In 1862 twenty-one-year-old Morris Brown Jr. left his studies at Hamilton College to take up the Union cause. He quickly rose in rank from sergeant major to captain and acting regimental commander for the 126th New York Volunteers. In letters written to his family in Penn Yan, New York, Brown describes his experiences at war: the unseemly carping between fellow officers, the fear that gripped men facing battle, and the longing to return home. Brown's letters also reveal an ambitious young man who not only wanted recognition but also wanted to assure himself of a financial future. Above all, this is the story of a courageous young man, told mostly in his own words. Few Civil War soldiers were as articulate as Morris Brown Jr., fewer served in a regiment that saw so much combat, still fewer commanded a regiment at such a young age, and even fewer were recognized by the newly minted Medal of Honor.

The bloody two-week siege of Spanish Fort, Alabama (March 26–April 8, 1865) was one of the final battles of the Civil War. Despite its importance and fascinating history, surprisingly little has been written about it. Many considered the fort as the key to holding the important seaport of Mobile, which surrendered to Maj. Gen. Edward R. S. Canby on April 12, 1865. Paul Brueske’s “Digging All Night and Fighting All Day”: The Civil War Siege of Spanish Fort and the Mobile Campaign, 1865 is the first full-length study of this subject. General U. S. Grant had long set his eyes on capturing Mobile. Its fall would eliminate the vital logistical center and put one of the final nails in the coffin of the Confederacy. On January 18, 1865, Grant ordered General Canby to move against Mobile, Montgomery, and Selma and destroy anything useful to the enemy’s war effort. The reduction of Spanish Fort, along with Fort Blakeley—the primary obstacles to taking Mobile—was a prerequisite to capturing the city. After the devastating Tennessee battles of Franklin and Nashville in late 1864, many Federals believed Mobile’s garrison—which included a few battered brigades and most of the artillery units from the Army of Tennessee—did not have much fight left and would evacuate the city rather than fight. They did not. Despite being outnumbered about 10 to 1, 33-year-old Brig. Gen. Randall Lee Gibson mounted a skillful and spirited defense that “considerably astonished” his Union opponents. The siege and battle that unfolded on the rough and uneven bluffs of Mobile Bay’s eastern shore, fought mainly by veterans of the principal battles of the Western Theater, witnessed every offensive and defensive art known to war. Paul Brueske, a graduate student of history at the University of South Alabama, marshaled scores of primary source materials, including letters, diaries, reports, and newspaper accounts to produce an outstanding study of a little known but astonishingly important event rife with acts of heroism that rivaled any battle of the war. It will proudly occupy a space on the bookshelf of any serious student of the war.

Napoleons Imperial Guard was arguably the most famous military formation to tread the battlefields of Europe. La Garde Imperial was created on 18 May 1804, and from its origins as a small personal escort, the Guard grew in size and importance throughout the Napoleonic era. Eventually, it became the tactical reserve of the Grande Arme, comprising almost a third of Napoleons field forces. The men of the Imperial Guard were the lite of the First Empire, its officers and men the military aristocracy of post-Revolutionary France.Used only sparingly, the Guard acquired a reputation of invincibility. Such had become its prestige, when the attacks of the Guard were repulsed at Waterloo, they signaled not only the defeat of the French army but also the end of an era.In this magnificent study, unparalleled in depth and scope, the renowned French historian Commandant Henry Lachouque has produced a lavish and sumptuous work. It combines vivid narrative with valuable and unique uniform illustrations, including seventy-four full color plates from the Anne S.K. Brown collection, to make The Anatomy of Glory one of the most important and most sought-after books on military history ever published.

The 112th New York Infantry Regiment served 1,017 days during the Civil War, from 1862 to 1865. They campaigned in four states, fought in 16 battles and lost 324 men, including two regimental commanders. This unit history is based on the personal papers of Chaplain William Lyman Hyde, including his war diary, journals, reports and letters to his wife. A prolific writer, Hyde's remarkable story of service to God and country is told in his own words, providing vivid depictions of camp life, combat and its aftermath and the daily trials faced by the "Chautauqua Regiment."

The final year of the Civil War witnessed a profound transformation in the practice of modern warfare, a shift that produced unprecedented consequences for the soldiers fighting on the front lines. In The Army of the Potomac in the Overland and Petersburg Campaigns, Steven E. Sodergren examines the transition to trench warfare, the lengthy campaigns of attrition that resulted, and how these seemingly grim new realities affected the mindset and morale of Union soldiers. The 1864 Overland Campaign created tremendous physical and emotional suffering for the men of the Army of the Potomac as they faced a remarkable increase in the level and frequency of combat. By the end of this critical series of battles, surviving Union soldiers began to express considerable doubt in their cause and their leaders, as evidenced by widespread demoralization and the rising number of men deserting and disobeying orders. Yet, while the Petersburg campaign that followed further exposed the Army of the Potomac to the horrors of trench warfare, it proved both physically and psychologically regenerative. Comprehending that the extensive fortification network surrounding them benefitted their survival, soldiers quickly adjusted to life in the trenches despite the harsh conditions. The army’s static position allowed the Union logistical structure to supply the front lines with much-needed resources like food and mail—even a few luxuries. The elevated morale that resulted, combined with the reelection of Abraham Lincoln in November 1864 and the increasing number of deserters from the Confederate lines, only confirmed the growing belief among the soldiers in the trenches that Union victory was inevitable. Taken together, these aspects of the Petersburg experience mitigated the negative effects of trench warfare and allowed men to adapt more easily to their new world of combat. Sodergren explores the many factors that enabled the Army of the Potomac to endure the brutal physical conditions of trench warfare and emerge with a renewed sense of purpose as fighting resumed on the open battlefield in 1865. Drawing from soldiers’ letters and diaries, official military correspondence, and court-martial records, he paints a vivid picture of the daily lives of Union soldiers as they witnessed the beginnings of a profound shift in the way the world imagined and waged large-scale warfare.

The Desert Mounted Corps was an army corps of the British Army of three mounted divisions during the First World War. These divisions comprised ANZAC Mounted Division, the Australian Mounted Division, and the Yeomanry Mounted Division. They operated in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign. The Desert Mounted Corps started with Australians, New Zealanders, British Yeomanry, Territorial Horse Artillery, and Indian Cavalry, with French Cavalry added to the final operations. This History begins with an account of the reorganization of the British Troops in the Egyptian area of the War when Sir Edmund Allenby took over authority in June 1917. It explains the struggles of the soldiers during the war, including several hardships faced by them due to the harsh weather conditions of the area. As work on cavalry tactics, it will be of great interest and value to the student of Military History. Lieut.-Col. Preston served his country by explaining that the horse-soldier was just as beneficial in modern warfare as in the past.