLincoln and the First Shot by Richard Nelson Current examines the tense period leading up to the outbreak of the American Civil War, focusing on President Abraham Lincoln's handling of the secession crisis. With Fort Sumter as the centerpiece of the drama, Current explores how Lincoln navigated the treacherous waters of diplomacy, public opinion, and military strategy to maintain the Union without initiating open conflict.The book delves deeply into Lincoln's political acumen and his efforts to balance firmness with restraint in the face of Southern provocations, particularly those of the newly formed Confederate government. By drawing on an array of historical sources, Current paints a nuanced portrait of Lincoln as a leader determined to preserve peace as long as possible while standing firm on the principle that secession was unconstitutional.The narrative highlights critical moments, such as Lincoln's decision to resupply Fort Sumter, revealing the careful calculations behind his actions and the eventual Confederate attack that ignited the war. Lincoln and the First Shot offers a gripping analysis of the president's early leadership, providing valuable insight into the complexities of his decisions and the forces that ultimately led to the first battle of the Civil War.
Lincoln and the Irish: The Untold Story of How the Irish Helped Abraham Lincoln Save the Union
by Niall O'DowdAn unprecedented narrative of the relationship that swung the Civil War. When Pickett charged at Gettysburg, it was the all-Irish Pennsylvania 69th who held fast while the surrounding regiments broke and ran. And it was Abraham Lincoln who, a year earlier at Malvern Hill, picked up a corner of one of the Irish colors, kissed it, and said, “God bless the Irish flag.” Lincoln and the Irish untangles one of the most fascinating subtexts of the Civil War: Abraham Lincoln’s relationship with the men and women coming to America to escape the Irish famine. Renowned Irish-American journalist Niall O’Dowd gives unprecedented insight into a relationship that began with mutual disdain. Lincoln saw the Irish as instinctive supporters of the Democratic opposition, while the Irish saw the English landlord class in Lincoln’s Republicans. But that dynamic would evolve, and the Lincoln whose first political actions included intimidating Irish voters at the polls would eventually hire Irish nannies and donate to the Irish famine fund. When he was voted into the White House, Lincoln surrounded himself with Irish staff, much to the chagrin of a senior aide who complained about the Hibernian cabal. And the Irish would repay Lincoln’s faith—their numbers and courage would help swing the Civil War in his favor, and among them would be some of his best generals and staunchest advocates.
Lincoln and the Tools of War
by Robert V. Bruce Benjamin P. ThomasFirst published in 1956, this is an account of the arming of the Union forces in the Civil War, and of Lincoln’s part in it. It has never been told in any comprehensive way before, and shows Lincoln in a new and engaging light.Lincoln was determined to win the war, yet his generals seemed unable to give him a victory, so he reasoned that a more efficient weapon would have to be invented. However, his main opponent, General James W. Ripley, who sat in charge of army ordnance, believed the war would be short and didn’t want a vast supply of expensive arms left over. Standardized guns and ammunition made supplying the troops in the field easier.Lincoln was in the thick of it. He wanted mortar boats to help open the upper Mississippi as they had helped Porter take New Orleans. When he discovered a big snafu had delayed production, one J. D. Mills came to Washington with a crude machine gun that was soon christened the coffee-mill gun.Probably the biggest and longest controversy involved muzzle-loading rifles—favoured by Ripley—and breech-loading rifles—the Soldier’s choice, as he could lie down and load a breechloader at least five times as fast as a muzzle-loader. In addition to these and other standard arms, the inventors offered a wide catalogue of innovations: rockets, steam guns, liquid fire, a submarine, explosive bullets, a proposed poison gas, and so on down to the fantastic.This book is a big American story of Washington in wartime, and it will appeal to everybody who ever had any contact with the armed services. For the specialist, it offers quite a quantity of previously unpublished material. Its biggest merit is, however, that it is just plain fascinating reading, the kind of book no one should start late in the evening if he wants any sleep.
