The American Civil War (4): The War in the West 1863-1865

Finishing off the four-volume series from Essential Histories on the American Civil War, this one focuses the Western theater, where the Confederacy fought a desperate delaying action against an unstoppable-seeming horde of Northerners. From Missouri, Tennessee and Georgia, to South Carolina, this volume takes you through the relentless march of the Union's armies across the Confederacy, where they experienced only minor and temporary setbacks at the hands of hard-pressed Rebel generals like Joe Johnston (pictured on the cover) and P.G.T. Beauregard. This is the story of William Tecumseh Sherman and Ulysses S Grant, who unflinchingly pursued their objectives and raised the stakes of the war as civilians and infrastructure were included as targets for destruction. This book's focus on the Western theatre means it ignores Robert E Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, and most of what it contains seems unavoidable, as the Confederacy is outmatched and experiences only very rare cause for celebration. Because of that, this book isn't as exciting as the previous volumes in the series. As always, this book contains lots of very nice drawings and photos of significant battles/battlefields and of all the important players discussed. From the fall of Vicksburg ([[vol 2]]) to the capture of Jefferson Davis, this volume details the major battles and key people of the "Western" theater of the War Between the States. Recommended.