James I. Robertson, Jr.

Here, seen through the eyes of the men themselves, is the story of the Confederacy’s legendary Stonewall Brigade. Most Civil War accounts treat of battles and armies. The focus of this exciting account is sharper, narrower: a single brigade, the basic unit of attack of one of those armies. The Stonewall Brigade and its first commander, Thomas J. Jackson, won their nickname at the bloody baptism of First Manassas. Over the next four years "Jackson’s foot cavalry" achieved fame and sustained losses matched by few American military units before or since. There were some 2,600 men serving in the brigade at the start of the war. At Appomattox-thirty-nine engagements later-only 210 remained, none above the rank of captain. But these men from out of the Valley of Virginia had written their names upon the pages of history. In The Stonewall Brigade the author, a distinguished scholar of the Civil War, has given equal billing with the immortal Jackson to such soldiers as Lieutenant David Barton, Captain Kyd Douglas, and Private John Casler. He has attempted to capture the camp life, the marches, the personal experiences in battle rather than concentrate on well-known strategy and familiar Confederate leaders. Similarly, descriptions of battles are written from within the ranks rather than from command posts. The result is a vivid and often moving account of courage and cowardice, triumph and heartbreak-and endurance perhaps without parallel.

The Stonewall Brigade

J. B. Jones

Amidst the vast literature of the Civil War, one of the most significant and enlightening documents remains largely unknown. A day-by-day, uninterrupted, four-year chronicle by a mature, keenly observant clerk in the War Department of the Confederacy, the wartime diary of John Beauchamp Jones was first published in two volumes of small type in 1866. Over the years, the diary was republished three more times—but never with an index or an editorial apparatus to guide a reader through the extraordinary mass of information it contained. Published here with an authoritative editorial framework, including an extensive introduction and endnotes, this unique record of the Civil War takes its rightful place as one of the best basic reference tools in Civil War history, absolutely critical to study the Confederacy. A Maryland journalist/novelist who went south at the outbreak of the war, Jones took a job as a senior clerk in the Confederate War Department, where he remained to the end, a constant observer of men and events in Richmond, the heart of the Confederacy and the principal target of Union military might. As a high-level clerk at the center of military planning, Jones had an extraordinary perspective on the Southern nation in action—and nothing escaped his attention. Confidential files, command-level conversations, official correspondence, revelations, rumors, statistics, weather reports, and personal opinions: all manner of material, found nowhere else in Civil War literature, made its meticulous way into the diary. Jones quotes scores of dispatches and reports by both military and civilian authorities, including letters from Robert E. Lee never printed elsewhere, providing an invaluable record of documents that would later find their way into print only in edited form. His notes on such ephemera as weather and prices create a backdrop for the military movements and political maneuverings he describes, all with the judicious eye of a seasoned writer and observer of southern life. James I. Robertson Jr., provides introductions to each volume, over 2,700 endnotes that identify, clarify, and expand on Jones’s material, and a first ever index which makes Jones's unique insights and observations accessible to interested readers, who will find in the pages of A Rebel War Clerk's Diary one of the most complete and richly textured accounts of the Civil War ever to be composed at the very heart of the Confederacy.

At the Confederate States Capital, April 1861–July 1863

A Rebel War Clerk's Diary, Volume 1

World War II: 1939-1945 takes readers on a vivid journey through the most important events of the conflict, with illustrations by Mort Künstler--one of American’s foremost historical painters--and an inquiry-based text by renowned historian James I. Robertson, Jr. Young readers are encouraged to look for details and discover key moments of the war--including Pearl Harbor, D-Day, and the Battle of the Bulge--to learn how it really felt to be there. A timeline and short biographies of notable figures, such as Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, provide excellent supplements to each chapter. From high-action combat to soldiers reflecting post-battle, each scene captures a historically accurate, visually rich portrait of the war. No other living historical artist is as celebrated as Künstler, and his work continues to attract history lovers of all ages.

1939-1945

World War II

Kunstler s paintings bring history to life with striking portrayals of the events of America s Wild West, starting in 1804, when Lewis and Clark made their first expeditions, to 1890, when the American frontier was declared vanished. The epic artworks faithfully capture the incredible landscapes, explorations, and battles of this important period, and ask children to look again and again for special details, such as the feathers in an American Indian chief s headdress to the type of horse a cattleman rides. Together with text by award-winning historian James I. Robertson, Jr., these brilliantly explicit paintings engage a young reader s attention and introduce him or her to American history through the visual arts. Lauded by both historians and curators, Kunstler presents beautifully rendered works chronicling America s expansion to the West in a historically accurate and appealing way transporting the reader right into each scene."

1804-1890

The Wild West

Robert E. Lee is regarded as a brilliant military commander and also for his inspiring achievements on behalf of the new nation in the five years after the Civil War. Robert E. Lee: A Reference Guide to His Life and Works is an historical reference of Lee and his achievements.

James I. Robertson, Jr.

Books

Your next favorite book is out there