Lincoln in the Great War (Your Towns & Cities in the Great War)
by Louise BlackahLincoln produced many heroes during WW1 including, Wing Commander Fiennes who was the Commanding Officer of 38 Squadron from 1916 to 1917 flying FE2b aircraft (known as the 'Fees') on patrol against raiding German Zeppelins over Lincolnshire and the surrounding counties. Also, a winged version of the Lincoln Imp adorned many of the First World War aircraft including the famous Sopwith Camel, manufactured extensively by Lincoln firms Clayton and Shuttleworth, Robeys and Ruston Proctor.This book also looks at how the experience of war impacted on the City, from the initial enthusiasm for sorting out the German Kaiser in time for Christmas 1914, to the gradual realization of the enormity of human sacrifice the families of Lincoln were committed to as the war stretched out over the next four years. The Great War affected everyone. At home there were wounded soldiers in military hospitals, refugees from Belgium and later on German prisoners of war. There were food and fuel shortages and disruption to schooling. The role of women changed dramatically and they undertook a variety of work undreamed of in peacetime. Extracts from contemporary letters reveal their heroism and give insights into what it was like under battle conditions, particularly from those of the Lincolnshire Yeomanry.
Lincoln in the Telegraph Office: Recollections of the United States Military Telegraph Corps during the Civil War
by David Homer Bates“As the Civil War raged, President Abraham Lincoln spent many hours in the War Department’s telegraph office, where he received all his telegrams. Morning, noon, and night Lincoln would visit the small office to receive the latest news from the armies at the front. The place was a refuge for the president, who waited for incoming dispatches and talked while they were being deciphered.David Homer Bates, one of the first military telegraphers, recollects those presidential visits during times of crisis. Lincoln in the Telegraph Office, originally published in 1907, shows history in the making and personalities at their most unguarded: Lincoln, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, Andrew Carnegie, General George McClellan, and many others. The reader is with Lincoln at the scene of dramatic tidings: of the Northern disasters at Bull Run, of Meade’s victory at Gettysburg, of Grant’s capture of Richmond. Lincoln wrote the first draft of the Emancipation Proclamation at the telegraph office, and from there the news of his assassination was relayed. Wartime human-interest anecdotes, the wonder of the new technology, the unraveling of ciphers and codes, conspiracies and rumors, a heightened sense of onrushing events, the tragedy of Good Friday 1865—all are conveyed in this classic of Lincolniana.”-Print ed.
Lincoln vs. Davis: The War of the Presidents
by Nigel HamiltonFrom the New York Times bestselling presidential biographer comes the greatest untold story of the Civil War: how two American presidents faced off as the fate of the nation hung in the balance—and how Abraham Lincoln came to embrace emancipation as the last, best chance to save the Union. Of all the books written on Abraham Lincoln, there has been one surprising gap: the drama of how the &“railsplitter&” from Illinois grew into his critical role as U.S. commander-in-chief, and managed to outwit his formidable opponent, Jefferson Davis, in what remains history's only military faceoff between rival American presidents. Davis was a trained soldier and war hero; Lincoln a country lawyer who had only briefly served in the militia. Confronted with the most violent and challenging war ever seen on American soil, Lincoln seemed ill-suited to the task: inexperienced, indecisive, and a poor judge of people&’s motives, he allowed his administration's war policies to be sabotaged by fickle, faithless cabinet officials while entrusting command of his army to a preening young officer named George McClellan – whose defeat in battle left Washington, the nation&’s capital, at the mercy of General Robert E. Lee, Davis&’s star performer. The war almost ended there. But in a Shakespearean twist, Lincoln summoned the courage to make, at last, a climactic decision: issuing as a &“military necessity&” a proclamation freeing the 3.5 million enslaved Americans without whom the South could not feed or fund their armed insurrection. The new war policy doomed the rebellion—which was in dire need of support from Europe, none of whose governments now would dare to recognize rebel &“independence&” in a war openly fought over slavery. The fate of President Davis was sealed. With a cast of unforgettable characters, from first ladies to fugitive coachmen to treasonous cabinet officials, Lincoln vs. Davis is a spellbinding dual biography from renowned presidential chronicler Nigel Hamilton: a saga that will surprise, touch, and enthrall.
