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1863: The Rebirth of a Nation
American history has never seen a more tumultuous or more significant year than 1863. During this crucial time the tide of the Civil War turned inexorably from the Confederacy to the Union, with momentous consequences that are still being felt today. It was a year of upheaval unparalleled in our national twelve months of searing brutality and ennobling sacrifice, 365 stirring, dramatic days that changed our country forever.
Integrating the events of this epochal year into a panoramic narrative, Joseph E. Stevens presents a grand portrait of the Union and Confederacy at war. He captures two nations struggling to define the American experiment and create a new understanding of freedom on the bloody battlefields of Stones River, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga. He also traces the astonishing political, economic, and social transformations that marked 1863 as a watershed.
1863 features a remarkable cast of larger-than-life leaders like Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis; charismatic and controversial military commanders like Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, James Longstreet, Joseph Hooker, Stonewall Jackson, George Armstrong Custer, and Nathan Bedford Forrest; avaricious young capitalists like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and J. P. Morgan; war-haunted writers like Herman Melville, Louisa May Alcott, and Walt Whitman; war-inspired painters like Winslow Homer and Conrad Wise Chapman.
Here, too, is a host of less well known but no less fascinating soldiers and civilians, slaves and slave owners, farmers and city dwellers, politicians and profiteers, artistocrats and refugees. Their stories--humorous and harrowing, inspiring and appalling--make 1863 not just a sweeping re-creation of events but a gripping human tale as well.
1863 is popular history at its best--vivid, vibrant, and immensely readable. Written with dramatic intensity and impassioned humanity, it is a thrilling account of the pivotal year of the war that remains the central historical event in the life of our nation.
Integrating the events of this epochal year into a panoramic narrative, Joseph E. Stevens presents a grand portrait of the Union and Confederacy at war. He captures two nations struggling to define the American experiment and create a new understanding of freedom on the bloody battlefields of Stones River, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Chickamauga, and Chattanooga. He also traces the astonishing political, economic, and social transformations that marked 1863 as a watershed.
1863 features a remarkable cast of larger-than-life leaders like Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis; charismatic and controversial military commanders like Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, James Longstreet, Joseph Hooker, Stonewall Jackson, George Armstrong Custer, and Nathan Bedford Forrest; avaricious young capitalists like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and J. P. Morgan; war-haunted writers like Herman Melville, Louisa May Alcott, and Walt Whitman; war-inspired painters like Winslow Homer and Conrad Wise Chapman.
Here, too, is a host of less well known but no less fascinating soldiers and civilians, slaves and slave owners, farmers and city dwellers, politicians and profiteers, artistocrats and refugees. Their stories--humorous and harrowing, inspiring and appalling--make 1863 not just a sweeping re-creation of events but a gripping human tale as well.
1863 is popular history at its best--vivid, vibrant, and immensely readable. Written with dramatic intensity and impassioned humanity, it is a thrilling account of the pivotal year of the war that remains the central historical event in the life of our nation.
464 pages, Hardcover
First published April 6, 1999
39 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
October 20, 2016
this is a second in a Civil War Trilogy I am reading which also includes "1861: The Civil War Awakening" Adam Goodheart and "April 1865: The Month That Saved America" by Jay Winik. This book was similar to 1861, but I enjoyed the earlier one better perhaps because it is not such well-known history (Gettysburg, Vicksburg) and I just struggle to connect with battle descriptions. But overall this was a great book & I do love books that have a set scope of one year. Looking forward to the next book and the end of the war!
July 25, 2008
I picked this up because I couldn't find anything in the new fiction/non-fiction that appealed to me. That being said, it was really engaging and well written. The focus on the east was on G-burg, which if you review my list I spent a lot of time on last year. But, it had really fresh information about the Western battles and incorporated some wonderful historical factoids that make me more prepared for Jeopardy.
February 20, 2016
An excellent overview of the pivotal year in the American Civil War, "1863" gives a good overview of the major battles that were fought, as well as what was going on in both the Union and Confederate governments and home fronts. A recommended book for anyone who would like to learn more about how the tide was finally turned against the rebellion, and the men and women who were a part of those events.
December 3, 2021
The rare Civil War history that brings generals and civilians to life, contextualizing their decisions and the public mentality during the most crucial year of the war rather than abstract strategy. Highly recommend to anyone who wants as much about the why of the year as the how.
February 14, 2009
Want to know bout the American civil war? This is the book for you.
November 12, 2014
Explains why the North won the war in 1863. A dramatic conclusion to a terrible war.
August 2, 2014
An incredible read. Really great
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews