Follow the Bowman family as they practice their Church of the Brethern beliefs of rejecting slavery, refusing to fight, and secretly aiding Negro slaves to escape to Canada--all creating tension with their slaveholding neighbors--the Hartmans.

Finalist for the Lincoln Prize! Traditional histories of the Civil War describe the conflict as a war between North and South. Kenneth W. Noe suggests it should instead be understood as a war between the North, the South, and the weather. In The Howling Storm, Noe retells the history of the conflagration with a focus on the ways in which weather and climate shaped the outcomes of battles and campaigns. He further contends that events such as floods and droughts affecting the Confederate home front constricted soldiers’ food supply, lowered morale, and undercut the government’s efforts to boost nationalist sentiment. By contrast, the superior equipment and open supply lines enjoyed by Union soldiers enabled them to cope successfully with the South’s extreme conditions and, ultimately, secure victory in 1865. Climate conditions during the war proved unusual, as irregular phenomena such as El Niño, La Niña, and similar oscillations in the Atlantic Ocean disrupted weather patterns across southern states. Taking into account these meteorological events, Noe rethinks conventional explanations of battlefield victories and losses, compelling historians to reconsider long-held conclusions about the war. Unlike past studies that fault inflation, taxation, and logistical problems for the Confederate defeat, his work considers how soldiers and civilians dealt with floods and droughts that beset areas of the South in 1862, 1863, and 1864. In doing so, he addresses the foundational causes that forced Richmond to make difficult and sometimes disastrous decisions when prioritizing the feeding of the home front or the front lines. The Howling Storm stands as the first comprehensive examination of weather and climate during the Civil War. Its approach, coverage, and conclusions are certain to reshape the field of Civil War studies.

Sent north from the war-ravaged battlefields of Virginia to learn photography under the tutelage of Matthew Brady in New York City, Ruth Danson encounters new dangers more lethal than any she has ever imagined. Torn between her heart's desire to return to the cavalry of Mosby's Rangers and the man she loves, Private William Jay Lytell, and a newer and perhaps more compelling lure found in the green eyes of the handsome, ever charming, and always sinister businessman, R.J. Flaherty, Li'l Bud must decide before forces she cannot control overwhelm her . A guest in the house of the famed actor, Edwin Booth, Ruth is captivated by the glitter of the city with its theaters and elegant restaurants and the growing presence of Flaherty, a man who will go to any length to get what he wants. Evading Pinkerton's detectives who shadow her believing she is a spy for the Confederacy; protected by a man employed as an agent by the Confederacy; Li'l Bud finds herself more and more drawn back to what she believes might be safer ground than the suffocating world of the big city , the blood-soaked landscape of Virginia. It's the winter of 1865 and Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee are preparing for what both know will be the final battle when spring arrives. William Jay has left Mosby and now rides with the cavalry of the Army of Northern Virginia, craving as much action as he can find to keep his heart from the ache of missing his Li'l Bud. Will Ruth remain in New York ensnared by the alluring world of R.J. or will she ride south where a pair of Colt .44s, a chestnut filly she calls Princess, and the arms of William Jay await her?

Ruth Graham - daughter of beloved evangelist Billy Graham - offers a guide for those who are hurting or those who love them. She illustrates through personal stories and Scripture how nothing can keep you from experiencing the fullness of God's grace. Run with Ruth to the arms of the God you can trust, the Father God who embraces, sustains, and redeems your brokenness. Ruth Graham has discovered through bitter personal experience that God does his great work in the ruins of our lives. As Ruth's life descended through divorce, depression, and shame; as she bore heartrending parental struggles; and as she faltered trying to make wise choices in the wake of bad ones, she discovered the unending embrace of a faithful, forgiving, and grace-filled God. This book surpasses the testimony of her fascinating story as she brings sharp new insight from the Word of God for all who fear their actions may be beyond forgiveness or their broken circumstances may keep them from being used by God ever again. Through the words of Jeremiah - the weeping prophet - Ruth reveals the God who makes wasted places come to life. You'll explore the parable of the Prodigal Son as never before as Ruth discloses her own likeness to each character: The indignant older brother, struggling to understand God’s grace toward her husband's infidelity The prodigal, wading through the deep shame and painful circumstances of her own actions The father, running to embrace her children in the midst of bulimia, drug abuse, and unplanned pregnancy Ruth includes practical steps in every chapter anyone can take to offer care, support, and hope to the broken people they encounter in their lives and in the pews beside them every Sunday.

Recounts the dimatic 1864 campaign. Updated with commentary by D. Scott Harwig and foreword by William C. Davis.

Immortalized by David Farragut's apothegm, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead," the Battle of Mobile Bay remains one of history's great naval engagements, a contest between two admirals trained in the same naval tradition who once fought under the same flag. This new study takes a fresh look at the battle—the bloodiest naval battle of the Civil War—examining its genesis, tactics, and political ramifications. If the Confederacy had been able to deny the Union a victory before the presidential election, the South was certain to have won its independence. The North's win, however, not only stopped the blockade-runners in Mobile but insured Lincoln's re-election. Although the Union had an advantage in vessels of eighteen to four and an overwhelming superiority in firepower, it paid dearly for its victory, suffering almost ten times as many casualties as Franklin Buchanan's Confederate fleet. The author traces the evolution of the battle from the time Farragut took command of the West Gulf Blockading Squadron in February 1862 until the battle was fought on 5 August 1864. He then continues the narrative through the end of the war and explains how the battle influenced ship design and naval tactics for years to come.

Was Roger Williams too pure for the Puritans, and what does that have to do with Rhode Island? Why did Augustine Herman take ten years to complete the map that established Delaware? How did Rocky Mountain rogues help create the state of Colorado? All this and more is explained in Mark Stein's new book. How the States Got Their Shapes Too follows How the States Got Their Shapes looks at American history through the lens of its borders, but, while How The States Got Their Shapes told us why, this book tells us who. This personal element in the boundary stories reveals how we today are like those who came before us, and how we differ, and most significantly: how their collective stories reveal not only an historical arc but, as importantly, the often overlooked human dimension in that arc that leads to the nation we are today. The people featured in How the States Got Their Shapes Too lived from the colonial era right up to the present. They include African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanics, women, and of course, white men. Some are famous, such as Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, and Daniel Webster. Some are not, such as Bernard Berry, Clarina Nichols, and Robert Steele. And some are names many of us know but don't really know exactly what they did, such as Ethan Allen (who never made furniture, though he burned a good deal of it). In addition, How the States Got Their Shapes Too tells of individuals involved in the Almost States of America, places we sought to include but ultimately did not: Canada, the rest of Mexico (we did get half), Cuba, and, still an issue, Puerto Rico. Each chapter is largely driven by voices from the time, in the form of excerpts from congressional debates, newspapers, magazines, personal letters, and diaries. Told in Mark Stein's humorous voice, How the States Got Their Shapes Too is a historical journey unlike any other you've taken. The strangers you meet here had more on their minds than simple state lines, and this book makes for a great new way of seeing and understanding the United States.