Lincoln's 90-Day Volunteers 1861
by Adam Hook Ron FieldOn April 15, the day after the fall of Fort Sumter, President Abraham Lincoln issued a call for 75,000 volunteers to enlist for three months' service to defend the Union. Featuring specially commissioned full-color artwork, this is the engaging story of the first wave of soldiers who volunteered to defend and preserve the Union in 1861, based on detailed research in US sources, including many eye-witness accounts of their very varied uniforms and equipment.When war broke out with the Confederate bombardment of Fort Sumter, South Carolina, on April 12-14, 1861, the regular US Army numbered just 16,000 troops, most of them scattered widely, and far from what would clearly become the main theater of operations between the two capitals - Washington, DC, and Richmond, Virginia. It was at this time Lincoln called for a three-month enlistment from volunteers. The 90-day period was, of course, entirely unrealistic, and would be followed by further and much more extensive mobilizations; but for the first few months, when Washington itself was in real danger, the defense of the capital depended on a hastily gathered army of militiamen and volunteers from those states that declared their immediate loyalty to the Union. These units were mostly entirely inexperienced, barely trained, weakly officered, and provided with the most motley uniforms, equipage, and weapons. Nevertheless, they bought the Union time during the first vital months. This period ended with the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) on July 21, at which only some 2,000 of General McDowell's 28,500 Union troops were regulars. This ground-breaking study draws upon a very wide range of period sources to describe and illustrate the actual appearance of this diverse and colorful force, including photographs, eyewitness accounts in period newspapers and letters, the reports of government agents, and the records of the many manufacturers who received orders to clothe and equip their state troops. The units were composed of separate companies drawn from both wealthy and poorer communities, so varied widely in style, from copies of fashionable French uniforms to plain working-men's clothing. There were no rules at this date specifying that the North should wear blue and the South gray, and the extremely mixed appearance of both armies caused much dangerous confusion. Fully illustrated with specially commissioned artwork and rare period illustrations, this engaging account brings to life the first wave of volunteers who stepped forward to defend and preserve the Union in 1861.
Lincoln's Code
by John Fabian WittIn the fateful closing days of 1862, three weeks before Emancipation, the administration of Abraham Lincoln commissioned a code setting forth the laws of war for the armies of the United States. The code announced standards of civilized conduct in wartime concerning issues such as torture, prisoners of war, civilians, spies, and slaves. The code Lincoln approved ultimately shaped the course of the Civil War. And when the war was over, the same code reshaped warfare the world over. By the twentieth century, the 157 articles of Lincoln's code had become the basis of a new international law of war. European powers adopted the American code. International agreements like the Geneva Conventions incorporated and expanded it. In this pathbreaking and deeply original book, John Fabian Witt tells the hidden story of the laws of war in the first century of the United States-and of the extraordinary code that emerged from it to change the course of world history. Lincoln's Code is the haunting and inspiring story of an idea in American history: the idea that conduct in war can be regulated by law. For many, the very idea of a law for war has seemed like an oxymoron. But with sweep and vitality, Witt unfolds the story of the cast of characters who invented the modern laws of war. Washington, Jefferson, and Franklin championed Enlightenment rules for civilized warfare. James Madison went to war in 1812 to vindicate them. Indian conflicts challenged and distorted them. The Mexican War quietly revolutionized them. In the Civil War, Lincoln and a small band of now forgotten figures helped remake those same laws to support Emancipation and advance the Union war effort. Three decades later, a new generation of Americans went into a war of American empire in the Philippines equipped with the very rules Lincoln had laid down. In beautifully crafted prose, Witt brings to life the soldiers and the presidents, the war makers and the pacifists, the Indians and the slaves, the cynics, the utopians, and the pragmatists who struggled with enemies and with one another to shape the United States' vision of the laws of war. A narrative of expansive range and significance, Lincoln's Code depicts the drama of armed conflict and the anguish of human beings grappling with such vexing questions as whether prisoners could be executed; whether there were rules in Indian wars; whether military commissions could try unlawful combatants; whether torture might ever be justified; and whether slaves could be freed in wartime. The code Lincoln issued prohibited cruelty and the infliction of pain for its own sake but left room for vast destruction in the name of a just cause. It condoned the devastation inflicted in Sherman's march to the sea. Yet it also provided a moral foundation for Emancipation and insisted that doing the right thing in situations of grave crisis was indispensable to the legitimacy of modern armies. Witt's engrossing exploration of the dilemmas at the heart of the laws of war is a prehistory of our own era. Today the world once again confronts raging legal and moral controversy over the conduct of war. Lincoln's Code reveals that the controversies of the twenty-first century have roots going back to the beginnings of American history. In a time of heated controversy about the nation's conduct in wartime, Lincoln's Code is a compelling story of ideals under pressure and a landmark contribution to our understanding of the American experience.